The Delhi high court has declared that a marriage between a Hindu and a person of another faith performed according to Hindu rites would not be valid under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) as it is a basic requirement of the HMA that both spouses be Hindus at the time of the solemnisation of the marriage as per Hindu customs.
“The mere fact that the parties had solemnised the marriage as per Hindu rites and ceremonies would not attract the applicability of the HMA as the mandate of the law is that marriage has to take place between two Hindus, if performed strictly as per Hindu customs,” Justice Kailash Gambhir ruled in his verdict on a divorce petition by Sangeeta, who had married Preston Gomes, a Christian, in 2007, claiming that their marriage was solemnised at an Arya Samaj Temple as per Hindu rituals.
Quoting a provision of Section 5 of the HMA, Justice Gambhir said it clearly showed that “the HMA is not applicable either to Muslims, Christians, Parsis or Jews as would be borne out from Section 2 of the act”. Enumerating the five conditions laid down under HMA, Section 5, for attaining legal status for any marriage solemnised as per Hindu customs or rites, the high court said the provisions of the section made it “explicit” that such marriages could only be held between two Hindus, or both of the spouses should he Hindus at the time of the marriage. The ruling makes a clear distinction between an inter-religious marriage registered under civil marriage laws and those solemnised under the HMA. The court added that if a non-Hindu married a Hindu as per Hindu rites, it was mandatory for s/he to show clear proof under law about conversion to Hinduism.