Supreme Court
New Delhi: A marriage of a Hindu woman with a Muslim man is not a “regular or valid” but the child born out of such wedlock is legitimate, the Supreme Court on Tuesday. It also said that the legal effect of such an irregular marriage is that a wife is entitled to get dower but cannot inherit the husband’s property.
The court held that the child born in an irregular marriage is legitimate just like in the case of a valid marriage and is entitled to inherit the property of the father.
A bench of justices N.V. Ramana and M.M. Shantanagoudar upheld the order of the Kerala High Court by which it was ruled that the son of a couple — Mohammed Ilias and Valliamma (who was Hindu at the time of marriage) — was legitimate and was entitled for share in his father’s property according to law.
“We conclude that the marriage of a Muslim man with an idolater or fireworshipper is neither a valid nor a void marriage, but is merely an irregular marriage. Any child born out of such wedlock is entitled to claim a share in his father’s property,” the bench said.
The top court while dismissing the appeal against the high court order said that since Hindus are idol worshippers, which includes worship of physical images or statues through offering of flowers and adornment, it is clear that the marriage of a Hindu woman with a Muslim man is merely an irregular one. It was hearing a property dispute matter in which Shamsuddin, son of Ilias and Valliamma, claimed share in the ancestral property through inheritance after the death of his father.
It said “the legal effect of a irregular marriage is that in case of consummation, though the wife is entitled to get dower, she is not entitled to inherit the properties of the husband. But the child born in that marriage is legitimate just like in the case of a valid marriage, and is entitled to inherit the property of the father.”
The court said that on other hand the effect of a void marriage is that it does not create any civil right or obligations between the parties and the children born out of such wedlock are illegitimate. The bench said that under Muslim law, a marriage is not a sacrament but a civil contract and there are three types of marriage — valid, irregular and void.
“A void marriage is one which is unlawful in itself, the prohibition against su-ch a marriage being perpe-tual and absolute. An in-valid marriage is descri-bed as one which is not un-lawful in itself, but unlawful for something else. .(like absence of witnesses),” the bench said.