Legality of second marriage when converted to Islam?

905 votes

The second marriage will be invalid. The Supreme Court, in the landmark case of Sarla Mudgal v Union of India, has expressly held that conversion to Islam only for the sake of solemnizing a second marriage without dissolution of the first valid Hindu marriage will not invalidate the first marriage. In fact, the second marriage will be invalid.

The Court further observed that the second marriage of an apostate-husband married under the Hindu Marriage Act would be in violation of the rules of equity, justice and good conscience, as also those of natural justice.

“Assuming that a Hindu husband has a right to embrace Islam as his religion, he has no right under the Act to marry again without getting his marriage under the Act dissolved. The second marriage after conversion to Islam would, thus, be in violation of the rules of natural justice and as such would be void.”

Advocate Mishika Singh LawRato