SC Denies Relief To Muslim Man Claiming Conversion To Hinduism For Marriage [Read Order]

While the High Courts of Kerala and Rajasthan have already been confronted with cases involving inter-faith marriages, it was the Supreme Court that was recently approached with a similar issue.

The Court had been petitioned by a Muslim man who claimed to have converted to Hinduism and married a Hindu girl at an Arya Samaj temple. The girl's family had, however, filed an FIR alleging that the girl was a minor and that she had, in fact, been kidnapped. The Police had, consequently, separated the couple.

The man had then filed a habeas corpus Petition before the Supreme Court, submitting that he had validly converted to Hinduism and demanding that he may be permitted to stay with his wife.

The girl's father had opposed the plea, submitting that the Petitioner had not undergone a valid conversion and had relied on the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 1968, which provides a procedure for conversion to another religion.

Agreeing with such contentions, the Bench comprising Justice A.K. Goel and Justice U.U. Lalit refused to grant him any relief in view of the fact that the question of the validity of his marriage was still in dispute.

It then dismissed the Petition, ruling, "Whether the petitioner has factually converted his religion and whether conversion only to marriage is in accordance with law is a dispute which require adjudication. In absence of such adjudication, it is not possible to accept that a valid marriage has taken place between the petitioner and the daughter of respondent No.4 so as to grant the relief sought.

Accordingly, this petition is dismissed without prejudice to any other remedy in accordance with law."