The Madras High Court had observed that Misrepresentation or voluntary concealment of any fact which is sine quo non for marriage would make the effect of marriage null and void. The Lower Court in its observation had missed this very fact and dismissed the application filed by the petitioner to annul the marriage.
“I am of the considered opinion that the courts below had not appreciated the evidence which are available on record. They had chosen to ignore very crucial documentary evidence which had resulted in their findings being against the documentary evidence that is available on record. I am constrained to point out that the lower appellate court had not adverted to the fact that the various documents particularly the official documents which are maintained by people, who are statutorily obliged to maintain such documents disclose that the respondent is a Christian. It had chosen to rely upon documents that emanated after the filing of the original petition.”
Factual Background
The above observation were made by the Single-judge bench comprising of the Justice M. Subramaniam while dealing with the petition filed under Section 28(1) of Hindu Marriage Act, 1995 r/w Section 100 of Civil Procedure Code against the judgment and decree dated 25.07.2008 made on the file of the District Judge, Kanyakumar at Nagercoil confirming the decree and judgment dated 10.11.2006 made on the file of the First Additional District Judge Nagercoil.
The petitioner (husband) and S.Beula, the respondent got married as per Hindu rituals and custom in the presence of their family members and friends. After some days, the petitioner witnessed that his wife followed the Christian mythology. On doing basic enquiry, he got to know that his spouse was Christian by birth. The school documents represented the same and she had also obtained Community Certificate showing that she was a Christian. The petitioner filed the application for dismissing the validity of marriage in the District Court of Nagercoil.
The Court held that:
“The appellant has not established his claim that the respondent had misrepresented regarding her religion at the time of marriage beyond reasonable doubt and therefore, he is not entitled to a decree of nullity.”
Appeal before the High Court impugning above Order
Aggrieved of which, the petitioner filed appeal before the High Court of Madras, Madurai Bench. The Counsel for the Respondent submitted that the respondent is a Christian Nadar is the result of mistake at the time when the respondent was admitted in the school for the first time and the mistake was carried out throughout the period during which she undertook her education in various institutions and it was also pertinent to submit that the marriage of the respondent’s parent was performed under Hindu rituals.
Reasoning and Decision of the Court
The Court was of the view that:
“the essential question to be determined is as to whether there was a misrepresentation regarding the material fact at the time of marriage so as to invalidate the marriage in terms of Section 12(1)(C) of the Hindu Marriage Act and whether the courts below were right in accepting the plea of mistake raised by the respondent.
As rightly pointed out by the learned Senior Counsel appearing for the appellant, plethora of documentary evidence is available in the case on hand to support the claim of the appellant that the respondent was a Christian by birth and she was practising Christianity throughout her life. This is evidenced by indisputable documents in the form of educational records.
The earliest documents is of the year 1988 when the respondent had made an application for joining Good Shepherd Matriculation School on 14.04.1988 wherein one Rajavel has signed as a Guardian and the respondent is shown as a Christian Nadar. The Transfer Certificate issued by the said school on 27.04.1992 also described her as a Christian Nadar. Thereafter, the appellant had joined the Duthie Girls Higher Secondary School at Nagercoil and left the said institution on 07.06.2000. The Transfer Certificate issued by the said school is marked as Ex.A.6 and even in the said certificate the respondent is described as a Christian Nadar.
The respondent had under her own signature applied to Holy Cross College, Nagercoil seeking admission in B.A. (Economics) on 07.06.2000 the said application is also countersigned by her father and she is described as a Christian. The Transfer Certificate issued by the said College also describes her as a Christian”.
Held
The Bench upheld the contentions of the petition by declaring the marriage null and void and it is clear that the respondent and her parents were Christians at some point of time. A person, admittedly a Christian, has to prove conversion if he or she seeks to claim that he or she is a Hindu. There is total absence of evidence in this regard.
Case Details
Case: CMSA (MD) No.05 of 2009 and C.R.P(MD) No.1481 of 2012
Petitioner: P.Sivakumar
Respondent: S.Beula
Quorum: Justice M. Subramaniam
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