The case involved an Indian man and his Algerian wife who sought to register their marriage.

Muslim men can register more than one marriage, rules Bombay High Court

The court was hearing an application filed by a Muslim man who sought to register his third marriage with a woman from Algeria in February 2023.

by · India Today

In Short

  • Bombay High Court cites Muslim personal laws permitting four wives
  • Case involves Muslim man's third marriage
  • Ruling comes after civic body refuses to grant marriage certificate

The Bombay High Court has ruled that Muslim men can register more than one marriage as their personal laws entitle them to have four wives at a time. The court was hearing an application filed by a Muslim man who sought to register his third marriage with a woman from Algeria in February 2023 but was rejected on grounds of a marriage act in Maharashtra.

The Thane Municipal Corporation refused to issue the couple their marriage certificate on the basis that under the Maharashtra Regulation of Marriage Bureaus and Registration of Marriage Act, the definition of marriage contemplates only a single marriage and not multiple unions.

During the hearing on October 15, a High Court bench comprising Justices BP Colabawalla and Somasekhar Sundareshan termed the authority's refusal as "wholly misconceived" and said the Act does not bar Muslim men from registering more than one marriage since the same is permitted under Muslim personal law.

"Under the personal laws for Muslims, they are entitled to have four wives at a time. Once this is the case, we are unable to accept the submission of the authorities that, under the provisions of the Maharashtra Regulation of Marriage Bureaus and Registration of Marriages Act, only one marriage can be registered, even in the case of a Muslim male," it said.

"There is absolutely nothing in this Act to indicate that the personal laws of Muslims have been excluded."

The bench also highlighted that the Thane Municipal Corporation had registered the petitioner's marriage with his second wife.

The couple was asked to submit all relevant documents within two weeks after the municipal body claimed that they had not them while trying to register their marriage.

The court said that once the documents were submitted, the municipal body would have 10 days to either issue a marriage certificate or refuse following a personal hearing.

Until then, no coercive steps should be taken against the petitioner woman whose passport expired in May this year, it ordered.