New Delhi: Re-conversion into Hinduism cannot
act as a bar for a marriage under the Hindu Marriages Act, the
Supreme Court has ruled, dismissing an appeal filed by an IAF
pilot who said his wife was a Muslim.
A bench of justices P Sathasivam and H L Gokhale said in
a judgement that since Bhavana alias Sahar Wasif divorced her
Muslim husband and re-converted to Hinduism after undergoing
the "shudhkhiran" (purification) ceremonies, her re-marriage
with a Hindu man was valid under Section 5 of the Act.
"The material placed by the respondent--wife--in the form
of oral and documentary evidence clearly show that there was
no contravention of any of the provisions, more particularly,
Section 5 of the Act", Justice Sathasivam writing the
judgement said.
The apex rejected Flying Officer Rajiv Gakhar`s plea that
Bhavana had concealed the fact that she was a Muslim, already
married and had two children from her first husband Wasif
Khalil.
The bench said perusual of the records clearly revealed
that Gakhar was well aware of the fact that Bhavana had
re-converted to Hinduism after divorcing her Muslim husband.
Gakhar had filed a suit in the year 2000 in the court of
the Addl District Judge-I, Faridabad, under Sections 5 and
12 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, seeking dissolution of the
marriage solemnized on November 28, 1999, at an Arya Samaj
temple.
The husband alleged he was tricked into the marriage by
the wife who used "emotional coercion," "impersonation,"
"misrepresentations," "fraud" and cheating to achieve her
object.
PTI
