Special Marriage Act | Marriage Registration Not Mandatory To Maintain Divorce Petition: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently held that marriage registration under the Special Marriage Act is not necessary for maintaining a petition for divorce under Section 27 of the aforesaid Act.

The single judge bench of Justice K.Manmadha Rao was considering a plea filed by the wife against the Family Court order that rejected her application to dismiss the divorce petition filed by the husband on account of non-registration of marriage under the aforesaid Act.

“There is no specific provision in the Special Marriage Act, 1954 which contemplates that a petition for a decree of divorce is not maintainable unless the marriage is registered under the Act….Section 15 of the Special Marriage Act only prescribes the conditions required for registration of the marriage and do not declare that registration of the marriage is compulsory or that petition for divorce under Section 27 of the Act is not maintainable unless the marriage is registered…,” the court observed in the order.

Both the husband and the wife, belonging to the Scheduled Tribe 'Meda', got married in April 2006 as per the community and customary rites. It was never registered under the Special Marriage Act. A child was born out of wedlock, and the parents have been living separately since 2009. Since they belonged to the 'Meda' Scheduled Tribe, they were excluded from the operation of Section 2(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act.

The husband had initially filed a divorce petition under the Hindu Marriage Act before the Kanakapura Family Court, which was rejected for the want of jurisdiction. Thereafter, the husband preferred a dissolution of marriage plea under Section 27(b) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, citing cruelty and desertion by the wife. The wife, challenging the said petition on maintainability, preferred an interim application in June, 2025 before the family court, stating that registration of marriage under the Special Marriage Act is compulsory for a divorce petition under Section 27 to be maintainable.

The aforesaid interim application was dismissed by the Family Court. Aggrieved by the order, the wife approached the High Court to set it aside, terming the 'non-mandatory' interpretation of Section 15[registration of marriages celebrated in other forms] for divorce by the Family Court as erroneous.

The husband, on the other hand, submitted that his divorce petition under the Hindu Marriage Act was rejected due to the Scheduled Tribe exclusion, and the only remedy available to him was under the Special Marriage Act.

The High Court, after perusing the relevant law, held that registration of marriage under Section 15 is only 'directory', disagreeing with the contentions raised by the wife:

“…Under the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, registration of marriage is not mandatory but if the marriage is registered, Section 18[Effect of registration of marriage] of the Act gives certain benefits. Except the same, there is no requirement of compulsory registration of marriage…”, the court said with special reference to Section 27A [Alternative relief in divorce proceedings].

The court also distinguished the case law relied upon by the wife, Amitava Bhattacharya v. Smt. Aparna Bhattacharya (2009 SCC Online 300), wherein the marriage was held to be of no effect primarily due to the minor age of the bride at the time of marriage. It hasn't adjudged any law regarding the mandatory nature of registration under Section 15 for a divorce plea to be maintainable under Section 27 of the Special Marriage Act, the court held.

Accordingly, the court dismissed the wife's writ petition and upheld the order passed by the Kanakapura Family Court refusing to entertain objections against the maintainability of the husband's divorce plea.

Case Title: Smt. Rathna P v. Sri Chikkamanchaiah S.M.

Case No.: Writ Petition No.33261 of 2025 (GM-FC)

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