Marriage Invalid Due To Husband Concealing Religious Identity Doesn't Bar Woman's Maintenance Claim: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has granted maintenance to a woman, while noting that her claim was rejected by the Family Court solely on the ground that her marriage was not legally valid. [2026 LiveLaw (MP) 243]The bench of Justice Gajendra Singh observed that the couple performed marriage rituals, but the husband had concealed his religious identity. Therefore, the finding of the Family Court not treating the petitioner as a legally wedded wife for the purpose of maintenance would result in "further victimisation" of the woman.The bench stated:"When the marriage rituals were performed with the petitioner concealing the religious identity and a child was born out of the said relationship, the Trial Court committed an illegality in discarding the claim of petitioner No.1 merely on the ground that the relationship could not be treated as a legally valid marriage. The finding that petitioner No.1 cannot be treated as the legally wedded wife of the respondent is unsustainable in the facts and circumstances of the case. Such an approach results in further victimization of petitioner No.1 who had already suffered at the hands of the respondent, and thereafter was denied maintenance by the Trial Court. Accordingly, the finding of the Trial Court to the aforesaid extent deserves to be and is hereby set aside".The dispute arose from a criminal revision filed by the woman challenging the judgment of the Family Court that rejected her maintenance claim over an invalid marriage. However, the Family Court did grant her minor daughter maintenance of ₹2,000 per month. Per the facts, the petitioner and her husband solemnised the marriage per Hindu rituals on December 8, 2022. The woman alleged that the husband had solemnised the marriage while concealing his religious identity and representing himself as a Hindu. The couple got pregnant and had a daughter from their marriage. Thereafter, the woman discovered the true identity of her husband through his Aadhaar card, showing him to be a follower of the Bohra Community. The woman claimed that the husband threatened to kill her parents and commit suicide. She further claimed that she was subjected to cruelty and was pressured to adopt the Bohra religion. When she denied conversion, she was allegedly subjected to physical assault. She later lodged a Police complaint.Thereafter, it was claimed that the husband tried to abduct the woman when she visited a Shiva Temple and threatened the family members of the temple priest. The court noted that despite notice, the husband had remained absent from the court. The bench noted the Family Court's observations that the petitioner was not the legally wedded wife of the respondent but the child born was the daughter of the husband. The bench noted that the petitioner performed the wedding rituals with the respondent while he was concealing his religious identity. Thus, the bench noted that the Family Court committed illegality by discarding the wife's maintenance claim merely on the ground that the marriage was legally invalid. Therefore, the court directed:"Accordingly, an amount of Rs.10,000/- per month is awarded as maintenance to petitioner No.1 from the date of filing of the application i.e. 08.01.2022 and a maintenance awarded to petitioner No.2 is enhanced from Rs.2,000/- per month to Rs.10,000/- per month, payable from the date of filing of the application i.e. 08.01.2022". Case Title: P v G, CRR-4518-2023Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (MP) 243For Petitioner: Advocate Rajesh JoshiClick here to read/download the Order

Marriage Invalid Due To Husband Concealing Religious Identity Doesn't Bar Woman's Maintenance Claim: MP High Court

Jayanti Pahwa

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Jayanti Pahwa

Marriage Invalid Due To Husband Concealing Religious Identity Doesn't Bar Woman's Maintenance Claim: MP High Court

Jayanti Pahwa

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Jayanti Pahwa

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