The first wife must be given notice and an opportunity to be heard when her Muslim husband seeks to register a second marriage under The Kerala Registration of Marriages (Common) Rules, 2008, the Kerala High Court observed in Muhammad Shareef C & Another v. State of Kerala & Another. [2025: KER:82441].
Islamic Law Permits Marrying More than Once
In the judgment, the High Court declared that while Islamic personal law may permit a man to take a second wife, the registration of such a marriage is governed by the “law of the land” and constitutional principles. In this context, providing an opportunity for the first wife to be heard is a necessary procedural safeguard.
The Court stated that a first wife cannot be treated as a “silent spectator” to the registration of her husband’s second marriage, even if personal law allows that marriage.
The High Court observed that it cannot ignore the feelings of the first wife. When her husband attempts to register the second marriage using the secular Registration Rules, the court has a duty to ensure the process is fair, which includes hearing the existing wife.
Registration Rules Were Based on Supreme Court Directions
The High Court added that The Kerala Registration of Marriages (Common) Rules, 2008 had been framed based on the directions of the apex court in Seema v. Ashwani Kumar [AIR 2006 SC 1158] and the Registrar has not been vested with the power to decide the validity of the marriage.
Registration Provides Rebuttable Evidence of Marriage
The Court added that questions regarding the validity of the marriage and the marital status of the parties are to be decided by a competent civil court but not based on the strength of the registration.
