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Iftikar Ahmed (CSE)     21 June 2011

Second marriage without divorce in muslim

Hi All,

I need your expert opinions in my case.  i am a muslim by birth and i fell in love with a Hindu girl and got married to her under Special Marriage Act. However, her family would not accept our marriage and forced her to leave me.  finally because of many other issues between us, she left my home and went to her sisters place, it has been more than a year and half and there is no information from her end.  i tried to contact her once or twice but in vain.  so, i decided to move on in life and want to get married and settle down with a muslim girl and have nikkah with her.  what can be the consequences of this marriage? will i be able to settle down with my second wife without any issues?

 

Regards

Iftikar



Learning

 22 Replies

Tajobsindia (Senior Partner )     21 June 2011

@ Author

1.
As per Shariat a Muslim in India can marry four times without divorcing his first, second and third wife.

2. Check the Nikahnama with first wife !

3. But, if the Muslim person is a Govt. Servant then he can't do so means can't marry with another lady if first marriage not divorced.

4. Further, first wife can approach for her maint. rights under Bharat Ratna DV Act as well as S. 125 CrPC against her Muslim husband who marries second time.


BTW, in the path breaking Judgment in Re. Shah Bano case under Muslim clergy's colly. pressure she (Shah Bano) herself by way of a Letter disowned her maint. rights later on which reflects strong bond and strong religious influence of Muslims to their religion over personal Laws which are handywork of few Ld. men !

Iftikar Ahmed (CSE)     21 June 2011

Tajobsindia

thank you for whatever u have posted, but this does not help me.  as my first marriage, nikkahnama was not read only court marriage under special marriage act. if my frist marriage would have been a nikkah only, i could have been considered a divorcee as i am separated for my wife for then 18 months and as per the islamic rules more then 6 months of separation without any contacts, is considered as a divorce.

moreover, islam might permit a second marriage only if the consent of the first wife is there.  if her consent is not there then i cannot marry a second time.  so, i want someone to tell me, who understands both the islamic laws as well as indian laws.

 

Ravikant Soni (LAWYER IN JAIPUR)     21 June 2011

As you flased your first marriage was solemnized under special marriage act not as per customs of islamic shariat. So your first marriage must be governed as per law laid down in special marriage act. 

According to this act you can not remarry untill you have been divovced by your first wife.

So far as your second marriage is concerned, it is a void marriage at all and you r under criminal liability of offence bigamy , if your first wife takes action against you.

Iftikar Ahmed (CSE)     21 June 2011

but if my second marrige is as per islamic law, i.e if i have a nikkah with this muslim girl, still will my seocnd marriage be nul and void

Tajobsindia (Senior Partner )     21 June 2011

@ Author

Unless and until you would have mentioned what you replied to my first message how on earth I could have guessed all that ! However what Ld. Soni says is more or less quite apt for your briefs it is not that you being governed under Muslim Laws can do as you please which is my reaction to your reply to ld. Soni's post !! BTW Indian Laws also includes Muslim Personal Law and Muslim Women's Maint. Act as well as Special Marriage Act and Indian Laws are not like a alien law that it is not applicable to Muslims living in India.

Tajobsindia (Senior Partner )     21 June 2011

@ Author

1.
Once you both got married under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 no matter which form of marriage now you both (with second wife who is Muslim) under go with each other, your first marriage under the Special Marriage Act,1954 will ONLY be legally recognized between both of you. This is Law in India and nothing to do with Muslim Shariat Laws that a clergy needs to have replied to your post then it would have been a correct reply !

 

 

2. You both (means Hindu wife and you) are now covered under this Act only for the purpose of any matter relating to Matrimonial affairs between both of you.

 

 


3. You being Muslim by religion has a legal right to have four wives simultaneously but since she (means Hindu wife) fortunately for you got married to you under this Act she has become bound by the provisions of this Act wherein you now cannot marry second time with any one else till this marriage with her under this Act subsists i.e. till this marriage get dissolved by the decree of divorce.

 

 

4. If in case you by mistake or on being misguided by your relatives or any other persons marries again during the existence of this marriage with her (means Muslim wife) then you shall be liable for the offence of bigamy which otherwise you would not have been had she (means here your Hindu wife) married you by converting herself to Muslim Religion then got married with you by a Nikah Ceremonies according to Shariat Muslim Laws. See there is a vast difference of interpretation of correct laws applicability here.

 

 

5. As you say her parents are not in favor of your marriage according to the Special Marriage Act, 1954 or even if they are aware of this they don't understand the Legal importance of this marriage which has bound both of you (means you and your first  wife) in the surest marriage which the law recognizes irrespective of your Caste, Religion, Creed and Nationality.

 

 

6. The very fact she (Hindu first wife) never changed her religion still you both are legally married in the eye of law, her (probable) refusal for conversion to Muslim religion will not give you even a ground for dissolving this marriage on this ground or even if you have a Nikah with second women (Muslim second women is what I mean here) it won't give you a ground to give her (means Hindu first wife) divorce since you did not divorce her (first Hindu wife).

 

 

7. What we want to tell you here that the religion of either party to the marriage under this Act has no bearing as far legality is concerned whereas for Religious marriages such as Hindu Marriages which are covered under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 or Muslim Marriages which are covered under the Muslim Shariat Law the religion of both parties has to be same, but once you are already married either of these Religious marriages has no legal implications whether you again marry according to Muslim Shariyat Laws or otherwise. These Religious Marriages will just be Social Religious Drama; the Indian laws will only recognize your Marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 for all purposes and in your case you are required to dissolve your first marriage to proceed in which ever form you intend to with next marriage with a Muslim women with a Nikah ceremony and or otherwise as customary appealing to you.

 

 

The above is Indian Law in rim and I am sorry I dinot reply as per your liking the very second time. You may ignore my second reply which was made without application of mind!

Ravikant Soni (LAWYER IN JAIPUR)     21 June 2011

Thanks Taj for concurring my views. 

Iftikar Ahmed (CSE)     22 June 2011

i understand what you are trying to say. my first point is, if i would have wanted to do as i please then i would have never posted this query and got married as per muslim customs.  i respect my countries law and that is the reason why i wanted opinion from the expert lawyers present in this forum.  i understood from Mr.Rajnikant Soni that it is impossible to get married without divorcing my first wife.  i had mentioned most of the things in my query but may be you just read the overall query about second marriage.  anyways, i am yet to go through your third answer what more you have to say.  moreover, now i believe that after her mother and sister took her away from my house, they must have murdered her( honour killing) and that is the reason why after trying to get in touch with the family or her everything is in vain.  i have sent one more notification from the court but her mother has returned it by saying that her daughter has eloped with a muslim boy and is no longer with them.  but she is not with my family.  i am thinking of lodging a police complain, but i am not sure if this will put her into more of a trouble, if she is alive.

Iftikar Ahmed (CSE)     22 June 2011

tajobsindia

please do not take my words personally. i undersatnd that you are well aware of the indian laws and i have understood many things from your third reply.  thanks for your reply and let me see what best can be done now.  my relatives have given me various options of getting married the second time but i been aware about the special marriage act, i have not got married and waiting for some kind of a reply from my wife.   and yes, my wife did get converted into islam and the nikkahnama was read but i know that this does not make any difference to the special marriage act.  i knew this is legally impossible for me to get married a second time but i wanted to confirm the same through this forum

Ravikant Soni (LAWYER IN JAIPUR)     22 June 2011

If you have any apprehension that your wife has been murdered. Then what your r waiting for??? you should lodge a fir in local police station.

Tajobsindia (Senior Partner )     22 June 2011

Addending to Ld. Soni's above reply

1. Also file an HCP before State HC will also help if Police does not help in 48 Hrs. post lodging complain

Iftikar Ahmed (CSE)     22 June 2011

thanks for all the reply, but i am delaying because my wife only went against me before leaving me and went to her mother and sister. so, if i lodge a complain against her parents things would become worse.  moreover, i am out of town now, once i am in my home town, i will logde the complain.  thank you very much for all the advise.  i will let you know once i have lodge the complain and seek help from you in case i need to know anything else.  thank you

regards

iftikar

Iftikar Ahmed (CSE)     22 June 2011

oh! and i forgot to mention on more thing, her mother had lodged a kidnapping case against me after we got married under the special marraige act. final report was sent by police saying that i am not guilty and whenever a notification is sent from court regarding the same, they do not acknowledge the same.  what can be the consequences now.

Vanashree (Not Working)     13 April 2012

Hi i need somebody's help urgently........
1am basically hindu by birth and 1 year back i got married with 1 muslim guy(state gov. employee) who was already married and having two kids,he said he is not at all happy with his present wife and want to divorce her n get marry with me but i only stopped him and told him not to give divorce.But at the same time he was after me to getting marry with me.I said NO for the same but after few months even i started loving him very much , i got very emotional as every after second day he was after me for marriage,finally 8th Jan 2011 we got engaged in a small temple and 5th May we got married in a hotel room(we haven't done legal marriage, today i have only photos of our marriage, no legal document.)for few months after marriage everything was fine but since last August he is avoiding me, n whenever i ask him to get married legally he is always giving me reasons that he is already married and cant get married here for the second tie so we have to go out of India and he is after me for the same.(i can smell some fishy things here). I have made a unofficial police complain against him when cops asked him about marriage that time he got ready to get married on 5th May 2012, but again after that he is giving me the same reasons as him n my family is not aware about our marriage so he is telling me to go out of India from this place after few moths he will join me and than will get married,so i have applied for my visa but please tell me whatever i m doing i it right ? or again he is only playing with my emotions as he is doing the same from last 1 year......please suggest me something, what should i do now ?

 


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