Marriage Registration Not Mandatory for Divorce Petition

The Karnataka High Court at Bengaluru, speaking through Dr. Justice K. Manmadha Rao, considered whether a divorce petition under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 can be rejected merely because the marriage was not registered under that Act.

The parties had married on 30.04.2006 according to community and customary rites. The judgment records that the marriage was never solemnized under the Special Marriage Act. The husband had earlier filed a divorce petition under the Hindu Marriage Act, but that was rejected for want of jurisdiction because the parties belonged to a Scheduled Tribe and Section 2(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act excluded their marriage from that Act’s operation.

He then sought dissolution under Section 27 of the Special Marriage Act. In the Family Court, he filed an interlocutory application under Section 15 of the Special Marriage Act seeking rejection of the divorce petition on the ground that the marriage had not been registered. The Family Court rejected that application, holding that Section 15 only prescribes the conditions for registration and does not make registration compulsory or make a Section 27 divorce petition non-maintainable for want of registration.

The High Court agreed. It held that Section 27 of the Special Marriage Act does not contemplate registration of the marriage as a precondition for maintaining a petition for divorce. The court also observed that Section 15 deals with registration of marriage, while Section 18 gives certain benefits if the marriage is registered. Beyond that, the Act does not create a requirement of compulsory registration for divorce proceedings.

The petitioner relied on a Calcutta High Court decision, but the Karnataka High Court did not accept that it displaced the position on maintainability in the present case. On the facts before it, the court found no specific provision in the Special Marriage Act stating that a divorce petition is not maintainable unless the marriage is registered under the Act.

The writ petition was dismissed and the Family Court’s order dated 26.06.2025 in M.C. No. 18/2024 was upheld.

Practical takeaway: Under this ruling, non-registration of a marriage under the Special Marriage Act does not by itself defeat a divorce petition under Section 27.