The Supreme Court has not declared all marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men invalid - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 16, 2022
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that the Supreme Court has declared all marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men invalid. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: The Supreme Court has declared all marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men invalid.
Fact: The court has not declared all marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men invalid. While giving a judgement in a case where the couple married in the 1940s under the Muslim law, the Court said – “the marriage of a Muslim man with an idolater or fire­worshipper is neither a valid (sahih) nor a void (batil) marriage, but is merely an irregular (fasid) marriage. Any child born out of such wedlock (fasid  marriage) is entitled to claim a share in his father’s property”. Under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, a Hindu woman can marry a Muslim man, and their marriage will be valid (if they meet the conditions under the Act). Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched with keywords on the internet, the same news was found to be published by several news agencies in 2019. An article published by ‘The Times of India’ in 2019 with the title – “Marriage of Hindu woman and Muslim man irregular; child born is legitimate: SC” can be read here. While giving a judgement in a case where the couple married in the 1940s under the Muslim law, the Court said – “the marriage of a Muslim man with an idolater or fire­worshipper is neither a valid (sahih) nor a void (batil) marriage, but is merely an irregular (fasid) marriage. Any child born out of such wedlock (fasid  marriage) is entitled to claim a share in his father’s property”.
The court also mentioned that – “A.A.A.Fyzee, at page 76 of his book Outlines of Muhammadan Law (5th edition) reiterates by citing Mulla that the nikah of a Muslim man with an idolater or fire­worshipper is only irregular and not void. He also refers to Ameer Ali’s proposition that such a marriage would not affect the legitimacy of the offspring, as the polytheistic woman may at any time adopt Islam, which would at once remove the bar and validate the marriage”. The judgement copy can be found here.
The court has not declared anywhere that all marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men are invalid. Under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, a Hindu woman can marry a Muslim man, and their marriage will be valid (if they meet the conditions under the Act). The Hindu woman need not convert to Islam for marriage to be valid under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
To sum it up, the Supreme Court has not declared all marriages between Hindu women and Muslim men invalid