PTI
 
NEW DELHI, Dec 6: Marriage between a Hindu and a Christian is invalid under the Hindu Marriage Act, as the Act provides for only Hindu couples to enter  into a wedlock, the Supreme Court has ruled.

A Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Aftab Alam upheld the judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which nullified a marriage, after the wife, Bandaru Pavani, a Hindu, claimed that her husband, Gullipilli Sowria Raj a Christian, had misled her by pretending to be a Hindu and married her at a temple.

The husband had misinformed about his social status, the wife had complained while seeking divorce.

According to the couple, Raj, a Roman Catholic Christian married Pavani on October 24, 1996, in a temple by way of exchanging of 'Thali' (sacred thread) in the absence of any representative from either side.

Subsequently, the marriage was registered on November 2, 1996 under Section 8 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

The matrimonial court rejected her plea for divorce saying the marriage was valid under the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, even if one of the parties belonged to any other faith.

However, the High Court upheld her plea and said the marriage was void as the Act postulated marriage only between Hindus, following which the husband filed the SLP in the apex court.

Dismissing the Christian husband's appeal, the apex court said Section 5 of the Act makes it clear that a marriage may be solemnised between any two Hindus if the conditions contained in the said Section were fulfilled.