Bombay High Court Rules Suits for Declaring Non-Existence Of Marriage Are Maintainable

The Bombay High Court has ruled that a suit seeking a negative declaration confirming the non-existence of a marriage between two individuals is legally maintainable in civil courts.

The case originated when a woman filed a suit declaring that no valid marriage was solemnized between her and a man from her village, either on September 21, 2018, or on any other date at the Janjagruti Matrimonial Alliance Centre in Chiplun, Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra. The woman claimed the man had taken advantage of their proximity and falsely alleged they were married.

When the man contested the suit's validity, arguing that negative declarations are barred under Section 34 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963, the trial court rejected his plea. He subsequently filed a revision application in the High Court.

Justice NJ Jamadar, dismissing the application, stated, "If a person can seek a declaration that he is legally wedded to another, there does not seem to be any impediment in seeking a declaration that he is not married to that person. The negative form of declaration is nothing but an assertion of a particular positive marital status."

The court clarified that civil courts have jurisdiction to grant such declarations under Section 9 of the Civil Procedure Code, independent of the Specific Relief Act. The ruling relied on previous Supreme Court precedent establishing that matrimonial status disputes fall within court jurisdiction regardless of whether the relief sought is affirmative or negative.

With this decision, the original suit will now proceed for adjudication on its merits.