The Bombay High Court has ruled that Muslim men can legally register more than one marriage under the Maharashtra Regulation of Marriage Bureaus and Registration of Marriages Act, 1998. The court emphasized that Muslim personal law permits up to four marriages, and there is no provision in the Act preventing the registration of multiple marriages.
A bench comprising Justice BP Colabawalla and Justice Somasekhar Sundareshan delivered the ruling in response to a petition filed by an Indian man and his Algerian wife after the Thane Municipal Corporation refused to register their third marriage.
The Corporation claimed the Act allowed only one registered marriage, but the court rejected this interpretation, affirming the rights provided under Muslim personal law.
The court instructed the Corporation to hold a personal hearing and issue a decision within ten days. It also protected the wife from deportation while the registration process was pending.
