Kerala High Court rules that a Muslim man must inform his first wife before registering a second marriage under the Kerala Registration of Marriages (Common) Rules, 2008, as long as his marriage with her is still valid. The court made it clear that the man must notify his first wife before trying to register a second marriage.

Justice P. V. Kunhikrishnan passed this order on October 30 while hearing a petition filed by a 44-year-old man from Kannur and his 38-year-old second wife from Kasaragod. The couple had challenged the local registrar’s decision to reject their request to register their marriage. They argued that Muslim personal law allows a man to have up to four wives at the same time.

However, the High Court disagreed with this argument. It said that the registrar cannot register a second marriage if the first wife objects, claiming it is invalid. In such a situation, the couple must go to a civil court to prove whether the second marriage is legally valid or not.

The court also clarified that even under Muslim personal law, a man can marry more than once only under specific conditions. Justice Kunhikrishnan said that neither the Holy Quran nor Muslim law permits a man to marry again or have an extramarital relationship without informing his first wife. The court added that a Muslim woman cannot be a silent observer if her husband plans to remarry without her knowledge.

“In such matters, religion is secondary and constitutional rights are supreme,” the judge said. He also observed that “99.99% of Muslim women would be against their husband’s second marriage while their marital relationship still exists.”

The High Court further noted that Muslim personal law allows a man to marry more than one woman only if he has the financial means to support them properly. Since the first wife in this case was not included as a party to the petition, the court dismissed it. The judgment reinforces the idea that even when religion allows certain practices, they must align with constitutional principles and women’s rights under the law.