The Madhya Pradesh High Court, while hearing an appeal, has taken up the question of whether a Jain individual can seek relief under the Hindu Marriage Act. The case revolves around a matrimonial dispute, including divorce by mutual consent. The court’s decision could have significant legal implications for Jain marriages. A ruling on the matter is expected after further deliberation.
Indore: The Madhya Pradesh High Court set to determine whether a person belonging to the Jain community can seek relief under the Hindu Marriage Act in matrimonial cases, such as divorce by mutual consent.
This issue arose after a family court rejected an application from a 37-year-old software engineer from the Jain community who sought a mutual consent divorce under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
The family court, on February 8, stated that since the Jain community granted minority status in 2014, it would not be legally appropriate to allow the petitioner the benefits of a law applicable to “any religion having beliefs contrary to his religion.” The man subsequently challenged this ruling in the high court.
During the proceedings, the bench of Justices Vivek Rusia and Gajendra Singh noted that the issue has not been previously decided by any court.
The bench remarked,
“Some of the counsels present in court submitted that as many as 28 petitions filed under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act have been dismissed by the first additional principal judge of the Family Court, Indore, and appeals have already been filed before this court in some of these cases,”
Pending the court’s decision on this matter, the family court is restrained from dismissing any ongoing petitions on the basis that a Jain person cannot receive relief under the Hindu Marriage Act. The bench appointed senior advocate A K Sethi as amicus curiae to assist in the case, scheduling the next hearing for March 18.
The petitioner, who married in 2017, and his wife approached the family court for a mutual consent divorce in 2024. The family court ruled that following the government’s notification on January 27, 2014, granting minority status to the Jain community, followers of this religion no longer had rights under the Hindu Marriage Act.
However, it clarified that a Jain individual could still present marital disputes before the court under Section 7 of the Family Court Act. In his plea to the high court, the petitioner emphasized that Section 2 of the Hindu Marriage Act also applies to Jain, Buddhist, and Sikh communities, in addition to Hindus.
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