Himachal Pradesh High Court: Birth Registration Must Include Children of Invalid Marriages
The Himachal Pradesh High Court recently stated that children cannot be denied birth registration solely due to being born from an unregistered or legally invalid marriage. Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua ruled that a child’s birth must be recognized independently of the legal status of the parents' relationship.
11/2/20241 min read
The Court further noted that such children are living individuals whose existence must be recognized by law.
The case involved a plea filed by a woman on behalf of her three minor children. The counsel representing her informed the Court that the parents had married in 2011 and had since lived as husband and wife. However, due to the husband’s existing legal marriage to his first wife, who was unwell but had permitted him to remarry, this second marriage could not be legally registered.
In essence, the union was considered legally invalid as it violated Section 4(a) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, which prohibits marriage while a prior spouse is still living.
Due to the union's legal invalidity and lack of registration, State authorities refused to register the births of the children from this union in Panchayat records, specifically in the Birth Register and the Pariwar (Family) Register.
The Court, however, disagreed with the Panchayat authorities' decision, affirming that children from even legally invalid unions cannot be denied legal recognition.
The Bench highlighted that Section 16(3) of the Hindu Marriage Act upholds this principle, stating that while a marriage may be null and void, children born from such unions are still regarded as legitimate.
The Court further noted that neither the Special Marriage Act nor the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj General Rules prohibit the registration of children born from unregistered marriages in birth or family records.
concluded that the inability to register the marriage under the Special Marriage Act does not negate the legitimacy of the children born from that union. It emphasized that Section 16(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act ensures the legitimacy of children, regardless of the circumstances surrounding their parents' marriage registration. As a result, the Court ordered that the names of the children be officially recorded in the Panchayat records, affirming their legal status and rights. This decision underscores the principle that the welfare and rights of children should take precedence over procedural technicalities regarding marriage registration.