Thereafter, on 23.4.2003 the appellant filed a Special Leave Petition out of which the present appeal arises.
The Family Court dismissed the said petition against which an appeal was preferred by the respondent before the High Court, which allowed the appeal by its judgment and order dated 12.9.2002 upon holding that the marriage between a Hindu and a Christian under the 1955 Act is void ab initio and that the marriage was, therefore, a nullity.
Subsequently, the marriage was registered on 2.11.1996 under Section 8 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, hereinafter referred to as the 1955 Act.
A few months thereafter on 23.1.2003 the respondent married one Dr. Praveen.
Soon thereafter, on 13.3.1997, the respondent wife filed a petition before the Family Court at Vishakapatnam, being O.P. No.84 of 1997, under Section 12 1 c of 1955 Act, for a decree of nullity of the marriage entered into between the parties on 24.10.1996 on the grounds mentioned in the said petition.
The appellant, who is a Roman Catholic Christian allegedly married the respondent, who is a Hindu, on 24.10.1996, in a temple only by exchange of Thali and in the absence of any representative from either side.
The main ground for declaring the marriage to be a nullity was mainly misrepresentation by the appellant regarding his social status and that he was a Hindu by religion, although it transpired after the marriage that the appellant and his family members all professed the Christian faith.
ALTAMAS KABIR,J. The only question which falls for determination in this Civil Appeal by way of Special Leave is whether a marriage entered into by a Hindu with a Christian is valid under the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
