Tribals adopting Hindu customs entitled to relief under Hindu marriage act , says CG HC
Bilaspur | Correspondent: In a significant legal ruling, the Chhattisgarh High Court has clarified that if a member of a Scheduled Tribe voluntarily adopts Hindu customs, traditions, and rituals, they cannot be denied the benefits of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Intervening in the case, a division bench of Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal and Justice Arvind Kumar Verma set aside a family court order dismissing a couple's mutual consent divorce (Section 13B) petition solely on the ground that the husband belonged to the Scheduled Tribe category.
The case dates back to 2009, when a tribal man and a non-tribal woman were married according to Hindu customs and rituals. When they applied for a mutual consent divorce due to marital disputes, the lower court dismissed the petition, citing Section 2(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, which states that the Act does not apply to Scheduled Tribes.
The High Court strongly commented on this, stating that Section 2(2) is a measure of "protection" for tribal people, not a means of "dispossessing" them of their legal rights. According to the Court, if a tribal member voluntarily accepts the tenets of Hinduism and is proven to have been Hinduized, they are entitled to seek justice under this law of their own free will.
The Court underlined in its decision that marriage under Hindu law is not merely a civil contract, but a sacred sacrament. Since the couple in this case had approached the court claiming to be Hindu, they cannot be relegated to traditional tribal courts.
Referring to Article 13(3)(a) and Article 342 of the Constitution, the High Court stated that while tribal people's own customs and laws are protected, if they voluntarily marry under Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, it would be unfair to exclude them from the scope of this Act.
With this historic order, the High Court has sent the case back to the Family Court and directed that this application for divorce by mutual consent be decided expeditiously and on merits as per the law.
