The central legal point established is that the citizenship status of a foreign spouse should not be a barrier to the registration of a marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, if the conditions prescribed by the Act are fulfilled.

JUDGMENT :

(Prayer: Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for the issuance of a Writ of Mandamus, directing the respondents to receive the petitioner marriage registration application and register the petitioner marriage with Parimala Devi, daughter of Ganesan, Sura Nagar, Verugal Mugathuvaram, Mavadichenai, Tiruconamalai, Sri Langa under Section 15 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.)

1. The Writ Petition has been filed seeking issuance of a Writ of Mandamus, to direct the respondents to receive the petitioner's marriage registration application and register the petitioner's marriage with Parimala Devi, daughter of Ganesan, Sura Nagar, Verugal Mugathuvaram, Mavadichenai, Tiruconamalai, Sri Lanka, as per Section 15 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

2. The learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that the petitioner fell in love with one Ms.Parimala Devi, D/o. Ganesan, while working at Bahrain from 31.10.2013 to 25.11.2015 and the said Parimala Devi is a Sri Lankan Citizen. Thereafter, with the consent of both families, the petitioner married Ms.Parimala Devi on 25.05.2018 and even though the petitioner is a citizen of India, his wife is an expatriate born in Sri Lanka. It is further submitted that the petitioner's wife came to India on a Tourist Visa for three months and during that period her marriage with the petitioner was solemnized on 25.05.2018. Subsequently, the petitioner approached the second respondent on 14.05.2018 to register the marriage of the petitioner under Section 15 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, as the said Ms.Parimala Devi is a Sri Lankan citizen and she came to India on a Tourist Visa. Since the second respondent has refused to receive the application, the petitioner has come forward with the present Writ Petition.

3. According to the petitioner, the second respondent has to register the marriage following the procedure prescribed under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 but, unfortunately, the marriage has not been registered by the second respondent. It is relevant to extract Section 15 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 which reads as follows:

“15. Registration of marriages celebrated in other forms. - Any marriage celebrated, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, other than a marriage solemnized under the Special Marriage Act, 1872 (3 of 1872), or under this Act, may be registered under this Chapter by a Marriage Officer in the territories to which this Act extends if the following conditions are fulfilled, namely: -

(a) a ceremony of marriage has been performed between the parties and they have been living together as husband and wife ever since;

(b) neither party has at the time of registration more than one spouse living;

(c) neither party is an idiot or a lunatic at the time of registration;

(d) the parties have completed the age of twenty-one years at the time of registration;

(e) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship:

Provided that in the case of a marriage celebrated before the commencement of this Act, this condition shall be subject to any law, custom or usage having the force of law governing each of them which permits of a marriage between the two; and

(f) the parties have been residing within the district of the Marriage Officer for a period of not less than thirty days immediately preceding the date on which the application is made to him for registration of the marriage.”

4. The respondents have not filed any counter. However, the learned Additional Government Pleader appearing for the respondents would submit that unless a person is not continuously living for a period of two years in terms of Section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, he/she cannot claim citizenship. In this case, the petitioner's wife came to India on a Tourist Visa for a period of three months and in the meanwhile, their marriage was solemnized on 25.05.2018. Therefore, she cannot be termed as an Indian Citizen as per the above provision.