Jurisdiction of Civil Courts in Matrimonial Issues

Jurisdiction of Civil Courts in Matrimonial Issues

It has been made clear in Samar Kumar Roy v. Jharna Bera [2017] GCtR 6420 (SC) that "the examination of the remedies provided and the scheme of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and of the Special Marriage Act show that the statute creates special rights or liabilities and provides for determination of rights relating to marriage. The Acts do not lay down that all questions relating to the said rights and liabilities shall be determined only by the Tribunals which are constituted under the said Act. Section 8(a) of the Family Courts Act, 1984 excludes the Civil Court's jurisdiction in respect of a suit or proceeding which is between the parties and filed under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 or Special Marriage Act, where the suit is to annul or dissolve a marriage, or is for restitution of conjugal rights or judicial separation. It does not purport to bar the jurisdiction of the Civil Court if a suit is filed under Section 34 of the Specific Relief Act, 1963 for a declaration as to the legal character of an alleged marriage. An exclusion of the jurisdiction of the civil courts is not readily inferred. Given the fact that a suit for declaration as to legal character which includes the matrimonial status of parties to a marriage when it comes to a marriage which allegedly has never taken place either de jure or de facto, it is clear that the civil court's jurisdiction to determine the aforesaid legal character is not barred either expressly or impliedly by any law."