Overview

• Justice Saurabh Srivastava ruled on September 24 that a marriage following an unlawful conversion cannot be recognised in law.
• The case involved Mohammad Bin Qasim and Jainab Parveen alias Chandrakanta, whose claimed conversion certificate was denied by Jamia Arifia as forged.
• The court held that under Muslim personal law a valid marriage requires both parties to share the same faith, which fails if the conversion is illegal.
• Both petitioners were told they may marry under the Special Marriage Act, which does not require religious conversion for legal validity.
• The woman will stay at a women's protection home in Prayagraj until registration, and the court imposed Rs 25,000 in exemplary costs on the petitioners' counsel to be deposited within 15 days.