Overview
- Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan dismissed a writ by a man and his second wife after noting the first wife was not a party to the case.
- Under the Kerala Registration of Marriages (Common) Rules, 2008, registrars must issue notice to the first wife before processing a second marriage.
- If the first wife objects on grounds of invalidity, the registrar shall not register the marriage and the parties must seek a ruling from a competent civil court.
- The court emphasized that constitutional guarantees of equality and nondiscrimination govern state registration, rendering religious custom secondary in that process.
- The judgment noted that polygyny under Muslim personal law is permissible only in specific situations and that registrars lack authority to decide marital validity.