Madras High Court· 19 August 2026

Does the use of the common nouns "husband" and "wife" in a section, without the prefix "Hindu", extend that section to persons outside the Act?

S.RANI v. SAMPATH

CMA.4025/2019 · 2026:MHC:3584 · CMA No. 4025 of 2019
Coram: Justice P.T. Asha · Justice N. Mala

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Answer

No. Although the section employs the common nouns "husband" and "wife" without the prefix, it cannot on that account be held to apply to non-Hindus. The scheme of the Act established from its preamble and provisions cannot be overridden by the mere use of common nouns, and such a reading would isolate the section from the rest of the Act.

Headnote

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — ss.2, 5, 7, 9 — Restitution of conjugal rights — Applicability of the Act — Marriage between a Christian and a Hindu — Interpretation of a provision in the scheme of the Act — Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — s.9 — a valid marriage under the Act is a condition precedent — Held: To maintain a petition under Section 9 for restitution of conjugal rights, a valid marriage governed by the Hindu Marriage Act must first be established. Where one of the parties is a Christian by religion and does not fall within any of the explanations to Section 2, the marriage is not one to which the Act applies, and a petition under Section 9 is not maintainable. (¶13, 26) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — s.9 — a provision cannot be read in isolation from the scheme of the Act — Held further: An independent provision of law cannot be read in isolation from the rest of the statute. For interpreting a particular provision the preamble, the related provisions and the scheme of the Act as a whole must be considered to determine the real intent of the statute; the preamble is the key to open the mind of the makers of the legislation. (¶21, 23) Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — s.9 — the common nouns "husband" and "wife" do not extend the Act to non-Hindus — Held further: Although Section 9 employs the common nouns "husband" and "wife" without the prefix "Hindu", it cannot on that account be held to apply to non-Hindus. The scheme of the Act, as established from its preamble and provisions, cannot be overridden by the mere use of common nouns in a single section, and to read Section 9 otherwise would isolate it from the rest of the Act. Appeal dismissed. (¶24, 25, 27)

In the Court's own words

Paragraph 24No doubt, in Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, the expressions used are “husband” or “wife”. Since the common nouns “husband” and “wife” are used in Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act without the prefix, “hindu”, it cannot be held that it applies to Non-Hindus also.

Paragraph 25We are of the firm view that the scheme of the Act as established from the preamble and its provisions cannot be overridden by mere use of common noun's in Section 9 of the Act. Eventhough the common noun, “husband” or “wife” are employed in Section 9, we are of the view that the jurisdiction to invoke Section 9 is based on the satisfaction of the provisions of Sections 2, 5 and 7 of the Act. All the provisions specifically speak of a marriage between Hindus. Even the Tamil Nadu State amendment under Section 7(A) speaks of marriage between two Hindus. Section 2 of the Act as already mentioned relates to the applicability of the Act. Section 2 explicitly spells out that the entire Act applies only to persons who belong to the Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh religion and not to Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion. We are therefore of the view that since the Act does not apply to Non-Hindus, only the persons who are Hindus as described in Section 2 of the Act can legally be recognised as husband or wife even for the purposes of Section 9 of the Act. In other words, when the Act is made applicable only to Hindus, the reference to “husband or wife” under Section 9 will mean only a Hindu husband and Hindu wife. Therefore, we find no merit in the argument of the learned counsel for the petitioner and hence, the same is rejected. Therefore, unless and until both the parties to a marriage belong to Hindu religion, it cannot be called as Hindu marriage and hence the Hindu Marriage Act shall not apply.

Acts & Sections

s.2 Hindu Marriage Act, 1955s.5 Hindu Marriage Act, 1955s.7 Hindu Marriage Act, 1955s.7A Hindu Marriage Act, 1955s.9 Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

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Also decided in this judgment

Is a petition under Section 9 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 for restitution of conjugal rights maintainable where one of the parties is not a Hindu?May a single provision of a statute be construed in isolation from the rest of the enactment?

Plain-language answer prepared by the LexStreak Editorial Desk — verify against the judgment. Source: Madras High Court. Corrections