In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has directed the civil-cum-sub-registrar in Salcete, Goa, to cancel the marriage registration of a couple within a week. The couple's marriage had been dissolved by a Bengaluru court in 2022.
Background of the Case
A 44-year-old resident of Salcete taluka approached the high court after the local sub-registrar refused to cancel his 2007 marriage certificate. The sub-registrar argued that the Bengaluru court's decree dissolving the marriage was a 'foreign decree' because it was passed outside Goa's jurisdiction. This objection was based on the Portuguese Code of Civil Procedure, 1939, which requires that any judgment from a foreign court be reviewed and confirmed by the high court.
Court's Observations
The division bench of Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit Jamsandekar quashed the sub-registrar's requirement, stating that decrees from any civil court established in India are binding on registrars in Goa. The court directed all registrars and sub-registrars in Goa not to treat such decrees as foreign decrees. They further instructed that registrars must not refuse registration or cancellation of entries by raising objections under Articles 1100, 1101, and 1102 of the Portuguese Code of Civil Procedure, 1939, when the decree is from an Indian court.
Impact on Pending Applications
Noting that many similar applications are pending in Goa due to such objections, the court ordered that all pending applications be disposed of within two weeks. The court stated, "If the decree is passed by any civil court in India, then the provisions of Articles 1100, 1101 and 1102 of the Portuguese Code of Civil Procedure 1939 are not applicable. The decree passed by a civil court established in India is binding on the Registrar, and the Registrar is bound to abide by the same. Therefore, there was no reason for the Registrar not to cancel the entry and the certificate of marriage and make the consequential changes in the register."
This ruling clarifies that legal decrees from other Indian states are fully enforceable in Goa, removing a long-standing procedural hurdle.
