AHMEDABAD: Religion can be a roadblock in love marriages. For Beena, however, ambiguity about her religion has made it difficult for her to get out of marriage .

Forty-year-old Beena’s petition for dissolution of her marriage with Kalpesh, a jeweller, was recently rejected by Vadodara’s family court. The reason: Her earlier marriage and divorce with a Muslim man, for which Beena had converted to Islam. Her divorce petition was turned down as there was no evidence that she had re-converted to Hinduism.

According to case details, Beena fell in love with Mohammed Davda in the late 1990s. She converted to Islam, married Mohammad but love fizzled out. The couple separated.

Later, Beena married a widower, Kalpesh, in June 2003. This alliance too failed and Beena sought divorce from him citing cruelty and harassment. She filed a divorce petition in 2011 in family court as per the Hindu Marriage Act and stated that the marriage had taken place as per the Hindu rites and Saptapadi. She also claimed that a certificate was issued by the priest who had solemnized their marriage.

Beena later married a widower, Kalpesh, in June 2003. This alliance too failed and Beena sought divorce from him citing cruelty and harassment. She filed a divorce petition in 2011 in family court as per the Hindu Marriage Act and stated that the marriage had taken place as per the Hindu rites and Saptapadi. She also claimed that a certificate was issued by the priest who had solemnized their marriage.

Kalpesh, however, objected to this divorce petition and told the court that Beena did not reveal before the court that she had earlier married a Muslim and converted to Islam. He argued that there was no evidence on record to show that she re-converted to the Hinduism after her divorce.

Kalpesh submitted in court that since he was a Hindu and Beena, a Muslim, their marriage was not possible under the Hindu marriage laws. Hence, the court could not order dissolution of their marriage on the Hindu Marriage Petition.

The family court accepted this argument and dismissed Beena’s divorce petition on June 19, 2013 on the ground that Beena could not furnish evidence showing that she had re-converted to Hinduism. Hence, there was uncertainty over her religion.

Beena challenged the decision in the Gujarat high court. Earlier this week, a division bench of Justices M R Shah and R P Dholaria remanded the case back to the family court for fresh hearing. The high court has directed that the family court should decide the case after appreciation of evidence from Beena whether she has re-converted to Hinduism.