Nusrat Jahan-Nikhil Jain marriage not legally valid, rules court

Kolkata, Nov 18 (IANS) The high-profile marriage between actor-turned-Trinamool MP Nusrat Jahan and businessman Nikhil Jain came to end on Thursday after a Kolkata court declared that the marriage was legally invalid because the duo got married in Turkey and the interfaith marriage was not registered in India.

Taking cognizance of a law suit filed by Nikhil Jain with regard to his relation with Nusrat, the court said that the duo got married in Turkey and the interfaith marriage was not registered in India.

"It is declared that the alleged marriage held on 19/06/2019 at Bodrum, Turkey, between the plaintiff and the defendant is not legally valid," said S. Roy, civil judge, Alipore court.

Jain and Nusrat got married in June 2019 in the picturesque town of Bodrum in Turkey, which was followed by a wedding party involving relatives and close friends.

But earlier this year, Nushrat had claimed that she was not married to Jain and it was only a live-in relationship. The marriage was not legal and they have been separated for a long time, she had maintained.

In a detailed statement, the Trinamool Congress MP from Basirhat had said, "Being on foreign land, as per the Turkish marriage regulation, the ceremony is invalid. Moreover, since it was an interfaith marriage, it requires validation under the Special Marriage Act in India, which did not happen. As per the court of law, it is not a marriage, but a relationship or a live-in relationship.

"Thus, the question of divorce does not arise. Our separation happened long back, but I did not speak about it as I intended to keep my private life to myself. Thus, my actions must not be questioned based on 'separation', by the media or anybody I am not related to."

Following this, Jain filed an annulment suit calling their marriage 'invalid', stating that they lived together as 'husband and wife' since their union in 2019, but despite his 'best of efforts', her attitude towards him changed within a year.

Jain filed the case even before the actress-turned-politician became pregnant. It was learnt that Jain had sent a notice of the divorce in February this year. After Nusrat became pregnant, Jain claimed that he was not the father of the child.

The issue sparked debate after BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya posted a video showing the oath taking ceremony of Nusrat, claiming that it showed her as married.

"TMC MP Nusrat Jahan Ruhi Jain's personal life, who she is married to or who she is living with, should not be anyone's concern. But she is an elected representative and is on record in the Parliament that she is married to Nikhil Jain. Did she lie on the floor of the House," Malviya had tweeted.

BJP Parliamentarian Sanghamitra Maurya had also slammed Nusrat for allegedly providing misleading information about her marital status in her affidavit for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, where she had declared herself to be legally married.

Trinamool had defended Nusrat in the matter, terming it as 'personal'.

Trinamool General Secretary Kunal Ghosh had said, "Nushrat Jahan is well-established and she is a professional. Some issues regarding her personal life have come to the fore, but they have nothing to do with the party or the organsiation. The party is keeping a close watch on the developments. The BJP should not do politics on this."