In Brief
A Muslim man (Mohammed Ilias) married a Hindu woman (Valliamma), who took the name Souda Beebi. Their son, the respondent, was born two months before his father's death in 1949. The defendants argued the child was illegitimate and entitled to no share in the father's estate because the mother was not Muslim at marriage. The Supreme Court held that under Muslim law, a marriage between a Muslim man and a Hindu woman is 'irregular' (fasid), not 'void.' Children born from consummated irregular marriages are legitimate and inherit normally. The appeal was dismissed."
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