Caught in a legal tangle over their registered marriage in Goa, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt and his wife Manyata have pulled out of the civil marriage by filing a joint declaration before the Sub-Registrar at Margao asking for it to be revoked.

Salcette sub-registrar Chandrakant Pissurlekar told Deccan Herald that the couple had filed a joint declaration through their lawyer on Wednesday saying they did not wish to continue with the marriage. “They revoked their intention to get married, so the marriage stands cancelled,” Pissurlekar said.

The Dutts’ lawyer Manoj Dessai confirmed he had filed the declaration on behalf of his clients.

The filmstar and his wife said in their statement that they were unaware that the Portuguese Civil Code applied in Goa and that the Special Marriage Act under which they wished to get married “is not extended to the State of Goa”.

The couple also asked that all documents attached with their marriage declaration be withdrawn.

The government in Goa had instituted an inquiry into the fake residency certificate granted to Manyata to register her marriage in the state. The local talathi who provided the certificate was suspended and still faces an inquiry, which the government said would continue.

Sanjay and Manyata went through a registered marriage before the Sub-Registrar at a luxury resort in South Goa on February 7. They had a religious ceremony in Mumbai four days later, when they made their marriage public. But the couple’s civil marriage tied them in a legal knot when the media discovered Manyata had acquire a fake domicile certificate in Margao. At least one of the partners intending to get married has to be a resident of Goa for a minimum of six months before they can go through a civil marriage here.

Manyata was served a notice by the local authorities over the fake certificate and the couple’s marriage was put on hold pending the inquiry.

Matters related to marriage and inheritance are still governed by the Portuguese Civil Code in Goa. Under this law a marriage is formally registered after the passage of 15 days during which objections can be raised. If the couple fails to appear before the Sub-Registrar after the 15 days and before 90 days of the declaration of marriage, the marriage lapses.