diff --git a/builtin/update-index.c b/builtin/update-index.c
index 5f038d64da..5a4e9ea55a 100644
--- a/builtin/update-index.c
+++ b/builtin/update-index.c
@@ -211,12 +211,6 @@ static int process_path(const char *path)
 	if (S_ISDIR(st.st_mode))
 		return process_directory(path, len, &st);
 
-	/*
-	 * Process a regular file
-	 */
-	if (ce && S_ISGITLINK(ce->ce_mode))
-		return error("%s is already a gitlink, not replacing", path);
-
 	return add_one_path(ce, path, len, &st);
 }