Registration Not Enough In Hindu Marriage, Needs Rituals: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has ruled that registration alone cannot validate a Hindu marriage if customary rites and ceremonies such as ‘saptapadi' are not performed, saying marriage is not merely an occasion for “song and dance”.

The customary ceremonies, despite their geographical and cultural variations, are believed to purify and transform the spiritual being of an individual, the High Court said in its June 23 order.

The verdict came on an appeal filed by a UK-based man challenging the decision of a family court that had refused to declare an alleged marriage between the parties as void.

While quashing the family court's order passed in November last year, the division bench of Justices Ilesh Vora and R T Vachhani said in its order, the copy of which was made available Monday, that the performance of essential ceremonies like saptapadi is the foundation of a Hindu marriage.

Ceremonies like saptapadi, that is, the taking of seven steps by the bridegroom and the bride jointly before the sacred fire, provide a marriage with the spiritual, social, and legal status as a sacrament and samskara, the court said.

Appellant Kaushal Sonar had sought the marriage between the parties to be declared null and void. He said he resides in the United Kingdom while the defendant lives in Ahmedabad.

Sonar told the court that he learned about the alleged marriage only when the defendant approached his parents and handed over a marriage certificate claiming that she was his lawfully wedded wife.

He claimed he never solemnised any marriage with the defendant, never performed any Hindu rites and ceremonies, and never lived with her as husband. He also alleged that his signature on the marriage documents was obtained fraudulently without his free consent.

The HC noted that when the defendant woman unequivocally admitted before the family court that no marriage rites or ceremonies were performed between the parties and the two never shared the relationship of husband and wife, the family court committed an error by dismissing the petition filed by the appellant.

The HC referred to section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, which talks about solemnising a Hindu marriage in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies, such as saptapadi, to make the marriage complete and binding.

The court said that since no marriage rites and ceremonies were performed, the basic and essential requirement of a Hindu marriage is absent in the present case.

“In Hindu tradition, a wife is regarded as one-half of her husband (ardhangini), while at the same time being recognised as an individual with her own identity and as an equal partner in the marriage. Under Hindu Law, marriage is considered a sacrament or samskara. It forms the foundation of a new family,” the court said.

“A Hindu marriage is a samskara and a sacrament, and it must be given its due status as an institution of great importance in Indian society. We, therefore, urge young men and women to carefully consider the institution of marriage before entering into it and to understand the sacred nature of this institution in Indian society,” it observed.

It said that marriage is “not merely an occasion for ‘song and dance' or ‘wining and dining'” or a commercial transaction but “a solemn and foundational event” for a man and a woman to enter into a relationship and build a family in the future.

“A marriage is sacred because it creates a lifelong, dignified, equal, consensual, and healthy union between two individuals. It is also regarded as an event that helps an individual attain salvation, particularly when the prescribed rites and ceremonies are duly performed,” the high court further noted.

The customary ceremonies, despite their geographical and cultural variations, are believed to purify and transform the spiritual being of an individual, it added.

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