Registration Not Enough, Hindu Marriage Invalid Without Rituals: Delhi High Court
Stressing the importance of customary ceremonies during marriage, Gujarat High Court recently ruled that registration alone cannot validate a Hindu marriage if rituals and ceremonies such as ‘saptapadi’ are not performed.
The high court said that the marriage is not merely an occasion for “song and dance”. The court then said that the customary ceremonies, despite their geographical and cultural variations, are believed to purify and transform the spiritual being of an individual.
The court was hearing a petition challenging a family court verdict that declared an alleged marriage between the parties as void. The high court, however, quashed the family court’s order passed in November last year, underlining that the performance of essential ceremonies like saptapadi is the foundation of a Hindu marriage.
The petitioner had sought the marriage between the parties to be declared null and void, noting 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 further claimed that 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 consent.
The High Court pointed out that 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. It further ruled that since no marriage rites and ceremonies were performed, the basic and essential requirement of a Hindu marriage is absent in the present case. The court then added that 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.
