A Hindu marriage can’t be recognised within the “absence of a valid ceremony” beneath the legislation.
New Delhi:
A Hindu marriage is just not an occasion for “song and dance”, “wining and dining” or a industrial transaction, the Supreme Court has noticed and stated it can’t be recognised within the “absence of a valid ceremony” beneath the Hindu Marriage Act.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih stated a Hindu marriage is a ‘samskara’ and a sacrament which needs to be accorded its standing as an establishment of nice worth in Indian society.
In its latest order handed within the matter of two educated industrial pilots, who sought a divorce decree with out performing a legitimate Hindu wedding ceremony, the bench urged younger women and men to “think deeply about the institution of marriage even before they enter upon it and as to how sacred the said institution is, in Indian society”.
“A marriage is not an event for ‘song and dance’ and ‘wining and dining’ or an occasion to demand and exchange dowry and gifts by undue pressure leading to possible initiation of criminal proceedings thereafter. A marriage is not a commercial transaction. It is a solemn foundational event celebrated so as to establish a relationship between a man and a woman who acquire the status of a husband and wife for an evolving family in future which is a basic unit of Indian society,” the bench stated.
Terming the wedding as sacred because it gives a lifelong, dignity-affirming, equal, consensual and wholesome union of two people, the bench stated a Hindu marriage facilitates procreation, consolidates the unit of household and solidifies the spirit of fraternity inside numerous communities.
“We deprecate the practice of young men and women seeking to acquire the status of being a husband and a wife to each other and therefore purportedly being married, in the absence of a valid marriage ceremony under the provisions of the (Hindu Marriage) Act such as in the instant case where the marriage between the parties was to take place later,” the bench stated.
In its April 19 order, the bench stated the place a Hindu marriage is just not carried out in accordance with the relevant rites or ceremonies comparable to ‘saptapadi’ (taking seven steps by the groom and the bride collectively earlier than the sacred hearth), the wedding is not going to be construed as a Hindu marriage.
“We further observe that a Hindu marriage is a sacrament and has a sacred character. In the context of saptapadi in a Hindu marriage, according to Rig Veda, after completing the seventh step (saptapadi) the bridegroom says to his bride, ‘With seven steps we have become friends (sakha). May I attain to friendship with thee; may I not be separated from thy friendship’. A wife is considered to be half of oneself (ardhangini) but to be accepted with an identity of her own and to be a co-equal partner in the marriage,” it stated.
In Hindu Law, marriage is a sacrament or a ‘samskara’ and it’s the basis for a brand new household, the bench famous, and stated, “There is nothing like a “better-half” in a marriage but the spouses are equal halves in a marriage.” Observing that with the passage of centuries and the enactment of the Act, monogamy is the one legally accredited type of relationship between a husband and a spouse.
“The (Hindu Marriage) Act has categorically discarded polyandry and polygamy and all other such types of relationships. The intent of the Parliament is also that there should be only one form of marriage having varied rites and customs and rituals,” it famous.
The bench stated after the Act got here into power on May 18, 1955, it had codified the legislation referring to marriage amongst Hindus and it encompasses not solely Hindus as such however Lingayats, Brahmos, Aryasamajists, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs additionally who can enter into a legitimate Hindu marriage coming throughout the expansive connotation of the phrase Hindu.
“Unless the parties have undergone such ceremony, there would be no Hindu marriage according to Section 7 of the (Hindu Marriage) Act and a mere issuance of a certificate by an entity in the absence of the requisite ceremonies having been performed, would neither confirm any marital status to the parties nor establish a marriage under Hindu law,” it stated.
The prime courtroom highlighted that the benefit of marriage registration is that it facilitates proof of factum of wedding ceremony in a disputed case but when there was no marriage in accordance with Section 7 of Hindu Marriage Act, “the registration would not confer legitimacy to the marriage”.
It famous that beneath the Special Marriage Act, 1954, a person and a girl can purchase the standing of being a husband and a spouse as per the provisions of the stated Act. “The Special Marriage Act, 1954 is not restricted to Hindus. Any man and woman irrespective of their race, caste or creed can acquire the status of being a husband and a wife under the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 but under the provisions of the Act (Hindu Marriage Act, 1955), there should not only be compliance of the conditions as prescribed under Section 5 of the said Act but also the couple must solemnise a marriage in accordance with Section 7 of the Act,” it stated.
Exercising its plenary powers beneath Article 142 of the Constitution, the highest courtroom declared the estranged couple weren’t married in accordance with the legislation and held the wedding certificates issued to them in absence of legitimate ceremony beneath the Hindu Marriage Act as null and void.
It additionally quashed their divorce proceedings and a dowry case lodged in opposition to the husband and his relations.
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