In a major judgement, the Supreme Court mentioned a Hindu marriage can’t be termed conclusive within the “absence of a valid ceremony” underneath the Hindu Marriage Act. The court docket contended {that a} Hindu marriage is not an occasion for “song and dance” and “wining and dining” because it holds profound significance past mere festivities. Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih underscored {that a} Hindu marriage is a sacred sacrament, not to be ignored within the absence of a valid ceremony underneath the Hindu Marriage Act.
Here’s what court docket noticed:
This statement got here throughout a case involving two business pilots in search of a divorce with no correct marriage ceremony. The court docket urged younger people to mirror on the sanctity of marriage in Indian society, emphasising its standing as a cherished establishment. “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 mentioned.
The bench additionally termed marriage as a sacred bond that fosters lifelong dedication, dignity, equality, consent, and a wholesome union between two people. It emphasised that Hindu marriage not solely permits procreation but additionally strengthens household bonds and promotes communal concord 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 mentioned.
Court affirms sacredness of Hindu Marriage rituals
In its April 19 order, the bench mentioned the place a Hindu marriage is not performed in accordance with the relevant rites or ceremonies corresponding to ‘saptapadi’ (taking seven steps by the groom and the bride collectively earlier than the sacred hearth), the marriage will not 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 mentioned.
‘Marriage registration would not legitimize illegitimate unions’
The high court docket highlighted that the benefit of marriage registration is that it facilitates proof of factum of a marriage 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”. Exercising its complete authority underneath Article 142 of the Constitution, the apex court docket dominated that the estranged couple’s marriage was not carried out in compliance with the legislation. Consequently, the marriage certificates issued to them with no valid ceremony underneath the Hindu Marriage Act was deemed null and void. Additionally, the court docket dismissed their divorce proceedings and overturned a dowry case filed in opposition to the husband and his members of the family.
(With PTI inputs)
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