[ Deccan Herald ] Marriage certificate has no significance in Hindu wedding without rituals: Allahabad High Court

The article reports a significant judgement by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court, which stated that a marriage certificate has no significance in a Hindu marriage if it has been solemnized without following the rituals. The judgement was delivered by a division bench comprising Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Om Prakash Shukla on a petition filed by a woman challenging the decision of a family court.

The woman had contended that she and her mother were followers of a ‘dharma guru’ (religious leader) who had tricked them into signing some blank papers, claiming that he wanted them to become regular members of his religious institution. The ‘dharma guru’ later informed her father that he had married his daughter at an ‘Arya Samaj’ Temple and that the marriage had been registered.

The woman approached the family court seeking that the marriage be declared void as she had been tricked into signing the papers. The respondent, however, contested the claim and filed an application seeking restitution of his conjugal rights. The family court rejected the woman’s application but accepted the application of the ‘dharma guru’.

The woman then challenged the family court’s decision in the high court. The high court declared the marriage void as the rituals were not performed in the marriage. The court stated that the onus to prove that the marriage was solemnized in accordance with the Hindu traditions was on the ‘dharma guru’, but he failed to do so. Therefore, the marriage was declared ‘void’. The court also stated that the marriage certificate issued by the Arya Samaj temple was of no significance in the absence of the rituals in the marriage.

Source: Conversation with Copilot
Marriage certificate has no significance in Hindu wedding without ….
https://www.deccanherald.com/india/uttar-pradesh/marriage-certificate-has-no-significance-in-hindu-marriage-without-rituals-allahabad-high-court-3101827