‘Marriage registration is not enough if…’: Gujarat HC says weddings are not merely for ‘song and dance’
Back Story
The case reached the Supreme Court after the family court of UK-based appellant Kaushal Sonar refused to declare his alleged marriage null and void. Sonar said he only learned about the “marriage” when the woman, living in Ahmedabad, waved her marriage certificate in front of her family’s door and called herself his legally wedded wife. He claimed that she had never performed a ritual with him, that she had never lived with him, and that her signature on the marriage documents had been obtained through fraud without his consent.
What Tipped the Scales?
Here is the development that determined the outcome of the case: The woman admitted before the family court that no marriage ceremony or ceremony took place between the two and that they had never lived as husband and wife. Despite this admission, the family court still rejected Sonar’s defense; this was a mistake, the bench comprising Supreme Court Justices Ilesh Vora and RT Vachhani said this was unacceptable.
Rituals on Documents
Relying on Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, the bench made it clear that ceremonies such as saptapadi, in which the bride and groom take seven steps together in front of the sacred fire, are what actually seals a Hindu marriage, not the certificate. The judges said that since none of these ceremonies were performed, the most fundamental element of marriage was completely missing.
It’s not a matter of “Song and Dance,” according to Court
The court did not step back when explaining what marriage really means. In its June 23 ruling, made public Monday, the court said marriage is “not merely an opportunity for ‘song and dance’ or ‘wine and dine’ or a business deal, but a “serious and fundamental event” aimed at establishing a family and a lifelong bond.
The judges added: “Marriage is sacred because it creates a lifelong, dignified, equal, consensual and wholesome union between two persons. It is also considered an event that helps the individual to achieve salvation, especially when the prescribed rites and ceremonies are properly performed.”
A Message to India’s Young Couples
The board also used this decision to speak directly to the country’s young men and women, urging them to give marriage the weight it deserves. “Hindu marriage is a samskara and sacrament and should be accorded its status as an institution of great importance in Indian society. We therefore urge young men and women to think carefully before entering into the institution of marriage and understand the sacred nature of this institution in Indian society,” the court said. According to Hindu Law, marriage is considered a sacrament or samskara as an individual with his own identity and an equal partner are considered and form the basis of a new family.”
The court noted that regardless of region or local customs, these rituals share the same purpose, namely to purify and transform one’s spiritual being. For the appellant, who lives in the United Kingdom, this principle proved to be the decisive factor: without ceremonies, there could be no marriage to be dissolved in the eyes of the court.
(Inputs from PTI)
