Registration not enough to validate Hindu marriage if rituals, ceremonies not performed: Gujarat HC

The Gujarat High Court held that registration alone cannot validate a Hindu marriage if traditional rituals and ceremonies are present. ‘saptapadi’ He said marriage was not just an opportunity for “song and dance” and added that there were no ceremonies.

In its order on June 23, the HC said traditional ceremonies are believed to purify and transform the spiritual being of the individual, despite geographical and cultural differences.

The decision came after a man living in the United Kingdom challenged a family court decision that refused to declare the marriage between the parties invalid.

While quashing the order given by the family court in November last year, the division bench comprising Justices Ilesh Vora and RT Vachhani said in its judgment, a copy of which was made available on Monday, June 29, 2026. saptapadi It is the basis of Hindu marriage.

ceremonies like saptapadiIn other words, the groom and the bride taking seven steps together in front of the sacred fire ensures that the marriage has a sacred status in spiritual, social and legal terms and samskarasaid the court.

Appellant Kaushal Sonar had sought that the marriage between the parties be declared null and void. He said that he was a resident of the United Kingdom while the accused lived in Ahmedabad.

Mr Sonar told the court that he only learned of the alleged marriage when he approached the defendant’s parents and handed over a marriage certificate claiming to be his legally wedded wife.

He claimed that he never had a marriage with the defendant, never performed any Hindu rites and ceremonies and never lived with the defendant as a husband. He also claimed that his signature on the marriage documents was obtained fraudulently without his free consent.

The HC noted that the family court erred in dismissing the petition filed by the appellant when the respondent woman openly admitted before the family court that no marriage ceremony or ceremony was performed between the parties and that the duo never shared the relationship of husband and wife.

The HC referred to section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, which talks about celebrating a Hindu marriage in accordance with traditional rites and ceremonies: saptapadiTo ensure that the marriage is complete and binding.

The court said that the basic and fundamental requirement of Hindu marriage was not present in the present case as no marriage ceremony and ceremony was performed.

“In Hindu tradition, a woman is considered as half (ardhangini) of her husband while also being considered an individual with her own identity and an equal partner in marriage. Under Hindu Law, marriage is considered a sacrament or samskara. It forms the basis of a new family,” the court said.

“A Hindu marriage samskara and is a sacred ceremony and should be accorded due 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,” he said.

He said that marriage is “not merely an opportunity or a commercial transaction for ‘song and dance’ or ‘wine and dine’, but a ‘serious and fundamental event’ for a man and a woman to enter into a relationship and raise a family in the future.”

The Supreme Court further held that “Marriage is sacred because it creates a life-long, honorable, equal, consensual and wholesome union between two persons. It is also considered an event that helps the individual to attain salvation, especially when the prescribed rites and ceremonies are properly performed.”

Traditional ceremonies are believed to purify and transform the spiritual being of the individual, despite geographical and cultural differences.