The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has ruled that an Arya Samaj Mandir certificate alone is not a valid certificate of marriage and that a divorce between a Hindu couple can’t be on a stamp paper.
With this observation, Justice Manish Mathur on July 15 dismissed a petition filed by a woman seeking compassionate appointment after the death of a government employee who she claimed was her husband.
The petitioner had moved the court challenging an April 5, 2025, government order denying her request for a job on compassionate grounds following the suicide of her ‘husband’ who was a junior assistant in the agriculture department. She claimed to have married the man in June 2021 after he ‘divorced’ his first wife.
However, the court held that the claim lacked legal standing. It noted that the only proof presented by woman was a marriage certificate issued by an Arya Samaj temple and that she failed to produce any legal decree of divorce between the man and his first wife.
“The aspect of two having divorced appears to be based only on the basis of a stamp paper indicating divorce between the two. No such stamp paper has been brought on record and even otherwise divorce between a married Hindu couple can be effected only in terms of Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and not otherwise,” the court said.
{{/usCountry}}“The aspect of two having divorced appears to be based only on the basis of a stamp paper indicating divorce between the two. No such stamp paper has been brought on record and even otherwise divorce between a married Hindu couple can be effected only in terms of Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and not otherwise,” the court said.
{{/usCountry}}Reinforcing that a valid court order is essential to establish a divorce, the high court observed that the petitioner’s claim to being the “only surviving wife” of the deceased was unsustainable. It further noted that the woman’s name was neither in the service book of the deceased nor listed as a nominee in any official records.
The court also cited rulings of the cases, including ‘Dolly Rani vs Manish Kumar Chanchal’ and ‘Shruti Agnihotri vs Anand Kumar Srivastava’, to reiterate that Arya Samaj certificates alone cannot be accepted as conclusive proof of a lawful marriage. whereby, such a certificate has not been deemed to be a valid certificate of marriage. “This Court does not find any good ground to grant indulgence to the petitioner,” the court said while dismissing the plea.