Arya Samaj marriage certificate alone can’t prove valid Hindu marriage: HC

Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court says essential ceremonies must be performed, quashes SSB officer’s removal from service

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has observed that merely producing a marriage certificate issued by an Arya Samaj mandir cannot establish that a valid marriage was solemnised under the Hindu Marriage Act. The court said that the essential ceremonies prescribed for a Hindu marriage must be performed.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court noted that the complainant herself had stated during the trial that the marriage had not been solemnised according to Hindu rituals. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

Justice Rejeev Singh passed the judgement on September 18 on a petition filed by Rohit Pandey, an officer of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) of Pratapgarh district, challenging his removal order. The court made the observation while quashing the officer’s removal. He was removed from service on the ground that he had made a false declaration about his marital status when joining the service.

According to the judgment, a complaint was made that Pandey had married the complainant at an Arya Samaj mandir in 2007. The authorities treated the alleged marriage as an existing one and relied upon it while passing the removal order against Pandey.

The court noted that the controversy essentially revolved around the complaint that Pandey had married the woman at an Arya Samaj mandir.

The petitioner had argued that there was no evidence of a valid marriage according to Hindu rituals and that the woman herself had admitted during the trial of a criminal case that the marriage had not been solemnised according to Hindu rituals and “saptpadi”. (Saptapadi is a ritual in a traditional Hindu wedding, where the bride and groom take seven steps together around a consecrated fire).

The respondent authorities, on the other hand, relied on the departmental inquiry, in which the woman stated that the marriage had been solemnised at an Arya Samaj Mandir in August 2007.

The priest of the Arya Samaj mandir was also examined and stated that the marriage had been solemnised in his presence. Notary certificates were also produced.

The authorities therefore contended that Pandey had made an incorrect declaration upon entering service by stating that he was unmarried.

The court observed that under the Hindu Marriage Act, a marriage is valid only when it is performed with the essential ceremonies of Hindu rituals and “saptpadi’.

The court noted that the complainant herself had stated during the trial that the marriage had not been solemnized according to Hindu rituals.

The high court held that, in view of the law laid down by the Supreme Court in Priya Bala Ghosh, the alleged 2007 marriage “cannot be held to be a marriage in the eyes of law”.

Consequently, it could not be treated as a ground for holding Pandey unsuitable for service, the high court said.

Finding the removal order unsustainable, the high court quashed and set aside the impugned order dated April 28, 2022.

The petition was allowed and the respondent authorities were directed to permit Pandey to resume his duties forthwith.

However, the period from April 28, 2022 until the date of the judgment was directed to be treated as “no work, no pay”, though without treating it as a break in service.