Observing that a Hindu marriage is not valid without ‘Saptapadi’ ceremony and other rituals, the Allahabad High Court has quashed the proceedings of a case where a man alleged that his estranged wife had solemnised second marriage without divorcing him.
Allowing a petition filed by Smriti Singh, Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh observed that unless the marriage is celebrated or performed with proper ceremonies and due form, it cannot be said to be solemnized. The court also referred to the section 7 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which states that a Hindu marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies, including the ‘Saptapadi’.
The court further stated that the ‘Saptapadi’ ceremony is one of the essential elements of a valid marriage, and without evidence of this ceremony, the marriage cannot be considered valid. The court emphasized that if a marriage is not valid according to the law applicable to the parties, it is not recognized as a marriage in the eyes of the law.
In this particular case, there was no mention or evidence of the ‘Saptapadi’ ceremony in the complaint or statements before the court. Therefore, the court concluded that there was no prima-facie offense against the petitioner and dismissed the complaint.
The petitioner, Smriti Singh, got married to Satyam Singh in 2017 but due to strained relations, she left her in-laws’ house and filed a dowry harassment complaint. After investigation, a charge sheet was filed against the husband and in-laws. Later, Satyam accused his wife of bigamy, but a thorough investigation found these allegations to be false.
Subsequently, Satyam filed a complaint case against his wife, claiming that she had solemnized a second marriage. The magistrate summoned Smriti based on this complaint, prompting her to file a petition challenging the summoning order and the entire proceedings of the complaint case.
The counsel for Smriti argued that the complaint and summoning order were retaliatory actions against her for filing an FIR against Satyam’s family members.
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