The Allahabad High Court noted that the ritual of ‘Kanyadan,’ where the father of the bride traditionally ‘gives away’ his daughter to the groom, is not a mandatory ceremony for the validation of a Hindu marriage.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
UP: The Allahabad High Court observed that the Hindu wedding ritual known as ‘Kanyadan‘, which traditionally involves the father of the bride presenting his daughter to the groom, is not a compulsory ceremony for the recognition of a Hindu marriage as valid.
This finding was articulated by Justice Subhash Vidyarthi in a decree dated March 22, grounded in an analysis of Section 7 (which outlines the ceremonies required for a Hindu marriage) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
The court explicitly stated,
“Hindu Marriage Act merely provides saptpadi as an essential ceremony of a Hindu marriage and it does not provide that the ceremony of kanyadan is essential for solemnization of a Hindu marriage.”
This observation underlines the act’s stipulation that a Hindu marriage needs to be performed following the customary rites and ceremonies of either party involved in the union. It further clarifies that if such rites and ceremonies encompass the ‘saptpadi’—the act of the bridegroom and bride taking seven steps together before a sacred fire—the marriage is deemed complete and legally binding upon the completion of the seventh step.
The context for this judicial pronouncement was a legal petition that sought the reconsideration of certain witness testimonies in a case under adjudication in a sessions court in Lucknow. The petitioner contended that inconsistencies existed in previous witness accounts relating to a marriage certificate, which was submitted as evidence of a marriage ceremony conducted in 2015.
Specifically, the petitioner argued for the necessity to re-evaluate the testimonies of two witnesses—a woman and her father—to ascertain whether ‘Kanyadan’ was performed, positing it as a critical component of Hindu matrimonial ceremonies.
This appeal was initially dismissed by the trial court on March 6, under Section 311 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which authorizes a court to summon any person as a witness if deemed necessary for a fair trial. The petitioner challenged this dismissal, prompting a reassessment by the High Court.
The Allahabad High Court, in its deliberation, concluded that the execution of the ‘Kanyadan’ ritual was irrelevant to the determination of the validity of the Hindu marriage in question.
“Whether the ceremony of Kanyadan was performed or not, would not be essential for the just decision of the case and, therefore, a witnesses cannot be summoned under Section 311 Cr.P.C. for proving this fact,”
-affirmed the court.
Furthermore, the court emphasized that the discretionary power granted under Section 311, CrPC, should not be exercised arbitrarily or merely upon a litigant’s request. The court remarked,
“There can be no denial of the fact that this Court has ample power to summon any witness under Section 311 Cr.P.C., the power cannot be exercised in a casual manner on the mere asking of a litigant. This power has to be exercised merely only when it is essential to summon a witness for a just decision of a case.”
Following these comprehensive observations, the High Court dismissed the petition for the recall of witnesses, thereby reinforcing the principle that the essence of a Hindu marriage transcends the performance of specific rituals, focusing instead on the core ceremonial elements mandated by law.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on Hindu Marriage Act
FOLLOW US ON YOUTUBE FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES
