Marriage Not Solemnized Under Section 7 Of Hindu Marriage Act Can't Be Declared Invalid: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has ruled that a marriage between two individuals cannot be declared as invalid on the ground that it was never solemnized as per Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act.A division bench comprising Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar said:“It is evident to us that the HMA contains no provision that enables a party to seek a declaration that a marriage is invalid ab initio on the ground that it was never solemnised in accordance with Section 7 of the HMA. All provisions in the HMA that deal with declarations, whether relating to a marriage being void, voidable, or grounds for divorce, are applicable only to those marriages that have been solemnised.”Section 7 of HMA states that Hindu marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party.It adds that where such rites and ceremonies include the Saptapadi, which is taking of seven steps by the bridegroom and the bride jointly before the sacred fire, the marriage becomes complete and binding when the seventh step is taken.The Court dismissed an appeal filed by a husband challenging a family court order dismissing a joint petition filed by him and the wife under Section 7 seeking a decree declaring their alleged marriage as null and void. They had also challenged the marriage certificate and the certificate issued by the Arya Samaj Mandir. It was their case that the statutory requirements of Section 7 were not satisfied at the time of the alleged marriage, and consequently, no valid marriage subsisted between them in the eyes of the law. It was submitted that due to non-compliance with the provision, the rites and ceremonies performed did not give rise to a legally binding Hindu marriage. The parties decided to marry each other with mutual consent. Since the Husband resided in London, the parties were compelled to expedite the marriage-related ceremonies and rituals due to time constraints. This was also to facilitate the process of the Wife obtaining a visa for the United Kingdom.The parties first performed a pre-engagement ceremony and subsequently performed marriage ceremony at the Arya Samaj Mandir. A certificate was issued to them.The joint petition was filed on the ground that though the parties had intended to perform a more elaborate marriage ceremony with full rites, rituals, and customs, before the same could happen, serious differences arose between them, as a result of which they mutually decided to discontinue further preparations for the wedding. It was the husband's case that no Saptapadi ceremony ever took place between the parties which was sufficient determine that no valid marriage came into existence under Section 7 of the HMA. Dismissing the appeal, the Bench said that the HMA does not provide for a remedy where the case set up is that no valid marriage ever came into existence owing to non-fulfilment of Section 7 requirements. “This leads us to the inescapable conclusion that the statutory scheme of the HMA only provides reliefs in the form of a declaration of a marriage as being “Void”, decree of annulment as being voidable on the grounds mentioned in Section 12 or a decree of dissolution on the grounds set out in Section 13(1) or (2) or a decree by mutual consent under Section 13B of the HMA as also for a decree of “judicial separation” only if there is an existing solemnised marriage,” the Court said. It added that the remedy of declaring a marriage as nullity under Section 11 of HMA is strictly confined to situations where a marriage, though duly solemnised in accordance with law, contravenes the specific prohibitions contained in the clauses of Section 5.“Section 11 thus presupposes a solemnised marriage. The learned Family Court rightly concluded that the Petition before was not a valid one. We have already held that such a petition was, in fact, not maintainable,” it said. The Bench further observed that the presumption of a valid marriage is not weakened merely due to the absence of direct evidence proving that the Saptapadi was performed. It said that even minimal evidence indicating that the parties went through a form of marriage reinforces the presumption of validity.“We are firmly of the view that the provisions of the HMA, particularly those concerning declarations of nullity, voidable marriages, divorce, and judicial separation, must be strictly construed and applied. The petition and now appeal before us, which seeks to carve out a remedy wholly outside the statutory framework, though ingenious, is not only legally untenable but also depreciable,” the Court said. It also took judicial notice of the fact that in most countries, a government-issued marriage certificate is considered a valid document evidencing the existence of a marriage. The Court said that such a certificate usually forms a vital part of any VISA application for the purpose of immigration, and while applying for Spouse VISAs.On the facts of the case, the Court said that...

Marriage Not Solemnized Under Section 7 Of Hindu Marriage Act Can't Be Declared Invalid: Delhi High Court

Nupur Thapliyal

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