The Delhi High Court has annulled the marriage of a girl and her uncle which took place in Arya Samaj. The girl’s uncle had married the girl in the Arya Samaj temple, claiming to be unmarried. The court said that such conduct of the girl’s uncle was against the law, so this marriage will be considered annulled. The bench headed by Justice Pratibha M Singh also said that in this marriage which took place in the Arya Samaj temple of Malviya Nagar in Delhi, no one was present except the bride and groom and the priest who conducted the marriage. In such a situation, the validity and sanctity of this marriage is in doubt. Regarding this matter, the court has directed the Arya Samaj to ensure that the right people become witnesses in marriages. The Arya Samaj temple will have to see that at least one witness from the side of both the bride and groom is present in the marriage who is their relative or an acquaintance who knows them for a long time. Court said – Verification of marriage witnesses is the responsibility of Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj had told the court that an affidavit is taken regarding the marital status of the people wishing to get married. Apart from this, no verification is done. Regarding this, the court said that Arya Samaj will have to ensure in future that the witnesses being presented in the Arya Samaj temple for marriage are honest and real witnesses, whose status can be properly verified. The court further said that the temple will have to try that at least one relative from both the bride and groom is present as a witness. And if there is no relative, then an acquaintance who knows the bride and groom for a long time should be allowed to become a witness. The girl’s step father had filed the petition
The court gave this order during the hearing on the petition of the girl’s father. The girl’s father had appealed that his daughter was missing since July 1. During the hearing, the girl said that the petitioner is not her real father, but her mother’s second husband and now she is married, so she is living with her husband. The court said that it is unfortunate that Mr. S (the girl’s uncle) has left his wife and children and married his own niece. The court considers this alleged marriage in the Arya Samaj temple to be void because Mr. S had claimed to be unmarried in his affidavit, while his wife Miss K is alive and they also have a son. The court further said that the girl is an adult and does not want to go with the petitioner (the girl’s stepfather), so no order is being given in this regard. However, the girl’s uncle’s wife has the freedom to take legal action by filing a criminal complaint against her husband if she wants. The police can also investigate this matter under the law. Read this news also… Child Commission reaches SC on the marriage age of Muslim girls: Argument – Marriage at 15 years is against the child marriage law; The High Court had given permission The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court asking whether the Muslim Personal Law allowing child marriage would violate the law prohibiting child marriage. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that the case should be heard as soon as possible because different High Courts are giving different verdicts in this case. On this, the bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala said that they have to settle the case, so they will list it for hearing soon. Read the full news here…
