NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has directed Arya Samaj temples to ensure rigorous verification of witnesses at marriage ceremonies.
The bench, led by Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Amit Sharma, said that the temple must ensure at least one witness from each side, either a relative or a long-term acquaintance of the couple whoattends the ceremony.
The court’s decision follows a troubling case where a marriage was solemnised between a girl and her uncle, who falsely claimed to be unmarried.
It was revealed that the man had deceitfully declared himself unmarried, leading to a void marriage. The court found the ceremony, which took place at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Malviya Nagar, highly suspicious as it lacked genuine witnesses other than the couple and the priest.
The bench criticised the temple’s current practice of accepting affidavits regarding marital status without proper verification and called for more stringent procedures in the future.“The Arya Samaj Mandir must ensure that witnesses are genuine and bonafide, and their status is properly verified,” the court ordered. It also instructed the temple to make sure at least one relative or trusted acquaintance from both the bride and groom’s side is present as a witness.
The case came to light after the girl’s father filed a petition seeking the whereabouts of his missing daughter. The girl later appeared in court, asserting that she was living with her “husband,” who was her uncle. The court declared the marriage void, citing the uncle’s false affidavit about his marital status, noting that his wife and child were very much alive.
While the court refrained from issuing further orders as the girl, being a major, chose to remain with her “husband,” it clarified that the uncle’s wife could pursue legal action against him. “It is unfortunate that Mr S.. (the uncle) has abandoned his wife/child and claims to have got married to a girl who is his niece.
This court holds that the alleged marriage ceremony which has been conducted by the Arya Samaj Mandir, on the face of it, is a void marriage as Mr S has declared in the affidavit submitted for the marriage, that he is unmarried, when clearly his wife, Ms. K, is alive and they also have a son,” the court stated.
The police have been given the go-ahead to investigate the matter according to the law.