In an important judgement the High court said the Hindu Marriage Act only provides for ‘saptpadi’ (seven steps or saat pheras) as an essential ceremony of a marriage.
The Allahabad High Court has said that ‘kanyadaan’ is not necessary for solemnisation of marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act, and only ‘saptapadi’ is an essential ceremony.
A bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi made the observation while hearing a revision petition filed by one Ashutosh Yadav, who had stated that his marriage under the Act mandated a ‘kanyadaan’ (giving away the bride) ceremony, which was not performed in his case.
In its order on March 22, the court said the Hindu Marriage Act merely provides for ‘saptpadi’ (seven steps or saat pheras) as an essential ceremony of a marriage. Considering the overall circumstances, kanyadaan is not necessary for solemnization of Hindu marriage, the HC said Whether the ceremony of kanyadaan was performed or not, would not be essential for the just decision of the case and, therefore, a witness cannot be summoned under Section 311 CrPC for proving this fact,” the court said.
