Pinnacle court rules Arya Samaj's marriage certificate invalid

03-06-2022

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to offer legal recognition to a wedding certificate issued by Arya Samaj.

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to relinquish legal recognition to a wedding certificate issued by Arya Samaj.

Arya Samaj could be a Hindu reformist organization and was established by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875.

A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and BV Nagarathna said that the work and jurisdiction of Arya Samaj isn't to issue marriage certificates. “Only competent authorities can issue marriage certificates. Bring the first certificate before the court,” the bench said.

The court’s observations are available a case associated with a love marriage in Madhya Pradesh.

The girl’s relations had lodged an FIR against the young man accusing him of kidnapping and raping their daughter, stating that she was a minor.

The girl's family registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian legal code and under section 5(L)/6 of the Protection of kids from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act which deals with aggravated penetrative sexual abuse.

The young man, in his petition, had said that the girl was an adult which she had decided to urge married of her own power and right. the wedding befell in Arya Samaj Mandir.

The man also presented the wedding certificate issued by the Central Bharatiya Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, which the Supreme Court refused to simply accept.

In this case, the Supreme Court had agreed to listen to the petition challenging the order of the Madhya Pradesh state supreme court in April. The bench of Justice KM Joseph and Justice Hrishikesh Roy asked the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha to incorporate the provisions of Sections 5, 6, 7 and eight of the Special Marriage Act 1954 to their guidelines within a month.