Arya Samaj certificate by itself cannot establish valid Hindu marriage: Allahabad HC
The court made the observation while quashing the removal of an SSB officer who had been dismissed after authorities treated an alleged Arya Samaj marriage as valid.
PTI
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The High Court quashed the SSB officer's removal and directed authorities to allow him to resume duty (Canva)
Lucknow, 21 September
An Arya Samaj temple marriage certificate, by itself, cannot establish that a valid Hindu marriage was solemnised unless the essential ceremonies prescribed under the Hindu Marriage Act were performed, the Allahabad High Court on Monday said.
Justice Rajeev Singh made the observation while quashing the removal of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) officer Rohit Pandey, who had been dismissed from service for allegedly making a false declaration about his marital status.
The court was hearing Pandey's plea challenging the April 28, 2022, order by the SSB, which directed his removal from service, contending that his declaration that he was unmarried when he entered service was false.
The action against him stemmed from a complaint by Sucheta Tiwari, who claimed that she had married Pandey at an Arya Samaj temple in 2007.
The SSB had treated the alleged marriage as valid and concluded that Pandey's declaration was false.
Pandey disputed the alleged marriage and contended that there was no evidence that essential Hindu marriage ceremonies had been performed.
He also relied on Tiwari's statement during the trial of a related criminal case in a court, where she had admitted that the marriage had not been solemnised as per Hindu rituals.
The SSB, however, relied on the departmental inquiry in which Tiwari stated that the marriage had taken place at an Arya Samaj temple in August 2007.
The temple priest also stated that the marriage was solemnised in his presence. Notary certificates were produced before the authorities as well.
The high court referred to the Supreme Court's ruling in Priya Bala Ghosh vs Suresh Chandra Ghosh (1971), which lays down the requirement of essential ceremonies for establishing a Hindu marriage.
"Merely on the basis of placing any certificate of Arya Samaj mandir, it cannot be said that marriage was solemnised as per Hindu Marriage Act," the court observed.
The court held that, in view of the complainant's own statement regarding the absence of the requisite Hindu ceremonies, the alleged 2007 marriage could not be treated as a marriage "in the eyes of law".
Consequently, it could not form the basis for holding Pandey unsuitable for service or for his removal.
The court accordingly quashed the removal order and directed the authorities to permit Pandey to resume duty forthwith.
It directed that the period from April 28, 2022, till the date of judgment would be treated as "no work, no pay", but would not constitute a break in his service.
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