Allahabad HC: Hindu Marriage Invalid Without ‘Saat Pheras’
The Allahabad High Court recently declared that a Hindu marriage is not valid without the ‘saptapadi’ ceremony, which involves taking seven rounds around the sacred fire. This ruling came as the court quashed proceedings in a bigamy case where the husband sought punishment for his estranged wife, alleging she remarried without divorcing him.
The court emphasized that according to Hindu law, the ‘saptapadi’ ceremony is crucial for a valid marriage. Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh, in his September 19 judgment, stated, “A marriage must be celebrated with proper ceremonies and in due form to be considered solemnized. Without the ‘saptapadi’ ceremony, a marriage is not valid in the eyes of the law.”
Relying on Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the court noted that a Hindu marriage is completed with the customary rites and ceremonies, including the ‘saptapadi’. The seventh step taken during this ritual makes the marriage complete.
In this case, Smriti Singh married Satyam Singh in 2017. After their relationship soured, she left her in-laws’ house and filed a harassment complaint against her husband, alleging dowry demands. Following an investigation, the police charged her husband and in-laws.
Smriti Singh also sought maintenance, which was granted by the family court in Mirzapur. The court directed her husband to pay ₹4,000 per month until she remarried. Later, the husband accused her of bigamy, alleging she sanctified a second marriage.
On April 21, 2022, the magistrate summoned Smriti Singh based on these allegations. She then filed a petition with the High Court. The High Court quashed the summoning order and all related proceedings, citing a lack of evidence of the ‘saptapadi’ ceremony in the complaints and statements.
The court concluded, “There is no mention of ‘saptapadi’ in the complaint or the statements before the court. Hence, no prima facie offence is made out against the applicants.”
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