Allahabad High Court: Hindu Marriage Not Valid Without Saat Pheras
The Allahabad High Court has said that a Hindu marriage is not valid unless the couple completes the ‘saptapadi’ (seven steps or saat pheras) ceremony and other important rituals.
The court made this observation while canceling a case filed by a husband who accused his wife of getting remarried without divorcing him first.
“If the marriage is not valid as per the law and customs followed by the parties, then it is not a legal marriage,” the court said.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh, in his judgment dated September 19, explained that a marriage under Hindu law must be properly solemnised, which includes performing essential ceremonies like saptapadi. According to Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a Hindu marriage is only complete when customary rituals, especially saptapadi, are followed. The seventh step marks the completion of the marriage.
The case involved Smriti Singh, who married Satyam Singh in 2017. Later, due to issues in their relationship, she left her in-laws’ home and filed a dowry harassment complaint. The police filed a chargesheet against the husband and his family. She also applied for maintenance, which the family court in Mirzapur granted — ₹4,000 per month — until she remarried.
Later, the husband alleged that his wife had entered into another marriage without divorce and filed a complaint accusing her of bigamy. A magistrate summoned her on April 21, 2022, which led her to file a petition before the High Court.
The High Court reviewed the complaint and found that there was no mention of the saptapadi ritual in the complaint or witness statements. Without evidence of the saat pheras, the court said there was no valid second marriage, and therefore, no case of bigamy could be made.
The court ruled that no legal offence was established, and thus canceled the summons and all further proceedings in the lower court.
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