The Allahabad High Court has determined that ‘kanyadaan’ is not obligatory for the solemnization of marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act, and only ‘saptapadi’ constitutes an essential ceremony.
A bench of Justice Subhash Vidyarthi made this observation during the hearing of a revision petition filed by one Ashutosh Yadav.
Yadav had argued that his marriage under the Act necessitated a ‘kanyadaan’ ceremony, which was not conducted in his case.
In its ruling, the court clarified that the Hindu Marriage Act solely stipulates ‘saptpadi’ (seven steps or saat pheras) as an indispensable ritual of marriage. Taking into account the overall circumstances, the court stated that ‘kanyadaan’ is not a requisite for the solemnization of a Hindu marriage.
“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 stated.
