Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has held that as per the Hindu Marriage Act, the ceremony of kanyadan is not essential for solemnisation of a Hindu marriage.
Kanyadan ritual refers to the tradition of a father giving his daughter in marriage to a groom, symbolising the transfer of responsibility and care from one family to another.
The court said that Section 7 of the Act provides only Saptpadi (taking of seven steps by bridegroom and bride jointly before the sacred fire) as an essential ceremony of a Hindu marriage. Justice Subhash Vidyarthi the order recently on a criminal revision petition filed by one Ashutosh Yadav, challenging the trial court’s order passed in a criminal case.
Contradictory witnesses
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that there were some contradictions between the statements given by two witnesses which could only be clarified by re-examination. However, the court noted that discrepancy in the statements of witnesses is no ground for recall of the witnesses under section 311 of CrPC.
The court observed that in the impugned order, the trial court had recorded the contention of the revisionist that the marriage certificate filed by the prosecution mentioned that the marriage was solemnised as per Hindu rituals. However, the fact of the Kanyadan ceremony needed to be ascertained and therefore re-examination was needed.
Petition rejected
The High Court said that section 311 of the CrPC empowers the court to summon any witness in case it is essential for a just decision of the case.
However, in the present matter, it appeared that witnesses were being sought to be examined to merely prove whether the ceremony of kanyadan was performed or not, it added.
“Whether the ceremony of kanyadan was performed or not, would not be essential for the just decision of the case,” the court observed. “Therefore, a witness cannot be summoned under Section 311 CrPC for proving this fact,” the court said. With this observation, the court rejected the criminal revision petition.
