A husband who had moved to the United Kingdom for job and study got a shock when the daughter of his employer claimed that he was her legally married husband. She also went to his family home in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, showed his parents a marriage certificate, and said that they were legally married.
He insisted that he had never married her, nor had they ever performed any Hindu rites and ceremonies or lived together as a married couple. He also mentioned that as he was working in her father’s company, it’s possible that his signature on the marriage documents was fraudulently obtained without his consent.
When this matter reached the Ahmedabad Family Court, she admitted in her written statement that they had not performed any rites and rituals and that no legal marriage existed between them. She further admitted that they had no relationship as husband and wife. Based on this admission, he filed an application for a decree on admission. However, the Family Court rejected the application on November 13, 2025 and dismissed the petition. Upset by this, he filed an application in Gujarat High Court.
On June 23, 2026, he won the case in Gujarat High Court. The Gujarat High Court ruled that marriage registration cannot substitute the performance of essential Hindu marriage ceremonies, and on this ground the court declared the marriage null and void after she herself admitted that no Hindu rites or rituals were ever performed. Advocate Rahil P Jain (7305) represented him in the high court.
The Gujarat High Court said that under Section 8 of Hindu Marriage Act, marriage registration does not, by itself, make a marriage valid or legal, if the essential ceremonies required under Section 7 have not been performed.
In other words, a Hindu marriage can be validly registered only if a marriage has first been solemnized in accordance with Section 7.
The Gujarat High Court said: “If no such marriage has actually taken place, any registration made or certificate issued will have no legal effect and will not create the legal status of husband and wife between the parties.”
Justice Ilesh J Vora and Justice RT Vachhani of the Gujarat High Court also observed that a Hindu marriage is a samskara and a sacrament, and must be given its due status as an institution of great importance in Indian society.
The Gujarat High Court urged young men and women to carefully consider the institution of marriage before entering into it and to understand the sacred nature of this institution in Indian society. Marriage is not merely an occasion for ‘song and dance’ or ‘wining and dining’. Marriage is not a commercial transaction.
The high court said that marriage is a solemn and foundational event through which a man and a woman enter into a relationship as husband and wife for the purpose of building a family in the future, which is the basic unit of Indian society.
The Gujarat High Court also said that a Hindu marriage facilitates procreation, strengthens the family unit, and promotes the spirit of fraternity among different communities. Above all, marriage is sacred because it creates a lifelong, dignified, equal, consensual, and healthy union between two individuals.
The Gujarat High Court also said that marriage is regarded as an event that helps an individual attain salvation, particularly when the prescribed rites and ceremonies are duly performed. The customary ceremonies, despite their geographical and cultural variations, are believed to purify and transform the spiritual being of an individual.
Thus the high court ruled that when the very foundation of a Hindu marriage, namely the performance of the essential ceremonies, is admittedly absent, the spiritual, social, and legal status that Hindu law grants to marriage as a sacrament and samskara never comes into existence. On this ground, the husband won the case.
Why did the husband win the case
Advocate Mayank Arora, Partner, The Chambers of Bharat Chugh, said to ET Wealth Online: “In this significant ruling, the Gujarat High Court has reiterated the law that a marriage certificate cannot, by itself, create a valid marriage unless the essential rites and ceremonies prescribed under law were never performed.”
The facts of the case are that the appellant (alleged husband), who was residing in the United Kingdom, approached the Family Court after discovering that the respondent has claimed to be his legally wedded wife on the strength of a registered marriage certificate.
His case was that no marriage had ever taken place between him and the girl and no Hindu rites or ceremonies were performed, and he had never cohabited with the respondent as husband and wife. He further alleged that his signatures had been obtained fraudulently while he was employed in the respondent’s father’s company.
Interestingly Arora says that in her written response to the court, the respondent herself admitted that no marriage ceremonies or customary rites had ever been performed between her and the man and that the parties did not live as husband and wife ever.
Despite this unequivocal admission, the Family Court declined to grant a decree on such admission. The Family court reasoned that the existence of a registered marriage certificate raised a presumption of a valid marriage and therefore a full-fledged trial was necessary to ascertain the truth.
However the hon’ble Gujarat High Court found this approach legally unsustainable. Arora says: “The Court held that under Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, a Hindu marriage comes into existence only when it is solemnised in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of the parties.”
Arora says: “Where the applicable customs require Saptapadi, the marriage becomes complete only upon the taking of the seventh step before the sacred fire. In other words, solemnisation of marriage is not a procedural formality but the very foundation of a valid Hindu marriage.”
The High Court observed that the lady had categorically admitted that no rites or rituals were performed and that no lawful marriage had ever been solemnised. Once the very person relying upon the marriage certificate admits that the essential ceremonies never took place, the presumption arising from registration stands completely rebutted.
In such circumstances, insisting upon a full trial would serve no legal purpose. The Court further clarified the limited role of registration under Section 8 of the Hindu Marriage Act. Registration is merely evidentiary it facilitates proof of a marriage that has already been validly solemnised as per the rites and ceremonies.
It does not validate an otherwise render invalid marriage, nor can a certificate substitute the statutory requirement of solemnisation. A marriage must first satisfy Section 7 before it can derive any legal benefit from registration under Section 8.
Therefore the High Court overturned the Family Court’s reasoning that registration by itself justified a trial. The Courtrelied upon the Supreme Court’s decision in Rathnamma v. Sujathamma, reiterating that mere registration of a marriage or an agreement relating to marriage cannot, by itself, establish the existence of a valid Hindu marriage.
Arora says: “Applying that principle, the Court declared the alleged marriage null and void ab initio and granted liberty to the appellant to seek cancellation of the marriage registration before the competent authority.”
Details about what else the court said about Hindu Marriage
Section 7 of Hindu Marriage Act says rites are essential
The high court observed that under Hindu law, a marriage is valid only if the essential rites and ceremonies required by law are performed.
In this case, she herself has admitted that no such rites and ceremonies were performed. Therefore, when the person who seeks to rely upon and obtain the benefit of the marriage certificate has admitted on record that no marriage was ever solemnised, the presumption arising from the registration of the marriage stands rebutted.
The high court said: “In such circumstances, directing the parties to undergo a full-fledged trial would serve no useful purpose.”
Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, reads as under:
“7. Ceremonies for a Hindu marriage.-(1) A Hindu marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party thereto. (2) Where such rites and ceremonies include the Saptapadi (that is, the taking of seven steps by the bridegroom and the bride jointly before the sacred fire), the marriage becomes complete and binding when the seventh step is taken.”
Unless marriage is performed with the necessary customary rites and ceremonies, it cannot be treated as a marriage
The high court said that sub-section (1) of the Hindu Marriage Act provides that a Hindu marriage may be solemnized according to the customary rites and ceremonies followed by either party.
Sub-section (2) further provides that where such rites and ceremonies include Saptapadi, the marriage becomes complete and legally binding only when the seventh step is taken.
The high court said that the word “solemnized” used in Section 7 means that the marriage must be performed in a proper manner and with required ceremonies.
The high court said: “Unless the marriage is performed with the necessary customary rites and ceremonies, it cannot be treated as a marriage that has been solemnized under the Act.” In the absence of such solemnization, there is no valid Hindu marriage in the eyes of law.
In the present case, the high court observed that she has clearly and unequivocally admitted that no marriage rites or ceremonies were performed between them ] and that no lawful marriage was solemnized between them.
She has also admitted that they do not share the relationship of husband and wife. This admission is clear, direct, and unambiguous, and it goes to the very foundation of the dispute.
Thus the Gujarat High Court said that on one hand she wants to claim benefit of this alleged marriage, but on the other hand she admitted on record that the essential marriage ceremonies were never performed, thus the basic legal requirement for a valid Hindu marriage under Section 7 stands completely disproved.
Section 8 of Hindu Marriage Act
The Gujarat High Court said that a Hindu marriage can be validly registered only if a marriage has first been solemnized in accordance with Section 7. If no such marriage has actually taken place, any registration made or certificate issued will have no legal effect and will not create the legal status of husband and wife between the parties.
The high court said that in their opinion, since she had admitted that no marriage rites and ceremonies were performed, the basic and essential requirement of a Hindu marriage is absent in the present case.
The high court said: “Therefore, the existence of a marriage certificate or its registration cannot override, contradict, or nullify the legal effect of her clear admission that no marriage was ever solemnized.”
Marriage ceremonies are important also
The Gujarat High Court said that in the context of Saptapadi in a Hindu marriage, the Rig Veda states that after the seventh step is completed, the bridegroom says to the bride: “With seven steps we have become friends (sakha). May I attain friendship with you and may I never be separated from that friendship.”
In Hindu tradition, the high court said that a wife is regarded as one-half of her husband (ardhangini), and at the same time being recognized as an individual with her own identity and an equal partner in the marriage.
The high court said: “Under Hindu Law, marriage is considered a sacrament or samskara. It forms the foundation of a new family.”
In the facts of the present case, the Gujarat High Court observed that she herself admitted in her written statement that no rites or rituals were performed and that no lawful marriage was solemnized between the parties.
The high court said that when the very foundation of a Hindu marriage, namely the performance of the essential ceremonies, is admittedly absent, the spiritual, social, and legal status that Hindu law grants to marriage as a sacrament and samskara never came into existence.
The Gujarat High Court said: “Therefore, the relationship between the parties never acquired the legal status of husband and wife. Any document or registration that purports to certify such a non-existent marriage cannot confer upon the parties a status that can arise only from a validly solemnized Hindu marriage.”
Case law cited: Rathnamma & Ors. v. Sujathamma & Ors., Civil Appeal No. 3050 of 2010
Moreover, he had also pointed out that he was residing in the United Kingdom, that he was never informed about the alleged marriage, and that there has been no cohabitation between the parties at any point of time.
The high court said: “These facts remain uncontroverted. The admission made by the defendant fully supports the case of the appellant (husband) that no valid marriage ever took place.”
Order:
- The judgment and order dated 13.11.2025 passed by the Judge, Family Court, Ahmedabad in Family Suit No. 715 of 2025 is hereby quashed and set aside.
- The alleged marriage between the appellant (husband) and the defendant (wife), is hereby declared null and void ab initio, as no right or liability flowers from such marriage
- Liberty is reserved to the appellant (husband) to take appropriate steps before the competent authority for cancellation of the marriage registration and the marriage certificate issued in respect of the parties. No order as to costs.
aniltikotekar4sme.com 