Gujarat HC rules Hindu marriage invalid without rites

The Gujarat High Court has ruled that the mere registration of a Hindu marriage does not confer legal validity if essential customary rites and ceremonies, including the saptapadi, have not been performed. The court emphasized that marriage is a sacred sacrament, not merely a social event.

The ruling was delivered on June 23 by a division bench of Justices Ilesh Vora and R.T. Vachhani while hearing an appeal from a United Kingdom-based man, Kaushal Sonar. The court set aside a family court order from November 2025 that had refused to declare an alleged marriage void.

Sonar had petitioned the court seeking a declaration that his marriage to a woman residing in Ahmedabad was null and void. He stated he learned of the alleged marriage only when the respondent presented a marriage certificate to his parents, claiming to be his legally wedded wife. Sonar maintained that no marriage ceremony was ever solemnized, no Hindu rites were performed, and the couple never lived together as husband and wife. He further alleged his signature on the marriage documents was obtained fraudulently without his free consent.

The High Court noted that the respondent had unequivocally admitted before the...