Patna High Court annuls marriage on finding man was threatened to marry at gunpoint, Saptapadi not performed

The Patna High Court recently annulled a marriage on the ground that the groom was forced to marry at gunpoint and Saptapadi (saat pheras) under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 was not performed..A Bench of Justice PB Bajanthri and Justice Arun Kumar Jha observed that a Hindu marriage is not complete unless the bride and groom perform the saptapadi (seven steps taken by the spouses around a sacred fire).."From bare perusal of the aforesaid provision (of the Hindu Marriage Act), it is obvious that when such rites and ceremonies including Saptapadi the marriage becomes complete and binding, when seventh step is taken. Conversely, if ‘saptapadi’ has not been completed, the marriage would not be considered to be complete and binding," the Court said..In this regard, the High Court also a relied on a 2001 Supreme Court judgment which had laid down that a traditional Hindu marriage would not be valid in absence of the ‘Saptapadi’ and ‘Datta Homam' (offering of ghee into a sacred fire)..The Court was dealing with a petition by an Army signalman who claimed that he was forced to "marry" a woman after his uncle was kidnapped during prayers at a Lakhisarai temple on June 30, 2013. On the same day, he was forced to apply vermilion (sindhoor/ sindhur) on the bride's forehead and compelled to enter into a "marriage" without any other accompanying ritual while being threatened at gunpoint, the petitioner claimed.Despite his uncle's efforts to file a complaint with the police, they allegedly declined to address the issue. Therefore, the petitioner pursued legal action by submitting a criminal complaint before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in Lakhisarai, Bihar.Alongside the criminal complaint, the petitioner also sought to annul the forced marriage through a family court. However, his plea was dismissed on January 27, 2020, following which the High Court was approached for relief..On November 10, the High Court allowed the petitioner's plea after concluding that the marriage ceremony was forced on him.The bride had opposed the plea, asserting that it was an arranged marriage which was performed normally. However, the Court concluded that the marriage ceremony appeared to be "anything except normal."Among other aspects, the Court was surprised to note that the Pandit (priest) who officiated the marriage ceremony lacked crucial knowledge, including where the wedding was performed. Further, the Court noted that no relatives of the groom except his allegedly kidnapped uncle had attended the wedding ceremony. The Court was also not convinced by photographs of the "purported marriage" since it was not properly exhibited or admitted as evidence in the trial court. "Moreover, the photographs on their own could not reveal anything," the Court observed. .The Court further found that the reasoning provided by the family court to dismiss the petitioner's plea was flawed. The High Court also dismissed contentions that there was a undue delay in filing the petition."The petitioner has explained the situation and there is no undue delay, even the petitioner took steps post marriage through his Officer in the Army Command. So, it cannot be said that the petitioner slept over the matter," the High Court said. .With these observations the Court annulled the "marriage" and set aside the family court's verdict..Advocates Jitendra Kishore Verma, Anjani Kumar, Ravi Roy, Shreyash Goyal, Abhay Nath and Shweta Raj appeared for the petitioner. Advocate Shashank Shekhar appeared for the respondent.