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The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to start an investigation of fake Arya Samaj committees involved in marriage registration in the state.
Prayagraj (up): The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to start an investigation of fake Arya Samaj committees involved in marriage registration in the state. After this, the judge adjourned the hearing of the case for August 29. The order issued for the Home Secretary has claimed that these society is engaged in completing these weddings with malicious intentions. The court said that many times it is done without confirming the age of the groom and the bride. Justice Prashant Kumar said that the investigation should not be done by the officer below the post of Deputy Commissioner of Police. The order came when the court was hearing a petition filed by the court Sonu alias Shahnaur, demanding a young woman to cancel the sum of 12 September 2024 under allegations of rape and kidnapping in connection with the marriage of Sonu.
The victim was a minor at the time of marriage
The woman married Shahnaur on 14 February 2020. During this time she was a minor. She stayed in Nari Niketan until she was adult, after which she started living with Shahnaur. It is clear that the applicants and the victims belong to different religions. It has been said in the application that they have married in the Arya Samaj temple of Prayagraj. However, the court said this while dismissing Shahnaur’s petition during the hearing on July 24. The court said that proper conversion should be done as per the current law. The defense counsel argued that since the girl was a minor at the time of her marriage, the marriage was invalid. The lawyer said that the applicants and the victims come from different religions, in such a situation, their marriage cannot be considered a legitimate marriage unless proper conversion is done as per the provisions of the Religion Conversion Prohibition Act, 2021 against the Uttar Pradesh Law.
Marriage registration mandatory in UP
The lawyer also said that the marriage certificate issued by the Arya Samaj temple by the couple seems to be fake. The lawyer, citing a prior order, claimed that this problem is prevailing in Uttar Pradesh. Hearing the pleas, the court said that the above order shows amazing figures about the number of marriages done by the Arya Samaj Mandir in Uttar Pradesh state in one year. Anyway, registration has been made mandatory under the provisions of Uttar Pradesh Marriage Registration Rules, 2017 for all the marriages held in Uttar Pradesh. It further stated that the record further shows that the victim was a minor at the time of the alleged incident. And in any way, there will be no marriage legitimate marriage by him. After this, the judge adjourned the hearing of the case for August 29.
Also read: Rights without knowledge, people should be made aware, justice should be reached to the last citizen: CJI Gawai
