Allahabad HC asks UP govt to crack down on 'fake' Arya Samaj societies solemnising marriages

Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to launch an investigation into "fake" Arya Samaj societies engaging in registering marriages in the state.

The order, meant for the Secretary, Home, claimed that the societies were engaged in solemnising these marriages with mala fide intentions, and at times without even verifying the age of the groom and the bride.

Justice Prasant Kumar said that the investigation has to be done by an officer not below the rank of deputy commissioner of police.

The order came while the court was hearing a petition filed by one Sonu alias Shahnur, seeking quashing of a summons dated September 12, 2024, under charges of rape and abduction, in connection with his "marriage" to a woman.

According to the contents of the case, the woman married Shahnur on February 14, 2020, when she was a minor.

She lived in a nari niketan till she became a major, at which point she started living with Shahnur.

"It is apparent that the applicant and the victim belong to different religions. There is averment in the application that they have solemnized marriage in Arya Samaj Mandir at Prayagraj. However, the same could not have been done without proper conversion as per the existing law," the court said in a hearing on July 24, dismissing Shahnur's petition.

The defence counsel argued that since the girl was a minor at the time of her marriage, the marriage was void.

"The applicant and the victim come from different religions, as such, their marriage cannot be considered as a valid marriage until and unless proper conversion is carried out in accordance with the provisions of the UP Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021," the lawyer said.

He also said the marriage certificate the couple produced, as issued by an Arya Samaj Mandir, seemed to be fabricated, and cited a previous order to claim that the problem was rife in UP.

Hearing the submissions, the court said, "The aforesaid order shows that astonishing figure as to the number of marriages which have been solemnized by the Arya Samaj Mandir in the State of UP in one year. Even otherwise, for all the marriages solemnized in the State of UP its (sic) registration has been made compulsory under the provisions of UP Marriage Registration Rules, 2017."

It added, "The record further shows that at the time of the alleged incident, the victim was a minor and in no way any marriage solemnised by her would be a valid marriage." The judge then posted the matter to August 29.