The Allahabad High Court has recently ordered an inquiry into the marriage certificates issued by Arya Samaj temples and societies associated with them in the state of Uttar Pradesh, primarily in Noida and Ghaziabad. The high court has flagged that fake marriage certificates can lead to cases of sexual exploitation, human trafficking and forced labour.
A bench of Justice Vinod Diwaker was hearing a case filed by young couple seeking protection for their lives.
The couple informed the high court they had married at an Arya Samaj Temple in Greater Noida and were adults. After getting a certificate from an Arya Samaj temple they applied for marriage registration before the registrar.
However, the Additional Chief Standing Counsel pointed out in the high court that the marriage certificate, which appears to be issued by Arya Samaj temple, mentioned no details of the priest, or the address of the Temple. The court further noted that even details of witnesses and declaration of whether the marriage had been performed in accordance with the Hindu Marriage Act was absent.
The counsel argued that the certificate might be forged.
The high court said that in essence, such marriages lead to human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and forced labor.
"Children endure emotional and psychological trauma caused by social instability, exploitation, coercion, manipulation, and the disruption of their education. Additionally, these issues place a significant burden on the courts. Therefore, a robust system for document verification and ensuring the accountability of trusts and societies needs to be developed,” the high court said.
The court took notice of the fact that several cases of couples with such certificates issued by Arya Samaj temples were being filed before the court seeking protection.
The high court directed the Assistant Inspector General of Registration (Stamp and Registration), Ghaziabad and Gautam Budha Nagar to appear before the court and place on record all the details of the marriage that took place between 1st August 2023 to 1st August 2024.
The high court further directed the Inspector General Stamp, Uttar Pradesh to file the district-wise data on number of marriages registered in Uttar Pradesh for the same period.
The Court had observed that this activity was being carried out so as to control the issuance of fake certificates in violation of the Arya Samaj Marriage Validation Act, 1937 and Hindu Marriage, Act, 1955.
The court further said that in all the petitions, almost similar set of assertions are made that the petitioners have married against the wishes of their parents and, therefore, face serious threats to their lives from their respective parents.
The court noted names of 15 such societies/trusts/temples, which were issuing such marriage certificates, and observed that upon police verification, in most cases it was found that either the societies were fraud or not affiliated with the Head Office or the marriages were solemnised in contravention of the Child Marriage Restraint Act and Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
It was found in several cases that the details and documents provided by the parties were forged. The court this directed police to conduct a thorough and discreet inquiry into the trusts mentioned who were involved in solemnising marriages in contravention of section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the provisions of Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929.