In every marital dispute, Court asks for evidence for marriage as Judge doesn’t know whether the couples fighting for divorce are married to each other or not. But what if the husband & wife do not have any evidences to prove their marriage in Hindu Marriage Act? How does lack of evidences will affect your case?
Evidences of a Marriage can be:-
- Photographs of marriage
- Videography of marriage
- Wedding Card
- Marriage Certificate
- Witnesses involved in Marriage
- Other Relevant Govt. Proof
Suppose if any husband or wife, living together from a long time, do not have any evidence of their marriage. In this Condition, judgment of “Gokul Chandra Vs. Praveen Kumari AIR 1952” is important to discuss. In this judgment, some essential evidences of marriage were told by the judge.
Marriage Certificate is mandatory for every Husband & wife
One should get their wedding registered by getting a certificate from Marriage Registrar. This is very important evidence & a document as well. Wedding Cards are also good evidence of marriage. During a marriage, some photos or videos are also made which play an important role as evidence in Court to prove the marriage. Also, People involved in marriage can be presented as witness of the marriage in Court. Any other relevant govt. proof such as Passport where the spouse name is mentioned can also be produced in Court.
All the above evidences can be given when Court puts a question mark on the marriage of Husband & wife.
Under “Protection Of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005”, Hon’ble Supreme Court gave a new Dimension and considered Live-in-relationships where the boy and the girl are living together without marriage. Court legally recognized Live in relationship. It is legal to make Physical relations without marriage and when the Couple wants, they can break the relation also. A girl, if living from a long time in Live in, can claim for maintenance after getting separated Under Section 125 CrPC. The girl can prove that they both were living together from a long time among Society. Court can presume their marriage as there will be no evidence of live in relation. A child borne out of live in relation is a legitimate child.
In Hindu Marriage Act Section 7(2), if any Husband or wife has not performed Saptpati Vivah or has not performed the formal rituals or ceremonies, their marriage will be considered by Court. This was seen in the judgment of “Vineeta Devi vs. Bablu Thakur 2011”.