Why Sapinda marriage of Hindus is in discussion, Delhi Court upheld constitutional recognition

The Delhi High Court has upheld the constitutional validity of the provision of Sapind marriage which comes under the purview of the Hindu Marriage Act. The bench that gave the verdict said, 'If the choice of partner for marriage is left without rules, then incestuous relationships can get legality.' Let us know what is called Sapinda marriage in Hindu religion?

Delhi High Court has given its verdict regarding Sapind marriage in Hindu religion. The court has upheld the constitutional validity of the provision of Sapind marriage which comes under the purview of the Hindu Marriage Act. Acting Chief Justice Manmohan Singh and Justice Manmeet P.S. Arora's bench said, 'If the choice of partner for marriage is left without rules, then incestuous relationships can get legality.'

A petition was filed in the court challenging Section 5 (v) of the Hindu Marriage Act. This section of the Hindu Act states that a marriage between any two Hindu persons will be considered valid if they are not Sapindas of each other. The word Sapind comes from the word Pind. Pinda means the round shaped rice which is offered to the ancestors in Shraddha. Let us know what is called Sapinda marriage in Hindu religion.

Which two people have a Sapinda relationship?

If understood in simple language, it is called Sapind Vivah when two people have the same common ancestor within a certain limit. According to Section 3(f)(ii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 'Two persons are said to be "sapinda" of each other when one of the two persons is a direct descendant of the other and that relationship exceeds the extent of sapinda relationship. Come inside. If two people have a common ancestor who falls within the limits of Sapinda relationship for both of them, then the marriage of those two people will be called Sapinda marriage.

The mathematics of ancestors has been explained in detail in Section 3(f)(i) of the Hindu Marriage Act. According to this, a Hindu person cannot marry a person with whom he shares a common ancestor up to three generations on his mother's side or within that. It can be understood that a Hindu person cannot marry a person whose ancestor is the mother, maternal grandmother and maternal grandmother of the first person. In the case of father, this limit is up to five generations. The Hindu Marriage Act does not recognize these marriages.

These people are exempted from Sapind marriage

The Hindu Marriage Act considers the marriage of a boy and a girl having Sapind relationship as solemnized in which Sapind marriage is customary in the communities of both the parties. The condition in this is that that custom should be recognized for a very long time, continuously and without any change.

People can be punished for having an arranged marriage. There is a provision of fine and jail in the punishment given under Section 18 of the Hindu Marriage Act. According to this, a person violating Section 5 (v) can be punished with jail up to 1 month or a fine of Rs 1000 or both.

Does the provision challenge fundamental rights?

In the petition filed in the Delhi High Court, the provisions of Sapind marriage were said to be a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution. Article 14 is one of the fundamental rights given in the Constitution, which gives equal rights before the law to all people in India. The court held that the petitioner could not provide any solid legal basis to prove that stopping the marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act is a violation of the right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution.