The Supreme Court in the case Sunil Lora v State of Rajasthan observed while considering the bail application against whom an FIR got registered for the offences under Section 363, 366A, 376(2)(n), Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Section 5(L)/6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The Top Court further refused to accept a marriage certificate issued by Arya Samaj.
The bench comprising of Justice Ajay Rastogi and the Justice BV Nagarathna contended that the marriage between the petitioner and the prosecutrix had already taken place at Arya Samaj and while rejecting the submissions of the counsel that prosecutrix who had levelled allegations of rape was a major girl.
The bench further asked to show the real certificate as this is the work of authorities and the Arya Samaj has no business giving marriage certificate.
on April 4, The Supreme Court noted to hear the petition challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Furthermore, the Court directed the Madhya Bharat Arya Pratinidhi Sabha (“Sabha”), an Arya Samaj organisation “) while solemnising marriages to comply with the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (“SMA”).
The Bench comprising of Justice K.M. Joseph and the Justice Hrishikesh Roy observed and stayed the order of the High Court by issuing a notice, where the guidelines dated 26.08.2016 were directed to be amended by Sabha, by incorporating the provisions of Section 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the SMA, within a months’ time.
Recently it was directed that the Allahabad High Court directed for an inquiry into the certificates issued by a ‘Pradhan’ of Arya Samaj temple.
The purpose of issuing marriage certificates of Arya Samaj is only to legitimate their claim to runaway boys and girls without determining their identity and without ascertaining their age etc, Stated by the Allahabad High Court.
It was directed that an inquiry be conducted to see weather the marriages were actually taking place or weather it was merely issuing blank certificates of marriage, overserved by the bench comprising of Justice Ashwini Kumar Mishra and the Justice Ashwini Kumar.