HC orders clampdown on ‘fake wedding institutions’

Chandigarh : Taking cognisance of marriages being performed by self-styled granthis, pandits, purohits and other “fake institutions” after charging “huge” amounts without following the legal procedure, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered clampdown on all such bogus bodies. “If need be or found guilty, such granthis, pandits and purohits be taken to task by registering FIR against them to send a meaningful message to society,” the High Court has asserted in its order. The direction by Justice Ramendra Jain came in the case of a runaway couple seeking protection of life and liberty. They had annexed along with the petition certificate allegedly issued by a “fake” institution. Justice Jain asserted the petitioners had staked claim of their marriage on the basis of a marriage certificate dated July 16 issued by Granthi Kulvir Singh. Directing the Mohali SSPto get the matter investigated, Justice Jain asked the officer to verify the number of “illegal marriages” the “granthis” got solemnised in a year without the consent of family. The SSP was also asked to find out how many letter pads of different fake self-styled institutions, trust etc were ordered to be printed by him to issue marriage certificates. “Photocopy of marriage certificate be sent to the SSP, Mohali, for help of the investigating officer,” Justice Jain added. Justice Jain said it had become “dire necessity” to take judicial note of the fact that everyday a large number of protection petitions were being filed in the High Court by runaway couples after solemnising their marriage against the wishes of parents. They were annexing certificates of “self-styled” granthis, pandits, purohits and fake institutions, “like in the present case of Gurdwara Guru Nanak Niwas Sahib, Karor Kalan village, Kharar tehsil, Mohali district”.