The Allahabad High Court has fired a warning shot across the bow of unregulated Arya Samaj marriage centres mushrooming across Uttar Pradesh. With allegations of underage unions and paperwork dressed up as legality, the court has demanded the Home Department get to the bottom of what it calls a troubling phenomenon.
In a case that pulled back the curtain, Justice Prashant Kumar ordered an investigation—led by an officer no lower than Deputy Commissioner of Police rank—into how purportedly fake Arya Samaj societies have gained traction in the state, allegedly solemnising marriages involving minors and violating the U.P. Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
The court’s directive wasn’t abstract. It came while hearing a plea from a man named Sonu, who sought to quash criminal proceedings against him under the Indian Penal Code and POCSO Act. He was accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor girl who, he claimed, became his wife through a 2020 Arya Samaj ceremony.
The defense leaned on a marriage certificate and asserted that the girl moved in with Sonu only after becoming an adult. But the court wasn’t swayed.
Justice Kumar made it clear: the marriage was neither legally registered nor religiously valid. At the time of the supposed marriage, the girl was still a minor. There had been no lawful religious conversion, no compliance with the 2017 marriage registration rules, and ultimately, no recognition under the law.
“The record clearly shows the victim was a minor. In no way would any marriage solemnised by her be considered valid,” the judge noted bluntly, adding that issuing marriage certificates under such conditions erodes both the rule of law and child protection statutes.
The plea was dismissed. The proceedings under POCSO will continue. But the fallout won’t end there.
The State government must now return to court by August 29 with a compliance affidavit detailing the probe’s progress—one that could unravel a deeper, systemic failure if such illegal ceremonies have indeed been occurring unchecked.
In the meantime, Arya Samaj societies operating without accountability may find themselves under an unflinching spotlight.
