Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court Justice R M Joshi has scrapped a summon issued by judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) against an Arya Samaj priest (pandit) for organising a marriage of a major age girl.
The court observed that if a mature or adult age girl marries the boy of her choice does not defame the complainant in the society. Hence the court acquitted the priest from the charges.
It so happened that an educated and major age girl from Beed city got married to a boy of her choice by going against the wishes of her family members. She got married as per Arya Samaj rituals in Panchavati-Nashik. Hence the father of the girl filed a criminal offence (of cheating and defamation) in the Beed court against the boy (who married his daughter), his family and the pandit who solemnised the marriage.
Accordingly, the Beed JMFC issued summons against the pandit under Sections 420 (cheating) and 500 (defamation) of IPC. The pandit then challenged the summons in the High Court through Adv Vishwajeet Ramesh Jain.
Adv Jain brought into notice of the court that as per the Act, the priest solemnised the marriage of the major age girl and boy as per the Arya Samaj tradition. Hence it does not constitutes to the cheating or defamation of the complainant. Hence the court after hearing gave the above verdict.