Bhubaneswar, July 1 -- In a significant ruling on the legal validity of Hindu marriages, the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday clarified that simply registering a marriage is not enough if the essential customary rites and ceremonies have not been performed.

The court observed that a Hindu marriage is a sacred institution and cannot be reduced to a mere social event or legal formality. The ruling came while hearing an appeal filed by a UK based man, who challenged a family court's decision refusing to declare an alleged marriage between him and a woman as void.

Setting aside the family court's order passed in November last year, a division bench of Justices Ilesh Vora and RT Vachhani held that the performance of essential Hindu marriage c...