No Cyber-marriages

In today’s context, as people compete with each other to show off their

online expertise and adaptability, the Internet is beginning to throw up a lot

of pertinent legal issues. The adoption of the Internet for the purpose of

e-commerce is a natural extension of the medium. However, a more pertinent

question remains–can human relations be governed by, or impacted by, the new

technology and the Internet? I raise this specific issue in light of a question

asked of me recently–are cyber-marriages legal?

The very concept of marriage refers to one of the most sacred, sentimental

and emotional practices concerning human behavior and societal conduct. Marriage

is the coming together of two persons. Different civilizations across the world

have given legal recognition to the institution of marriage, on which the

foundation of society is based. Marriage gives legitimacy to two persons to

procreate. That is the reason why marriage is also seen as the beginning of a

new unit in society. The solemnization of marriage requires adherence to various

practice and procedures across the world.

In India, marriages are governed by different practices of different

religions. Under Hindu law, a marriage can be legally solemnized if the ceremony

of saptapadi and invocation of fire is performed. The Hindu marriage,

contemplated by the Hindu Marriage Act, as amended, is a ceremonial marriage and

must be solemnized in accordance with the customary rights and ceremonies of one

of the two parties. The concept of cyber-marriages is based on the idea of

solemnizing a marriage in cyberspace. There is increasing talk in Western

societies, that marriages be allowed to be solemnized over networks, with the

USP being that this would have the relevant element of consent of both parties.

I am of the opinion that for purposes of exhibitionism, cyber-marriages may

be used as a concept and may gain prevalence and currency. However, we would not

be able to replace the concept of marriage in the real world with

cyber-marriages. The reason is that there are numerous legal problems that come

in the way.

To take the specific example of a Hindu marriage, there cannot be, in

existence, a Hindu cyber-marriage. This is because the various ceremonies

stipulated by customs like saptapadi and the invocation of fire can only be

performed in the real world. Advances in technologies may enable us to simulate

the experience, which may try to replicate the actual-world experience of

saptapadi and invocation of fire, but that simulated experience would not fulfil

legal requirements.

The Indian IT Act, 2000 has rightly not tampered with any personal laws of

the country which govern marriage, be it the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the Anand

Marriage Act, the Indian Marriage Act or Parsi or Mohammedan Law on marriages.

Even marriages in the West have to be performed in Churches after the

performance of specified rituals.

However, with the passage of time, it may be possible to conduct marriages

online–for instance a court marriage–should e-marriage courts come into

existence and the same be legalized. Under existing law, a person can marry in

court before the Registrar of Marriages and after the fulfillment of necessary

conditions. In this context, such a process can be taken online by the use of

electronic records and digital signatures. This, of course, depends on the

prevalence of an e-registrar of marriages.

Till such time as this issue is not taken up and legalized, cyber-marriages

remain a hot topic of discussion in social circles. But as far as the law is

concerned, cyber-marriages are not recognized as having been solemnized under

the requirements of a valid marriage. From another perspective, a cyber-marriage

is hardly expected to give any of the two parties the feeling and excitement of

getting married, as opposed to what a marriage in the actual world would feel

like. Agreed, we are moving towards a networked society, but irrespective of

further tech-developments, the Internet would still not be able to govern human

relationships, for there, what’s paramount is human inputs. Having said that,

the law has to adapt itself to the changing realities of evolving technologies.

The author is a cyberlaw consultant and a practising advocate at the Supreme

Court of India