ORDER

“There came a time when Rama was going to perform a huge sacrifice, or yajna, such as the old kings used to celebrate. But no ceremony in India can be performed by a married man without his wife; he must have the wife with him, the sahadharmini, the “co-religionist” - that is the expression for a wife. The Hindu householder has to perform hundreds of ceremonies but not one can be duly performed according to the shastras, if he has not a wife to complement it with her part in it.

Now Rama’s wife was not with him then, as she had been banished. So, the people asked him to marry again. But at this request Rama for the first time in his life stood against the people. He said, “this cannot be. My life is Sita’s”. So, as a substitute, a golden statue of Sita was made, in order that the ceremony could be accomplished”.

The above quotation is from Swami Vivekananda’s lecture delivered at the Shakespeare club, California on 31.01.1900. If a golden statue of Sita can be a substitute for her physical presence, I have no hesitation to hold that virtual presence through online would meet the requirements of law under Section 12 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Recently, a Division Bench