Bride mistakenly married to groom's brother

A slip of the tongue can, at times, get you into a lot of trouble. And there's a family in Muzaffarnagar (UP) that knows it better than most.

The slip in question came courtesy a maulvi, while reading out nuptial vows, and has left the bride in a dilemma. Now, she's not sure if she was married to the groom or his brother.

It happened during a 'nikaah' at Udaiya village in Pratapgarh district. Instead of uttering the name of the groom Siraj, 26, the maulvi uttered his younger brother Mehraj's name instead. The bride consented, and the marriage was registered in the name of Mehraj on July 10. The faux pas came to light the next morning when the groom's family saw the 'nikaahnama'.

The bride was sent back to her parents' home and the two families have now approached the Darul Uloom of Deoband seeking a 'fatwa' on the issue. The Islamic seminary has, however, refused to comment on the matter before issuing an edict.