Well it looks like this thread took a whole other turn of affairs into an interesting discussion on whether Simi and Abhi are really married. There are some members who vehmently disagree that what took place was a marriage. Bee wrote an excellent post on it. While there some members (names with held) insist that a marriage has taken place because Abhi put blood in the parting of Simi's hair.
Since I am not well versed in the knowledge of Indian/Hindu marriage rituals, I feel that this topic will never have an answer unless I consult with an expert in the field. However, I might find that there are various interpretations of the text.
I don't believe that registering a marriage is what makes a marriage, but I do believe that a marriage should be performed properly in order to make it legitmate otherwise anyone can just claim a connection with someone. When people live to together in the US, that makes the marriage a common-law marriage and not one that is defined as the same as an marriage itself.
How I see it, if you marry someone in a formal way, then when it comes to divorce, you have to do that in a formal way. You don't just say, "Well, guess what, I am tired of living with you. Bye bye."