SC directs states to implement marriage registration

Oct 26: The Supreme Court in a landmark directive gave three months time to all the State and Union governments to implement the process of registration of marriages among all religious communities in the country here on Thursday.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan makes it a point that no further extension would be given in this regard and discarded the entire objection particularly those raised by Muslim Community.

The Apex Court issued the directives to make the registration of marriages compulsory and this was a reverberation of its intention, which it has given earlier.

This decision was celebrated by women activists while looking it as a great step for the rights of the women in addition it will help also those women who have been deserted by their husbands. On the other hand, Muslim community refuted it saying that such laws are un-Islamic.

Kamini Jaiswal an eminent Supreme Court lawyer said,

"In most of the cases, the first thing a husband tells the court is that they are not married when a deserted woman approaches court seeking maintenance”.

She clarified "It is compulsory only for new marriages and does not apply to existing marriages”.

The Court took note of the states for not taking the process seriously and for excluding the minority communities.

This Supreme Court directive was criticised by Maulana Khalid Rashid, a member of Muslim Personal Law Board, “ Any directive, even if it may come from the highest court of the land, asking Muslims to register their marriages in court is un-Islamic,” he said.

"We will not allow anyone to interfere in our religious matters,” he further stated.

Earlier, The Apex Court said that the registration of marriage will help preventing Child Marriages, which is prevalent in many part of the country and also for the women who are always at the receiving end when the person she had married denied ever being married to that woman.

The lack of paperwork is the main problem one comes through while tackling petitions of maintenance, which often takes a lengthy process.

Marriage registrar appointed by the Government of India registers marriages that fall under the Special Marriage Act. Inter-caste and inter-religion marriages are also classified under the Special Marriage Act.

With millions of marriages going unregistered every year, this move will surely ensure a minimum age for marriage, prevent marriages without the consent of both parties, check bigamy and polygamy and prevent people from buying and selling young girls under the pretext of marriage.

While the critics says that it will be horrendous task before the state government as most of the marriages took place in villages and a concerted effort is needed at all levels to make the marriages compulsory registered.