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The Supreme Court of India recently while giving judgment in one of case has directed the centre and State governments to frame and notify rules for registration of marriage within three months. It ruled that all marriages, irrespective of their religion, be compulsorily registered and the government should make law accordingly.
Moved by the plight of deserted women fighting for their rights like maintenance and custody of children, a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and S H Kapadia, in a 14-page judgment, asked the government to amend the law or frame rules and notify them within three months.
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Writing the judgment for the Bench in a matter that was an offshoot of a matrimonial case, Justice Pasayat directed the Centre and the state governments to incorporate “consequences of non-registration of marriages” in the rules, which should be formalised after inviting public response and considering them. The court said the rules so framed would continue to operate till the respective governments framed proper legislations for compulsory registration of marriages.
Giving no room for appeasement or dilution of the objective to be achieved through such legislations, Justice Pasayat said all new laws to be framed by the governments have to be placed for scrutiny before the apex court. The court felt that this ruling was necessitated by the need of time as certain unscrupulous husbands altogether deny marriage leaving their spouses in the lurch, be it for seeking maintenance, custody of children or inheritance of property.
Though the court was moved by considerations of gender justice, the order which many saw as demonstration of judicial activism — can also provide a fillip to the campaign for the promulgation of a uniform civil code.
It is to be noted that in a small state like Goa it is compulsory to register marriage and it does not recognize a marriage which is not registered. In Mahara shtra, the Regional passport office does not issue passport to your spouse (wife) unless and until she produces her marriage certificate.
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