A new social revolution, thanks to SC

Recently, the Supreme Court of India passed a new law that made it compulsary for every marriage to be registered with the authorities. This law is hoped to clamp down on child marriages and other social evils such as forced marriages etc.

Frankly, I had no idea that marriages in India didn't have to be registered! I always thought that this is probably a norm and we are a fairly modern state right? I was really surprised to read about this news hence, but now that it has finally be made into a law, lets hope the authorities do a good job keeping the records straight.

Merely passing of this law is not a guarantee that it will achieve its objectives. A feudal, unwise rich lord in the backward areas may still pay the authorities and marry off his underage son or daughter, and to further humiliate the system, invite an MLA to give blessings to the newlyweds. Its happened before, in many states, and it will happen again. Power and money coupled with weak law enforcement, ensure that India, despite its many steps forward in terms of economy and development, will still take a few steps backwards in terms of social development.

I want the courts to enforce this with special urgency, and urge the authorities, particularly the Central Statistical Organization to gather data more dilligently. I think India lost out on the new knowledge economy because of our poor archival record. Nothing is archived, nothing is stored, and all our culture is just dying out because of that.

anyways, coming back to the law, let me put together a few articles about it.......

This is from The Tribune, Chandigarh:

Order on marriage registration to apply to all religions: SC

The Supreme Court’s directive on compulsory registration of marriages would apply to the people of all religious communities in the country and rules have to be framed by the Centre and states accordingly.

“We are of the view that marriages of all persons who are citizens of India, belonging to various religions, should be made compulsorily registrable in their respective states, where the marriage is solemnised,” said the detailed judgement, delivered yesterday and made available to the media today.

It pointed out with concern that only four states, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, have so far enacted legislations pertaining to the compulsory registration of marriages, while no steps in this regard had been taken by other states. In Gujarat, the legislation passed by Maharashtra was applicable, it said.

Tracing the history of law regarding registration of marriages in Goa to the days of Portuguese rule, the court also recorded that Union Territory of Chandigarh, states of Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir had also enacted laws for registration of marriages by Hindus under the Hindu Marriage Act.

By and large it was evident from narration of facts that many states though had framed rules regarding registration, but it had not been made compulsory by them by enacting a law, the court said.

It clarified that the registration though could not be the only proof of “valid marriage per se, and would not be determinative factor regarding its validity, yet it has a great evidentiary value in the matter of custody of children, their rights and age of the persons agreeing to marry.”

_______________________________________________________________

This is from The Indian Express:

Marriages, present & future, need to be registered: SC

The bench of Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S H Kapadia directed the governments to frame and publicise these rules for all castes, communities and religious sects within three months and gave a month thereafter for the public for “objections if any.”

The entire gamut of existing laws on marriage—for all communities—would remain intact and registration procedure and rules would be in addition to these.

The bench was ruling on a divorce proceeding by one Seema whose unregistered marriage with Ashwani Kumar put her in hardship and she wanted her divorce petition transferred to a different High Court. The apex court only took up the aspect of “compulsory registration of marriages” and kept the transfer petition pending.

The rules should also make a provision for appointment of officer(s) for the purpose, the court ruled. During the proceedings, the National Commission for Women (NCW)—asked for its views by the court—said that it favoured uniform compulsory registration of marriages.

The NCW also supplied the draft Bill prepared by it in the matter which was sent to the government for its persual.

In preparing the Bill, the NCW factored in the views of the National Commission for Minorities, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the National Commission for Backward Classes, practising lawyers, representatives of women’s organisations, academicians and social activists.

__________________________________________________________

This is from NDTV:

Divided opinion on SC marriage order

In Andhra Pradesh, 15 per cent of marriages involve children. The practice is rampant in rural areas despite laws like the Child Marriage Restraint Act.

Thousands of girls are still tied in bondage of marriage and are thrust with responsibilities far beyond their age - physically, socially and emotionally.

Activists say the Supreme Court ruling on compulsory registration of marriages has brought a ray of hope.

It will at least bring the real picture, of how many such marriages are taking place, out of the closet and force authorities to act.

From child marriages to marriages that are a virtual farce in the name of religion - Arab Sheiks have been coming to Hyderabad for years to pick brides.

The only problem is that most of the time it is a temporary marriage where the girl is used to satisfy the lust of the groom, for a price.

Sadr Qazi Mir Mohammed Khader Ali, whose family has for generations been solemnising marriage and divorce formalities, says the SC ruling is not going to change anything.

However, progressive voices in the community say the apex court ruling will expose the Qazis who connive to give such marriages the sanctity of nikaah.

_____________________________________________________________

Just reading the above article about the sad situation in Andhra Pradesh underlines the importance of the SC ruling. The Arabs may have all the oil money in the world, but their mindset and upbringing is still from hundreds of years ago. But its not about them, this is about the narrowmindedness of my own society, and we must change it.