New Delhi, September 18 (IANS) The Supreme Court has directed all states and Center states (UTS), who have not yet notified the rules under the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, to do so within four months, ensuring timely implementation of law, which were provided for registration of Sikh marriage.
In its order, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said that while Parliament amended the Act to enable state governments to frame the rules for registration in 2012, many states and UTS have not yet done so, resulting in an uneven access to uniform statutory facilities.
The bench, led by Justice Vikram Nath, was listening to a writ petition, seeking guidelines to operate the legal system and ensured that the rule-building duty is discharged within a reasonable time to reach the authentication and the attendant civic results would be secured.
Highlighting the importance of registration, the apex court said: “A marriage certificate enables the evidence of the situation for residence, maintenance, heritage, insurance, succession and enforcement of monogamy, and it especially protects the interests of women and children who are dependent on the default evidence to claim legal safety.”
The order warned that unequal access to registration in states and UTS “produces uneven results for equally located citizens” and “Parliament has stopped very clear and administrative benefits.”
The Supreme Court issued directions to all states and UTS, ordering that the rules under Section 6 be implicated and notified within four months.
“Each defendant (states and UTS) have not yet notified the notified rules under Section 6 of the Act, will do so within four months from today. The rules will be published in the official Gazette and placed before the State Legislature in the context of Section 6 (4) of the Act,” directed it.
In the interim, the Apex court ordered the authorities to accept the application for the registration of Anand Karaj Marriage “with immediate effect and until such rules are notified”, ensuring that “an application for registration of a joy karj marriage or any application for certified extracts will be refused on the sole basis that the rules under section 6 of the Act are yet to be notified”.
In addition, it directed the appointment of secretary-tier nodal officers in each state and for the compliance of the receipt and certification of Anand Karj marriage and monitoring the complaints addressed.
The Central Government has been nominated as the Coordination Authority. Within six months, it should file a consolidated status report before the Supreme Court and publish a copy of the status report on the central law and justice website.
The apex court issued specific directions for Goa and Sikkim, directed the interim facility under the existing civil registration structure and asked the Center to consider expanding the Anand Marriage Act in these two states within four months.
“Any authority will not insist on an additional or duplicate registration under any other law, once given Section 6 (5) of registration under the Act,” the order was clarified.
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PDS/VD