Law Panel Wants Marriage Registration to be Compulsory For All

The Law Commission said this will help prevent “marriage fraud” and protect women often denied the status of a wife.

Batting for making registration of marriages compulsory, the Law Commission on Tuesday said this will help prevent “marriage fraud” and protect women often denied the status of a wife due to absence of matrimonial records.

In its report submitted to the Law Ministry on Tuesday, the panel said in the absence of compulsory registration, women are duped into marrying without performance of the conditions of a valid marriage.

This deprives women of societal recognition and legal security. Such fraudulent marriages are especially on rise among non-resident Indians. Compulsory registration can serve as a means to ensure that conditions of a valid marriage have been performed.

Law Commission report

The panel, which advises the government on complex legal issues, said it is of the opinion that compulsory registration of marriages is a “necessary reform”. It said a minor amendment to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 by including the provision of compulsory registration of marriage would serve the purpose.

It made it clear that there is no need to amend the personal laws dealing with marriages.

The report pointed out that the courts have time and again emphasised on making registration of marriage compulsory.

In 2006, the Supreme Court, in the Seema vs Ashwani Kumar case, had observed that marriages of all persons who are citizens of India belonging to various religions should be registered compulsorily in their respective states, where the marriage is solemnised.

In 2012, a bill was tabled in the Parliament based on the observations made by the Supreme Court. The bill was introduced to amend the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, to provide for compulsory registration of marriages irrespective of religious denominations of the concerned parties.

The amendment bill was passed by Rajya Sabha in July 2013, but could not be taken up for consideration in the Lok Sabha. It lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in 2014.

The panel pointed out that in India, because of its size, population and the sheer diversity of customary forms of marriages, it has often been said that such an endeavour to register all marriages would be difficult.

However, the difficulty in implementation does not overshadow the merits of such an enactment. Once enacted, the amended law would enable better implementation of many other civil as well as criminal laws. It would provide citizens, not new rights, but better enforcement of existing rights under various family laws that grant and provide to protect many rights of spouses within a marriage. 

Law Commission

(This article has been edited for length)