State Authorities Bound To Register Marriages Solemnized Under Christian Marriage Act; Rajasthan 2009 Law No Bar: High Court

In a significant order passed last week, the Rajasthan High Court has directed the State authorities to mandatorily accept, record and register all Christian marriages solemnized in accordance with the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872 (ICM Act), in respect of which a certificate has been issued under the Act. In its detailed order, a Bench of Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Sangeeta Sharma has sought to clarify the prevailing confusion in the state regarding the interplay between the ICM Act 1872 and the Rajasthan Compulsory Marriage Registration Act, 2009 (RCMR Act). Importantly, the Court has clarified that there is no apparent incongruity between the ICM Act 1872 and the RCMR Act 2009. The Court noted the exclusion of Christian marriages from the 2009 Act under Section 20 is a 'protective' mechanism rather than 'exclusionary'. For context, this provision expressly excludes from the operation of the 2009 Act, the marriages solemnized under certain special enactments, including the ICM Act 1872, the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936, and the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The Court held that the RCMR Act 2009 cannot be misconstrued to deny the legal recognition of Christian marriages within the State's civil registry. "…the Act of 2009 operates as a general law providing a framework for compulsory registration in respect of marriages not otherwise governed by a special statutory regime, while preserving the continued operation of such special enactments within their respective fields…the function of Section 20 is thus protective rather than exclusionary in effect, inasmuch as it preserves the integrity and continued application of the registration and certification pathways embedded within the special statutes, rather than creating a statutory vacuum in the maintenance of civil marriage records", the Bench observed. Against this backdrop, the Bench has now directed that all Christian marriages solemnized in accordance with the ICM Act 1872 shall be accepted, recorded and registered by the State authorities in consonance with the Births, Deaths and Marriage Registration Act, 1886 (BDMR Act) and the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (RBD Act). Case in Brief Briefly put, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea was filed by Father Paul P., a Priest-in-charge of a Jaipur-based church. In his petition, he highlighted a critical administrative gap existing in the registration of Christian Marriages in the state. It was submitted that prior to the enactment of the RCMR Act 2009, marriage certificates issued under the ICM Act 1872 were ordinarily accepted, recorded, and acknowledged by Marriage Registrars appointed under the BDMR Act 1886. However, the Bench was informed that, after the RCMR Act 2009 came into force, the respondent authorities, specifically the Jaipur Municipal Corporation, refused to register these certificates. The Bench was apprised that this was being done citing Section 20 of the RCMR Act 2009, which, inter alia, expressly excludes marriages solemnized under the ICM Act 1872 from its operation. Simply put, the respondent-authority was interpreting this exclusion (S. 20 of the 2009 Act) as a basis for declining to accept and acknowledge Christian marriage certificates, and due to this, such marriages were falling outside the fold of the official civil registry. Consequently, the Christian Community in the state was effectively left helpless without State-verified records, which are essential for passports, visas and social security. High Court's Observations and Order Dealing with the plea, the bench, at the outset, stressed that in India, the institution of marriage occupies a foundational position as it is not merely a personal, cultural, or religious union, but a “juridical status recognised by law”. "…from which emanates a bundle of reciprocal rights, duties, obligations and legal consequences affecting the parties to the marriage, their families and, in several respects, the State… The legal recognition of marriage serves as the basis for determining rights relating to status, legitimacy, succession, inheritance, maintenance, guardianship, social security, and a wide range of civil and administrative entitlements", the Bench added. The Court noted that while the modes of solemnization may differ under various personal law enactments, the "civil consequences" that flow from a valid marriage operate within a common legal domain, where the State assumes the role of authenticating, preserving and recognizing marital status for public, legal, and administrative purposes. The Bench emphasized that the processes of registration, acknowledgment, and endorsement of marriages by civil authorities perform a "vital public function". "They bridge the sphere of religious or personal law solemnization with the secular framework of State-maintained civil records,...

State Authorities Bound To Register Marriages Solemnized Under Christian Marriage Act; Rajasthan 2009 Law No Bar: High Court

Sparsh Upadhyay

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