Delhi High Court: The Delhi High Court has reprimanded the Kejriwal government over the mandatory registration of marriages in Delhi. The Delhi High Court recently said that despite judicial orders issued three years ago, the Delhi government has failed to issue administrative instructions for the registration of marriages taking place under Muslim and Christian personal laws on its e-portal.

In its order dated July 4, a single bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula said that despite the assurances given, it is disappointing to see that even after almost three years of the order dated October 4, 2021, appropriate administrative instructions have not been issued. The persistence of this issue shows a systematic failure as is evident in the present case.

What did the court say?

The court further said that there appears to be no established process for registration of marriages under the Compulsory Registration of Marriages Order, 2014, either online or offline, particularly for marriages solemnised under Muslim Personal Law or Christian Personal Law. The High Court said that this lack of infrastructure perpetuates the difficulties faced by parties seeking to fulfil legal requirements such as obtaining visas or claiming rights dependent on official marriage recognition.

what is the whole matter

The high court was hearing a plea by a couple married in 1995 under Muslim Personal Law who wanted to apply for parental visa to Canada where they have two children. Their visa application process required them to submit a marriage registration certificate to the consulate of the foreign country. The couple, therefore, sought to register their marriage under the Delhi (Compulsory Registration of Marriages) Order, 2014, framed by the revenue department of the Delhi government.

Knocked the door of High Court

To fulfil the visa requirements, the couple initially tried to submit their application for registration of marriage through the Delhi government's marriage registration e-portal, but their efforts failed as there was no option for registration under the Delhi government's 2014 order on the portal. The only options on the portal were for registration under the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act. The couple then opted to file a physical application as per the 2014 order. However, this application was also not processed. After this, they approached the High Court.

High Court issued order

Justice Narula said that in October 2021, the High Court had disposed of another similar writ petition based on the assurance given by the counsel appearing for the Delhi government. According to the Compulsory Marriage Registration Order, 2014, appropriate administrative instructions will be issued to resolve the registration issues faced by parties marrying under Muslim Personal Law or Christian Personal Law. The High Court directed that the marriage registration application of the couple be considered under the 2014 order and a marriage certificate be issued to them if they meet the eligibility criteria and their application is in order.

Instructions given to Delhi government

Apart from this, the court directed the IT Department / Revenue Department, Marriage Branch of the Government of NCT Delhi to immediately take necessary steps to enable registration of marriages under the 2014 order on the marriage registration online portal of the Delhi Government. The court said that this action is necessary to ensure that similar issues are resolved quickly and do not recur so that the administrative process can be smooth for the public.