The Hindu : National : Ruling on registration of marriages welcomed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 16, 2006

National

National

Ruling on registration of marriages welcomed

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) has welcomed the Supreme Court ruling that all marriages should be registered. The ruling made it mandatory for the Centre and State Governments to frame and notify rules for the registration of marriages within three months.

"However, these rules should be carefully framed to ensure that those whose marriages are not registered due to lack of access, or other significant reasons, do not suffer," a statement issued by AIDWA said here on Wednesday. AIDWA had been campaigning for such a law for several years, and such rules would go a long way in curbing child marriage, the statement said.

Several cases had come to light in which husbands refused to pay maintenance stating that they were not married, or that their marriages had not been performed according to law. The statement said compulsory registration would stop such pleas from being heard as some courts, including the Supreme Court, had held in the past that a marriage had to be proved if maintenance was to be awarded. Such rules could also help in curbing dowry disputes if, along with the registration, a list of presents given is registered.

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