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Married on paper

The new Supreme Court verdict says that marriages that are not registered will not be deemed marriages at all

PHOTO: A. ROY CHOWDHURY

MARITAL RED TAPE Although well intentioned, compulsory registration of marriages makes the formalising of unions only more cumbersome

The Supreme Court, on February 14, 2006, ruled that all marriages be made "compulsorily registrable" and directed all the State Governments and the Central Government to set in motion a law for the compulsory registration of marriages within a period of three months. These proposed rules are intended to cover all religions and communities and the Supreme Court has ruled that if a marriage is not registered, it will not be deemed a marriage at all.

This order arose when the Supreme Court noted that the very existence of marriage was being denied by persons, and the means of addressing this would be by directing compulsory registration of marriages. The question that arises is whether this measure would safeguard women or only turn out to be another ground for the denial of the existence of marriage by the husband?

The law now

At present, the requirement of registration of a marriage varies amongst religions. Amongst Christians, Muslims and Parsis, the marriage is compulsorily registered by the religious authority on completion of the religious ceremonies under the Personal Law. The exception is the Hindu Law, where the solemnisation of marriage is to be done according to the customs governing either spouse. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1956, does not require compulsory registration but provides the option to register the marriage and some states require it compulsorily.

There is also the Special Marriage Act 1954 under which a marriage can be solemnised and registration is mandatory. Marriages fail to be registered on many considerations, all of which are compelling. Marriage relationships are founded on implicit trust, and this drives many decisions taken at this time. Also important is the personal and private element in a marriage. Marriages are conducted in the presence of family and friends, which is seen as an adequate safeguard against denial. Further, bureaucratic difficulties deter registration.

Moreover, there is the recognition of maintenance for women living with men, even without evidence of a ceremonial marriage. There is also a statutory presumption of marriage where the persons live together for extended periods of time. In this context, how does the requirement for compulsory registration help?

Registration provides a nominal advantage to women in that it is an official record of the relationship. The National Commission of Women, which had filed an affidavit in this case, cited many reasons for compulsory registration, including prevention of child marriages, marriages without the consent of the parties, bigamy/polygamy, enabling married women to claim their right to live in the matrimonial house and to maintenance and deterring men from deserting women after marriage. These issues are serious and real, but the mere requirement of registration cannot hope to tackle or deter them. Compulsory registration does not even address issues of consent or bigamy, where verification or access to information is not contemplated. Persons intent on defeating the law are also unlikely to register. Presently, the process of registrations in India is an expensive, time-consuming and harrowing process. The creation of a bureaucratic machinery to compel this court-driven measure would in no way address issues of consent, freedom to marry or obligations arising out of a marital relationship.

A more appropriate method would be individually addressing the issues confronting women in marriages while retaining the voluntary nature of registration. Its use can be encouraged by making it more simple and accessible to people so as to enable them to use the limited advantages it provides.

CHITRA NARAYAN

chitra.narayan@gmail.com

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