CRITICAL THINKING, READING & WRITING IN LAW - 11

Law Commission Report

Diya Halder
21212020
Government of India Law Commission of India, Report No.270
Compulsory Registration of Marriages July, 2017

1. The benefits of marriage registration have been thoroughly covered earlier in the report. A
substantial number of countries have made marriage registration mandatory. Because of
India's size, population, and enormous range of customary forms of marriage, it has
sometimes been suggested that such an effort to record all marriages would be difficult.
However, the difficulties of implementation do not outweigh the benefits of such legislation.

2. Once passed, the new law would make it easier to implement numerous other civil and
criminal laws. It would offer citizens with stronger enforcement of existing rights under
various family laws that grant and safeguard several rights of spouses within a marriage,
rather than new rights. Registration of a marriage under any of the existing marriage Acts,
such as the Indian Christian Marriages Act of 1872, the Kazis Act of 1880, or any other
custom or personal law relating to marriage, will be acceptable, and a separate standalone
legislation may not be required if the Births, Deaths, and Registration Act is amended to
include Marriages.

3. The ability to establish legislation governing marriage and divorce falls under entry 5 of the
Concurrent List in the Constitution's framework. According to the provisions of Article 254
of the Constitution, any law adopted by a State that is in effect on the date of the
commencement of this Act (Bill of 2015), if not in consonance and conformity with this Act
(Bill), is void to that degree. This Bill will not be in conflict with any provision of any existing
Act dealing with compulsory marriage registration, provided that the existing law provides
for sufficient penalties for non-registration of marriages or a better method for such
registration.

4. This Bill will augment the realm of existing family laws and is not intended to remove,
abolish, or change certain religious/cultural traditions and rules that are accepted under Indian
personal laws. The issue of personal laws is broad and complicated, and the purpose of this
 paper is not to create circumstances for the implementation of family law reforms other than
the simple procedural change that Compulsory Registration of Marriages will entail.

5. Since entry 5 of the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution contains
most family law matters, allowing the States to legislate on these matters, the recommended
Bill would only serve as a guiding principle that would apply across the country.

6. However, specific amendments to the scheme can be added by the States bearing in mind that
there may be more effective ways for such marriage registration depending on the context
and particularities of the marriage. These distinctions may be purely procedural rather than
substantive. The above proposals will be in addition to any other existing laws and will have
no bearing on any rights recognised under any other law or custom.

7. The Registrar, who is in charge of registering births and deaths, is also in charge of registering
marriages. Clause 8 outlines who is eligible to submit information to the Registrar in order to
register the marriage. If the Birth, Marriage, or Death is not registered within the specified
time limit, the Registrar shall, on payment of a late fee, register the death or birth (a) within
30 days (b) within one year, only with the written permission of the prescribed authority; and
(c) after one year, only on an order of a First-Class Magistrate. It stipulates a fine of Rs.5 per
day for failure to comply.

8. According to the Punjab Compulsory Registration Act, 2012, a provision in the Central Act
may be considered such that, after calling the parties concerned and ascertaining the facts
required for such marriage to be registered, the Registrar may also, suo-moto or on notice,
enter and register any marriage which takes place in his jurisdiction, or if either of the parties
has a permanent residence therein, in the marriage register maintained under the Act.; If the
Registrar discovers that any entry of a marriage in the register kept by him under this Act is
erroneous in form or substance, or has been fraudulently and improperly obtained, he may,
subject to such rules as the State Government may make regarding the conditions and
circumstances under which such entries may be corrected or cancelled, correct the error or
cancel the entry by making a suitable entry in the margin, without any alteration of the entry.
Provided, however, that no such adjustment or change shall be made to the detriment of any
person without first providing him with an opportunity to be heard.
9. It is also worth including a provision from the Delhi Act in the Central legislation that, if a
marriage is solemnised in any country other than India, the Registrar of Marriage shall satisfy
himself/ herself-
(a) That the marriage was solemnised in accordance with the laws of that country
between parties of whom at least one is a citizen of India; and,
(b) That the marriage satisfies all the conditions laid down in Section 4 at the time of
registration (33 of 1969).
10. Village Panchayats, local civic organisations, and municipalities should raise awareness
about the importance of registering all weddings with the local authority. Furthermore, the
production of a marriage certificate should be made mandatory whenever anyone writes the
name of a spouse in any application; when applying for any benefit on behalf of a husband or
wife; when applying to government departments; and when receiving benefits from any
welfare schemes such as agricultural loans, education loans, and so on. A unified database
containing birth, marriage, and death records would also allow for easy record tracing.

11. The Law Commission of India believes that compulsory marriage registration is a necessary
reform and recommends that the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 be amended to
include compulsory marriage registration within its scope so that existing administrative
machinery can carry out registration. Furthermore, for this aim, i.e., compulsory registration
of weddings, births, and deaths, the Commission advises complete automation by employing
paperless documentation to the greatest extent possible.

12. The Commission supports the retention of the provisions in the Registration of Birth and
Death (Amendment) Bill, 2015 regarding I a penalty of Rs. 5 per day for non-registration of
marriage without a reasonable cause; (ii) providing false information regarding marriage
registration; and (iii) refusal to furnish certain information, such as name and address.

13. However, given the current realities in our country, the penalty should be applied with regard
to a certain date and limited to a maximum of one hundred rupees.