Marriage Bill may elbow out model ?nikahnamas?

if the State Government goes ahead with the draft UP Registration of Marriage Bill, 2006, in its present form, the respective ?model nikahnamas? of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and its rival the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) may no longer be valid.

if the State Government goes ahead with the draft UP Registration of Marriage Bill, 2006, in its present form, the  respective ‘model nikahnamas’ of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and its rival the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) may no longer be valid.

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The government has decided to bring all communities, including Muslims, under the purview of the proposed Bill.

The draft Bill says the proposed Act “shall apply to a person who is Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist or Jain by religion and to such other communities as may be notified by the government”.

As per the draft Bill, the State Government has proposed the appointment of the district magistrate as district registrar. Local registrars will be nominated to help the DMs.

The draft Bill has the provision to fine those who will not get their marriage registered within 30 days of the ceremony. The maximum fine proposed is Rs 10,000.

Registration will be binding even on those UP residents who have solemnized their marriages outside the State. However, registration will not be compulsory for brides and grooms who not belong to the State but have organized the marriage in UP.

The Women and Child Welfare Department, which prepared the draft Bill, has invited objections to it. The Bill has been prepared as per the directive of the Supreme Court order in February last. The apex court had directed the Centre and all State Governments to make the registration of marriages mandatory. The court had given three months time to make amendment to the marriage act and notify them accordingly.

Secretary Women and Child Welfare Balwinder Singh said objections to the draft bill had been invited and the Bill would be finalized after going through the objections.

Person getting married will have to send document on the prescribed form to the DM along with the fee through registered post. The document should bear the signature of the person who got the marriage performed.

As per the draft Bill, the groom will have to disclose if his marital status. If married earlier he needs to disclose the number of “wives alive”. Similarly, the bride will have to state whether she is “unmarried, widower or divorced”.

With the enactment of the Bill the UP Hindu Marriage Registration Rules, 1973, will be repealed.