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Rohtak court opened at night to help Haryanvi youngster marry Mexican girl, amid Covid-19 lockdown
The couple met through a language learning app in 2017 and got engaged the next year; they applied to get married under the Special Marriage Act in February but lockdown put their plans on hold till the administration stepped in
A district magistrate’s court in Rohtak opened its doors on the night of April 13 to solemnise the wedding of a local youngster with a Mexican girl under the Special Marriage Act as both could not tie the knot due to the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The couple met on a language learning app in 2017 and got engaged the next year.
According to Niranjan Kashyap, who belongs to Surya Colony in Rohtak, his Mexican partner, Dana Joheri Oliveros Cruise, and he applied to get married under the Special Marriage Act on February 17.
“We met on a language learning app. In 2017, she came to India on my birthday. Then this February 11, Dana and her mother came to India for the wedding. On February 17, we applied for marriage under the Special Marriage Act which has a 30-day notice,” Kashyap said.
“The notice was to end on March 18 but by then the lockdown began so we could not get married. We submitted an application to the district collector after which our wedding was conducted,” he said.
He said that Dana had booked a flight back to Mexico on March 24 but with the lockdown being extended till May 3, she has now rescheduled her flight to May 5.
Dana said, “I came to meet him in 2017. We later got engaged in December 2018 and I returned to Mexico. I spent two years in Mexico. Due to the lockdown, we couldn’t marry. The deputy commissioner helped us.”
The advocate who helped the couple get married said: “Both of them came to us. Since the girl was from Mexico, they can marry under the Special Marriage Act. Later, we approached the district magistrate and he sent requests to the Mexican embassy and other offices for a no objection certificate. After the NOC was obtained, the district magistrate opened the court and performed the wedding at 8pm on April 13.”
