Marriages will have to be registered

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre and the state governments to initiate steps to make registration of marriages compulsory within three months.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Centre and the state governments to initiate steps to make registration of marriages compulsory within three months.

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A bench, comprising justices Arijit Pasayat and S.H. Kapadia, directed that appropriate rules be framed or existing rules be amended to make marriage registration compulsory.

The court directed the governments to invite public objections through advertisements within one month and notify the rules after taking the objections into account.

The rules would also have to address the implications of such registration, non-registration as well as the implications of making any false declarations, the court said.

The court directed that copies of the order be handed over to Solicitor General G.E. Vahanvati for action. The order was given on a divorce petition when the issue of the date of marriage came up. Only three states -- Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh -- have so far enacted laws for registration of marriages.