Muslims, Christians welcome order

Except for the Sikhs, many of who seem to be worried that under the Supreme Court order they will have to register their marriages under the Hindu Marriage Act, Muslims and Christians lauded the Supreme Court order as judicial activism for gender justice.

In both Christians and Muslims, marriages are recorded by the priests and kazis and these records can be assessed when needed. John Dayal, President of the All India Catholics Union, said the Christian Church has welcomed the mandatory registration of marriages for all Indians. The names of the bride and groom, their age at the time of marriage and the names of their parents are recorded by the church. In fact, as in a court marriage, the engagement of the couple is announced and time is given for people to voice objections to the matrimony, if any.

Prof Akhtar-ul-Wasey, Head of Islamic Studies at Jamia Milia Islamia, said the Nikahnama is recorded by a kazi. The couples age, address and the amount settled as meher is recorded in a proforma in triplicate. While the nikah can be read by any kazi, the local Kazi of the area has to be present. In addition it is mandatory for the bride’s lawyer to be present as well as two other witnesses. So the nikah or marriage has always been recorded by Muslims. But Wasey would like to know the reasons behind the Supreme Court order. Is there any motive?

The court ruling, he hopes, will act as a deterrent to those non-Muslims who have a wife and convert to Islam to take on a second wife. "I am in agreement with the provision for polygamy in Islam but it is a provision to be used in an extraordinary situation. It cannot be used for lust," he maintains. The Sikh community, however, would like to retain their separate identity and not be clubbed with Hindus under the Hindu Marriage Act. The national panch of the Khalsa Panchayat, Charanjit Singh Khalsa, in an interview to the Panthic Weekly, said the Court’s decision was out of line as the marriages of Sikhs were laid out by Guru Amar Dass in 1552 as ‘Anand Karaj.’ The same tradition and rituals are followed when solemnising a Sikh marriage even today. The Chief Khalsa Diwan of Nabha State in 1908 had presented the Anand Karaj Bill to the Imperial Council. The Bill was supported by the entire Sikh panth and was passed a year later. However, there was a problem because in the details of the Bill there was no condition of registration. To this day the loophole had been exploited but it could be remedied by adding a requisite provision, he says.

— Usha Rai

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