Cabinet approves proposed amendments of marriage act
The state Cabinet on Tuesday approved the proposed amendments to the Meghalaya Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act, 2012.
After the meeting, Cabinet Minister James K Sangma said that the Act was enacted to provide for compulsory registration of marriages.
The Act also makes it mandatory for a married man and woman to compulsorily furnish a marriage certificate issued under the act for all official purposes.
He also said subsequently by an amendment in 2017, provisions of the Act were made applicable to the parties, to the marriage or in case of living together or cohabitation not covered by their respective personal laws.
Sangma added that the principal Act however did not define the meaning of official purposes and by way of an amendment of the Act in 2019, the term official purposes was defined as “official purposes in relation to the said Act shall mean a contract of marriage entered between the parties for addressing issues pertaining to pensions, successions and maintenance of spouse.”
He further informed that it was observed that the main purpose of the principal Act was to ensure that all marriages in Meghalaya on or after the appointed date are compulsorily registered and this process has statutory backing through this enactment adding that the Act focused on compulsory registration of marriages in general and not on its usage or the application perse.
He also said the consequences for non-registration of marriage have already been provided for under section 13 and 14 of the principal Act which will take care of the implementation of the principal Act.
“Thus in view of the fact that the aspect of the pension or successions and maintenance of spouse are already taken care of by the concerned applicable laws, there is no need to make it mandatory to furnish marriage certificates issued under the principal Act of 2012 which is primarily aimed at compulsory registration of marriages. Therefore…an amendment was proposed to the said Act to delete the phrase “and such marriage certificates shall be required for all purposes…”
The minister informed that another amendment proposed was in respect to the registrar general of marriages.
He said at present, this statutory function is vested to the secretary in ERTS department on ex-officio basis.
“It is observed that the inspector general of registration (IGR) does not have any statutory function under the above Act either on ex-officio basis or even otherwise. However, traditionally the IGR has been dealing with matters related to registration as an intermediate interface similar to the head of department at the state level while the district officials take up any matters with the state government in the ERTS department. So it was found desirable that the district official take up all matters relating to registration of marriages with the IGR in the first instant
This was found necessary in order to ensure that the matters arising in different districts are examined or harmonized at the state level first with IGR before the same is put up to the state government for taking a final call as due,” Sangma said.
He said accordingly the cabinet has approved the proposed amendments in the form of an ordinance.
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