Bill mandates marriage registration, fines up to ₹50 for non-compliance

It establishes procedures for registering marriages, including who must provide information, timelines for late registration, and the powers of Registrars to correct or cancel entries.

Who it concerns: All persons intending to get their marriage registered; parties to a marriage; heads of households, priests, or persons in charge of venues where marriages take place; Registrars of births, marriages, and deaths; and the Central and State Governments.

What the bill does

• Mandates that every person shall get their marriage registered under this Act, the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, or any other applicable law.
• Defines 'marriage' to include marriages solemnized between a male and female of any caste, religion, or tribe, including remarriages.
• Requires Registrars to enter all information given regarding marriages in the register upon payment of prescribed fees.
• Specifies that parties to a marriage or designated persons (such as heads of houses, priests, or venue managers) must provide information and documents to the Registrar within a prescribed time.
• Prohibits Registrars from refusing to register a marriage if a duly filled and signed form is received, except on prescribed grounds.
• Establishes a tiered system for delayed registration: late fees for delays up to 30 days; permission from a prescribed authority and affidavit for delays between 30 days and one year; and an order from a Magistrate of the first class for delays exceeding one year.
• Allows Registrars to correct or cancel erroneous or fraudulent entries in the register by making marginal entries.
• Permits any person to search registers and obtain certified extracts of birth, marriage, or death entries, with extracts admissible as evidence.
• Empowers Registrars to require any person to furnish information regarding births, marriages, or deaths in their locality.
• Imposes a fine not exceeding fifty rupees for contravening the duty to provide information regarding marriages.
• Grants the Central Government power to make rules for implementation and to direct that provisions apply or do not apply to marriages solemnized under other laws or customs.

Also in the document

• The Bill is an amendment to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969.
• It explicitly states that the registration of marriages under this Act does not affect rights recognized or acquired under any other law, custom, or usage.
• It creates a specific penalty (fine up to fifty rupees) for failing to provide required marriage information.
• It clarifies that the Act is in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in force regarding marriage registration.