New Delhi: Following an Allahabad High Court recent interim order, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to register marriages in given cities only if either the bride, the groom or any of their parents are “generally” residents of that city, Times of India reported.
Before this, a marriage can be registered wherever it is held.
On May 12, the high court noted that there was an organized syndicate had been getting fake marriages registered on forged documents. The court directed the state government to amend the Uttar Pradesh Marriage Registration Rules, 2017, within six months.
The court of Justice Vinod Diwakar directed all deputy registrars who are in marriage registration to follow the instructions issued on October 14 2024. As per the instructions, the Aadhaar-based identification of the bride and the groom must be collected along with biometric data and photos of both parties and two witnesses. Further, age verification should be done through official portals like DigiLocker, CBSE, UP Board, CISCE CRS, Passport, PAN, and driving licence, among other things.
According to the Hindustan Times, new norms do not allow unregistered rent agreements to be proof of residence. The person who solemnizes a marriage must be present when the marriage is registered, and the said person must submit an affidavit.
The court delivered the order over an instance of people outside Ghaziabad registering their marriages in the city and approaching Allahabad High Court seeking protection from their families, thus creating “jurisdictional issues”.
Meanwhile, a lawyer named Anubhav Singh said that the new rules are clearly intended to end inter-caste and inter-faith marriages.