Fear that marriages under Christian laws will be eroded: Kynta
SHILLONG: Church leaders have filed a writ petition in the High Court of Meghalaya challenging the validity of the Meghalaya Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act, 2012.
The petitioners — Seinborly Diengngan, Thanlijoy Diengdoh, Nongpyndeng and P. Gleamland Khongsdir — are pastors of different Churches who felt the need to seek the court’s intervention as they feel following the Act is similar to re-registering.
“We are not against the Act but the lawmakers should have exempted us who have licence to solemnised marriages. The certificates we provide after solemnisation is redundant (no). Our right to solemnised has been divested,” Diengngan told reporters.
Lawyer VGK Kynta said the State Act is infringing the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872. “The State Act has been legislated in an already occupied field in so far as the central Act is concerned. Under the central Act any marriage conducted by licensed persons under the Act, the marriage itself is inclusive of the registration. The marriage officer or the licensed person who conducted the marriage issues a certificate and the separate registration does not arise as it is part and parcel of the registration under the central Act, which is self-contained.”
Questioning as to how a state law can overwrite a central legislation, he said, “The State Act is invalid and it is ultra-vires of the Constitution and subjected to judicial review and a writ petition is filed in this regard. If we allow this law to continue it will tantamount that any marriages conducted by licensed persons under the central law will be a mere formality, it will be redundant.”
“The meaning of marriage under the Act includes all marriages contracted in the State by persons belonging to any caste, tribe or religion. The law includes remarriages, live-in relationships which also have to be compulsorily registered,” he added.
“It creates problem for the married people as after the solemnisation of the marriages which is sacrosanct in the Christian society, the married couple will have to face the problem of sending the memorandum to the registrar of marriage. There is nothing like that in the central law, the State law has already created problem for the people who conducted marriages as there is a fear psychosis that the marriages under Christian laws will be eroded,” Kynta said.
“After the solemnisation of marriage, the couple will have to prepare a memorandum duly signed by them and forward to the marriage registrar of the area and this has to be done within 30 days of the marriage failing which the couple will be penalized under Section 14 according to the law under the 2012 Act,” he added.
The next hearing will be on November 24.