‘Necessary’ for candidates to furnish marriage proof

SHILLONG: Michael Syiem, the convener of Maitshaphrang Movement, has maintained that candidates of the Assembly elections should furnish marriage registration certificate while filing nomination papers according to the Meghalaya Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act, 2012.
He pointed to the mandatory clause in the Act that a married person should compulsorily furnish certificate for all official purposes.
“It is the first test for the Act, to see how effective the Act is. We want to see the reaction of the government. Most government departments have not yet implemented the Act,” he said.
Syiem met Chief Electoral Officer FR Kharkongor to urge the effective implementation of the Act in which he was informed by Kharkongor that the matter will be taken up with the Law Department.
Meghalaya Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act, 2012, states, “Whereas, further it is mandatory for married men and married women to compulsorily furnish a marriage certificate for all official purposes.”
Syiem said the Act would be applicable everywhere in the state and argued that it would address the issues of broken marriages and bigamy.