Call for reintroduction of Marriage Registration Act

SHILLONG, Dec 14: The Maitshaphrang on Tuesday held a meeting with members of the Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW) to discuss the need to implement the Meghalaya Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act, 2012 to deal with the increasing problem of husbands abandoning their wives and children without providing any child support.
The meeting was held at the office of MSCW in the presence of its Chairperson, Phidalia Toi and Maitshaphrang chairman, Michael N Syiem.
To make the Act effective in dealing with the problem, the meeting proposed to move the state government to amend a portion of the Preamble of the principal act of 2012 which states: “…whereas further it is mandatory for married man and married women to compulsory furnish their marriage certificate for all official purposes” and redefine the term “official purposes” to enlarge the scope of implementation (giving the importance of enclosing the Schedule Tribe/Caste for certain official purposes) so that the purpose of the Act is served in providing a solution to the current problem.
The meeting also decided to propose to the state government the importance of decentralising the powers to register marriages right down to the level of the block development officers.