8. Legal Awareness – Indian Laws
Regarding Registration of Marriage
At present there is no uniform marriage law that exists in
India. Some of the states in the Indian Union have
enacted legislations to make marriage registration
compulsory; those states are Andhra Pradesh, Delhi,
Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka,
Maharashtra. Other states such as Bihar, Chattisgarh,
Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, etc., are yet to follow the lead
to make the necessary changes in their legislations to
make the registration of marriages compulsory. However,
in these States registration of marriages is optional.
India has a plural system of laws. The four major
communities viz. Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Parsi, have
their own personal laws governing marriages. In addition to
these laws, there is the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
In February 2006, the Supreme Court of India gave the
central and state governments three months to enact
legislation making it compulsory to register all
marriages. This law would help ensure a minimum age
for marriage, prevent marriages without the consent of
both parties, check bigamy and polygamy and deter
people from buying and selling young girls under the
pretence of marriage.
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