Context: The Supreme Court has directed 17 States and 8 Union Territories to frame rules for the registration of Sikh marriages under the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, within four months.
Till then, Sikh couples can register their marriages under existing laws. This ensures legal recognition of Anand Karaj marriages, but it does not solve deeper problems with the Act.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Anand Marriage Act.
What is Anand Karaj?
- Anand Karaj, literally “blissful union”, is the prescribed form of marriage in the Sikh faith.
- The ceremony is conducted in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy scripture of the Sikhs.
Anand Marriage Act 1909:
- In the early 20th century, efforts by the Sikh community for legal recognition of their distinct marriage ceremony (specifically to differentiate it from Hindu rituals) led to the enactment of the Anand Marriage Act in 1909.
- The Act legally sanctifies all marriages solemnised through the Anand Karaj ceremony. However, the original Act did not include provisions for the registration of these marriages. This gap was addressed over a century later with the Anand Marriage (Amendment) Act, 2012.
Anand Marriage (Amendment) Act, 2012:
- The Amendment introduced Section 6, which directed state governments to create rules for the registration of Anand Karaj marriages.
- Once registered under the Act, a couple would not need to register their marriage under any other law.
Issues with Anand Marriage Act
- The Act only provides for recognition and registration of marriages but does not cover divorce, custody, or other matrimonial disputes.
- Sikh couples seeking divorce must still rely on the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which undermines the distinct identity of Sikh personal law.
- Most States and Union Territories have still not framed rules for the registration of Anand Karaj marriages, despite the 2012 amendment.
- The failure to notify rules has denied Sikh couples a statutory facility and created uneven access to their legal rights.
- Without a marriage certificate, Sikh couples face hurdles in matters of residence, maintenance, inheritance, and succession.
- This inaction has effectively disenfranchised a large section of the Sikh community from the benefits of a central law.
The SC recently addressed this gap and issued a comprehensive set of directions to all States and Union Territories to frame rules for registration of Anand Karaj marriages within four months and held that no application can be refused in the meantime.
Limitations of Supreme Court recent directions:
- The order only addresses the problem of registration and does not resolve deeper legal gaps such as provisions for divorce, custody, or other matrimonial disputes.
As a result, Sikh couples must still rely on the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 for matters beyond registration, leaving the larger demand for a comprehensive Sikh Marriage Code unaddressed.