The Anand Marriage Act of 1909 requires states and union territories to set rules for the registration of Sikh marriages. On February 27, the Supreme Court decided to list the PIL for heating.
In response to a petition brought by attorney Amanjot Singh Chadha, the Supreme Court gave notification to the federal government, the states, and the union territories in November of last year.
The 1909 Act was passed to officially recognize Sikh marriage ceremonies, or AnandKaraj, and to dispel any questions about their legality.
The AnandMarriage Act was amended in 2012 to meet the long-standing need for Anand Marriages to be registered, giving Sikh couples the choice to do so.
The petitioner, who had initially brought the matter before the Uttarakhand High Court, argued that state governments were required, under the 2012 amendment, to establish regulations to make it easier for Sikh weddings to be registered.
He claimed that state governments and their employees were disobeying the Anand Marriage Act of 1909’s requirements to formulate and publicize the rules, thus violating citizens’ Fundamental Rights under Articles 14, 19, 21, 25, 26, and 29 of the Constitution.
The high court dismissed the petition and instructed the chief secretary of Uttarakhand to take the necessary actions to present the aforementioned plan to the Cabinet, receive approval from the Cabinet, and then publish it in the Gazette and present it to the Legislative Assembly.
The petitioner claimed, however, that the state government had not carried out the high court’s directive. He argued that while many states have not announced the rules, some states and UTs have already established regulations for the registration of Sikh weddings under the Anand Marriage Act, of 1909.
The petitioner submitted that he made representations to the governments of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Gujrat, Bihar, Maharashtra, Telangana and the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, Leh and Ladakh, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Pondicherry, Andaman and Nicobar, as also the states of Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh in this regard.
News Mania Desk
