At present, there is no such law to provide for compulsory registration of marriages in the country except four States — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, which have enacted laws for compulsory registrations of marriages. The proposal for uniform central law for the country has been pending for the last 15 years and it has been seen that many times unscrupulous husbands altogether deny marriage leaving their wives in the lurch be it for seeking maintenance, custody of children or inheritance of property.
It would be pertinent to mention that India has a plural system of laws where four major communities have their religion based personal laws, Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Parsi. Registration of marriage is compulsory under the Indian Christian Marriages Act, 1872. Under the Act, entries are made in the marriage register of the church, soon after the ceremony, along with the signatures of the bridegroom, the bride, the officiating priest and witnesses. Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936 makes necessary Registration of Marriages.
In Muslim law, a marriage is regarded as a civil contract and the qazi, or officiating priest, also records the terms of the marriage in a nikahnama, which is handed over to the married couple. Under Section 8 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1954, there exists a provision for registration of marriages. However, it’s left to the contracting parties to either solemnise the marriage before the sub-registrar or register it after performing the ceremony in conformity with Hindu beliefs.
