Gandhinagar

The Gujarat government on Friday announced its intention to amend rules under the Gujarat Registration of Marriages Act, stating that the move is aimed at closing loopholes in the current system and preventing its alleged misuse.

Addressing the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi said there was a need to introduce stricter norms, claiming that procedural gaps were being exploited and that complaints had been received from individuals and social organisations.

Sanghavi alleged that such practices were spreading in society and said the state government could no longer ignore the issue. Referring to what he described as “love jihad”, he termed it a form of “cultural invasion” and said the proposed amendments were intended to strengthen safeguards in the marriage registration process.

He informed the House that the government has invited objections and suggestions from the public on the proposed changes for a period of 30 days. Citizens and organisations can submit their views through the Health and Family Welfare Department’s website, he said, adding that the final rules would be notified after examining the feedback received.

Subsequently, the minister’s office released a document outlining the proposed revised procedure for marriage registration.

According to the draft rules, applications for marriage registration will have to be submitted before the Assistant Registrar. Applicants will also be required to attach a declaration stating whether the bride and groom have informed their parents about the marriage.

The proposal further mandates that the bride and groom furnish the names, addresses, Aadhaar numbers and contact details of their parents as part of the application.

Under the suggested framework, once the Assistant Registrar is satisfied with the application, the parents of both parties will be informed within ten working days. The application will then be forwarded to the Registrar of the concerned district or taluka.

The marriage will be registered 30 days after the Registrar confirms that all stipulated conditions under the sub-rules have been fulfilled. All relevant details will be uploaded to a dedicated online portal to be created by the state government, the document said.

During the discussion, AAP MLA Hemant Ahir, who had earlier introduced a private member’s Bill on the issue, and BJP MLA Lavingji Thakor welcomed the government’s move, describing the proposed amendments as timely and necessary.

READ MORE: Uttarakhand: Rohit Prakash pleads for Muslim keeping shops open till late

They contended that loopholes in the existing system were being misused by anti-social elements to solemnise and register marriages, and said stronger checks were required to protect vulnerable individuals.