Why in news?
The Law Commission has recommended the need for a law regarding marriages.
What are the recommendations?
- The new law should make the registration of marriages compulsory.
- An all-India framework under which all marriages can be registered regardless of the different customs and traditions should be created.
- The marriages can be registered under any of the prevailing marriage acts.
- Registrar who is responsible for the registration of births and deaths shall be responsible for the registration of marriages as well.
- The production of a marriage certificate should be made mandatory for anyone applying for any benefit on behalf of the spouse and for getting benefits of any welfare schemes like agricultural and education loans.
- It called for the creation of a centralised national portal.
- The availability of forms and documents in regional languages must be ensured to make the portal easily accessible to all citizens.
What is the rationale behind the move?
- Earlier this year, the Department of Legal Affairs forwarded a request for ways to end the continued prevalence of practices such as child marriages, bigamy and gender violence in Indian society.
- These recommendations are given as a response to that request.
- It recognized the complexity of personal laws but said the compulsory registration is only aimed as a “procedural change” to protect hapless women from fraudulent and illegal marriages.
- It would supplement the domain of family laws that already exist.
Source: The Hindu
