INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Lucknow: In a judgement that is likely to bring relief to inter-faith couples, the Allahabad High Court Wednesday declared as optional the
the marriage officer to publish or not to publish such a notice.If the couple did not intend so, the marriage officer has to solemnise their
marriage forthwith without publication of 30 days notice, the order said.A section of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, requires an
inter-faith couple to give written notice of the marriage to the district marriage officer.The court was considering a habeas corpus
judgement comes against the backdrop of a recent controversial law enacted by the Uttar Pradesh government which prohibits forcible
of religion by marriage to be unlawful.The single-judge bench, however, clarified that it would be open for the marriage officer to verify
judgement came following a petition filed by Abhisek Kumar Pandey, who said that his wife Sufia Sultana, who had changed her religion to
In the course of hearing, the couple stated that they were major and married out of their free will and wanted to live together
under Special Marriage Act, 1954, it was mandatory to publish 30 days' prior notice before the marriage officer solemnised the marriage of
either under personal laws or under the Special Marriage Act, 1954
"Under any personal law, no such notice is required and the priest solemnises the marriage on the will of the intending couple and if legal
objections arise later, they are free to move the competent court for redress
"Then no reasonable purpose is achieved by putting the provision of 30 days' notice publication under the Special Marriage Act," the court
"Thus, this court mandates that while giving notice under the Special Marriage Act, it shall be optional for the parties to the intended
marriage to make a request in writing to the Marriage Officer to publish or not to publish a notice of 30 days and follow the procedure of
of notice in writing, the marriage officer shall not publish any such notice or entertain objections to the intended marriage and proceed
with the solemnisation of the marriage," the judge said
The Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2020, which was notified by the Uttar Pradesh government on November 27,
provides for a jail term of up to 10 years for any violations
Under the law, which deals with different categories of offences, a marriage will be declared "null and void" if the conversion of a woman
The Supreme Court has, however, agreed to examine controversial new laws of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand regulating religious conversions
issued notices to both state governments on two different petitions and has sought response from both the state governments within four
weeks.The Uttar Pradesh law seeks to curb 'love jihad', a term coined by BJP leaders and right-wing activists to describe the crime against
which Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also spoken out publicly
Addressing bypoll rallies in Jaunpur and Deoria, Adityanath had used the Hindu funeral chant of 'Ram Naam Satya Hai' to threaten those who
