Karnataka high court suspends Waqf Board’s power to issue marriage certificates

BENGALURU: The Karnataka high court Thursday passed an interim order to keep in abeyance, until Jan 7, 2025, the govt order permitting Karnataka State Waqf Board to issue marriage certificates to Muslim applicants.

"In view of the strong prima facie case, the order dated Aug 30, 2023, authorising the board and officers to issue marriage certificates shall remain in abeyance until the next date of hearing. The Waqf Board or its officers shall not issue marriage certificates under the guise until the next date," Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind observed, while adjourning the hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL).
"It is difficult to perceive that a marriage certificate issued by Wakf Board or officers could be used as valid certificates for any official purpose," the division bench observed.
A Alam Pasha, a Bengaluru-based social activist, filed a petition challenging the order empowering Waqf Board to issue marriage certificates to Muslim applicants.
"Conferring of power to register a Muslim marriage on Waqf Board goes beyond the legislative mandate of Waqf Act, 1995, which created State Waqf Board statutorily. The entire power and functions of Waqf Board have been defined under Section 32 of Waqf Act, and the power to register a Muslim marriage cannot be said to flow from the said section. A bare perusal of Waqf Act makes it clear that Waqf Boards do not have the statutory power, mandate, or authority to register a Muslim marriage. Various high courts have already held that the registration of marriage by Waqf Boards is beyond the scope of power conferred under the Waqf Act," the petitioner stated.
According to the petitioner, Waqf Board's administration is already crippled, and it has failed to properly implement the provisions of the Act. Burdening it with additional duties of registration of Muslim marriage would only undermine its operational efficacy to look after and administer Wakf properties.
The petitioner further claimed that in terms of the Supreme Court's judgment in the Seema vs Ashwani Kumar case, from a governance point of view, the purpose of registration of any marriage is solely for maintaining records of "vital statistics".
"The sanctity of marriage is not dependent upon its registration. A valid marriage, as per personal laws of the parties, remains valid irrespective of whether the marriage was registered or not. It is important to note that whenever any law prescribes the registration of marriage in India, they usually come with a caveat that non-registration does not lead to invalidation of the marriage," the petitioner added.