Tough wedding record law soon

KOLKATA: All those who fail to record their marriages within three months of tying the knot before a pundit or a kazi, will landin prisons for three months. They will also have to pay a fee to the recording authority to get the marriage registered.
The West Bengal government will place a bill to this effect making the recording of marriage compulsory.
According to government sources, the move is primarily to ensure payment of maintenance to women in cases of divorce. “ There are many cases where men often deny marriage to avoid payment of maintenance.
Since the marriage itself is challenged, courts cannot order provisional maintenance. We want to plug the loopholes now,’’ said an official.
The tendency to deny the marriage became more rampant after the ceiling on the maintenance amount was abolished, following an amendment to the CrPC both by the state and the Centre.
Estranged wives or their families often try to present the priest or kazi who solemnise the marriages, but the whole exercise became messy.
The officials pointed out that the registration of marriage with the government approved marriage registers had not been made compulsory so far in view of the socio-economic reality.
However, all communities had their marriage acts which blended traditional practices with legal framework.
The new bill would allow recording of the marital status and name of spouses with the government designated officers at block level as well as gram panchayat officials. Muslim marriages could be recorded with the kazi’s office which was already the prevailing practise.