A Sikh couple has approached the Bombay High Court seeking that it order the Maharashtra government to frame rules for the implementation of the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, in the state.
The plea filed by the advocate couple earlier this month noted that ten states in India, including Delhi, Punjab, Kerela, Assam and Rajasthan, have already framed rules for implementation of the Act.
The Anand Marriage Act seeks to give statutory recognition to a marriage rite of the Sikhs called ‘Anand’. Thus, any marriage performed according to the ‘Anand’ ceremony is valid with effect from the date of its solemnisation.
”It is quite unfortunate that the state of Maharashtra is yet to promulgate rules for the Anand Marriage Act. The Sikhs in Maharashtra, despite having separate legislation for registration of their marriages under the Anand Marriage Act are forced to register the same under the Hindu Marriage Act,” the plea said.
The petition is likely to come up for hearing in due course. As per the petition, the Anand Marriage Act was promulgated in 1909. It was amended in 2012 making it mandatory for states to frame their rules for the implementation of the act.
The petitioner couple got married in 2021 by performing Anand Karaj at a Gurudwara in Aurangabad in Maharashtra but are unable to get their marriage registered under the Anand Marriage Act in the absence of rules. The Maharashtra government’s failure to frame the rules which is mandatory under the Act is violative of the fundamental rights of lakhs of Sikhs, the petition stated.
