This techie panchayat establishes a progressive mindset with the step they took to register a marriage through video conferencing. The Erumeli Panchayat office registered a marriage of a nurse who works in Malta after the couple secured an order from the Kerala High Court.
The situation arrived since the bride, Jyotsna had to go to Malta to accept a job offer soon after her wedding in February. She left for her job but her husband, Lijin, was unable to follow her because their marriage was not registered in the local self-government body. Then the authorities at the panchayat office had refused to register the marriage and said, unless both the man and wife went to the office in person, they will not be able to register the marriage.
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The groom, Lijin, who is a resident of Mukkoottuthara, tried hard to seek permission from the government but the attempts went in vain as no one agreed to register their marriage. Disappointed with this, he knocked the doors of court and filed a case before the high court, which asked the panchayat to register the marriage using the available means.
Meanwhile, Jyotsna went to the Indian embassy in Malta to grant her father the power of attorney to sign on the register on her behalf. Lijin and his father-in-law went to the panchayat office, where panchayat secretary PH Noushad contacted Jyotsna through video call. He registered the marriage after Jyotsna officially identified her husband and father.
