Summary
In a public interest writ petition under Article 32, the Supreme Court held that Section 6 of the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 (inserted in 2012) casts a mandatory, positive duty on every State Government to frame rules enabling registration of Anand Karaj marriages, and directed all defaulting States and Union Territories to notify such rules within four months, with interim registration under existing frameworks without discrimination and specific directions for Goa and Sikkim, where the Act has not been extended.
Issues
- Whether the Supreme Court should, under Article 32, secure effective implementation of Section 6 of the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 by directing time-bound rule-making by States and Union Territories that have not yet notified rules.
- Whether, pending notification of rules, marriages solemnised by Anand Karaj must be received for registration under existing marriage-registration frameworks without discrimination.
- What course should be followed in jurisdictions such as Goa and Sikkim where the extension of Central enactments is governed by special constitutional or statutory arrangements.
Provisions considered
- Section 6, Anand Marriage Act, 1909Read as a complete legislative scheme cast in the imperative: it requires a public Marriage Register with certified extracts, laying of rules before the State Legislature (sub-section (4)), and dispenses with duplicative registration once an entry is made (sub-section (5)). Sub-section (3), preserving validity of unregistered marriages, protects the sacrament but does not dilute the obligation to frame rules; the 'without prejudice' opening contemplates coexistence with other marriage laws, not substitution. The Court held the provision imposes a positive duty on every State Government, not contingent on the size of the Sikh population or the existence of parallel marriage laws. (¶¶ 6, 7, 8)
- Article 32, Constitution of IndiaInvoked to issue a limited mandamus securing time-bound performance of the statutory rule-making obligation and interim facilitation, without prescribing the policy content of the rules. (¶¶ 2, 5, 10, 11)
- Section 6, Goa, Daman and Diu (Administration) Act, 1962The Union of India was directed to issue a notification under this provision within four months extending the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 to Goa, after which Goa must frame rules within four months. (¶ 13)
- Article 371F(n), Constitution of IndiaThe Union was directed to consider and place before the competent authority, within four months, a proposal to extend the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 to Sikkim under this clause with any warranted modifications. (¶ 14)
Held
- Section 6 of the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 imposes a positive, non-deferrable duty on every State Government to create a workable registration machinery for Anand Karaj marriages. Failure to make rules withholds the evidentiary and administrative benefits Parliament conferred and frustrates the uniform facility the 2012 amendment was designed to secure. (¶¶ 7, 8)
- Access to marriage registration bears on equal treatment and orderly civil administration, particularly safeguarding women and children who depend on documentary proof; uneven access across States produces unequal outcomes for similarly situated citizens, and a secular framework must provide a neutral route by which Anand Karaj marriages are recorded on the same footing as others. (¶¶ 1, 9)
- Pending framing of rules, existing general civil marriage-registration frameworks must receive applications for registration of Anand Karaj marriages on the same footing as other marriages and, on request, record that the ceremony was by the Anand rite. In jurisdictions with special arrangements governing extension of Central enactments, the immediate duty is non-discriminatory reception and certification under the prevailing framework while the competent authority considers extension. (¶ 10)
- General directions: defaulting respondents to notify Section 6 rules within four months and lay them before the Legislature; interim non-discriminatory registration with immediate effect; respondents with rules to issue clarificatory circulars and publish forms, fees and timelines within three months and not insist on duplicative registration; a Secretary-level Nodal Officer to be designated within two months; the Union of India to circulate model rules within two months and file a consolidated status report within six months; no application may be refused solely because rules are not yet notified, and any refusal must be reasoned in writing. (¶¶ 12, 15)
Result
Writ petition disposed of with directions: States and Union Territories without rules under Section 6 of the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 to notify them within four months; interim registration of Anand Karaj marriages under existing frameworks without discrimination; Union of India to extend the Act to Goa under Section 6 of the Goa, Daman and Diu (Administration) Act, 1962 within four months and to consider extension to Sikkim under Article 371F(n); compliance affidavits to be filed and the Union to file a consolidated status report within six months; pending applications disposed of.