Shivangi Prakash-
Delhi High Court issued a notice on a petition seeking to relieve NRI couples from having to attend in person for marriage registration.
Justice Rekha Palli has served notice on the Delhi Government’s Standing Counsel (Civil) and set the case for August 20. Within one week, the respondent is required to file a status report.
The petitioners, who were represented by Advocate Praveen Gaur, asked for permission to appear virtually before the competent Sub-Divisional Magistrate for registration of their marriage, which took place in New Delhi in 2012.
They contended that the Delhi (Compulsory Registration of Marriage) Order, 2014’s Clauses 4 (d), (e), and (9) are being misunderstood to compel the petitioner’s physical appearance before the Registering Authority by omitting appearance via video conferencing.
The petitioner argued that such an interpretation would be irrational and arbitrary and hence, would violate Section 8 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, along with Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution.
Also Read: Kerala High Court allows NRI couple to register Marriage via Video Conferencing
The petitioners married in a Hindu Vedic ceremony in New Delhi in 2001. They moved to Singapore after the birth of their son, where their daughter was born.
The petitioners now needed a registered marriage certificate from the local government of the place where they were married to apply for a Green Card in the United States, as required by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The authority in the case of the petitioners would be Sub Divisional Magistrate, Punjabi Bagh.
They claimed that the petitioners couldn’t come to India to get the registration done in person because of the serious epidemic of the Delta version of the COVID-19 virus in India and the accompanying travel ban imposed by the Indian and US governments.
The petitioners were unable to complete their online marriage registration application because it required an Aadhaar Card Voter ID card.
The Petitioners then submitted a representation with SDM, Punjabi Bagh, through their counsel, requesting that the form be accepted in physical form and that they be exempted from personal appearance for marriage registration. They have, however, got no response in this regard.