According to the data maintained by the revenue department of Delhi government, the year 2023 saw an average of 2,300 couples submitting documents for the registration of marriage every month, which was more than 120% compared with a decade ago when just 1,035 completed the formalities.
Between March 1 and Dec 31 in 2023, 11 districts of Delhi government received a total of 22,944 applications for marriage registration. Of these, 15,928 certificates had been issued while several applications were still in process.
According to the estimate of an industry body, more than 3.5 lakh weddings were solemnised between Nov 23 and Dec 15 in the capital, but only 2,443 applications for registration were received in the month of Dec.
Experts believe that registration of marriage, though compulsory, is done only when the couples are required to submit the certificate for official purposes.
“The registration of marriage is still considered as a process to get a certificate required for obtaining a visa or getting the name of the spouse added in the passport. Only in a handful of cases the couples get their marriages registered with a long-term planning or to ensure there is no issue when it comes to transfer of property or inheritance within the family,” said Rajeev Sharma, a Delhi-based senior lawyer.
“Also, while registration of marriage is compulsory under the Hindu Marriage Act, the communities that follow personal laws don’t get it documented,” he added.
Marriage registration in the national capital was made mandatory through the Delhi (Compulsory Registration of Marriage) Order, 2014 in April 2014 in compliance with a Supreme Court order of 2006. This order was made applicable to all marriages solemnised in Delhi irrespective of caste, creed and religion of thebrides and grooms.
To make the process easier, the revenue department developed a software on which the details of the couple and the supporting documents were uploaded.
Since the initial response was not as expected, the revenue department had convened a meeting of all sub-registrars and senior district officials in July 2016 where a presentation on the working of the software to check the eligibility of the applicants, verification of documents and issuance of certificate online was given. The technological interventions and outreach efforts of the district administration helped in making the process simpler and making people aware about it.
Marriages are registered under four different laws – the Hindu Marriage Act, the Special Marriage Act, the Anand Marriage Act and the Compulsory Marriage Order. Officials said the couples can apply for marriage registration online on e-district portal or use the doorstep delivery of services for the certificate.