Daijiworld Media Network - Gandhinagar
Gandhinagar, Feb 23: Any marriage solemnised in Gujarat may soon require formal intimation to parents if proposed amendments to the Gujarat Registration of Marriages Act are implemented by the state government.
The draft amendments mandate that couples declare whether they have informed their parents about their marriage at the time of registration. Authorities would also be required to notify parents during the registration process.
Announcing the proposal in the state Assembly on Friday, Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said the move was aimed at tightening procedures around marriage registration, particularly in cases involving elopements and alleged instances of “love jihad”.
Alleging that “innocent girls are being trapped” and that such practices were spreading “like termites” in society, Sanghavi said the government could no longer ignore the issue. He clarified that the government was “not against love” but would act strictly against those who “defame love through deceit”, adding that fraudulent practices involving fake identities could have serious social and cultural consequences.
Key provisions in draft rules
According to the draft rules shared by the minister’s office:
• Marriage registration applications must be submitted before an Assistant Registrar along with a declaration stating whether the bride and groom have informed their parents.
• Applicants must provide the names, addresses, Aadhaar details and contact information of their parents.
• Parents of both parties will be notified within 10 working days once the Assistant Registrar is satisfied with the application.
• The application will then be forwarded to the Registrar of the concerned district or taluka.
• The marriage will be registered after 30 days if all requirements are fulfilled.
• Details will be uploaded to a proposed government portal created for this purpose.
Officials said the final decision on implementing the amendments will be taken after reviewing public feedback. Objections and suggestions have been invited for 30 days through the Health and Family Welfare Department’s website, following which the final rules will be notified.
Legal questions likely
The proposed amendments may face legal scrutiny, as the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld that the right of two consenting adults to marry is a fundamental right under the Constitution.
In the landmark Hadiya case, the court restored the marriage of Hadiya (formerly Akhila) and Shafin Jahan, which had been annulled by the Kerala High Court.
In its 2018 judgment, a bench led by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, along with Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, emphasised that “the right to marry a person of one’s choice is integral to Article 21 of the Constitution.”
The court observed that choices regarding whether or whom to marry lie outside the control of the state, and that an adult woman has “absolute autonomy over her person.” It also rejected allegations of “love jihad” in the case and upheld Hadiya’s decision to convert to Islam, noting that faith is intrinsic to individual identity.
Justice Chandrachud, in his concurring opinion, underscored that the intimacies of marriage fall within a core zone of privacy that is inviolable and that courts must safeguard such freedoms from state intrusion.
With constitutional principles of personal liberty and autonomy firmly established by precedent, the Gujarat government’s proposal is expected to trigger debate over the balance between regulatory oversight and individual rights.