Plea alleges Muslim Marriages are being forcibly registered under Special Marriage Act, 1954: Delhi High Court issues notice

The Delhi High Court on Friday, issued notice in a plea alleging that Muslim marriages are being forcibly registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (Dhanak of Humanity and anr v. State of NCT and ors),.The petition has been filed by NGO Dhanak of Humanity and a Muslim man alleging that he was being compelled to register his marriage under the Special Marriage Act (petitioner). .The petitioner submitted that he was made to undergo the process under the Special Marriage Act, which requires a thirty-day wait before marriage registration, despite his marriage being a Muslim religious marriage and not an inter-faith marriage,.The petitioner further informed that he and his partner are Muslims and that they had their marriage solemnised following Islamic rituals on March 26, 2021. The couple later wanted to get their marriage registered under the Compulsory Marriage Order, 2014, which allows marriages to be registered immediately without any delay or notice. However, the Magistrate under whose jurisdiction the marriage was sought to be registered declined to register it under the 2014 order and instead proceeded under the Special Marriage Act,1954, it was submitted. The petitioner contended that this has caused a lot of hardship to him since getting the marriage registered under the Special Marriage Act requires thirty-days' notice period, which is very cumbersome. The plea further informed that the couple had fled their homes and married against the wishes of their families and that they were taking refuge with Dhanak for Humanity.In this backdrop, the petitioners stated that the refusal to let the couple register their marriage under the Compulsory Marriage Order violated fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution i.e. the right to life and personal liberty. It was argued that the couple's right to live has been threatened and curtailed, and further that the authorities are bound to protect the same by registering their marriage immediately. .The petitioners, therefore, urged the Court to direct the respondent-authorities to allow the registration of their marriage under the Compulsory Registration of Marriage Order, 2014. .It was also prayed that the Court direct that all such marriages (i.e. marriages solemnised under Islamic law) be registered under the Compulsory Registration of Marriage Order. .The petition was filed through advocates Utkarsh Singh, Md Tauheed Arshi and Mohd Humaid..[ READ ORDER ]