Tirlochan favours Anand Marriage Act for Sikhs

Patiala, May 4 (UNI) Rajya Sabha member Tarlochan Singh today demanded the early introduction of Anand Marriage Bill in Parliament in its ongoing budget session.

Talking to reporters here, he said that since the Standing Committee of Parliament has already cleared the proposed bill for this act, the government should introduce it in Parliament.

He said that the long-pending demand of the Sikhs to register their marriages under the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, would be met soon if the UPA government will act according to his suggestion of amending the Act.

The Supreme Court in its judgement in February 2006 directed that marriages of all persons, who are citizens of India belonging to various religions, should be compulsorily registrable in their respective states, he pointed out.

Mr Tarlochan Singh was hopeful that the government will amend the Anand Marriage Act to facilitate the registration of marriages of the Sikh community. He said this demand had been pending for nearly six decades and called for appropriate changes as well as duly incorporating the registration clause in the Act, permitting the registration of marriages of the Sikhs all over the country.

He further said that all Sikh MPs and the SGPC had appealed to the UPA government to permit the Sikh community to register their marriages under the Act.

UNI XC HS MMS1603