UP: Muslims opting for multiple marriages need to register them separately

Lucknow, Aug 3: Muslims opting for multiple marriages will have to get them registered separately in Uttar Pradesh and the government guidelines do not in any way interfere with practices of any religion, a top official said today.

The UP Marriage Registration Guidelines, 2017 were approved by the Cabinet on August 1. After notification, the Stamp and Registration Department will implement it, Renuka Kumar, the principal secretary to Women Welfare Department, told PTI. She also made it clear that the guidelines "do not interfere" in practices of "any religion".

"The UP government does not intend to interfere in the practices of any religion. If any male Muslim is going to register his marriage, then he will have the option of registration a maximum of four marriages. For this, he has to fill different registration forms," she said. However, she added that Muslims opting to marry more than once will have to get each marriage registered separately. "But, if any Muslim male has married more than once, then he has to register each of his marriage.

Males from the Muslim community will get the facility of registering four marriages, but Hindus and people practicing other religions will be allowed to register only one marriage," Kumar said. The decision of the UP government evoked mixed reactions from Muslim bodies. While the All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) said the option of registration a maximum of four marriages for may send a wrong signal, the All India Muslim Women Personal Law Board (AIMWPLB) welcomed the government's decision of "not interfering in the religious matter".

"The option of registration of a maximum of four marriages for Muslim males may send a wrong signal," AISPLB spokesperson Yasoob Abbas said. General secretary of AIMWPLB Rabia Sandal, said, "The move to register the marriages of all religions is certainly a good one. We are also happy with the government's intention of not to interfere in the practices of any religion." The principal secretary also said registering a marriage henceforth will not need the services of a lawyer. "A person can register his/her marriage from home simply at the click of a mouse by visiting the website of Stamp and Registration department.

The husband and wife after visiting the webpage of the Stamp and Registration department, will provide their Aadhaar number. Then an OTP (One-Time Password) will be sent to the registered mobile number. As soon as the OTP is entered on the webpage, all the details (including photographs of the husband and wife) from the Aadhaar card will be auto-filled. There will be no need to provide a copy of the wedding invitation card or marriage photograph," she said.

After this, details like the date, venue of and city of marriage need to be filled in the registration form and Rs 10 deposited through online banking as registration fees. If the marriage is registered within a year of marriage, then Rs 10 will be levied as registration charges, she said. The marriage will be considered as registered after this, and a reference number will be given.

The marriage certificate can be obtained on one's personal email id or can be downloaded from any cyber cafe, she said. Only the reference number has to be remembered, she added. Underlining benefits of registering the marriage, Kumar said, it would come handy during application of visas while going to foreign countries.

"Many government schemes also seek the matrimonial status of both men and women. In government application forms and other documents, where the marital status is asked, the person has to only provide the reference number, from where rest of the information can be retrieved by the government."

PTI