In a significant directive, the Delhi High Court has urged the state government to establish an online registration option for Muslim marriages on its official portal, addressing a gap in the current system. The Delhi government’s platform currently allows marriage registrations solely under the Hindu Marriage Act or the Special Marriage Act (SMA), leaving no provision for couples who marry under Muslim law.
This issue surfaced in a recent case where a Muslim couple accidentally registered their marriage under the SMA due to the portal’s limitations. The couple, who had married in accordance with Sharia law, argued that the lack of a suitable registration option forced them into a legal framework that contradicted their beliefs and intentions.
Justice Sanjeev Narula, presiding over the matter, instructed the Chief Secretary of Delhi to personally oversee the implementation of an online registration option for Muslim marriages, emphasizing the need for swift compliance. The Court previously issued a similar order in July, yet the government had taken no substantial action to amend the system.
The couple’s representation argued that the absence of both a specific online option and an offline alternative infringes upon their constitutional rights, notably Articles 14, 21, and 25. A request to annul the erroneous registration under the SMA and formally dissolve their marriage under Muslim law was granted, with the court voiding their prior registration record from May 2021.
This ruling marks a critical step toward enabling a more inclusive system that respects the diverse marital traditions in Delhi, potentially setting a precedent for how marriage registrations are handled across different faiths in the future.
