Anand Marriage Act- In a significant order, the Supreme Court has directed all states and union territories, which have not yet made rules under the Anand Marriage Act 1909, to do so within four months.
Hearing a public interest litigation, the bench ordered that until such rules are notified, all marriages performed under the Sikh ritual ‘Anand Karaj’ should be registered under the existing legal framework without any discrimination.
Case background
This writ petition was filed by Amanjot Singh Chadha under Article 32 of the Constitution, seeking directions to notify rules to the States and Union Territories under Section 6 of the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, as amended in 2012. Section 6 was added in the 2012 amendment, which mandates the State Governments to make rules for the registration of Anand marriages.
The petitioner argued that despite the parliamentary mandate, many states have not implemented the required rules, thereby limiting equal access to this legal benefit. Before reaching the Supreme Court, the petitioner filed a public interest litigation before the Uttarakhand High Court, which directed the state to implement the rules. The petitioner subsequently sent representations to several other states and union territories, but aggrieved by the continued non-implementation of the law, he filed this petition.
The Supreme Court examined Section 6 of the Act and found that it imposes a positive duty on every State Government to create a workable registration mechanism for Anand Karya marriages.
Instructions for all States and Union Territories:
1. States and Union Territories which have not yet notified rules under Section 6 shall have to do so within four months.
2. With immediate effect, and until further notice, marriages should be registered under the prevailing marriage registration system without any discrimination.
3. States which have already notified the rules will have to issue an explanatory circular within three months, detailing the procedure, and ensure that no authority insists on dual registration under any other law.
4. A Secretary-level Nodal Officer should be appointed within two months in each State/UT to monitor compliance.
6. No application for registration of Anand Karaj marriage shall be rejected merely on the ground that the rules under section 6 have not yet been notified.
