For the longest time, officially registering a marriage has been quite tedious, and most people have been put off by the process since it can sometimes feel quite unorganized. Other than being seriously complex, the process has been quite a time consuming one as well. Additionally, most people do not see the immediate benefits in registering a marriage, since it only comes in useful, a long time after receiving the certificate.
However, with all the awareness about marriages, today and why registering for them is important, there are a lot more marriages registered in India today as compared to a decade or two back. Indian couples prefer going through the religious rituals for marriages, and ignore legal point of view. People also don’t see the benefit of getting the law and Government involved in their marriage, with a rise in the number of live-in relationships.
Benefits of a marriage certificate
Some of the benefits of a marriage certificate are that they prevent the mistreatment of people within the marriage. They additionally help prevent child marriage, fraud, bigamy and husbands deserting their wives since they record marriages on paper and can take legal action in such cases.
Marriage certificates are particularly helpful for women seeking rights as wives since they are associated and known by that title. Some Indian states have also gone a step further and through the Law Commission also suggested linking marriage registration with the Aadhaar card, the 12-digit biometric-based unique identity number, to ensure universal traceability.
Although there has been a significant improvement in the number of people registering their marriages across India, there are a large number of marriages still going unregistered. Many have stated that the only purpose of marriages in India is for some direct benefit like changing names to get a passport or visa easily, or migrating abroad, otherwise, there isn’t a rush when it comes to applying for a marriage certificate.
The Hindu Marriage Act, considers customary or ritualistic marriages to be legitimate, which kind of implies that the Governmental registration is not a necessity. However, when customary marriages are not registered with a state body, it becomes a little challenging for couples, which implies the wife in particular, to prove their marital status while applying for identity cards, loans, joint bank accounts, even divorce. The best way to register a marriage is through a new online system that they created. The website works on assisting people with the entire marriage certificate process. It allows them to submit all their documentation and receive a date when they have to go to the office to sign the document. The website even provides information about the process, so even people who do not want to get the certificate through the website can get the information they need and handle this at the office
