Sikh groups have always said that their community members used to face difficulty overseas as their marriage certificates were issued under the Hindu Marriage Act.

Great news for Sikhs in Delhi as Lt. Governor Anil Baijal has passed the Anand Marriage Act. He has approved to notify the terms of Act that was pending for the longest time.

In Delhi, marriages in Sikh community will no longer be registered under the Hindu Marriage Act, instead will be registered under Anand Marriage Act as Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal granted his approval to notify the regulations in the capital, confirmed an official of the Lt. Governor office who did not wish to be named.

The spokesperson said that once the rules get notified within a couple of days, members of Sikh community will not have to get their marriages registered under the Hindu Marriage Act any longer.

 “L-G has approved the file of Delhi government with regard to the implementation of the Anand Marriage Act. The revenue department will now notify it,” added the official.

While expressing his gratitude towards Lt. Governor Anil Baijal and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for implementing this act in Delhi, Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Rajouri Garden (Delhi) and Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) General Secretary, Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that Anand Marriage Act has long-standing demand in the Sikh community and finally it has been implemented in the National Capital after 109 years since it was originally demanded by the Sikh community. Sikh community first demanded the implementation of this act ay back in the year 1909.

Sikhs demanded Anand Marriage Act when they realized that the marriage certificate issued to Sikhs under Hindu Marriage Act created disagreement in legal dealings for the Sikhs mentioning Sikhism as their religion.

Marriages in Sikh community are called ‘Anand Karaj’; hence it was important that the Marriage certificate specified the term Anand Karaj.

The Akali Dal initiated the demand for this Act. Popular Akali leader, Sundar Singh Majithia emphasized the requirement of a law to regulate Sikh marriages and how it was going to help them in legal dealings.

Only a few people know that a long battle been fought to pass the Act and implement it. Finally, it has happened for the betterment of the Sikh community.

Sikhs living abroad were going through hard times as their marriage certificate was under Hindu Marriage Act while their religion was cited as Sikh. As a result, this forgotten demand was brought back once again. Sikhs will not face such issues once they are able to register their marriages under Anand Marriage Act.

According to Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal’s wish to have this marriage act implemented in the entire nation; Sirsa has been pursuing this issue with various administrators and governments.

This act has already been implemented in all the states of the country with a majority of the Sikh population including Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, apart from other states.

“Its implementation in the National Capital was of most important as large numbers of Sikhs are residing in National Capital also, DSGMC General Secretary also appealed to the members of the Sikh community to get their marriages registered under the act and get the benefit of it,” stated Sirsa.

A few days ago, Delhi Revenue Minister, Kailash Gahlot had confirmed that final provision of the Anand Marriage Act is in its final stage. Last year, a delegation of Sikh community, supervised by AAP legislators, insisted the Delhi government implement the provisions of the Anand Marriage Act early.

Sikh marriage ceremonies are commonly known as ‘Anand Karaj’ which means “blissful event”. However, Sikh community has established the fact that the people of their community face major problems abroad since their marriage certificates are issued under the Hindu Marriage Act. They face issues abroad because they identify themselves as Sikhs but their marriages are registered under the Hindu Marriage Act.

The Anand Marriage Amendment Bill 2012

The revisions made in the Anand Marriage Act (1909) were inadequate and does not completely resolve the identity crisis that Sikhs face. The Anand Marriage Amendment Bill 2012 has been passed by the parliament of India. However, the absence of the provision for divorce in the amended Bill has sparked a huge debate in the Sikh community, with some section of people against it and others supporting it.

While one school of thought believes there is no place for divorce in the Sikh “Rehat Maryada” and hence the marriage Bill should not have any provision for divorce in it, the other section feels that the Anand marriage Act must have divorce provision so that Sikhs don’t have to rely on the Hindu Marriage Act again to get a divorce.

Sikh Ideology Does Not Support Divorce

Although Sikh ideology does not support divorce, but harsh truth is that just like other communities, divorce is a social reality for Sikhs as well. The act should have the provision for legal separation. Due to the absence of divorce provision, Sikhs have to fall back on the Hindu Marriage Act for annulling their marriages.

The fastest way of getting a divorce in India is by mutual consent. The married couple has to file a petition seeking divorce in the Court, on the grounds that both the wife and the husband have been living separately for a time period of one year or more, thus failing to take care of their marital duties and wanting to dissolve their marriage.

You can also read these blogs for more information:

• How to Get A Divorce Under Anand Marriage Act in India?
• Lt. Governor Approves to Notify Anand Marriage Act for Sikh Community
• How to Get Mutual Consent Divorce in India?

How Long The Couple Will Have To wait for Divorce?

6 to 15 month of time is given to the married couple for reconciliation and reconsidering their decision for seeking a divorce. However, if they are not able to reconcile and divorce petition is not withdrawn during this time period, the parties have to present themselves again to the court for making a second motion confirming the mutual consent filed earlier. The Court after having heard both the parties would grant a verdict of divorce.

In case either of the spouses is not ready for the mutual divorce, then one can file a petition under any of the grounds mentioned under Section 13(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act. Divorce petition has to be filed in the district court of the city where both the partners lived together for the last time, which was their matrimonial home.

Sikhs Can Register Their Marriages Under The Anand Marriage Act

Sikhs can now register their marriages under the Anand Marriage Act. The Marriage Register is open on all working hours for the examination of the records by the parties to the marriage. A complete application form signed by the parties is required, along with the documentary evidence of date of birth of both parties and an affidavit provided by both parties mentioning the time, date, and location of marriage.

When Supreme Court of India Made Registration of Marriages Compulsory?

When Supreme Court of India made registration of marriages compulsory, it was obligatory for Sikhs to get their marriages registered under Hindu Marriage Act. Sikhs then did everything they possibly could to get an amendment in an already existing Act called Anand marriage Act, 1909. This act was passed by British legislative council and for the first time Sikh marriage was recognized through “Anand” which is also popularly known as “Anand Karaj”. The act amendment was made in 2012 by the Central Government, keeping a provision for registration of marriages performed by Sikhs through Anand or Anand Karaj.

Registration of the Anand Marriages of the Sikhs Under This New Amended Act.

After the amendment by the Central Government, the states were supposed to make their own rules to facilitate registration of the Anand marriages of the Sikhs under this new amended Act. However, through RTIs, it has come to light that only Haryana has framed their rules in 2014 and no other state has framed the rules so far. As a result, the circumstances are now forcing the Sikhs to get their marriages registered under “Hindu Marriage Act” instead of “Anand Marriage Act”.

India has diverse religions and cultures, therefore it becomes necessary that the laws meet the desires of its citizens so that they can have freedom, profess and spread their religion without clashing with people from other religions. This way the envision of the framers of the constitution of a Secular, Democratic and Socialist nation can be attained fully in both spirit and letter.

The constitution of India which first invalidated the Anand Marriage Act 1909 has failed to even consider the amendment into the constitution which was adopted in 1950. According to this Act Sikhs are deemed Hindus and hence they are supposed to follow all Hindu laws. Even though the Anand Marriage Act was passed in 1909, there was no provision for registration of marriages and they were registered under the Hindu Marriage Act.

Indian Parliament Passed the Anand Marriage Amendment Bill 2012

However, in 2012 both houses of the Indian Parliament passed the Anand Marriage Amendment Bill 2012. This bill legalized Sikh traditional marriages, amending the Anand Marriage Act of 1909, consequently making a provision for the registration of Anand marriages. According to the amended Anand Marriage Bill, couples who have registered their marriages under this new Act will not have to get their marriage registered under any other law.