Government for compulsory registration of marriages: Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

NEW DELHI: In a bid to prevent harassment of women, the government has decided to make registration of marriages compulsory, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

At the same time, the government said as of now, there was no proposal to link Aadhaar for the purpose.

"In order to provide evidentiary value to matrimonial and maintenance cases and prevent unnecessary harassment meted out to women, it has been decided to provide for compulsory registration of marriages," Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply in the Lower House.


He pointed out that in a 2006 judgment, the Supreme Court had directed that registration of marriages should be compulsory for all citizens, irrespective of their religion.

The Law Commission had recently told the government that compulsory registration of marriages would help prevent "marriage frauds" and protect the women, who were often denied the status of a wife due to the absence of matrimonial records.

The commission had said a minor amendment to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, by including a provision for compulsory registration of marriages, would serve the purpose.

It had also made it clear that there was no need to amend the personal laws dealing with marriages.