Only Husband Or Wife Can Seek Correction Of Entries In Register Of Marriages, Not Any Third Party: Kerala High Court

Case title:
Anvar Sadath Ibrahimkutty and Anr. Vs. The Chief Registrar General of Marriage and Ors.

Date of Order:
6th October, 2022

Bench:
Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan

Parties:
Petitioner- Anvar Sadath Ibrahimkutty and Anr.
Respondent- The Chief Registrar General of Marriage and Ors.

SUBJECT

According to a recent ruling by the Kerala High Court, the parties to the marriage must initiate any action under Rule 13 of the Kerala Registration of Marriages Rules 2008 for the correction or cancellation of entries in the Register of Marriages (Common).

A third party who is not a party to the marriage cannot submit an application for the correction or cancellation of entries in the Register of Marriages, according to Justice P. V. Kunhikrishnan.

IMPORTANT PROVISIONS

Rule 13 of the Kerala Registration of Marriages Rules 2008-

Rule 13 talks about the cancellation and collection of entries.

1. Subject to the conditions in sub-rule (2), the Local Registrar shall make appropriate corrections, including cancellation of registration, noting the evidence for such corrections in the margin of the Register of Marriages (Common), without altering the original entry. The Local Registrar shall be satisfied either suo motu or on application by the parties that any entry in the Register of Marriages (Common) is inaccurate in form or substance or has been fraudulently or improperly made.
2. No adjustments or cancellations of material details, such as names, ages, dates, or other details, may be made without the consent of the relevant Registrar General, provided that the parties involved are given a reasonable opportunity to be heard.
3. The Local Registrar must make the necessary corrections or cancellations to the Register of Marriages after receiving approval under paragraph (2). (Common).
4. For revisions to the Register of Marriages (Common) that are not clerical errors, a fee of Rs. 100 will be paid.
5. The parties to the marriage must be notified when an entry is updated or cancelled in accordance with this Rule, and the local registrar must submit a report to the relevant Registrar General with all pertinent information.

BRIEF FACTS

• According to the Muslim Act's religious rites and rituals, the first petitioner married in 2009, and the union was recorded in accordance with the Kerala Registration of Marriages (Common) Rules, 2008.
• The father of the first petitioner (4th respondent) reportedly had a problem with the union and had applied to the Local Registrar of Marriages (Common) (3rd respondent) for the cancellation of the marriage registration certificate on the grounds that the union had not been solemnised in accordance with Muslim law.
• Despite the fact that the complaint was turned down, the Registrar General of Marriages (Common) issued an order accepting the complaint and nullifying the marriage registration after receiving an appeal.
• The petitioners were then instructed to turn over the marriage licence. This infuriated people, who chose to file a Writ Petition.

ISSUES RAISED

Whether a third party apart from the husband or wife file for cancellation of marriage under Rule 13 of the Kerala Registration of Marriages (Common) Rules, 2008?

ARGUMENTS ADVANCED BY THE PETITIONER

• The attorney for the petitioner argued that because Rule 13 of the Rules, 2008 does not treat the father of the first petitioner as "party to the marriage," respondents 1 and 2 erred in admitting the complaint.
• The attorney further argued that respondents 1 and 2 lack the authority to determine whether a marriage is valid and that only a civil court has the authority to make such a determination.

ARGUMENTS ADVANCED BY THE RESPONDENT

The government head insisted that there was no need for interference and backed the contested decree.

ANALYSIS BY THE COURT

• The Local Registrar can either entertain an application for correction and cancellation of entries in the Register of Marriages suo motu or on the application by the parties, the Court remarked after taking into account the arguments made by both Counsels and reading Rule 13 of the Rules, 2008.
• The Court emphasised that it is obvious from a plain reading of Rule 13 of Rule 2008 that the parties to the marriage are meant by the phrase "application of the parties" in Rule 13(1). Parties to the marriage are the husband and wife, who are known as the spouses. A third party who is not a party to the marriage is ineligible to submit a request for entry correction or cancellation.
• Although the fourth respondent is the father of the first petitioner, the court noted that he is not a party to the marriage, and as a result, the impugned decisions made by respondents 1 and 2 at the request of the fourth respondent are unsupportable.

CONCLUSION

• The Court further noted that the legitimacy of the marriage cannot be decided by the Registrar by using the powers under Rule 13; instead, it must be decided by a competent court, citing the Kerala High Court's ruling in Lakshmi S.S. v. State of Kerala andOrs. [ WP(C).No. 24105 of 2014]
• As a result, the Court dismissed the contested orders and granted the Writ Petition.

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