State cannot say that it will not recognise marriage of inter-faith couple: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday remarked that it is impossible for the State to argue that it will not recognise the marriage of an inter-faith couple..Justice Yashwant Varma observed that there is no way that the State can prohibit an inter-faith couple from marrying..The Bench was hearing a plea by a Hindu woman and a Christian man, both foreign nationals, seeking registration of their marriage under the Special Marriage Act.Appearing for the couple, Advocate Rishabh Kapur told the Court that it is only under the Special Marriage Act that a foreign inter-faith couple can seek solemnisation and registration of their marriage if they want to retain their faith.He said that if the couple were to marry under any other Act, one of them would have to change their faith..The judge has now listed the matter for further consideration on December 15, by which time both the petitioners and the State must file their written submissions..The plea was filed by a woman having Canadian citizenship and a man from the United States stating that they have been living in India for the last six months and intend to get married to each other under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.The couple said that they were advised to apply for solemnization of their marriage through the official website of the Delhi government. However, when they tried to submit their application, an error message popped up saying that at least one of the parties must be an Indian citizen..When they approached the office of the local sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) and told him that there is no bar on foreign citizens solemnising their marriage in India, they were informed that the website requires the input to be made in a particular manner and that it is beyond the SDM’s control to accept their application.“In such circumstances, the Petitioners wrote a representation dated 12.10.2022 to the Respondent No. 2 (SDM) to explain the situation and requested that their case be favourably considered and they be permitted to physically file the requisite forms and documents with the office in case the website does not allow for their particulars to be accepted. However, the Petitioners have not received any response from the Respondent No. 2,” the petition filed before the High Court states..The plea further said that the Delhi High Court has already passed an order directing the government to take expeditious steps to amend the relevant guidelines and make necessary changes in the e-portal to enable foreign nationals to apply for marriage.However, even after over 16 months from the passing of this order, no action has been taken by the government to make the changes to the e-portal, the petition said.