Plea before Bombay High Court seeks enforcement of Anand Marriage Act in Maharashtra

A plea has been filed before the Bombay High Court seeking enforcement of Anand Marriage Act of 1909 in the State of Maharashtra [Satvinder Kaur Manmohan Singh Bindra and Anr. vs The State of Maharashtra]..The Anand Marriage Act was enacted over a century ago to give legality and sanctity to a Sikh marriage ceremony known as 'Anand Karaj'. Thereafter, it was amended in 2012 to mandate notification of rules for its implementation by States.The plea highlighted that despite registration of Anand marriages being mandatory under the Act and ten States having notified rules for the same, the State of Maharashtra has failed to do so for almost a decade."The petitioners state that registration on Anand Marriages is a mandatory enactment under section 6 of Anand Marriage Act 1909, however the State of Maharashtra for the past 9 years has failed to notify the rules. The act casts a duty upon the State Government to frame rules under Section 6 , regarding registration of Sikh Marriages and notify them," it stated.The petitioners, a married couple, also sought registration of their marriage under the Act. They argued that non-registration of Sikh marriages in the State adversely affects those professing the religion by infringing articles 14, 25 and 26 of the Indian Constitution. They also underlined that registration of marriages is an integral part of fundamental rights Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.Further, they stated that article 29 of the Constitution provides the right to conserve culture which has been impaired due to non-implementation of the Act.Therefore, the plea sought directions to the Government of Maharashtra to implement Anand Marriage Act by notifying rules under it and also to register their marriage under the Act.