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Paper work for marriage

Shah Md. Mushfiqur Rahman
TODAY well be discussing registration of marriage. People have a lot to ask about this issue and there exist lots of misconceptions around this. Is marriage registration mandatory for everyone? Who is responsible for such registration? Are marriage registration and 'court marriage' synonymous? These and lot more would be answered in this article.
The law that regulates registration of marriage in Bangladesh is the Muslim Marriages and Divorces (Registration) Act 1974. The title of the law well implies that this is meant only for Muslims and people professing to other religions are kept outside of its purview. It also suggests that the law covers registration of divorce too.
Now, who has the authority to register a marriage? A Nikah Registrar does. Due licenses for working as Nikah Registrars are provided by the government to necessary number of persons. These authorized Registrars are responsible to examine the parties for satisfying themselves as to the effecting of the marriage by examining the parties to the marriage or the witnesses before they can start on the registration process. Where the Nikah Registrar refuses to register a divorce, the aggrieved person may, within thirty days of such refusal, prefer an appeal to the Registrar. In such a case the order passed by the Registrar shall be final, meaning no questions can be raised against this decision in any court.
A marriage registration takes a lot of columns to be filled up and requires signatures of a good number of persons. It is the duty of a Nikah Registrar to fill up the columns and to obtain the necessary signatures. In the case of an illiterate person, his thumb impression would do. Thereafter the Nikah Registrar shall put his signature and seal therein.
The amount payable as registration fee is dependent on the amount settled as dower. Ten taka would be charged as fee for the dower of every one thousand taka. But this amount would not go beyond 4,000 taka i.e. 4,000 taka is the highest possible amount of registration fee. The fees for registration of a marriage shall be payable by the bridegroom.
On completion of the registration of any marriage the Nikah Registrar shall deliver to
the concerned parties an attested copy of the entry in the register, and for such copy no charge shall be made.
If a marriage remains unregistered, it shall be reported to the concerned Nikah Registrar, within whose territorial limit it commenced, within fifteen days of such marriage. The person solemnizing such marriage would be responsible for such reporting. In case of otherwise, he will be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred taka, or with both.
Now, why registration is necessary? Is it a prerequisite for the validity of a Muslim marriage? Let's start with the answer of the latter one. No, it is not a prerequisite. So a Muslim marriage without registration is valid in the fullest sense of the term. Registration of marriage makes it easier to prove the existence of a marriage and ease the realization of legal rights, of both husband and wife, ensued from a marriage. Unregistered marriages, on the other hand, can easily be clouded with uncertainty and leaves open an opportunity to get away with foul play. It is also a strong deterrent to child marriages.
We talk a lot about court marriage and often associate it with elopement. Courts, as a matter of fact, have nothing to do with the solemnization of marriages. Ac tu ally parties to an elopement go to tire court to make an affidavit. It is nothing but a written declaration made under oath before an authorized person (e.g. magistrate).The declaration in the case of elopement would invariably state that both the parties fulfill the age limit required by law and they have married each other completely voluntarily. Elopement is often followed by kidnapping charges against the bridegroom. An affidavit can pay dividends in the event of such criminal accusations.
It can well be argued that if registration of marriage is so good then why it should not be made applicable irrespective of religion. Mandatory marriage registration for everybody will reduce the hassle in proving a marriage in the court of law and in turn reduce the duration of a suit. Greater awareness is to be created for such refonn and meantime to yield the benefits of existing provisions of law.
The writer is advocate, member of Dhaka Bar Association.