JOIN USNow, separate marriage laws for Sikhs
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed three important laws including the one allowing members of Sikh community to register their marriages under the Anand Marriage Act instead of the Hindu Marriage Act.
The other two laws are: Copyright Act (Amendment) Bill, 2012, Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Bill.
Anand Marriage (Amendment) Bill, fulfilling the long standing demand of Sikh community for a separate marriage Act was approved by the Lok Sabha by voice vote. The Bill was earlier passed by the Rajya Sabha on May 21.
The Bill will enable Sikhs to register their marriages under the Anand Marriage Act instead of the Hindu Marriage Act, Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid said.
Currently, marriages of Sikhs along with those of Buddhists and Jains are registered under the Hindu Marriage Act, while Muslims, Parsis, Christians and Jews have separate Acts for registration of their marriages.
Harsimrat Kaur of Shiromani Akali Dal, who supported the bill said Sikhs residing in foreign countries had been facing identity problems “because while they identify themselves as members of separate religion Sikhs, their marriages are registered under the Hindu Marriage Act”.
The Copyright Act (Amendment) Bill, 2012, passed by the Rajya Sabha on May 17 was approved by the Lower House, that witnessed a rare unanimity among all parties supporting the measure for those working in creative sector.
Special courts
The Bill declares authors as owners of the copyright, which cannot be assigned to producers as was the practice till now.
Another Bill approved by the Lok Sabha seeks to protect children below 18 years from sexual abuse, set up special courts for speedy trial of cases against them and provide stringent punishment extending up to life term for offenders.
“The Bill is gender neutral. It seeks to protect children from sexual offences...the burden of proof will be on the accused,” Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath said winding up the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2011.
The Bill, which was earlier cleared by the Rajya Sabha, was approved by the Lower House by voice vote on Tuesday.
Tirath said according to the Bill, all below 18 years of age would be treated as a child. She said efforts had been made to keep provisions of the bill child-friendly. It contains provisions for in-camera trial of offences, deciding case within one year and recording statement of the child at a place of child’s choice, she said.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Lalu Prasad Yadav raised concerns over the misuse of the Bill. Addressing their concerns, Tirath said provisions had also been made to deal with offences related to false complaints.