The Delhi government’s marriage officers seem to be a little jittery in dealing with registration of marriages involving foreign nationals and have been overburdening the office of the divisional commissioner with requests for approval before taking up the final documentation.
A note has now been issued to all officers to avoid the futile exercise of file movement and delays.
Despite clear instructions by the marriage cell at the revenue department’s headquarters, the marriage officers have been mechanically forwarding cases involving foreigners to the head office, adding to delays in the process and a pile-up of files, said an official.
In January this year, the divisional commissioner simplified the procedure and divested powers for registration of marriages involving foreigners under Section 15 of Special Marriage Act, 1954.
However, senior officials said the district-level officials were still a little unclear about the proceedings for registration of marriages involving foreigners – especially those in which the embassies of the foreign nationals were not giving no-objection certificates on their marital status.
“The marriage officer need not send individual file to headquarters for approval of divisional commissioner and may take decision at his own level as per prescribed procedure,” said Deputy Commissioner (Hq) S K Jain in a note sent to all marriage officers.
At the district level, deputy commissioners, additional district magistrates and sub-divisional magistrates are conferred with powers as registrars of marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act and Special Marriage Act.
Sources said the AAP government had simplified the procedures in January to hasten the process of marriage registration involving foreigners but the desired results could not be achieved due to some marriage officers’ insistence of seeking the headquarter’s approval in each case.
Registration of marriage under the Special Marriage Act requires a fee of Rs 150 and the process is completed within 60 days.
Under normal conditions, most districts register about 60-100 marriages in a month. A bulk of marriages registered by district officers is under the Hindu Marriage Act.
Only a fraction of the total applications received involve foreigners.
Sources, however, said central, New Delhi, south and north east district were among those which get the most number of marriage registration applications involving foreigners.
From January, the revenue department started issuing marriage certificates even in those cases in which the foreigner’s embassy delays the process of giving a “no-objection certificate” to ascertain the marital status of their respective citizens.
In such cases, the Delhi government has started processing the marriage registration application after taking from the foreigner an affidavit duly attested by the official of the concerned embassy in India.
The revenue department also relaxed the procedures and said: “If the embassy chooses not to attest even the affidavit, the foreign national may get the affidavit attested by an executive magistrate on the basis of identity disclosed through the passport.”
In such cases, the marriage certificate issued to a foreigner may carry a rider saying: “The marriage is being registered on the basis of documents furnished by the parties engaged in/ having solemnised the marriage.
The marriage officer is not certifying the authenticity of the documents. The party to the marriage shall be personally responsible for any persuasion, fraud or violation of any law for the time being in force.”
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