Notaries can't certify marriages

The High Court of Karnataka on Monday directed the Law Secretary to issue a notification prohibiting notaries from issuing any certificate on marriage declaration. The order was issued during the hearing of a habeas corpus petition.

Manoj, a Bangalore-based software engineer had filed the petition seeking a direction to the police to produce his ‘missing’ wife in the court. He had claimed that he married his colleague in May 2012 and they had obtained the marriage declaration certificate from a notary. According to the petitioner, he had not informed his parents about his marriage and that his in-laws had accepted him. However, of late, he was allegedly prevented from meeting his wife or calling her over the phone. After filing a complaint with the HAL police, Manoj had approached the court with a habeas corpus petition.

A bench of Justices K L Manjunath and Ravi Malimath dismissed the petition on Monday after a letter by the woman (whom Manoj claimed to be his wife) was produced in the court in which she had denied any sort of marital relationship with the petitioner. The bench also directed the registrar, civil court and Law Secretary to issue a notification barring notaries from issuing marriage declaration certificates.