No special marriage notices posted in Kerala, parents upset

A decision of Kerala government last year to do away with the practice of publishing notices of marriages under Special Marriage Act online has not gone down well with a section of people in the state. Some believe that publishing the notices online helped save many girls from falling into traps.

The Allahabad High Court recently ordered that publishing even the notice of intention of couples to get married under the Special Marriage Act is optional.

Christian Association and Alliance for Social Action (CASA), a Kerala based NGO, is planning to move the court seeking a directive that at least parents of the prospective brides and bridegrooms be intimated even if the notices are not published online.

The Kerala Registration Department started publishing marriage notices under SMA online from 2019 as part of online registration initiatives. But it was allegedly misused by some, who circulated the notice with the pictures of the couple, dubbing it as 'love jihad'.

Athira Sujatha Radhakrishnan, one of the victims of such a campaign, posted her plight on the social media last year, following which Kerala registration minister G Sudhakaran ordered to do away with the online posts.

CASA state president Kevin Peter told DH that there have been instances where prospective brides were rescued from being cheated when notices were published online. Apart from concerns of 'love jihads', Peter said girls can be rescued from marrying married persons, or persons with shade backgrounds with the earlier system.

"We respect the privacy of individuals. But the concerns of parents also need to be considered. Hence, we suggest that there should be a provision to intimate the parents of the prospective bride and bridegroom about the marriage," said Kevin, adding that CASA would take up their plight before court.

Meanwhile, Athira said every individual of legal age has the right to marry as per their choice. She said that to protect girls from falling into traps, systems must be made stringent instead of infringing privacy of matrimonial alliances. She also said that she completely welcomes the Allahabad HC order making the marriage notices optional.