Twenty-nine-year old Ravi Singh, a
resident of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, got married on June 25, last year. After
living the blissful marital life for about a year, Ravi is nowadays worried about
getting his marriage registered.
This is due to the law which made registration of marriages in Uttar Pradesh mandatory with effect from 2017. In
view of this Ravi decided, as a law-abiding citizen, to get his marriage
registered.
To facilitate and ease the
registration of marriages, an online application process was launched for the
purpose. Ravi too was aware of it and so on April 2019 he visited the website
through the link https://igrsup.gov.in/igrsup/defaultAction.action for the
registration.
One of Ravi’s friends had informed him
that here he would be required to register his Aadhaar card number as well as
that of his wife after which they shall receive a one-time password (OTP) over the mobile phone. Submitting the OTP so received would help generate their marriage
registration certificate on the basis of the information furnished by them. The
process seemed quite simple.
When Ravi visited the website and
clicked for the online registration of marriage, the website responded: “This
service has been temporarily withdrawn due to technical issues. Press NO in
order to do office-based marriage registration.”
Ravi informs Gaon Connection over the phone, “Till last year (2018) online marriage
registration worked smoothly. It is only for the past few months that the online registration isn’t happening. This is why mine too didn’t get
registered.”
He added: “The reason I could
understand behind the withdrawal of online facility is when I went to
Gorakhpur’s Registrar’s Office for the marriage registration, I was asked to
shell out Rs 6,000 for it. It is noteworthy that I was asked Rs 6,000 whereas
the marriage registration fee is a mere Rs 50. Everyone from the lawyer and
office clerks is involved in it. This may be the reason why the online registration
has been closed deliberately.”
So far as the marriage registration fee is
concerned, as per rule, it is Rs 10 for registration within a year from
marriage. For registration after a year of marriage, it becomes Rs 50 and so
keeps on increasing with the delay of each year. For example, if one registers
two years after marriage the fee charged will be Rs 50*2= Rs 100.
To verify Ravi’s charges when Gaon
Connection team visited the Registrar’s Office in Lucknow indeed a lawyer did
demand Rs 5,000 for registration! The lawyer justified by saying that one would
clearly see the distribution of the said sum among various officials. But when
inability to pay Rs 5,000 was conveyed, the same lawyer offered the
registration towards the payment of Rs 3,000. He, however, told the team to bear
the expense of affidavit and other paperwork separately. He also handed a long
list of documents to be produced at the office during marriage registration
which included wedding card, affidavit and even mark-sheets!
What do the rules say?
As per law, provisions have been made
for Aadhar-based marriage registration. If both the parties’ Aadhar Card has
been linked with their mobile phone numbers that marriage registration
certificate can be downloaded online. One need not approach the office for it.
Meanwhile, online marriage registration remains a distant dream in Uttar Pradesh.
One has to approach the office for it where thousands of rupees go in greasing
the palms of the officials.
Calls made to the Inspector-General Stamp
and Registration Department’s office regarding the issue was not answered.
