SC wants states to notify rules on Sikh marriage registration: What is Anand Karaj?

The court has issued a 4-month deadline to register Sikh marriages.

The Supreme Court has directed all states and union territories that have not yet framed rules for registering marriages solemnised under Sikh rites to do so within four months, reported the Indian Express.

The Anand Marriage Act, 1909, was enacted to recognise marriages performed through the Sikh ceremony of Anand Karaj. In 2012, Parliament amended the law to add Section 6, requiring state governments to notify rules for registration. However, several states have yet to comply.

In an order dated September 4, made public on Thursday, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said that until such rules are notified, states and UTs must register Anand Karaj marriages under the existing framework “without discrimination.”

What is Anand Karaj?

Anand Karaj is the Sikh marriage ceremony, which means “Blissful Union.” It is a religious rite performed in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib, the central scripture of Sikhism. Anand Karaj follows its own religious customs and is distinct from marriages conducted under the Hindu Marriage Act or the Special Marriage Act.

To formally recognise marriages conducted through this ceremony, the Anand Marriage Act was enacted in 1909. However, for many years, the law did not provide for registration. In 2012, Parliament amended the Act to include Section 6, requiring state governments to frame rules for registering such marriages. Despite the amendment, several states and UTs have not yet notified the required rules.

The court expressed disapproval over the delay, observing, “In a secular republic, the State must not turn a citizen’s faith into either a privilege or a handicap. When the law recognises Anand Karaj as a valid form of marriage yet leaves no machinery to register it, the promise is only half kept. What remains is to ensure that the route from rites to record is open, uniform and fair.”

Why marriage registration matters

The bench underlined that registration is crucial for ensuring equality and orderly civil administration. It noted that a marriage certificate serves as proof of status for residence, maintenance, inheritance, insurance, succession, and enforcement of monogamy. It also plays a vital role in protecting the rights of women and children.

Highlighting the importance of uniformity, the court said, “In a secular framework that respects religious identity while ensuring civic equality, the law must provide a neutral and workable route by which marriages solemnised by Anand Karaj are recorded and certified on the same footing as other marriages.”