By IANS,
Shillong : Married people in Meghalaya now have to present wedlock certificates to apply for jobs and driving licences, an official said Monday.
“It is now mandatory for people to produce marriage certificates. Government departments have been instructed to insist on a certificate whenever an applicant for a job or licence indicates his or her marital status,” Jopthiaw Lyngdoh, commissioner for excise, registration, taxation and stamps department, told IANS.
He said an official notification has been issued in this regard.
“Non-compliance of this instruction shall be deemed to be a violation of a Supreme Court order and shall be dealt with under the provisions of the code of criminal procedure and the code of civil procedure,” he added.
The Mait Shaphrang Movement (MSM) — an organisation of people interested in generating a movement on “positive thinking” — said the government should enact a law on compulsory registration of marriage rather than issuing a notification.
“Meghalaya must enact a law on compulsory registration of marriage to deal with social problems caused by rising divorce cases,” MSM leader Michael Syiem told IANS.
He said compulsory registration of marriage and possession of wedlock certificate will help in checking bigamy and polygamy.
The government’s decision follows the Supreme Court’s direction to all states that the procedure for compulsory registration of marriages should be notified.