By Muhammad Luqman Pakistan’s Punjab province made history on Wednesday as the provincial legislative assembly passed a law exclusively regulating the marriages of the Sikh community in the province. The Punjab Sikhs Anand Karaj Marriages Act 2018 was approved in the Punjab Assembly unanimously. “Pakistan has become the first country to pass a law regulating marriages of the Sikh community,” the only Sikh legislator in Punjab Assembly , Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora said after the law was passed. The act states that no male or female of the Sikh community below the age of 18 years can solemnise marriages under the law. It also upholds that all marriages between Sikh persons, whether solemnised before or after this law is passed, shall be registered with the relevant union council. A duly completed and signed Sikh marriage form shall be submitted to the marriage registrar, which will be appointed, and notified to the union council within 30 days of the date of marriage. Each union council shall grant a licence to one or more persons for the purposes of entering and registering Sikh marriages in the marriage registry. Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora said it is unfortunate that Sikhs had not been given a separate identity in terms of their family laws, even in India. “In India, marriages of the Sikh community are registered under the Hindu Marriage Act,” the MPA said.
The Punjab Sikhs Anand Karaj Marriages Act 2018 (Text)
Definition of Sikh and religion Sikh means prescribed in the law as- Sikh means a person who follows Sikh religion as a monotheistic Sikh religion and believes in the scriptures of Guru Granth Sahib and does not subscribe to any other religion and Sikh religion means the belief in Akalpurakh (One Eternal Being) the ten Gurus from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh and the acceptance of Guru Granth Sahib as the Eternal-Living Guru. Solemnisation of Marriage No male or female of the Sikh community who will be below the age of eighteen years, could solemnise marriages under the law. Saving of Marriages Nothing in the Act will affect the validity of any marriage duly solemnized according to any other marriage ceremony customary among the Sikhs. Registration of Marriages Every marriage between Sikhs shall be registered under the Act. For the purpose of the registration of marriages under the Act, the government, in the prescribed manner, shall grant license to one or more persons professing Sikh religion to be called Anand Karaj Registrar, authorizing him to grant Anand Karaj Certificate. The bridegroom and the bride or a Granthi shall fill the Anand Karaj form and present it, within thirty days of the marriage, to the Anand Karaj Registrar for registration of the marriage and a copy thereof shall be sent to the chairman. Chairman means the chairman of a union council or municipal committee or any officer authorized by the government to perform the functions of the chairman under the act. A marriage, which is not solemnized by the Anand Karaj Registrar, shall, for the purpose of registration under the Act, be reported within thirty days of the solemnization of the marriage to him (chairman) by the Granthi or the person who solemnized the marriage. Fine The violators will be punished and fined which may extend to ten thousand. Dissolution of Marriage Any party that wishes to dissolve the marriage shall give to the chairman notice in writing of his or her intention to do so and shall supply a copy thereof to the other party. Within thirty days of the receipt of the notice under subsection (1), the chairman shall constitute an arbitration council in the prescribed manner for the purpose of bringing about reconciliation between them and the council shall take all steps necessary to that effect. If reconciliation is not effected within 90 days from the date of the notice, the chairman shall, after the lapse of the ninety days, declare the marriage to have been dissolved and issue the certificate of the dissolution of marriage in prescribed manner.
