Chandigarh In a major blow to the Sikh community, the Centre has ruled out any amendments to the Anand Karaj (Marriage) Act of 1909 and said providing a separate Act for the Sikhs would invite similar demands from other communities.
“There may not be any justification for secluding Sikhs from the rest of the categories (covered by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955) as such a step would invite similar demands from other religious denominations. It is against the directive principles in Article 44 of the Constitution which aims at bringing in a Uniform Civil Code,” Law Minister Salman Khurshid said in reply to a query by Shiromani Akali Dal MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa in Rajya Sabha.
The Centre’s move to enact a separate Act for Sikh marriages drew criticism from different quarters with various Sikh bodies terming it as “anti-Sikh”, while SAD said it will take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and raise it in Parliament.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal reacted strongly to the government’s decision and called it a “breach of trust” by the Centre, as the former law minister M Veerappa Moily had assured the draft bill for Sikh Marriage Act was ready and would be sent for Cabinet approval soon before being placed in Parliament.
The marriages performed under Sikh religious rights are registered either under the Hindu Marriage Act or the Special Marriage Act.
The proposal was that under the Special Marriage Act, which was to be amended, provision for the registration of marriages performed according to the Anand Marriage Act of 1909 shall also be incorporated.
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