Kerala Govt may consider marriage registration for transgender persons

The Kerala state government will soon try to amend the Kerala Marriage Registration (Common) Rules, 2008, to allow the registration of marriages of transgender people.

According to the Hindu report, the move comes as a result of the absence of any reference to transgender people in the marriage laws of any religion or the Common Rules enacted in the State, under which marriages are solemnized and registered.

The law establishes that all marriages solemnized in the State after the entry into force of the Rules will be compulsorily registered regardless of the religion of the parties to the marriage.

The Chief Registrar General will soon approach the state government seeking its opinion on the matter. Legal sources pointed out that the only option is to amend the general rules to include marriage registration of transgender persons in the state.

Amendments are necessary

The Kerala High Court has made a critical observation regarding the registration of marriage under the Special Marriage Act. The court has asked the government whether a one-month notice period is necessary for a view of the increase in the number of young people who come back to the country and get married during the break of foreign work.

The Special Marriage Act of 1954 is designed for those who want to get married beyond the religious rites and those who want to do inter-faith marriage. Hindu, Muslim and Christian marriage laws exist for those who marry according to the customs of any religion.

Those who are not willing to cooperate with the religious systems and those who marry people of other religions are the ones who register their marriages under the Special Marriage Act. Of which the second category is the vast majority.

Since 2008, there has been a requirement for all religious people who marry according to religious rites to register the marriage with the local self-governing body. Registration is to be done as per the Marriage Registration Rules, 2008. Accordingly, the marriage should be registered at the Panchayat, Municipality and Corporation offices and the certificate should be obtained.

Same-sex marriages

In Kasaragod Neeleswaram Municipality, a transgender couple who got married under the Hindu Marriage Act recently approached the local body for marriage registration, and the legal tangle regarding the registration of transgender marriages was cleared.

Same-sex marriages cannot be registered in the state because the law does not foresee such marriages.

Only marriages registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and ceremonial marriages performed in accordance with the customs and ceremonies of either party to the marriage can be registered under the ordinary laws.

Only legal marriages can apply the rules for marriage registration, sources pointed out.

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