Two years on, Sikh Marriage Act still awaits implementation

Under the law, couples would have been allowed to legally register their marriages as well as file for divorce

LAHORE: Owing to the incompetence of the bureaucracy, the Sikh Marriage Act could not be implemented despite being approved two years ago. Under the Act, Sikh couples would be allowed to legally register their marriages as well as file for divorces.

According to the parliamentary secretary for human rights Sardar Mahinder Pal Singh – a representative of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and a member of the Punjab Assembly – the coronavirus pandemic has delayed the matter.

“A meeting was convened last year in November on devising the rules. The preparations for opening the Kartarpur Corridor, however, halted the work,” Mahinder Pal Singh said. “This year, another meeting was conducted and the home department was also taken on board. But the pandemic halted the matter from progression.”

With the consent of the majority, the Sikh Marriage Act was approved by the Punjab Assembly in March 2018. The draft of the Act was presented in the Assembly in October 2017 by Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora, a member of the former ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

The PML-N government completed its constitutional tenure in May 2018 because of which the implementation of the Act was postponed.

“We are trying to devise the rules by this year and also get them approved so that it could be ordained throughout the province,” Mahender Singh said. “The enactment of the Sikh Marriage Law in Punjab would help to expedite its preparation and its enactment in the rest of the provinces too. At present, Sikh marriages are registered under the Hindu Marriage Act in Sindh.”

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Sardar Ramesh Arora lamented that despite a span of two years, the Sikh Marriage Act rules could not be formulated.

“It should have happened earlier,” he opined. “Sikhs dwelling in Pakistan were getting married before too but they were unable to register their marriages which creates several legal issues, including division of inherited assets.”

Ramesh Arora added that there is no legal procedure available in case a couple decides to part ways.

“How can they file for divorce when their marriage is not legally registered?” Arora questioned.

Mahendra Pal Singh explained that with the formulation of the rules, various gurudwaras will be registered in Punjab to perform the marriages of Sikh couples and also issue marriage contracts.

“People – both men and women – below the age of 18 would be ineligible to tie the knot. The wedding would take place following the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib, the central religious scripture of Sikhism, according to which a couple would be mandated to take four rounds at the time of their marriage,” Mahendra Singh said.

The couple would fill in the Anand Karaj form and submit it to the authorised registrar within 30 days of their marriage, a copy of which would also be dispatched to the chairman of the union council or the municipal council, or anyone appointed by the government.

Either the Anand Karaj Registrar or the offices of the union council would maintain the records of all the marriages. Couples seeking a divorce would be required to serve a notice in writing to the chairman and also provide a copy to the other party. Within 30 days of receiving the notice, the chairman would formulate a reconciliation committee. The marital contract would be deemed nullified, and a certificate would be issued if the couple fails to reconcile even after 90 days.

Per statistics, around 20,000 Sikhs live in Pakistan, the majority of which – nearly 7,000 to 8,000 –reside in Punjab.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2020.