Prayagraj, The Allahabad High Court in a suo-moto proceeding has directed the state government to amend Uttar Pradesh Marriage Registration Rules, 2017, to establish a robust and verifiable mechanism to ensure the “validity and sanctity” of marriages.
Justice Vinod Diwakar ordered the exercise be completed within six months.
The direction was passed months after concerns about the emergence of an organised racket involved in getting fake marriages registered.
“All Deputy Registrars entrusted with the task of marriage registration shall strictly adhere to the instructions issued under the notification dated October 14, 2024, in both letter and spirit,” the court said.
In an October 2024 notification, instructions were issued to the officials to ensure that marriage registration in UP must require Aadhaar-based authentication of the bride and groom, biometric data and photos of both parties, and two witnesses.
Strict age verification through official portals like DigiLocker, CBSE, UP Board, CRS, Passport, PAN, Driving Licence, and CISCE were also made required.
It also stipulated that the ‘pandit’ who solemnised the marriage must be physically present at the Registrar’s office during registration.
The court asserted that the interim directions would specifically apply to the registration of marriages involving runaway couples.
The court added, if any of the family members of the parties to the marriage are present at the time of registration, the Marriage Officer may, at his discretion, waive these conditions, either wholly or in part, after being satisfied as to the genuineness of the marriage.
In its 44-page order, the bench, dealing with 125 petitions filed by runaway couples seeking protection, said that in many cases it has witnessed that the marriage certificates are issued by societies which do not exist, and such fake certificates are issued to obtain a protection order from the high court.
In its order dated May 12, 2025, the court also noted that the individuals named as witnesses are also found to be fictitious, their details, including Aadhaar, are forged, and the institutions or organisations issuing such certificates lack any legal entitlement under their bylaws.
In numerous cases, no actual marriage ceremony had taken place, it said.
The court also remarked that genuine litigants are relatively few compared to the large number of petitions, which rely on fabricated documents and false claims.
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