Karnataka High Court stays State government’s 2023 notification authorising auqaf board to issue marriage certificate to Muslims

The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday kept in abeyance the State government’s August 30, 2023, notification of authorising the Karnataka State Board of Auqaf and its wakf officers in the districts to issue marriage certificates to married Muslim applicants.

The court also restrained the officers of the auqaf board from issuing marriage certificates based on this notification.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria and Justice K.V. Aravind passed the interim order on the petition filed by A. Alam Pasha, founder of the NGO, The Helping Citizen and People’s Court, Bengaluru. The interim order will be in force till January 7, 2025.

Petitioner’s contention

The petitioner had contended that the notification is beyond the legislative mandate of the wakf Act, 1995, and the marriages of any community can be registered only under the Karnataka Marriages (Registration and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1976.

“Any careful reading of the provisions of Section 32 of the wakf Act in no manner provides that the auqaf board or its officers would be said to be invested with powers to issue marriage certificates,” the Bench observed in its order.

“Under the spacious ground that applicants of the community are to be facilitated with the issuance of marriage certificates by wakf officers to alleviate them from the difficulties they may face is no ground to justify authorisation of wakf officers to issue marriage certificates, when the wakf Act, 1995, in none of its provisions will be read to confer such powers,” the Bench said.

Earlier notification

Noticing that the government had issued similar notifications since 2009, which were also challenged before the court earlier, the Bench said that although notifications had been operative for long, “prima facie are clearly beyond the powers and amount to usurpation of powers which are not available under law much less the wakf Act.”

The Bench adjourned further hearing on the petition till January 7, 2025, after ordering the issue of notice to the board as the government said that the notifications were issued on the board’s requests.

Published - November 21, 2024 08:14 pm IST