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Idea of making law on love marriage in Gujarat
– Photo: AMAR UJALA
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The BJP government of Gujarat is considering making a law regarding love marriage. State Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has said that his government will study the possibility of a system making parental approval mandatory in love marriages, and if it is constitutionally possible, a law will be made regarding it.
In such a situation, it is important to know what has happened regarding love marriage in Gujarat? Why is there discussion of making a law for this? What are the rules and regulations on this?
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in a high level meeting
– Photo: Amar Ujala
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has said that his government will examine the feasibility of implementing a system that makes parental approval mandatory for love marriages, but only if it is in line with constitutional provisions. During a program in Mehsana, the CM shared details of his conversation with Health Minister Rushikesh Patel.
The Chief Minister said, ‘While visiting Mehsana, Rushikesh told me that we should revisit the incidents of girls running away and conduct a comprehensive study with the aim of making parental consent mandatory for love marriages. If the Constitution supports it, we will conduct a study and try to get the best possible result.
symbolic picture
– Photo : social media
Earlier in June 2022, members of the Patidar community in Gujarat had raised the demand that if a girl from the community decides to marry a person of her choice without the consent of her parents, then at least one guardian should be present for the registration of the marriage. Signature should be made mandatory. The community had said that this would curb ‘love jihad’ as well as cases in which girls from the community are targeted to get property owned by their families.
R P Patel, president of Vishwa Umiya Dham, a prominent Patidar organisation, had also talked about submitting a memorandum to the state government to add a provision in the existing Hindu Marriage Act. This statement was given after a meeting of 18 Patidar organizations at the Vishwa Umiya Dham complex near Ahmedabad.
RP Patel had said that the Patidar community is worried about love marriage because our girls choose their life partners without informing their parents and get married after arranging for two witnesses. Many times, our girls are under pressure and instances of ‘Love Jihad’ have been seen in the past.
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– Photo: Getty Images
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel’s statement came in response to the demands of some sections of the Patidar community in the state. The conference the CM had attended was organized by the Sardar Patel Group. The organization says that parental consent should be made mandatory in love marriages.
However, even before this, many social organizations and leaders have been advocating making such laws. In March this year, during a discussion in the Gujarat Assembly, BJP MLA Fateh Singh Chauhan had linked love marriage to crimes. The MLA had claimed that making parental approval mandatory would reduce the crime rate in the state.
During the same discussion in the Assembly, Congress MLA Geeni Thakor had reiterated a similar demand to resolve the issue. He advised girls not to marry boys with criminal background. He had said, ‘Our intention is not to oppose love marriage, but to ensure that girls are not lured into relationships by boys with criminal backgrounds, causing harassment and suffering to the girls involved.’
Meanwhile, the idea of making parental consent mandatory for love marriages has received support from Congress MLA Imran Khedawala. He said in a statement, ‘At a time when parents are ignored in love marriages, the government is planning to make a special arrangement which is constitutionally possible… The CM has passed a resolution on mandatory parental approval. Has assured to conduct the study. If the government brings such a law in the assembly session, then my support is with them.
Demo Pic
– Photo : SOCIAL MEDIA
In the country, the legal age of marriage is 21 years for men and 18 years for women. There is no constitutional provision for parental approval. Couples who have attained legal age can marry without any restrictions.
However, the Gujarat government amended the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act in 2021. This law punishes forced or fraudulent conversion for marriage. In such cases the state government can intervene even if the legal age criteria is met. But there is no special provision for parental approval in this law.