Registration procedures and appeals

(1) (v) After following the steps mentioned in the sub clauses (i) to (iv) above, if the Registrar comes to the conclusion that the rejection order passed by the Sub-Registrar is just and valid, she/he shall reject the appeal by passing a reasoned order mentioning that the appellant(s) may prefer an appeal against the order passed by her/him to the Registrar General within thirty days of receiving the order. A format of such an order is provided in Annexure - 15; (vi) After following the steps mentioned in the sub clauses (i) to (iv) above, if the Registrar comes to the conclusion that the rejection order passed by the Sub-Registrar is erroneous, she/he shall award the appeal by passing a reasoned order, a format of which is provided in Annexure - 15. In such a case the Registrar shall also issue the certificate of registration of marriage/acknowledgment of registered marriage as per Annexure - 4 or 5 or 10 or 13 as the case may be. (2) In case of registration of decree of divorce/nullity of marriage: (a) Steps to be taken on inaction by Sub-registrar - (i) If the Sub-Registrar fails to act on a memorandum for registration of a decree of divorce or nullity of marriage within fifteen days of its receipt, the memorandum shall be automatically forwarded to the Registrar for the purpose of summary inquiry; (ii) The Registrar shall ensure the inquiry is completed and an appropriate decision is taken within fifteen days of receiving the forwarded memorandum. (b) Deciding appeals filed against an order passed by Sub-registrar: The registrar is required to decide an appeal, preferred by the appellant(s) against an order passed by a Sub-registrar rejecting the appellant(s) memorandum for registration of decree of divorce/nullity of marriage, as far as possible within 60 days from filing of the appeal, while deciding the appeal- (i) The Registrar shall carefully consider the ground(s) on the basis of which the memorandum for registration of decree of divorce/nullity of marriage, was rejected; (ii) The Registrar shall examine the memorandum/application submitted to the Sub- Registrar as well as the grounds of appeal and the reasons put forth by the appellant(s) challenging the rejection order; (iii) After applying her/his mind in the manner prescribed above, if the Registrar is of the view that to meet the ends of justice it would be helpful to give an opportunity of hearing to the party/parties, she/he may hear the party/parties, via video conferencing or if the party/parties, so prefer, by affording an opportunity of physical hearing; (iv) The Registrar shall give at least three days’ notice to the appellant(s) in the format prescribed in Annexure 14 regarding a scheduled hearing through video conference or through physical presence. The appellant(s) shall have an option to reschedule the video conference/physical hearing for a maximum of two times. If the appellant(s) fails to take advantage of hearing despite the opportunity afforded in the foregoing manner, the Registrar shall proceed to decide the appeal on merit based on the available documents/information. A format of the order to be passed in this regard is provided in Annexure - 15/ Annexure - 23; (v) After following the steps mentioned in the sub clauses (i) to (iv) above, if the Registrar comes to the conclusion that the rejection order passed by the Sub-Registrar is just and valid, she/he shall reject the appeal by passing a reasoned order mentioning that the appellant(s) may prefer an appeal against the order passed by her/him to the Registrar General within thirty days of receiving the order. A format of such an order is provided in Annexure - 15; (vi) After following the steps mentioned in the sub clauses (i) to (iv) above, if the Registrar comes to the conclusion that the rejection order passed by the Sub-Registrar is erroneous, she/he shall award the appeal by passing a reasoned order, a format of which is provided in Annexure -15. In such a case the Registrar shall also issue the certificate of registration of decree of divorce or nullity of marriage as per Annexure - 4 or 5 or 10 or 13. (3) In case of registration of declaration of Legal Heirs/Testamentary Succession - (a) Steps to be taken on inaction by Sub-Registrar- (i) The application for declaration of legal heir(s) shall be automatically forwarded to the Registrar for the purpose of summary inquiry in case the Sub-Registrar fails to act within fifteen days of receipt of the application for declaration of legal heir(s); (ii) Within fifteen days of receipt of the forwarded application, the Registrar shall conduct the summary inquiry in the manner prescribed in clause (a) to (d) of rule 7(3) and if found in order, the Registrar shall issue the certificate of declaration of legal heir(s) or else reject the application and inform the declarant about the reason(s) for the rejection. (b) Deciding appeals filed against an order passed by Sub-Registrar- The registrar is required to decide an appeal, preferred by the declarant against an order passed by a sub-registrar rejecting the declarant’s application for declaration of legal heir(s), within 60 days from filing of the appeal. While deciding the appeal:- (i) The Registrar shall carefully consider the ground(s) on the basis of which the application for declaration of legal heir(s) was rejected and check whether the ground(s) for rejection is/are included in the list enumerated in clause (c) of rule 7(3); (ii) The Registrar shall examine the application submitted to the Sub-Registrar as well as the grounds of appeal and the reasons put forth by the declarant challenging the rejection order; (iii) After applying her/his mind in the manner prescribed above, if the Registrar is of the view that to meet the ends of justice it would be helpful to give an opportunity of hearing to the declarant concerned, she/he may hear the declarant via video conferencing or if the declarant concerned so prefers, by affording an opportunity of physical hearing; (iv) The Registrar shall give at least three days' notice to the declarant regarding a scheduled hearing through video conference or through physical presence. The declarant shall have an option to reschedule the video conference/physical hearing for a maximum of two times. If the declarant fails to take advantage of hearing despite the opportunity afforded in the foregoing manner, the Registrar shall proceed to decide the appeal on merit based on the available documents/information. A format of the order to be passed in this regard is provided in Annexure -23; (v) After following the steps mentioned in the sub clause (i) to (iv) above, if the Registrar comes to the conclusion that the rejection order passed by the Sub- Registrar is just and valid, she/he shall reject the appeal by passing an order mentioning the reason(s) for such rejection. A format of such an order is provided in Annexure - 22; or (vi) After following the steps mentioned in the sub clause (i) to (iv) above, if the Registrar comes to the conclusion that the rejection order passed by the Sub- Registrar is erroneous, she/he shall award the appeal by passing a reasoned order, a format of which is provided in Annexure - 24. In such a case the Registrar shall also issue the certificate of declaration of legal heir(s) as per Annexure - 21. (c) Deposit of Testamentary Statement/Document - The procedure to be followed by the Registrar for deposit of testamentary statement/document shall be governed by the provisions contained in the Registration Act, 1908 (Act No. 16 of 1908). (4) In case of registration of Live-in relationship (a) Sharing of Information with the Local Police Station - Pursuant to sub section (1) of section 385 of the Code, the Registrar on receipt of a statement of live in relationship, shall share the same with the officer in-charge of the local Police Station in accordance with the procedure prescribed under clause (k) of rule 6(4). (b) Summary Inquiry - Once a statement is received, the Registrar shall conduct a summary inquiry relating to the information provided by the registrants in compliance of sub rule (1) to (5) and (9) of rule 15 and clause (a) to (c) of rule 8(3). The Registrar shall check - (i) The veracity of the names, phone number(s)/email id(s)/address(es) of the registrants/parent(s)/legal guardian(s)/religious leader/community head/official of a religious or community body in the statement submitted by the registrants; (ii) The veracity of other information contained in the statement including the prior and existing relationship status with special emphasis on live-in relationship and marital status of the registrant(s) and also the authenticity of the documents provided/uploaded; (iii) whether the live-in relationship is unfit for registration according to the provisions contained in section 380 of the Code; (iv) Where a provisional certificate has been issued to the persons intending to enter into a live-in relationship and the registrant(s) subsequently submit(s) the information regarding the details of the accommodation to be used as shared household, the Registrar shall check the veracity of the details of landlord, copy of rent agreement & tenant verification number provided by the registrants and also get the address of the rented accommodation to be used as shared household verified before issuing the certificate of registration of live-in relationship. (c) Asking for Additional Information - If the Registrar/Registrar General needs additional information from the registrants, she/he shall ask for such additional information within ten days of the receipt of statement for registration of live-in relationship. (d) Information to the Parent(s)/Legal Guardian(s) - If one or both registrant(s) is/are below twenty-one years of age and the information provided regarding the parent(s)/legal guardian(s) is found to be correct, the Registrar shall (1) Complaint against the Inaction of the Registrar – (a) On receipt of a communication that the statement of termination of live-in relationship has been forwarded to the Registrar General for the purpose of summary inquiry due to inaction on the part of the Registrar, the live-in partner(s) shall be entitled to formally submit a complaint online against the Registrar concerned to the Registrar General; (b) Under clause (a) above, the procedure to be followed by the live-in partner(s) shall be as follows – (i) The complainant live-in partner shall visit the official Web- portal/Mobile App of the Code and provide her/his application number of the statement for termination of live-in relationship; (ii) The portal shall verify whether such inaction has been recorded and that the statement has been forwarded to the Registrar General for the purpose of summary inquiry; and (iii) Once the alleged inaction is verified, the partner(s) shall be allowed to enter her/his complaint against the Registrar in the text box and submit the same. (2) Filing of Appeal against order passed by Sub-registrar: Against an order passed by the Sub-Registrar rejecting the registration of a statement of live-in relationship, the registrant(s) may prefer an appeal before the Registrar, within thirty days from the receipt of such rejection order. This may be done by visiting the official Web-portal/Mobile App of the Code. The step-by-step procedure to file an appeal is as follows – (a) On the Web-portal/Mobile App, the registrant(s) shall provide the application number of the statement submitted for registration of live-in relationship that has been rejected by the Sub-registrar along with a copy of the rejection order; (b) the registrant(s) shall then have the option of uploading additional document(s) in support of her/his case; and (c) after uploading the document(s), if any, the registrant(s) may enter the ground(s) for appeal in the text box and submit the same. (3) Filing of Appeal against order passed by Registrar - Against an order passed by the Registrar rejecting the registration of a statement of live-in relationship, the registrant(s) may prefer an appeal before the Registrar General, within thirty days from the receipt of such rejection order. This may be done by visiting the official Web-portal/Mobile App of the Code. The step-by-step procedure to file an appeal is as follows- (a) On the Web-portal/Mobile App, the registrant(s) shall provide the application number of the statement submitted for registration of live-in relationship that has been rejected by the Registrar along with a copy of the rejection order; (b) the registrant(s) shall then have the option of uploading additional document(s) in support of her/his case; and (c) after uploading the document(s), if any, the registrant(s) may enter the ground(s) for appeal in the text box and submit the same.