Duties of Registrar

(1) In case of registration of marriage & acknowledgment of registered marriage - (a) Steps to be taken on inaction by Sub-Registrar - (i) The memorandum for registration of marriage/ acknowledgment of registered marriage shall be automatically forwarded to the Registrar for the purpose of summary inquiry in case the Sub-Registrar fails to act within three days of receipt of a memorandum under Accelerated Service (Tatkal Sewa), or within fifteen days otherwise; (ii) Within fifteen days or in case a memorandum is submitted under Accelerated Service (Tatkal Sewa), within three days from the receipt of the forwarded memorandum the Registrar shall conduct a summary inquiry in the manner prescribed in clause (a) of rule 7(1); (iii) Regarding the inaction, the Registrar shall call the explanation of the Sub-Registrar and after duly considering the submission made by the Sub-Registrar, take appropriate action. (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 marriage/acknowledgement of registered 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 marriage/acknowledgement of registered marriage, was rejected and check whether the ground(s) for rejection is/are included in the list enumerated in clause (g) (ii) or (iii) or clause (h) (ii) of rule 7(1) as the case may be; (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) fail(s) 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 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. (k) Procedure for sharing of Information with the officer-in-charge of the local police station - (i) A statement of Live-in relationship shall be electronically made available by the Registrar to the officer-in-charge of the local Police Station through the District Superintendent of Police and access to this record by any person, including the officer-in-charge of the local Police Station, shall be subject to the supervision of the District Superintendent of Police; (ii) While sharing the information with the police under sub clause (i) above, the Registrar shall explicitly mention that the information regarding the statement of live-in relationship is only for the purpose of record. (5) In case of termination of live-in relationship - (a) Sharing of Information with the Local Police Station - The Registrar, on receipt of a statement of termination 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 (f) of rule 6(5). (b) Sharing of Information with the Other Live-in Partner - The Registrar, on receipt of a statement of termination of live-in relationship by one of the partners, shall inform the other live-in partner of such statement. (c) Summary Inquiry - Once a statement of termination of live-in relationship is received, the Registrar shall - (i) conduct a summary inquiry to check the veracity of information provided by the live-in partner(s) in compliance of sub rule (1) and (3) of rule 16 and clause (b), (d), (e) of rule 6(5). (ii) necessarily speak with the woman live-in partner to find out whether - (a) she is pregnant; (b) child/children was/were born of the live-in relationship and if so, the details of such child/children; (c) child/children was/were adopted with the concurrence of both live-in partners. (d) Information to the Parent(s)/Legal Guardian(s) - If one partner or both partners is/are below twenty-one years of age and correct information regarding the parent(s)/legal guardian(s) is available, the Registrar shall inform the parent(s)/legal guardian(s) of the partner(s) about the receipt of the statement of termination of live- in relationship. This may be done through Email/SMS/WhatsApp message, and/or by post. A format of the communication to be sent in this regard is provided in Annexure - 36. (e) Action to be taken on receipt of a statement of termination of live-in relationship- (i) On receipt of a statement of termination of a live-in relationship jointly by the partners in pursuance of the provision contained in section 384 of the Code, the Registrar, within fifteen days of the receipt of the statement, issue a certificate of the termination of live-in relationship to both the partners. The format of such a certificate is provided in Annexure -37; (ii) In case only one of the live-in partners submits a statement of termination of a live in relationship, the Registrar shall inform the other partner about the receipt of such a statement and, thereafter, within fifteen days of the receipt of the statement, issue a certificate of termination of live-in relationship to both the partners in Annexure -37. While informing the other partner, the Registrar shall exercise all precaution to ensure that the information does actually reach the other partner. To this end, the Registrar shall send the communication through all available modes viz. WhatsApp, SMS, Email and by post and also by making a phone call to the other partner; (iii) For cases covered under sub clause (i) & (ii) above, if one or both live-in partners is/are below the age of twenty-one years, the Registrar shall inform the parent(s)/legal guardian(s) of the live-in partner(s) as per clause (d) of rule 6(5); (iv) For cases covered under sub clause (i) & (ii) above, the Registrar shall share the information with the officer in-charge of the local Police Station in accordance with the procedure prescribed under clause (f) of rule 6(5). (f) Procedure for sharing of information with the officer-in-charge of the local police station - (i) A statement of termination of live-in relationship shall be electronically made available by the Registrar to the officer-in-charge of the local Police Station through the District Superintendent of Police and access to this record by any person, including the officer-in-charge of the local Police Station, shall be subject to the supervision of the District Superintendent of Police; (ii) While sharing the information with the police under sub clause (i) above, the Registrar shall explicitly mention that the information regarding the statement of termination of live-in relationship is only for the purpose of record.