30 July 2024: Lawyers and a concerned resident of Dhubri district, Assam, have submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the Dhubri District Commissioner, calling for the reinstatement of the Qazi System for the registration of Muslim marriages and divorces. The memorandum, presented on Monday, outlines the difficulties faced due to recent changes in the registration process.
The document expresses concerns about the Assam Cabinet’s decision to replace the existing system with a new Act and Rule for registering Muslim marriages. “We, the undersigned residents of Cachar District, wish to highlight the challenges we face with the new registration process,” the memorandum states.
It notes that since 1934, Muslim Marriage Registrars, or Qazis, managed marriage registrations. However, the past four months have seen a halt in these registrations, leading to complications with official procedures.
The memorandum criticizes the new process, asserting that visiting government offices outside the Qazi Office for registration is cumbersome and distressing. The petitioners request the reinstatement of the 1934 law and urge that an order be issued for Qazis to resume their registration duties promptly.
The repeal of the Act affects over 10 million Muslims, with no replacement plan in place. Advocate Zunaid Khalid from Guwahati highlighted that numerous writ petitions challenging the repeal are pending. These cases are scheduled for hearing by a Division Bench of the Gauhati High Court on August 1.
Khalid criticized the government’s rationale for the Act’s repeal, which includes claims that it promotes child marriage and is outdated. He argued that the Qazi system effectively managed marriage registrations according to government guidelines and that its closure risks an increase in child marriages. Khalid stressed that the data provided by Qazis to Deputy Commissioners was consistent with government standards, and no child marriages were reported under their supervision.
