[1][THE ORISSA MUHAMMAD
MARRIAGES AND DIVORCES REGISTRATION RULES, 1976] In exercise of the
powers conferred by Section 24 of the Orissa Muhammad Marriages and Divorces
Registration Act, 1949 (Orissa Act VII of 1949), the State Government do hereby
make the following rules, namely : (a)
These
rules may be called the Orissa Muhammad Marriages and Divorces Registration
Rules, 1976. (b)
These
rules shall come into force at once. In these rules- (i)
"Act"
means the Orissa Muhammad Marriages and Divorces Act, 1949 (Orissa Act VII of
1949); (ii)
"Form"
means a Form appended to these rules; (iii)
"section"
means a section of the Act; (iv)
all
other words and expressions used in these rules shall have the same meaning as
are respectively to them in the Act. (1)
Registration
of Marriages among the Mohammedans shall be made within a period of thirty
days. (2)
any
party to the marriage contravening the provisions of Sub-rule (1) shall submit
the application for registration of marriage or divorce after the period of
thirty days on payment of penalty of rupees twenty fice.][2] A person to be licensed as Muhammad Registrar
should have sufficient acquaintance with the Arabic language and Muhammad law
of marriage and divorce, and be of good moral character. Preference shall
ordinarily be given to ex-Kazis and Government pensioners, being Muhammads, Maulavies,
Khundkars and Mullahs, who reside or are willing to reside at a convenient
place within the limits of the proposed jurisdiction, provided they possess the
above qualifications. The District Registrar shall nominate
sufficient number of persons possessing the qualifications specified in Rule 3
to be licensed as Muhammad Registrars under Section 3. The District Registrars
shall also specify the limits within which each of the persons so nominated
shall exercise the functions of Muhammad Registrar. The District Registrar's nomination shall be
accompanied by the original application of the candidate in Form 'A', together
with a certificate of good moral character, and (unless the applicant holds a
certificate of qualification from any Madrassa) every candidate shall be
required to furnish a certificate of his possessing sufficient acquaintance
with the Arabic language and the Muhammad law of marriage and divorce, signed
by three Muhammad gentlemen of respectability and position and countersigned
by the District Magistrate or District Judge. The limits within which a Muhammad Registrar
shall be licensed to act shall coincide with the limits of a sub-district under
the Indian Registration Act, or with the Jurisdiction of one or more
police-stations or parts thereof as the State Government may from time to time
direct. The headquarters shall be at some convenient place within those limits. The District Registrar's nomination along
with the applications and certificates, shall be forwarded to Government. In
case the nomination of the District Registrar is disapproved by Government, the
District Registrar may submit a fresh nomination. For this purpose a list of candidates
willing to serve as Muhammad Registrars in any district to which they may be
licensed shall be kept in the office of the Inspector-General of Registration. Liability to examination-Should such a course
appear expedient hereafter, all Muhammad Registrars who may have been appointed
under these rules, and all future applicants for licences, shall be liable to
examination in the following subjects. (1)
Arabic
and the vernacular of the district; (2)
Muhammad
Law of Marriage and Divorce; and (3)
The
Orissa Muhammad Marriages and Divorces Act, 1945 and the rules thereunder. If any person who has been licensed as a Muhammad
Registrar fails to pass such examination, his licence will be liable to
cancellation. Such examination may be held at such times and places and by such
examiners, as the State Government may from time to time appoint. Licences to qualified persons who have been
approved to be Muhammad Registrars will be granted in Form 'B'. When a Muhammad Registrar desires to give up
his licence or is about to leave the place or district in which he has
exercised the functions of Muhammad Registrar, he shall report the
circumstances through the District Registrar to the Inspector General of
Registration for the orders of the Government. When a Muhammad Registrar makes over his
office to a successor, a certificate shall be signed by both jointly indicating
the date on which the office is made over and of the safety of correctness of
the records ; and this certificate shall be forwarded by the District Registrar
to the Inspector-General of Registration. Muhammad Registrars shall not be entitled to
leave as of right under the rules in force for Government servants. The
District Registrar may, however, grant leave in cases of urgency but no leave
exceeding one month shall be granted without the previous sanction of the
Inspector-General of Registration. All leave shall at once be reported to the
Inspector- General of Registration together with the arrangements made for
carrying on the duties of the Muhammad Registrar. In case of leave or absence from duty, the
next nearest Muhammad Registrar shall ordinarily be authorised to carry on the
duties of the absentee, in addition to his own, or the District Registrar may
grant a temporary licence to a person from among the list of candidates for Muhammad
Registrarships maintained in the office of the Inspector-General of
Registration under Rule 7. Licensed Muhammad Registrars are not
Government servants. The general control and supervision of the
working of the Act shall be exercised by the inspecting staff attached to the
department for registration of documents but Muhammad Deputy Collectors,
Sub-Deputy Collectors or Revenue Supervisors may specially be deputed by the
District Registrar to inspect Muhammad Marriage Registry Offices at any time. Muhammad Registrar will, on first
appointment, be supplied with the following registers namely : (1)
Register
A (Book I) (vide Section 6) (2)
Copies
of Book I for parties (3)
Copies
of Book I for the Registrar (4)
Copies
of Book I for issue (5)
Register
6 (Book II) (vide Section 6) (6)
Copies
of Book II for parties (7)
Copies
of Book II for Registrar (8)
Copies
of Book II for issue (9)
Register
C (Book III) (vide Section 6) (10)
Copies
of Book III for parties (11)
Copies
of Book III for Registrar (12)
Copies
of Book III for issue (13)
Register
D (Book IV) (vide Section 6) Copies of Book IV for parties Copies of Book IV
for Registrar copies of Book IV for issue (14)
Book
of Refusals (15)
Index
Book (16)
Index
sheets (17)
Form
of application (18)
Catalogue (19)
Act
and rules in Urdu (20)
Indent
for forms. He will also be supplied with a seal, and
will use ink supplied from Government stores only for making entries in the
registers and indexes. All books, registers, etc,, which may subsequently be
supplied, shall be paid for by the Muhammad Registrar at the time of supply,
but in any case when the District Registrar thinks it necessary he may defer
the realisation of the charge for a term not .exceeding three months. In case
of failure to pay at the prescribed period, the District Registrar, should
report the case for orders to the Inspector-General of Registration. When the first supply is exhausted, a Muhammad,
Registrar will obtain on indent, from the Government stores, at cost price,
Register Books I, II, III and IV, Index Books, Index sheets, Forms of
Application, Catalogues and a seal, and keep up himself Books of Refusals and
Books of Appeals. The seal shall always remain in the personal
custody of the Muhammad Registrar and shall be made over with the records to
the officer appointed to receive the same, whenever a Muhammad Registrar
ceases, either temporarily or permanently, to exercise his functions. A printed table of fees in vernacular of the
district shall he suspended in some conspicuous place in every Muhammad
Registrar's office. The fees received by a Muhammad Registrar
under Sections 10 and 16 of the Act may be retained by him as his lawful
remuneration; provided that he duly pays for the registers and other articles
supplied to him under Rule 16. All fees received by a District Registrar shall
be credited to Government in the same way as fees realised under the Indian
Registration Act. When the attendance of a Muhammad Registrar
is required at the celebration of a marriage or other ceremony the party
requiring his attendance may make an application to the Muhammad Registrar,
specifying the place and time of the marriage of other ceremony, and that
officer may attend. It shall be lawful for Muhammad Registrars to
travel on circuit within their jurisdiction for the purpose of attending at the
celebration of marriages or other ceremonies. Every Muhammad Registrar shall exhibit in
some conspicuous part of his office a table of fees, he is* authorised to levy
under Sections 9 and 16. When a Muhammad Registrar is present at the
celebration of a marriage, he shall make an entry of the fact in the register
of marriages and a copy of such entry shall be included in the copies to be
made under Sections 12, 15 and 22. If all the persons, who by Section 11 of the
Act are required to sign the entry of the marriage or'divorce in the proper
register, are not present, registration shall be deferred until they are all
present; provided that no marriage or divorce for registration of which
application has been made within one month, as required by Section 9, shall be
registered after the expiration of six months from the date on which the
marriage or divorce was effected. The Muhammad Registrar shall satisfy himself
whether or not a marriage was effected by the persons by whom it is represented
to have been effected in the following manner : (a)
by
examining the parties to the marriage, or if either or both of them are minors,
their lawful guardians. If the woman be a purdahnashin her duly authorised
agent shall be examined instead of the woman; (b)
by
examining the two witnesses who were present at the marriage. The Muhammad Registrar shall satisfy himself
whether or not a divorce, other than the kind known as Khula, was effected by a
man by whom it is represented to have been effected by examining that man and
if he be of the Shia sect, by also examining the two witnesses to the divorce
being effected. The Muhammad Registrar shall satisfy himself
that a divorce of the kind known as Khula was effected by the persons by whom
it was represented to have been effected in the following manner : (a)
by
examining the parties to the Khula; provided that if the woman is a
purdahnashin her duly authorised agent shall be examined instead of the woman; (b)
if
the man be of the Shia sect, by also examining the two witnesses to the divorce
being effected. The Muhammad Registrar shall satisfy himself
of the identity of persons appearing before him as witnesses of a marriage or
divorce, unless they are otherwise personally known to him, by examining at
least one witness to the identity of each person so appearing. In the case of any person appearing as the
representative of the man or woman (whether he appears as guardian) or duly
authorised agent the Muhammad Registrar shall satisfy himself of the right of
such person to appear by examining such person. If an agent so appears, the Muhammad
Registrar shall further examine witness to the fact of the agent having been
duly authorised to appear. When the entry of the marriage or divorce has
been made in the proper register, it shall be read over by the Muhammad
Registrar to the persons, who, by Section 11 are required to sign such entry.
If they admit its correctness, the entry shall then be signed by them. When a person who cannot write, sign his name
by means of a ?mark, his name shall be recorded at length, and
the writer shall also sign his name in attestation that the mark was affixed in
his presence. lf a Muhammad Registrar discovers any error
in the form of substance of any entry of a marriage or divorce made by him, he
may within one month next after the discovery of such error, in the presence of
the persons married, or in case of their death or absence in the presence of
two other credible witnesses, correct the error by entry in the margin, without
any alteration of the original entry, and shall sign the marginal entry and add
thereto the date of such correction and he shall also make the like marginal
entry in the copies thereof. Every entry made under this rule shall be
attested by the witnesses in whose presence it was made and in case a copy has
been already sent to the Registrar, such persons shall make and send another
copy thereof, containing both the original erroneous entry and the marginal
correction therein made. No erasures shall be made with a knife in any
register book or record, but mistakes shall be corrected, when necessary with
the pen, and shall be invariably attested by the Registering Officer.
Corrections are not to be obliterated or blotted out so as to be illegible, but
a line is to be drawn through erroneous words with the pen, so that they may
remain legible. The circumstances under which registration of
a marriage or divorce should be refused are as follows : (1)
If
the marriage or divorce was not effected within the jurisdiction of the
Marriage Registrar to whom application for registration is made. (2)
If
the application is not made by the person specified in Section 8. (3)
It
the application has been made after the expiry of one month from the date on
which the marriage or divorce was effected. (4)
If
all the persons required by Section 11 to sign the entry in the proper register
fail to appear within the time limit for such appearance by the Muhammad
Registrar under Rule 24. (5)
If
the Muhammad Registrar fails to satisfy himself that tile marriage or divorce
was effected by the person or persons by whom it is represented to have been
effected. (6)
If
the Muhammad Registrar fails to satisfy himself as to the identify of the
persons appearing before him and alleging that the marriage has been effected. (7)
In
the case of any person, appearing as the representative of the man or woman
whether he appears as guardian or as agent, the Muhammad Registrar fails to
satisfy himself of the tight of such person to appear. (8)
If
one of the parties applying for registration of marriage, or if the man
applying for the divorce, appears to be of unsound mind. Clauses (2) and (8) of the order of refusal,
shall ordinarily be deferred till one month has elapsed from the date on which
the marriage or divorce was effected, but if the parties declare their
inability to comply with the requirements of the law, or for any other reason
Wish that registration should at once be refused, this may be done. The reasons for refusal to register shall be
concisely and clearly stated in each particular ease. When registration is
refused under Clause (5), (6) or (7) of Rule 34 the Muhammad Registrar shall
record the grounds of his decision. Fees paid under Section 9 shall not be
refunded unless registration is refused for one of the reasons in Clauses (1),
(2), (3) and (8) in Rule 34. Fees and travelling allowances paid for the
attendance of Muhammad Registrars at the celebration of marriages shall be
refunded only in cases where the Muhammad Registrar does not attend. Fees paid
for searches in the registers and indexes or for copies of entries shall be
refunded only when the searches are not made or the copies not given. The refund of fees paid to a Muhammad
Registrar shall be made by him at once on application, and he shall take and
file a receipt for the amount of such repayment from the person to whom it is
made. When a register book is closed, a certificate
to that effect shall be appended at the close of the written portion and a
certificate showing the number of pages written up on shall be entered on the
first page. General of Registration shall, from time to
time, prescribe for any district in which the Act has taken effect or for any Muhammad
Registrar. Copies under Sections 12, 15 and 22 should be prepared in the
language in which the registers are kept. The 'year' referred to in Section 7 of the
Act shall be a year of the Christian era, commencing on the 1st January and
ending on the 31st December. The index to marriages and divorces shall be
prepared from registers Book I, II, III and IV contain the particulars as
stated in Form 'C'. Name shall be indexed according to their
first letter, and shall be arranged in the order of the Oriya alphabet. A mere
title or designation of race shall not be taken as the index word. Thus Shaikh Ramzan will be indexed Ramzan
Shaikh, Mir Aulad Ali, Aulad Ali, Mir. A catalogue in Form 'D' shall be kept up and
permanently preserved. In every Muhammad Register's Office, and on the occasion
of every transfer of records the officer receiving charge of the records shall
compare them with the catalogue and certify therein that he has found them
correct. Whenever any of the records are transferred to the district office,
the fact shall be noted in the column of remarks, together with the date of
transfer. In district offices the following records
shall be preserved in perpetuity, namely All Register Books I, II, III, and IV and
their indexes The Catalogue Register of refusals Register of appeals Reports of the destruction of records and
li§t of papers destroyed. The following records may be destroyed after
the expiration of three full years from the period to which they relate,
namely: (i)
Applications
for registration or for attendance at the celebration of marriages under Rule
9. (ii)
Applications
for search or copies of extracts. (iii)
All
correspondence, whether in the vernacular or in English which is of an ordinary
routine character and which the Registrar considers may be destroyed. No records or papers whatever shall be
destroyed without the previous sanction of the Inspector-General. Applications for search in the records or for
copies of extracts therefrom shall be made in writing. No stamps shall be
required on such applications. Applications made to the District Registrar
shall be entered in the register kept by him for that purpose. Applications
made to the Muhammad Registrar shall be filed by him, the date of application
and the date on which a search was made or copy delivered, being noted on the
back of the application. If the register from which an extract is required has
been transferred to the District Registrar or other person under Section 23,
the application, together with the prescribed fee, shall be forwarded by the Muhammad
Registrar to such District Registrar or other person at the expense of the
applicants. A call for information from any Court, shall
if it necessitates search in the registers, be accompanied by the necessary as
or search. Officers of Government shall be permitted to inspect the registers
without fee, but it the production of a register in any Court is required, it
shall be produced by the Muhammad Registrar or other officer whom the District
Registrar may depute for the purpose, who will be entitled to claim payment of
his expenses like any other witness. Two rupees may be charged for extracts and
copies of the orders and records not otherwise provided for in the law. THE ORISSA MUHAMMAD MARRIAGES AND
DIVORCES REGISTRATION RULES, 1976
PREAMBLE