CUTTACK: In a significant ruling, the Orissa High Court has upheld the state government’s decision to revoke the licences granted to several school teachers to function as registrars under the Orissa Muhammedan Marriage and Divorce Registration Act, 1949.
The judgement was delivered by the single judge bench of Justice Dixit Krishna Shripad recently. The case involved six writ petitions filed by teachers employed in government and aided schools across the state.
The petitioners challenged the state’s decision to rescind their licences, which had authorised them to register Muslim marriages and divorces and maintain related official records as per the 1949 Act and the 1976 Rules. They had functioned as registrars for over two decades till the licences issued to them in 2001 were revoked in December 2023.
Justice Shripad, while dismissing the petitions, emphasised that the 1949 Act allows the state to revoke licences and that the court’s role in such cases is to review the decision-making process, not the decision itself. He noted that the petitioners, as salaried civil servants with permanent employment, were not entitled to claim such licences as a matter of right.
Highlighting the importance of distributive justice, Justice Shripad pointed out that members of the Muslim community who are unemployed or underemployed could be given these registrar roles instead. This, he observed, would align with the constitutional principles enshrined in Article 39(b) and (c), aimed at promoting equitable distribution of resources and opportunities.