THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a move that could redefine the conduct of special marriages in Kerala, the state Personnel and Administrative (P&AR) department has recommended validating registration of such marriages through video conferencing.
In its work-study report submitted to the government last month, the P&AR suggested that the Special Marriage Act of 1954 be amended to empower sub-registrars to register marriages under the Act through video conference.
“If the sub-registrar has the best conviction that registering the marriage of a bride and groom, who are working abroad, is of utmost importance, the officer can do so, after obtaining prior approval from the district registrar. Adequate amendments should be brought in The Special Marriage Act,” the report said.
The recommendation was made in view of demands from youngsters living abroad. Currently, there are no clauses in the Special Marriage Act to register marriage through video conference.
Revise fair value of land every 5 yrs, says report
However, at the time of the Covid, when travel ban was in force in several countries, a few marriages were registered through video conferencing after the Kerala High Court gave special sanction to do so.
The report has also proposed that the registration department should take immediate steps to incorporate photos of the bride and groom in the marriage certificate.
“There are reports that many embassies have shown reluctance to accept the marriage certificate issued under the Special Marriage Act as there are no photos in that to be shown as proof. It had also caused some legal issues to those who travel to foreign countries with their family after the marriage,” the report said.
The report has also asked the government to form committees in all 14 districts to revise the existing fair value of the land according to the land classification.
“The fair value should be reviewed and revised every 5 years by the committee. At present, the fair value is fixed for only one or two land classifications. Unless the fair value is fixed upon the 15 land classifications it would affect the exchequer when new developmental projects and roads came up. If the district level committee be set up it would help to assess the increase in the value of the land and it would naturally reflect on the fair value too,” it said.
Additional features should be integrated with the registration department’s online portal so that a prospective buyer can find out whether there was any liability attached to the land as also the details of the heirs of the property, the report added.