Punjab first in the world to have Sikh marriage law

LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly has become the first assembly in the world to pass a historic bill regulating Sikh marriages after it unanimously passed The Punjab Anand Karaj Act 2017 on Wednesday.

The same bill is likely to be passed by the National Assembly. Even in India, where the highest population of Sikhs resides, their marriages are registered under the Hindu Marriage Act. The bill was introduced as a private member bill by Ramesh Singh Arora amidst a well-attended session of the assembly. “This is landmark legislation and the manner in which both the treasury and the opposition benches supported it makes it even more special,” said Ramesh Singh, adding that the Act projected the true soft image that Pakistan deserved, contrary to the false propaganda by Pakistan’s enemies that all minorities were in a perpetual state of persecution in Pakistan. He expressed gratitude to the chief minister for the unprecedented single day move. He also thanked Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, HR and Minority Affairs Minister Tahir Sandhu and Labour Minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar for their continuous support during the entire process.

Anand Karaj means lawful union of a Sikh male and a female in accordance with the practices of the Sikh religion, as permitted in the Guru Granth Sahib. The Act has set the minimum age for Sikh marriages for both males and females at 18. Every marriage between Sikhs shall be registered under the Act. For registration of marriages under the Act, the government, in the prescribed manner, will grant licences to one or more persons professing Sikh religion to be called Anand Karaj Registrar, authorizing them to grant Anand Karaj Certificate.

The bridegroom and the bride or a Granthi will fill the Anand Karaj form and present it, within 30 days of the marriage, to the Anand Karaj Registrar for registration and a copy thereof will be sent to the chairman. A marriage, which is not solemnized by the Anand Karaj Registrar, shall, for the purpose of registration under the Act, be reported within 30 days of solemnization to the chairman by the Granthi or the person who solemnized the marriage. The violators, according to the Act, will be punished and fined up to Rs 10,000.

The Act is not just about marriage but also details out procedures vis-à-vis dissolution of marriage, maintenance and saving of marriages solemnized according to other ceremonies.

Rana Sana, while speaking in the house, welcomed the bill and termed it a step in the right direction. He appreciated the efforts of all MPAs for their cooperation and said the Sikh community was a prized part of the country, especially of Punjab.

Ramesh Singh, while talking to The News, said he had already had a meeting with Federal Law Minister Bashir Virk regarding the bill. He said Virk had hinted that instead of reinventing the wheel, the same bill would be introduced in the federal parliament for approval.

During the Tuesday’s session, the Punjab Assembly passed eight treasury bills, one private member bill, and two resolutions in a single day, while the opposition tried to prevent the agenda from being completed by pointing the quorum out unsuccessfully multiple times.

In addition to the bills passed, special audit reports on private housing schemes under Gujranwala Development Authority, Multan Development Authority and Faisalabad Development Authority as well as Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus Project were laid in the House.

The eight treasury bills that were passed were: The Bahawalpur Development Authority (Repeal) Bill 2018, The Limitation (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2018, The University of Narowal Bill 2018, The University of Sialkot Bill 2018, The Punjab Tianjin University of Technology Lahore Bill 2017, The Cholistan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Bahawalpur Bill 2018 and The Code Of Civil Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Bill 2018.

Out of the five resolutions presented before the House, two were passed while the others were pended. One of those passed was moved by Sheikh Ijaz Ahmed to curb the ’DJ Nights’ in various educational institutions because they are causing socio-cultural and moral degradation of the youth. The second resolution was tabled by Dr Nosheen Hamid regarding legislation to prevent corporal punishment of disabled students in institutions.

Meanwhile, the opposition members pointed out the quorum four times, but every time the government was able to foil this attempt.

PTI MPAs Mian Aslam Iqbal and Arif Abbasi, talking to media, said this extended leg of assembly sessions by the government was a well thought out plan to prevent the chief minister from being arrested. They said legally the chief minister could not be arrested while the assembly was in session; otherwise there was enough proof from the investigation in Ahad Cheema case to apprehend Shahbaz Sharif.

After the completion of the extensive agenda for the day, the session was adjourned till 10:00 am Thursday (today).