HC orders issue of notice to Registrar of Marriages,dindigul

: Madras High Court today ordered notice to Registrar of marriage of Nagalnaickanpatty, district and a private notice to a centre where marriages of couples against the caste system are held, on a petition charging irregularities and fraud in issue of marriage certificate.
Justice K Ravichandra babu ordered issue of notice and posted the case for hearing to Feb 10
Petitioner S Steola Mascarenhas of Madurai submitted that the bogus marriage certificate issued by the Registrar without verifying facts in the Memorandum of marriages on May 5,2015 had landed her in trouble after one Sahaya Arputharaj Stephen claimed she was his wife and started harrassing her.

She submitted that stephen Sahayaraj had stated he belonged to Hindu religion. The Registrar and sub registrar did not verify the facts given in the Memorandum of marriage before solmnizing the marriage and issuing a certificate.
Steola alleged her signature had been forged with the connivance of the two officials who were liable to be punished for fraudulently registering the marriage.
Subsequent investigation revealed that the Marriage centre coordinator in collusion with the Sub registrar, had issued the certificate, as if it was solemnized in his office.

Steola also alleged that he was also involved in a racket of registering bogus marriage and earning huge amounts of money through fraudulent deeds of Marriage.

The sub registrar had issued six certificates on May 15 2013 itself when he gave the certificate to Stephen, she said.
The certificates were usedbased on the bogus certificate of marriage issued by the centre.Stephen Sahayaraj was using the illegal marriage certificate to threaten her.
She said she had given representation to Superintendent of Police of Dindigul to probe the fraudulent acts of the centre and the officials.
She also sought a direction from the court to the SP to enquire into the 'nexus' between the registrar,sub registrar and the centre and submit a report to the court. She also sought to quash the Marriage certificate issued as if she had married Stephen sahayaraj, and for action against the officials who abetted the fraud.