Punjab Sikh Anand Karaj Marriage Act, 2018

From: 2018-03-20 - To: 0000-00-00 An Act to provide for solemnization and registration of Sikh marriages. It is necessary to make provisions to regulate Sikh marriages commonly known as Anand Karaj; Be it enacted by Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as follows: 1. Short title, extent and commencement.– (1) This Act may be cited as the Punjab Sikh Anand Karaj Marriage Act 2018. (2) It extends to whole of the Punjab. (3) It shall come into force at once. 2. Definitions.– In this Act: (a) “Act” means the Punjab Sikh Anand Karaj Marriage Act 2018; (b) “Anand Karaj” means the lawful union of a Sikh male and a Sikh female solemnized under the Act and conducted in accordance with the practices of the Sikh religion, where the four laavaan, permitted in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, are recited; (c) “Anand Karaj Certificate” means the certificate of a marriage issued by the Anand Karaj Registrar; (d) “Chairman” means the Chairman of a Union Council or Municipal Committee or any officer authorized by the Government to perform the functions of the Chairman under the Act; (e) “Government” means Government of the Punjab; (f) “Granthi” means a Sikh who recites the Guru Granth Sahib and solemnizes a marriage between Sikhs; (g) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules; (h) “Sikh” means a person who follows Sikh religion as a monotheistic Sikh religion and believes in the scriptures of Guru Granth Sahib and does not subscribe to any other religion; and (i) “Sikh religion” means the belief in Akalpurakh (One Eternal Being), the ten Gurus from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh and the acceptance of Guru Granth Sahib as the Eternal-Living Guru. 3. Solemnization of Anand Karaj.– (1) A Sikh male and a Sikh female may contract a marriage in accordance with Sikh religion, if the parties to the marriage: (a) are of sound mind and not below the age of eighteen years; (b) enter into marriage contract with their free and full consent; and (c) are not related to each other in any degree of consanguinity or affinity which, according to the customary law of Sikhs, renders the marriage between them unlawful. (2) Nothing in the Act shall be deemed to validate any marriage between the persons who are…