Refugee couple refused registration under Indian Christian Marriage Act

The couple tied the knot in 2013 as per Chin Burmese Christian customs in presence of their elders in India.

New Delhi:  Following a petition by two refugees from Myanmar seeking to get their marriage registered under the Indian Christian Marriage Act, the Delhi High Court has sought to know the validity of common-law marriage in India.

“What is the validity of common-law marriage here? Are they valid in India?” Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva sought to know.

The court was hearing a petition by the refugees, both citizens of Myanmar, who have been unsuccessfully doing the rounds the ADM Office at Parliament Street to get their marriage, which was solemnised as per the Chin Burmese Christian customs, registered under the Indian Christian Marriage Act.

The couple tied the knot in 2013 as per Chin Burmese Christian customs in presence of their elders in India. They sought to get their marriage registered, but in vain.

The marriage registrar turned down their request on grounds that they’re refugees and their marriage being a customary union was not valid under the Indian Christian Marriage Act.

In the petition, filed through advocate Dhiraj A. Philip, the couple relied on Section 4 of the Indian Christian Marriage Act to say that solemnisation and registration of marriage is guaranteed to all Christians and not merely to Indian citizens.

Petitioners T. Olive and Nili Fnu fled persecution by the military junta in Myanmar and reached India, where they were granted refugee status. Mr. Olive was abducted in July 2010 while on his way to a hospital with his father in Myanmar. He fled his captors and walked for four days before reaching Mizoram. He then travelled to Delhi from Guwahati before being granted refugee status.

Ms. Fnu’s family was forced to leave Myanmar after an attack on her father in 2008. While she stayed in India from 2011 to 2013, the family were granted third country resettlement to the United States. Before moving, she married Mr. Olive and gave birth to their son in the U.S. in 2014.

On her return to India on a tourist visa in August 2016, the couple approached the Registrar to have their marriage registered, but in vain.

The petitioners said they’ve been left in the lurch as the family can’t be united without a registered marriage and Mr. Olive won’t have easy access to his son in the U.S.

Source: Hindu