Chennai: Some lawyers in the city have discovered a lucrative ‘practice’ by turning into ‘marriage priests’ to ‘solemnise’ weddings and even getting them registered under the Marriages Act, a senior police officer has told the Madras high court. In most cases, the ‘bride’ was in total dark about the ‘marriage’.
In fact, 168 advocates were found to have made good money by conducting 3496 such marriages during the period 1 January-12 December last year, Ms M. V. Jaya Gowri, SP, CB-CID (cyber cell), who investigated the ‘scam’ told the Bench comprising Justices S. Rajeswaran and P. N. Prakash.
“We read the report (from the SP) and found it to be very shocking. The report disclosed the existence of a marriage registration cartel run by advocates, operating near the high court”, said the Bench while dealing with petitions from two men who alleged that their wives were being kept in illegal custody by their parents.
They also produced their wedding registration certificates to back their claims, but then, their brides disowned them.
The two ‘wives’ told the court that they were not married at all and had no clue about the marriage certificates.
Suspecting foul play, the Bench had ordered the director general of police on December 5, 2013, to get the ‘cartel’ probed by an officer of SP’s rank and also to find out how those marriages got registered all the 3496 marriages were registered at the registrar’s offices in Chennai North and Royapuram.
SP Jaya Gowri in her report told the court that 168 lawyers were involved in the marriage cartel.
Of them, one Narasimhan had conducted 676 marriages during the period under scrutiny and a Loganathan ‘solemnised’ 205 weddings in the bar association room at George Town court.
When the Bench asked the two registrars (Chennai North and Royapuram) how they had permitted such mass registration of marriages—some of them on a single day by one advocate they replied that they had no power to go into the validity of the solemnisation ceremony.
Refusing to register could “lead to unpleasant incident with advocates” and “commotion by the practioners (lawyers), sometimes amounting to abuse and threat of physical violence”, the registrars had told the court, while also submitting CCTV footages as proof.
“When we viewed them (CCTV footage), we were indeed disheartened. We saw and heard a member of the noble profession hurling choicest abuses on the helpless registrar and even threatening him physically”, said the Bench in anguish.
“From the statistics provided by the enquiry officer in the report, it is evident that a group of lawyers have developed a new field of practice, namely, ‘solemnisation and registration of marriages’ and have carved for themselves a niche in that domain. It is said ‘marriages are made in heaven’ but to our chagrin we find marriages are being made in advocates’ offices and bar association rooms”, said the Bench, while ordering that marriages performed in such secrecy in the chambers of lawyers and bar association rooms would not amount to solemnization.
The court said the affected women could challenge the enforced ‘marriage’ in a court of law and the police must provide protection to the registering authorities pressured by such lawyers. “No registration of marriage can be done under the TN registration of marriages act without the physical presence of the parties to the marriage before the registrar except under special circumstances after recording the reasons”, the Bench said.
The court also directed the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to take appropriate action if any victim complained about such a ‘priest-cum-advocate’.
