HC orders digitalisation of marriage, divorce data

The High Court (HC) on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to digitalise the entire process of marriage and divorce registration in the country.

A High Court Division bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md Asif Hasan gave the order after holding a hearing on a writ petition filed in this connection. The writ was filed in March 2021.

Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan represented the writ petitioners before the court on Thursday. Advocate Tanzila Rahman assisted her.

In its observation the court stated that relevant laws are present on marriage data digitalisation, but still the authorities concerned have failed to develop a full-fledged, efficient and operational digitalised system.

The court ordered the authorities to implement the given instructions and file a report in this regard at the earliest.

The present system does not allow verification of marriage data, disrupting interpersonal relationships and stability within families, the court noted. In many cases, the opaque analogue system also leads to legal complications over a child’s identity, it said.

Furthermore, by allowing fraud and impeding data verification, the system violates human rights provisions enshrined in Articles 31 and 32 of the Constitution.

"The court's decision would serve as a historic step toward ensuring family security, women's protection, prevention of child marriage, legal transparency, and-most importantly-curbing fraud related to marriage and divorce," advocate Ishrat told newsmen.

She said that once digital registration is introduced, issues such as secret marriages, concealment of multiple marriages, withholding of information on previous marriages, and difficulties in proving divorce would significantly reduce.

"This would strengthen citizens' social dignity, promote justice, and help rebuild mutual trust within society," she added.

On 4 March 2021, Ishrat filed the writ petition on behalf of four victims.