New Delhi, September 18, 2025: The Supreme Court has directed all states and union territories to notify rules within four months for the registration of marriages solemnised through the Sikh rite of ‘Anand Karaj’.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta observed that while the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 (amended in 2012) legally recognises ‘Anand Karaj’ as a valid form of marriage, the absence of a proper registration mechanism renders the law incomplete.
“The fidelity of a constitutional promise is measured not only by the rights it proclaims, but by the institutions that make those rights usable. In a secular republic, the state must not turn a citizen’s faith into either a privilege or a handicap,” the bench noted in its order.
The court stressed that a secular framework demands both respect for religious identity and civic equality, ensuring that marriages performed under Sikh traditions are certified on the same footing as others.
“When the law recognises ‘Anand Karaj’ as valid yet leaves no machinery to register it, the promise was only half kept. What remains is to ensure that the route from rites to record is open, uniform, and fair,” the order stated.
The ruling came on a plea seeking directions to various states and UTs to frame rules under Section 6 of the Anand Marriage Act, 1909, to streamline the registration process for Sikh weddings.
Supreme Court Orders States, UTs to Frame Rules for Registering Sikh ‘Anand Karaj’ Marriages
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