A plea has been filed in Delhi High Court against the 30-day rule under the Special Marriages Act, 1954 in the Delhi High court on 7th October 2020. The petitioners were Nida Rehman and Mohan Lal. This couple belongs to a different community and their marriage comes under the Special Marriage Act. They challenged the provision of this Act which says that the couple has to invite for objections by issuing a public notice. Section 6 and 7 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 has been challenged as ultra-virus and unconstitutional.
The petitioner contends the 30-day rule calling for objections for their marriage was against their fundamental rights. It violates their right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution. This rule applies to only inter-religious marriages, therefore they are discriminated against others. This provision of law discourages the couple’s faith from getting married. The bench of chief justice DN Patel and justice Prateek Jalan has issued a notice to the Delhi government and Ministry of law for seeking their opinion on this said 30-day rule.
