The Union Ministry of Law and Justice has directed all Notaries to avoid executing marriage and divorce deeds, as they are not authorized as Marriage Officers. In an Office Memorandum issued by the Department of Legal Affairs, Notaries have been cautioned that carrying out such actions is unlawful.
“It is brought to the notice of all concerned that the Notaries appointed under the Notaries Act 1952 desist themselves from executing marriage or divorce deeds as they are not appointed as Marriage Officers. Such actions on their part are against the extant law. Any omission or commission of the Notaries Act, 1952 or the Notaries Rules, 1956 in this regard on the part of any Notary will tantamount to misconduct and action will accordingly be taken against such Notary in accordance with the provisions contained in Notaries Act, 1952 and Notaries Rules, 1956.”
The Office Memorandum issued by Rajeev Kumar, Deputy Secretary to the Government of India, stated that, based on the clear interpretation of Section 8 of the Notaries Act, 1952, and sub-rule (8) of Rule 11 of the Notaries Rules, Notaries are not permitted to execute marriage or divorce affidavits. Notaries are neither allowed to certify marriages nor authorized to execute divorce deeds.
Despite this legal clarification, the Centre has noted instances of Notaries carrying out marriage and divorce-related documentation. Furthermore, there have been cases where Notaries are also issuing Marriage Certificates, which could have significant consequences.
The OM referred to the Orissa High Court’s judgment in Partha Sarathi Das v. State of Orissa & Ors, Madhya Pradesh High Court’s judgments in Mukesh S/o. Mr Lakshman @ Lakshminarayan. v. The state of M.P and Bundel Singh Lodhi vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh, which held that Notaries are not marriage officers.
The recent Supreme Court ruling in Bhagwan Singh v. State of UP was also mentioned, which established that Notaries who operate in violation of the Notaries Act may face charges of professional misconduct.
