The Delhi High Court has granted permission to a Hindu couple from India, currently living in the United States, to participate in their marriage registration process through video conferencing. Justice Subramonium Prasad instructed the couple to connect with the Consulate General of India in San Francisco, California, and engage in a video conference from that location.
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The decision was made after considering the concerns raised by the authorities regarding the potential risks of impersonation due to the advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.
The high court said,
The Consulate General of India, San Francisco, California is requested to permit the petitioners to join through video conferencing for the purpose of registration of their marriage.
The couple mentioned in their plea that they were married on 10 May 2022 following Hindu traditions at a hotel in Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, before moving to the US to advance their careers. They highlighted that the woman, who was on an H1B visa, lost her job due to a mass layoff in January.
To stay in the US, she needs a dependent visa, which necessitates a marriage registration certificate. They cited a previous court ruling where a couple was permitted to virtually register their marriage before the relevant authority.
Deciding the plea, the high court said,
This court is inclined to allow the present writ petition and permit the petitioners to appear before the registering authority through video conferencing for the purpose of registration of their marriage.
The Delhi government’s legal representative argued that due to the progress in AI technology, someone could impersonate the petitioners. To prevent this, they should be instructed to attend a video conference with the Consulate General of India in San Francisco.
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
The appellants filed an appeal under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, which aimed to revise and systematise the regulations concerning marriage within the Hindu community and other groups. In addition to revising and systematizing the Sastric Law, it also addressed issues of separation and divorce, which were also present in the Sastric Law. This legislation aimed to establish a consistent legal framework for all Hindu communities. In India, there are specific civil codes based on religion that govern followers of certain other faiths.
This Act applies to
- any person who is a Hindu by religion in any of its forms or developments, including a Virashaiva, a Lingayat or a follower of the Brahmo, Prarthana or Arya Samaj;
- any person who is a Buddhist, Jain or Sikh by religion; and
- any other person domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion unless it is proved that any such person would not have been governed by the Hindu law or by any custom or usage as part of that law in respect of any of the matters dealt with herein if this Act had not been passed.
The provisions of the said law apply to Hindus residing outside India only if they are domiciled within the Indian territory.
