Rajya Sabha passed the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2012

The Rajya Sabha on 13 August 2013 passed Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2012, under which marriages solemnized in India irrespective of the religion of the persons getting married will have to be compulsorily registered.

The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2012, was passed by a voice vote after a brief discussion. Through this bill, the Union government is providing a platform to the states, which are free to frame their own rules in accordance with their requirements. The government does not favour compulsory registration in cases of live-in relations.

The Bill is set to protect the women from unnecessary harassment in matrimonial and maintenance cases. It also seeks to provide evidentiary value in the matters of custody of children, right of children born from the wedlock of the two persons whose marriage is registered and the age of the parties to the marriage.