Ranchi: Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday directed the state to initiate issuance of a marriage certificate to a London-based couple for verification through video conferencing.
Hearing a petition filed by Australian citizen Upasana Bali praying for issuance of her marriage certificate, the division bench of Chief Justice PC Tatia and Justice Jaya Ray observed that law should not be kept in a closed box and should be analyzed considering the modern technology, instead.
The bench ordered the state to make arrangements for a video conferencing to verify the couple and issue the certificate.
Upasana had said in her petition that she had married M Bali, an Australian citizen, on December 12, 2002, but did not get the marriage certificate in Ranchi then.
After their marriage, the husband and wife moved to London, where they were blessed with a child on January 16 this year.
They were asked to produce marriage certificate when they applied for a passport for their child to visit India in order to attend the marriage of Upasana’s brother.
When they applied for the certificate in Ranchi, the couple was asked to be physically present for verification.
The petition prayed that how could she reach to Ranchi, leaving the eight-month-old child in London alone, a contention accepted by the bench.
PTI
