Govt moves to amend Gujarat registration of marriages act: What is Panchmahal ‘fake nikaah case’ Dy CM cited in Assembly?
Over 4,600 suspicious marriage certificates, including alleged fake nikaahnamas issued from Panchmahal villages, have prompted the Gujarat government to propose amendments to the Gujarat Registration of Marriages Act, 2006.
A probe into over 4,600 suspicious marriage certificates in Panchmahal has triggered Gujarat’s move to amend its marriage registration law. (Representative Photo)
Officials said on Friday that in these villages, such marriage certificates were granted to couples who were not even residents of Gujarat. Couples from 11 different states allegedly got marriage certificates from these four talukas of Panchmahal. A departmental probe is underway against six Talati-cum-Mantris (village administrative officers).
Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who proposed the marriage amendment in the Gujarat Assembly earlier in the day, said that “hundreds of nikaah certificates were handed out from Panchmahal villages that had no Muslim or mosques”.
The racket that was first unearthed in 2024 in Bhadrala village of Sehra taluka involved a dubious marriage certificate issued by the now-suspended Talati-cum-Mantri (TCM) P M Parmar to a couple from outside Gujarat state as a family filed an RTI plea seeking details of the marriage of their ward. When the TCM did not respond, the RTI appeal ended up with the Taluka Development Officer (TDO), who uncovered a shocking fact – over 300 marriage certificates had been issued to couples who did not even visit the village, let aside reside there, an official from the district told The Indian Express. Some from states outside Gujarat had been issued marriage certificates.
The probe led to the discovery of a billowing scandal. Parmar had issued a total of 2,242 marriage certificates not only in Bhadrala but also in his postings in Malav (in Kalol taluka) and Kanbipalli (in Ghoghamba taluka). Even as a departmental inquiry was ordered into the case of Parmar, more cases began to emerge from the district, including a case of a TCM from Kanjipani village, A K Meghwal, who purportedly claimed in a video that went viral that he had made “Rs 50 lakh in two years by just issuing thousands of marriage certificates to couples at the rate of Rs 2,500 per certificate”.
At present, a total of 4,602 marriage certificates issued by Talatis in the district are under an inquiry. Officials of the district administration state that while the inquiry against Parmar is complete and a final decision on the action to be initiated against him is pending, Meghwal has been issued a chargesheet and is under suspension pending inquiry. Meghwal was also arrested by the Panchmahal police after an FIR was registered at the Jambughoda police station by the father of one of the women, who was granted a marriage certificate by Meghwal from Kanjipani village. The couple was also arrested in the case in December last year.
While Meghwal, in the video had claimed that he had issued 2000 certificates and “could not be implicated”, a total of 911 marriage certificates issued during his posting in Kanjipani, Kara and Udhvan in Jambughoda are under probe. These include couples from 11 states of the country, including North East.
Four other TCMs – P A Patel, RC Bhoi, NC Solanki and DL Kamol – are facing departmental inquiry for issuing marriage certificates to couples for money. While yet to be suspended like Parmar and Meghwal, the four TCMs have been issued chargesheets by the investigating officers of the department.
As per the records of the inquiry, Patel issued a total of 871 marriage certificates in Nathkuva and Kankodakoi in Ghoghamba taluka, including a nikaahnama that was cited by Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi on Friday. Solanki and Kamol, who served as TCM of Ghoghambha taluka’s Bhanpura and Kanbipalli villages issued a total of 283 marriage certificates while Bhoi issued 25 certificates as Kalantra (in Kalol taluka).
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An official of the administration said, “The couples are directed to Panchmahal by agents, who work in collusion with the locals and the officers. It would be impossible for the couples to know which village talatis to approach so it is an organised racket that is running through a chain of agents, local villagers and the officers… Not just in Panchmahal but also in the neighbouring districts of Dahod and Mahisagar, similar marriage certificates have been issued.”
The official adds that the marriage registrations could be called valid and legal if the marriage is solemnised in the villages where the certificates are issued, regardless of the residential address of the bride and the groom. “However, in the present case, the couples do not seem to have even visited Panchmahal. The officers knowingly issued certificates for financial gain without verifying documents…” the official said.
When contacted, Deputy District Development Officer (DDO) DR Sangada said, “The probe is ongoing in the cases where the dubious marriage certificates have been issued by the Talati/Mantris.”
Panchmahal District Superintendent of Police Haresh Dudhat told this newspaper that while Meghwal, the couple and another accused were arrested in the FIR lodged by the father of a woman in December last year, no other FIR has been lodged as the district administration is yet to lodge a complaint with the police following the inquiry in the matters.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
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