Himachal Pradesh HC rules birth registration cannot be denied for children of invalid marriages
In a recent judgment, the Himachal Pradesh High Court ruled that children should not be denied birth registration due to their parents’ unregistered or legally invalid marriage. Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua emphasized that a child’s rights must be considered independently of the legal status of their parents' relationship.
The court’s decision came in response to a petition filed by a woman on behalf of her three children. Despite being born to parents who lived as husband and wife since 2011, their marriage was deemed invalid due to the husband’s pre-existing marriage. The State authorities subsequently refused to register the births of the children under the Panchayat records.
Citing Section 16(3) of the Hindu Marriage Act, which states that a child born out of a null and void marriage is still considered legitimate, Justice Dua noted that the legal status of parents’ marriage should not affect a child's rights.
The court also pointed out that the Special Marriage Act and Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj General Rules do not prohibit birth registration for children from unregistered marriages.The court ruled in favor of registering the children’s births in the Panchayat records and directed the State to complete the registration promptly.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
