The state government has come up with a draft of the proposed Boudha
(Buddhist) Marriage Act 2017, which lays down the process to be followed
by the Buddhist community while solemnising marriages with its own
traditional rituals. The draft, however, does not touch upon divorce,
maintenance and property issues, and there is no clarity on inter-caste
marriages either.
The community has been demanding such an act since 1957, after Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar
converted to the faith on October 14, 1956 in Nagpur. The demand got a
push after the marriage of a Buddhist couple done with Buddhist rituals,
which was challenged in the Bombay high court (Nagpur bench), was held
invalid in 1972. “Two other cases also created doubts in the minds of
people about the validity of marriages performed with Buddhist rituals.
So the demand was made that either the Hindu Marriage Act should be
amended or a new act drafted,” an official said.
