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Saturday, January 3, 2026
TopicSpecial Marriage Act

Topic: Special Marriage Act

Forget UCC, amending the Special Marriage Act can do more for gender justice

Everyone needs to understand that a sort of UCC already exists in the form of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

Rationalists look for love in new India. Kerala’s Secular Matrimony swipes left on religion

Kerala-based Secular Matrimony champions interfaith love, atheism, and progressive values. Rationalist parents use it to arrange matches for their children.

Arya Samaj weddings are in trouble. Courts cracking down on certificates, conversions

Judges are rejecting Arya Samaj certificates, flagging ‘fake’ documents, questioning short-cut conversions, and ordering probes into rogue outfits using its name.

Don’t make people endure marriage. Not allowing divorce in Indian law is cruel: Hiren Mukherjee

On 17 September 1954, during a debate on the Special Marriage Bill, CPI MP Hirendranath Mukherjee argued that marriage as an institution must evolve to reflect human dignity and compassion.

HC order puts focus on children born of invalid marriages. What law says about their rights

Saying birth of such children must be viewed independently of their parents' relationship, Himachal HC has ruled that registration of birth in panchayat records can't be denied.

This Hindu-Muslim relationship blossomed despite the Babri Masjid riots in 1992

In 'Intimacy in Alienation: A Psychoanalytic Study of Hindu-Muslim Relationships', Ashis Roy analyses the psycho-social aspects of Hindu-Muslim relationships.

HC denies protection to interfaith couple seeking to marry under Special Marriage Act. What law says

MP court declares Hindu-Muslim marriage invalid under Muslim Personal Law, even if registered under SMA. Legal experts say judge's interpretation of ‘prohibited relationship’ is ‘flawed’.

Three SC judges are set to retire by May 2024. Here are the key cases pending their decisions

From abrogation of Article 370 to whether there should be sub-quotas in the SC/ST reservation, Justices S.K. Kaul, Aniruddha Bose, & A.S. Bopanna have several cases pending before them. 

Marriage as institution precedes state — SC’s majority view on same-sex marriage

SC’s majority bench unanimously rejected central govt’s submission that queerness is an urban and elitist concept’. However, the court also ruled out a civil union for such couples. 

There are pre-conditions in Special Marriage Act that same-sex marriage debate is ignoring

Recognition of same-sex marriage will eliminate legal differences between men and women, which is essential to sustain protective discrimination on the basis of gender.

On Camera

The Supreme Court is losing its credibility. It should frighten us all—Maneka Gandhi

The dogs will survive whatever orders are passed. But institutions are more fragile than we imagine. Once lost, the trust they embody takes generations to rebuild.

India’s urban co-op banks are turning the page—crisis to cautious revival, one metric at a time

With bad loans shrinking & capital buffers stronger, urban co-op banks’ new umbrella body NUCFDC is now prioritising rollout of digital transformation.

Greece looking at TATA’s WhAP infantry combat vehicle for army procurement

If deal goes through, Greece will be 2nd foreign country to procure vehicle. Morocco was first; TATA Group has set up manufacturing unit there with minimum 30 percent indigenous content.

A year-end Mea Culpa in National Interest—The Army-Islam combo doesn’t kill democracy

Many of you might think I got something so wrong in National Interest pieces written this year. I might disagree! But some deserve a Mea Culpa. I’d deal with the most recent this week.