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A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking mandatory disclosure of a bride’s and groom’s previous and existing marriages, children and national identification details in marriage registration forms to prevent fraud and concealment of information.
Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan filed the petition in the public interest on Tuesday.
The Law and Justice Division secretary, Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division secretary and Inspector General of the Directorate of Registration have been made respondents.
The petition follows a legal notice sent by Ishrat Hasan to the relevant authorities on August 20. She moved the High Court after receiving no response.
The petition seeks directions to amend the kabinnama (marriage registration form) to include verifiable information on all previous and existing marriages of both parties, children from previous or existing marriages, ongoing maintenance and guardianship obligations, other legal liabilities, and birth registration, national identity card or passport numbers.
It also seeks a rule asking why the respondents’ failure to update the marriage registration form to include and verify such information should not be declared unlawful and beyond their legal authority.
The petitioner further seeks directions to amend the prescribed kabinnama form to better protect citizens’ family and marital rights.
The legal notice stated that the existing marriage registration form—Bangladesh Form No. 1601, commonly known as Form ‘G’—under the Muslim Marriages and Divorces (Registration) Rules, 2009, is incomplete and inadequate.
According to the notice, the current form does not provide a proper mechanism to disclose and verify details of previous marriages, former spouses, marriage and divorce registrations, the effective date of divorce, ongoing matrimonial litigation or existing children.
The petitioner argued that these gaps allow individuals to conceal previous marriages, existing marital relationships, disputed or unregistered divorces, children and continuing financial or guardianship obligations to previous families before entering into a new marriage.
Such concealment, she said, creates opportunities for fraud and undermines the prospective spouse’s right to make an informed decision before marriage.