Cuttack, Aug. 10: Orissa High Court has termed illegal the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation's practice of collecting Rs 1,000 from newlyweds towards maintenance of heritage buildings.
The court has ruled that "compulsory collection" of Rs 1,000 at the time of registration of marriage in addition to fees prescribed for it is "arbitrary, unreasonable and contrary to the provisions of law". The court has also quashed the civic body's resolution for introduction of the levy that was passed nearly a decade ago.
The Odisha Hindu Marriages Registration Rules, 1960, entailed payment of fees of Rs 2 and Rs 5 for registration and collection of a certified copy for an entry made in the register, respectively.
But, the civic body had levied an additional fee of Rs 1,000 to grant marriage certificates on the basis of a resolution passed by it on October 30, 2006. The civic body's standing committee for taxation, finance and accounts, had on October 18, 2006, recommended introduction of the tax.
Lawyer Harihara Panigrahi had filed a PIL challenging the collection of Rs 1,000 in the name of donation for maintenance of heritage buildings in Bhubaneswar from newlyweds. Not paying the "donation" used to result the marriage not being registered.
Defending its stand, the civic body had told the court that the Odisha Municipal Corporation Act, 2003, had authorised it to collect voluntary contribution/donation towards the cost for maintenance of the heritage buildings.
"Voluntary contributions can be received by the municipal corporation for maintenance of heritage buildings. But nowhere has power been vested with the municipal corporation to collect contributions compulsorily," the division bench of Chief Justice Vineet Saran and Justice B.R. Sarangi ruled while disposing of the petition.
"Applying the meaning of the word 'donation' to the present context, it appears that the collection of fees of Rs 1,000 in the shape of donation does not amount to voluntarily transferring the same. Rather the amount in question is being collected under a compulsion, which is not permissible under law," the bench observed in its July 28 order, a copy of which was made available publicly yesterday.
Accordingly, the court also quashed the recommendation on the issue made by the civic body's standing committee for taxation, finance and accounts on October 18, 2006, and also the municipal corporation's October 30, 2006, resolution accepting it.
The people here have welcomed the high court order.
Reacting to the decision, Narayan Ojha, who got married recently, said the waiver of the "donation" was a big relief for everyone. "A thousand rupees is a lot of money. Not everyone who is getting married can afford to pay it," said Ojha. His wife Suchismita Mishra echoed his views, while adding that the order would benefit everyone.
On an average, the Bhubaneswar civic body issues about 1,000 marriage certificates every year. Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, however, said they were yet to get any such direction from the court.
"We will abide by the ruling of the court if it asks us to stop the collections. However, we are yet to get any such direction," said Jena.
Another couple, Swapnesh and Shyamali Nayak, who came to the civic body's office in Bhubaneswar for their marriage registration, also expressed relief at the court order. "Heritage buildings are the face of the city. But, why should only newlyweds be charged for its maintenance? If the civic body is so concerned about these buildings, they should collect such fees from everyone," said Shyamali.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SANDEEP MISHRA IN BHUBANESWAR
