Cuttack, Oct. 29: Orissa High Court has expressed serious concerns over notaries registering marriages, issuing marriage as well as divorce certificates on mutual consent even though it is "totally illegal and unwarranted."

"Such activities of the notary are creating tremendous embarrassment to the innocent public who are unaware about the sanctity of such documents. Very often, tender-aged girls are kidnapped by their so-called lovers. Later, marriage certificates are created, making the lives of these girls a living hell," the single judge bench of Justice S.K. Sahoo said in an order, a copy of which is in possession of The Telegraph.

Justice Sahoo directed the principal secretary of the state law department to take "remedial steps at his end and submit a detailed report to the high court within four weeks regarding the action taken, if any, against the notaries indulging in such illegal activities."

Justice Sahoo also directed the state police "to keep track of all such activities of the notaries and if there is a necessity, to proceed against them in accordance with law."

Justice Sahoo as a vacation judge issued the order on October 26 while he was hearing an anticipatory bail plea in which the petitioner had claimed that he had married the daughter of the informant (who lodged the FIR) before a notary in Khandapara and both of them are staying in their house and leading a happy conjugal life.

Justice Sahoo expected the registrar general of the high court to communicate to all district and sessions judges of the state to recommend "necessary action at their end to the concerned authorities against the notaries who are indulging in such dubious activities."

Official records presented in the court indicated that on March 18, 2009, the state law department had intimated notaries not to issue marriage certificates or authenticate certificates of marriage in the future.

The high court had directed the registry to immediately issue a notice to H.M. Patnaik (Khandapara notary) to explain under what authority he had issued the marriage certificate on September 29, 2015.