Staff Reporter:
The High Court on Thursday ordered that all marriage and divorce records in Bangladesh be compulsorily registered through a digital system.
The HC bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Md Ashif Hasan passed the order after hearing a writ petition.
Advocate Ishrat Hasan stood for the petitioner.
Ishrat said the decision would be a historic step for protecting families, safeguarding women, preventing child marriage, ensuring legal transparency and most importantly, curbing fraud related to marriage and divorce.
She added that digital registration would significantly reduce issues such as secret marriages, hiding multiple marriages, concealing prior information and difficulties in proving divorces.
The writ petition was filed on 4 March 2021 by three people including Rakib Hasan, former husband of cricketer Nasir’s wife Tamima Sultana and one organisation seeking directives to implement digital registration of marriages and divorces.
Other petitioners included Sohag Hossain from North Kamalapur, Dhaka, Kamrul Hasan from Kashipur, Noakhali, and the Aid for Man Foundation.
The petition highlighted that the lack of technology-driven registration had led to fraudulent practices, with spouses sometimes concealing marriage information and entering into multiple marriages.
The absence of a digital archive often caused uncertainty and disputes over children’s paternity, making digital registration essential to prevent fraud and uphold family honor.
On 23 March 2021, the High Court issued a rule asking why a central website should not be created for the digital registration of marriages and divorces.
Secretaries of the law ministry, post, telecommunications and ICT ministry, religious affairs ministry, and the BTRC chairman were directed to respond to the rule.
