Want to tie the knot in a secular fashion? You have got to declare that you are neither an 'idiot' nor 'lunatic' to get your marriage registered.
A clause in Form III to register marriages under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, meant for those seeking to wed beyond the ambit of personal laws & sectarian divides like caste & faith, asks applicants to declare that "neither of us, is an idiot or lunatic".
While this may be part of a valid legal document, many feel the terms are frivolous & insensitive. Psychiatrists point that as per new laws, lunacy as a term is no longer in use.
"I remember seeing this in my form 2 years ago & I was unsure if this was for real. I knew it was trying to say that the person must be of sound mind, but the way it is worded is extremely wrong," Kiran (name changed), an Australia-based animator said. Kiran registered his marriage at a sub-registrar's office in the city in 2017. "For someone who is battling mental health issues, such terms can cause additional trauma," he added.
Self-certification makes no sense, says a sociologist.
The statement is borrowed from the Special Marriage Act & reflects colonial sensibilities, said Anand Inbanathan, a Bengaluru-based sociologist.
The clause isn't worded appropriately & needs to make sense in present times, he said, adding: "The other thing is it's illogical. Self-certification makes no sense when the question is about one being mentally sound. It should rather ask applicants to clarify if they are willing to get married on their own & not under any pressure."
Dr Pratima Murthy, professor of psychiatry at The National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (Nimhans), said as terms like 'lunacy' & 'idiocy' have been discontinued in use by law, the changes must also reflect in all the Acts. "The Mental Health Act of 1987 replaced the term 'lunatic' with 'mentally ill person' & the Acts too need to be worded appropriately," she added
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