Over 19,000 marriages registered in Delhi till September this year

Nearly 19,250 marriages were registered in the city between January and September this year, of which 589 were interfaith, according to an official data.

Among all the 11 districts, South-West Delhi topped the chart with registration of 2,912 marriages, followed by West (2,339), North-West (2,222), Shahdara (1,992), Central Delhi (1,800), North (1,586), East (1,461), , South-East (1,423) and New Delhi (1,019).

In North-East Delhi, there were only 318 marriages registered with the Delhi government. In West Delhi, 409 Sikh marriages were listed under the Anand Marriage Act.

According to the Delhi government's official data, 14,961 marriages were registered under the Hindu Marriage Act while 947 were listed under the Anand Marriage Act which requires the registration of Sikh marriages.

The data states that a total of 19,254 marriages were registered in the city against the 20,884 applications received between January and September this year.

Data obtained from the revenue department also shows that 589 marriages were registered under the Special Marriage Act, which provides for those marriages beyond the laws dictated by religion.

In the last three years from 2016 to 2018, a total of 1,063 marriages were registered and on an average, there were 355 marriages registered under the Act every year.

A government official said that there has been an increase in interfaith marriages in the city in comparison to the last three years.

According to rules, any marriage solemnised in Delhi between a man having completed 21 years and a woman of at least 18 years of age, with at least one of them being an Indian citizen, has to be compulsorily registered.