New Delhi: The Anand Marriage Act, which enables Sikh couples to register their traditional marriages under their specific legal framework, will come into effect in Sikkim from June 1, the Union law ministry said.
This will allow members of the Sikh community in Sikkim to register their marriages solemnized under the traditional ‘Anand Karaj’ ceremony directly.
For registration purposes, some Sikh couples register their marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955.
According to a law ministry notification issued on May 14, “the central government fixes June 1, 2026, as the date on which the provisions of the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 will come into force in the State of Sikkim.”
The law ministry announced the date after Sikkim drafted and notified the official Sikkim Anand Marriage Registration Rules, 2026 to outline localized registration mechanisms.
The rules were announced following a landmark Supreme Court judgment in the September 2025 case of Amanjot Singh Chadha v Union of India, which closed administrative loopholes in the law.
A 2012 amendment to the law had introduced state-level mechanisms to register marriages under the Anand Marriage Act of 1909.
Several states, including Sikkim, had not framed rules.
The apex court had asked these states to come up with rules.
The lack of rules in these states meant they either did not register their marriage or did so under the broader Hindu Marriage Act.
