A technical failure in Bengal’s government marriage registration portal disrupted online marriage registrations across the state on Wednesday, leaving couples and their families waiting for hours at marriage offices before being told that the process could not be completed.
The disruption affected registration offices in several districts, with frustrated families protesting in some locations against marriage officers who said they could not proceed while the online system remained unavailable. The Telegraph reported that thousands of couples and their relatives were affected by the failure.
Among those unable to complete the process were Dipanjan Mondal, a state police employee from Nakashipara in Nadia, and Sulta Biswas of Kotulpur in Bankura. The couple had fixed Wednesday for their registration and had made arrangements to host around 100 people. Mondal, who is posted in Siliguri, had taken two days’ leave to attend the registration.
“I have very little leave because I work in the police. I came home for only two days, but the registration could not take place because of the server problem,” Mondal said. He added that government offices should have an alternative mechanism for cases in which a technical failure prevents a scheduled registration.
The registration process is governed by the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Couples using this statutory route are required to follow the prescribed notice process before appearing before a marriage officer. A social or ceremonial marriage is not mandatory for the registration to take place.
Subhasish Ghoshal, the marriage officer in Kotulpur, said registrations could be conducted either before or after a social marriage. “For those registering without a prior ceremony, the date of registration is their official wedding day. If couples complete all arrangements and then have to return without registration because of a server failure, it is extremely unfortunate,” he said.
Trisha Kar of Uluberia and Saurabh Barman, a software engineer from Midnapore, were also among those affected. Their social marriage had been scheduled for a later date, and they had planned to complete the statutory registration on Wednesday. “We came with relatives, but after waiting for hours, we had to return disappointed,” Kar said.
The disruption came amid a heavy rush at registration offices. Jyotsna Mahato, state secretary of the Marriage Officers’ Welfare Association, said registrations had remained relatively low during the Bengali month of Bhadra because it is traditionally considered inauspicious for weddings. The resulting demand on Wednesday added to the pressure on the portal, she said.
Mahato said the association had written to Biraj Biswas, the minister of state for law, seeking improvements to the portal but had received no action over the previous three months. The association has urged the government to restore the system urgently and establish an alternative mechanism so that scheduled registrations do not fail solely because of a server outage.
There are around 1,000 marriage officers working across Bengal’s 23 districts. An official of the state law ministry acknowledged the disruption, saying, “A technical glitch has developed in the wedding portal today. We are trying hard to solve the issue. Kindly bear with us until the problem is settled.” Biswas did not respond to calls, according to the report.
