Under Goan law, Manyata gets 50% of husband's assets

MUMBAI: Actor Sanjay Dutt's secret Goan wedding with Manyata was put on hold on Tuesday with a mamlatdar (revenue official) staying Manyata's six-month residence certificate. The stay brings to a temporary halt their marriage registration process, which had begun on February 7, 2008. As things stand, their marriage is not registered and valid in Goa. Manyata, who has been issued a showcause notice asking why her residence certificate can't be cancelled on grounds of fraud, is yet to respond to charges. The mamlatdar has fixed March 7 as the date for hearing the issue. New brides-to-be may perhaps not allow Manyata's misadventure to influence their decision to exchange vows in the tiny state. Goa's marriage laws, as enshrined in a civil code framed by the erstwhile Portuguese rulers, provides for safeguards and equal rights for spouses as no other act. The law here allows a wife to immediately and automatically become a co-owner of half of her new husband's property. What's more, a wife in Goa in the majority of cases can end up with three-fourths of her husband's wealth in case he dies without a will. But to enjoy the benefit of Goan law, marriage registration is mandatory. Unlike in the rest of India, the only way to get hitched is by registering the wedding as a civil contract. The process requires the bride and groom to sign together a declaration of their intention to marry in a sub-registrar's office. The sub-registrar has to then issue a public notice to invite any objections to the proposed marriage; after a 15-day waiting period, the couple has to go back to the sub-registrar's office and sign on the dotted line to complete the process. It is only after the second set of signatures is obtained that the marriage is considered solemnised and a marriage certificate issued. In Dutt's case, the second set of signatures is yet to materialise with doubts being raised on whether Manyata had stayed in Goa for six months prior to the marriage. "There is no question of the couple completing the process till the genuineness of Manyata's residence certificate is decided," said a legal expert. Sub-registrar Chandrakant Pissurlekar said the couple have a "time limit" of three months to get their papers in order.