Former Punjab cadre IAS officer writes jointly to the Union Home Minister, Union Law Minister and Goa Chief Minister; seeks recognition of Anand Karaj in every State Code
Patiala, 17 September 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement that NDA governments in 21 States will introduce a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) before 2029, KBS Sidhu, a former Punjab cadre IAS officer and a practising turbaned Sikh, has flagged that no notification extending the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 to Goa appears in the public record, more than a year after the Supreme Court ordered it. KBS Sidhu has written a joint letter to Shri Amit Shah, Union Law Minister Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal and Goa Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant, seeking the notification and express recognition of the Sikh Anand Karaj ceremony in every State Code.
In Amanjot Singh Chadha v. Union of India, decided on 4 September 2025, the Supreme Court directed the Union to extend the 1909 Act to Goa within four months, and the State to frame registration rules within four months after that. Pending the notification, Goa’s Civil Registration Offices were to register Anand Karaj marriages and record the Anand rite on request. Sikkim, the other special case in the judgment, has since had its extension notified, effective 1 June 2026.
Goa’s Sikh community is small, 1,473 persons at the 2011 Census. KBS Sidhu noted, however, that the Court expressly declined to tie the duty to register to the size of a State’s Sikh population.
The difficulty in Goa is structural. Under Goa’s Portuguese-derived civil-registration system, the date of registration is the date of marriage, and an unregistered marriage has no legal recognition, save a Roman Catholic marriage cleared in advance by the Civil Registrar. The 1909 Act works the other way: the Anand rite itself makes the marriage, and a missed registration does not affect its validity.
“In Goa, the registrar’s entry makes a marriage; under the Anand Marriage Act, the Anand rite does,” KBS Sidhu said. “Unless the two are reconciled in terms, Sikh couples in Goa will be caught between them.”
The joint letter makes six requests. State Codes should expressly recognise Anand Karaj and save the 1909 Act, as Uttarakhand and Assam have done. The Union Law Ministry should issue the Goa notification. Goa’s Civil Registration Offices should follow the Court’s interim direction. Goa should frame rules giving Anand Karaj an express route, as canonical Catholic marriages already have, with one registration sufficing, since the Act itself provides that a marriage registered under it need not be registered again under any other law, including a State Act. Any Goan Code should name Anand Karaj rather than leave it to a general repeal clause. And registration rules should provide for a simple declaration that both parties profess the Sikh religion.
Uttarakhand’s Code, in force since January 2025, lists Anand Karaj under the 1909 Act among the recognised ceremonies of marriage, and Assam’s Code does likewise. Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have also passed Codes.
“A Uniform Civil Code that names Holy Union and Nikah should not forget Anand Karaj,” KBS Sidhu said. “Uttarakhand and Assam have shown that it takes a single clause.”
KBS Sidhu stressed that he has written in his individual capacity as a citizen, and not on behalf of any political party or organisation. Copies of the letter have been endorsed to Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami, President of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), and Sardar Tarlochan Singh, former Rajya Sabha member and former Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities.
The issues are set out in detail in his article “One Coast, Two Registers: Goa’s Civil Code and the Anand Marriage Act” in The KBS Chronicle (kbssidhu.substack.com).
About KBS Sidhu: KBS Sidhu is a 1984-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre who retired as Special Chief Secretary, Government of Punjab. He is the Founder-Editor of The KBS Chronicle.
Media contact: kbs.sidhu@gmail.com
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