- I Paid A Bribe
- 13 years ago
- 1621 views
Have to pay bribe in order to get marriage certificate
- Stamps and Registration
- Marriage Certificate
- Paid INR 1,000
My wife is in government, the marriage certificate is mandatory to be produced to the authorities after the marriage. After having inquired about the rules and regulations we went to the local court a couple of days after marriage, we the documents i.e. invitation card, marriage photographs and the witnesses (which were never questioned).
At registrar office the registrar was absent but the work was going on so in case of direct enquiry I was told that registrar was absent. On asking the procedure for the marriage ceritificate and forms I was directed to the photoshops outside who also told be about the procedure which implied paying Rs. 2000 for a case.
Then I went to one advocate who had started practicing as a helper to one of my cousin. He helped me and asked the man sitting in registrar room to do it without bribe. He got the reply that since it involves a government servant so we need to pay Rs. 1000/- (wow 50% concession).
Realising that idealism will just waste my time and will cause a lot of delay. (As a couple we had plans to fly to honeymoon in few days and then join our jobs in a metropolitan city) Any how we needed and had expected it also I agreed. Our application was noted and next day I got the certificate.
I believe the documents were sent at registrar home for signature. Being not in the office saves him from the direct interaction from the public and running this racket.
Comparing this with UK where I paid a legal fee to goverment 7.5 pounds for birth certificate of my child, where I directly talked to the registrar after fixing an appointment online and got the certificate in 15 minutes, I feel that Indian public suffer a lot of harrasment for basic services.