Reddy Effect: Karnataka May Revive Bill to Stop Lavish Weddings

After Gali Janardhana Reddy daughter’s Rs 500-crore wedding, the Karnataka government to bring back Marriage Bill.

Gali Janardhana Reddy’s daughter’s wedding (Photo: The News Minute)

Following the Gali Janardhana Reddy’s daughter’s wedding fiasco, the Karnataka state government on Thursday revived its interest in the Karnataka State Marriages (registration and miscellaneous provisions) Bill 2015, the Times of India reported.

The Bill was drafted to check such extravaganzas and has termed weddings with an expenditure of more than Rs 5 lakh and invitees over 1,000 as lavish.

The Bill had earlier lost priority as it had received severe opposition since it discourages people from indulging in display of wealth and wastage of food, TOI report said. However, the controversial wedding of Brahmani seems to have ruffled the government’s feathers, which has decided to reconsider the legislation.

We are now keen on reviving the Bill with a few changes, to discourage lavish ceremonies. We feel that the public is against such extravagant functions.

TB Jayachandra, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister

After consultations, in 2015 the draft had not been taken forward as the government believed it to be too severe a move, the report said.

According to the Bill, wedding halls must charge Rs 50,000 per day. It also made it mandatory for wedding hall owners to obtain licences. Invitations costing over Rs 7,000 were said to be liable for luxury tax, TOI reported.

Health Minister KR Ramesh Kumar had earlier moved a private member Bill to discourage people from wasting food during such extravagant wedding ceremonies.

A similar recommendation was made by the Kerala Women’s Commission in November 2015. However, in December of that year, they held two seminars and the outcome of which resembles the Marriage Bill proposed by the Karnataka government.

The recommendations included the cost of wedding invitations, amount a wedding hall can charge per day, expenditure on food, cost of the couple’s costume and jewellery and so on.