3.The learned Government Advocate appearing for the respondents 1 to 3 submitted that Section 7 of the Tamil Nadu Registration of Marriages Act, 2009 confers power to the Registrar of Marriages to refuse registration. He could do so if he is satisfied that the marriage between the parties was not performed in accordance with the personal laws of the parties, any custom or usage or tradition. As per Section 7 (1) (c) of the Act, if the documents tendered before the Registrar of Marriages do not prove the marriage status of the parties, he can refuse to register the marriage. In this case, the authorities of the temple, where the marriage between the parties was said to have been solemnized, had not issued any certificate indicating the performance of the marriage. He further contended that as per Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, the bridegroom must have completed the age of 21 years while the bride must have completed the age of 18 years at the time of marriage. To understand the meaning of expression “bride', in the order impugned in this writ petition, Oxford Advance Learner's Dictionary of Current English was referred to. The term “Bride” can only refer to a “Woman on her wedding day”. In the case on hand, the second petitioner Srija is a transgender and not a woman. Thus the statutory requirement set out in Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 has not been fulfilled. Therefore, the learned Government Advocate wanted this Court to sustain the orders impugned in this writ petition and dismiss the writ petition.
