Four officials at the Mukkom sub-registrar office have been placed under suspension for delaying the issuance of a marriage certificate applied by a local resident, who recently wrote about the rude behaviour of the staff in a post on social media.
Sub Registrar Deviprasad, senior clerk Sivaraman Nair, clerk T.K. Mohandas and office attendant P.B. Rajisha were suspended following an internal investigation ordered by Minister for Registration G. Sudhakaran.
The applicant, who was reportedly treated badly in the office last month, had shared his bitter experience on social media seeking legal action.
Strong criticism
It had also gone viral evoking strong criticism from social media users and activists. Noticing the incident, Mr. Sudhakaran had asked the Deputy Inspector General of the Registration Department in Kozhikode to conduct an inquiry and submit a report, which held the officials primarily responsible for the delay.
The Sub Registrar had also reportedly cracked rude jokes about the applicant. He was reportedly asked to “marry again” to easily get the marriage certificate rather than trying to get a copy of an old certificate which was issued in 2003.
The applicant had to visit the office three times to get the certificate as the officers allegedly troubled him with excuses and claims.
FB post
Mr. Sudhakaran, who announced the disciplinary action through his Facebook page on Thursday, said he would also check whether the official who cracked the rude jokes was eligible to continue in the government service. Further action on the incident would be taken on the basis of the follow-up investigation, he said in the Facebook post.
