Fajarasia.co – The Surabaya District Court granted the application for interfaith marriage before the local population and civil registration (dispendukcapil) office.
Spokesman for the Surabaya District Court, Gede Agung, explained that the decision to grant the interfaith marriage application was determined by a single judge, Imam Supriyadi.
“The case was decided on April 26, 2022,” said Gede Agung when contacted, Wednesday (22/6/2022).
The applicants for this case are individuals who have had interfaith marriages and are domiciled in the city of Surabaya, each named Rizal Adikara who is a Muslim and Eka Debora Sidauruk who is a Christian.
According to him, both of them have married according to their respective religious beliefs, namely Islam and Christianity.
However, when they were going to register their marriage at the Surabaya City Dispendukcapil Office, it was turned down on the grounds that the couple’s religious beliefs were different.
Furthermore, Surabaya Dispendukcapil officials are recommended to obtain a district court determination at the legal domicile of the applicants.
“With that background, the two of them then filed an application at the Surabaya District Court,” said Agung.
The sole judge, Imam Supriyadi, who examined this case, referred to Article 21 paragraph (3) of Law Number 1 of 1974 concerning Marriage in conjunction with Article 35 of Law Number 23 of 2006 concerning Population Administration.
Furthermore, on April 26, 2022, it was determined to grant the petitioners’ request.
First, to give permission to the applicants to carry out interfaith marriages in front of officials from the Surabaya Civil Registration Office.
Second, ordering officials from the Surabaya Dispendukcapil Office to register the interfaith marriages of the applicants in the marriage registration register and immediately issue the marriage certificate.
“Judge Imam Supriyadi did not see any prohibition on interfaith marriages according to Law Number 1 of 1974 concerning Marriage. In addition, the formation of households by maintaining their respective religious beliefs is a basic right of the petitioners,” said Agung.****
