Opposing the Supreme Court direction to make the registration of marriages compulsory, the grand mufti of Jammu and Kashmir [Images] on Friday said Muslim marriages cannot be bound by the new ruling.

"Muslim marriages are solemnised in the presence of witnesses and recorded with the signatures of all concerned. Court registrations would give rise to a lot of problems. Muslim marriages cannot be made bound by the new ruling," Bashirrudin Ahmad said in a statement in Srinagar [Images].

He said the case of Shah Bano was still fresh in the minds of Muslims of the country.

Despite opposition by Parliament, there are attempts to give life-long maintenance to divorced women and this is against Islamic principles and law, he said.

"These attempts tantamount to interference in the religion by which a divorce is not accepted," he added.

"While we place the apex court in the highest esteem that it deserves, we also expect it to be sensitive to the Islamic laws," the Mufti said adding "we will convene a meeting of the Muslim personal law board to deliberate on the issue and take a final decision".

Meanwhile, Habibur Rehman, in-charge of the fatwa department of leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband, also said that marriage registrations should not be made compulsory.

The Uttar Pradesh Imams' organisation President Mufti Zulziqar also opposed the apex court's direction, stating that marriage is a religious affair, not a legal one.