CHANDIGARH: A man from Panchkula and his Russian wife have been forced to live an ocean apart because of the tortuously slow bureaucracy of Haryana municipal department Mohit Rana of Panchkula and Russian national Aygul Rakhimkulova, both neuroscientists, crossed international boundaries to get married after a five-year courtship.But the municipal corporation of Panchkula delayed issuing of a marriage certificate. As a result, Mohit, 32, could not take his wife, Aygul, to Santiago, Chile, where he is an established neuroscientist. Aygul, 30, had to return to Germany , where she is a PhD scholar at the University of Tubingen.They had married on January 21, 2017, at a marriage palace in Zirakpur, near Panchkula, in the presence of around 500 guests. Since they satisfied the conditions of the Haryana Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act of 2008 as one of them was from Panchkula, they applied to the Panchkula MC on January 24 to register their marriage. Aygul's mother and brother, who were here for the wedding, also signed as witnesses in the MC.However, despite fulfilling all formalities required under the statute, the executive officer-cum-marriage registrar of MC, Panchkula, has not issued a registration certificate. The delay meant Mohit, who has a service contract with the Chile government as a neuroscientist, could not take Aygul back to Santiago as his wife, and she had to return to Germany .According to Mohit's brother, Sumit Rana, as per clause 1.4 of the Haryana Act, the registrar could register the marriage if either the bride or groom was a resident in the area under his jurisdiction. Even the dealing clerk, Shabana, had certified this, saying a number of marriages to foreign nationals had been registered under this act and the only document required was a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the foreign national's embassy. Even the dealing clerk, Shabana, had certified this, saying a number of marriages to foreign nationals had been registered under this act and the only document required was a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the foreign national's embassy .The NOC was submitted to the MC after it was obtained from the consulate general of Russia in Frankfurt, Germany , where Aygul had been living for the past nine years.Sumit, who is taking up the case with the MC, claimed that the EOcum-marriage registrar, Panchkula, Arvind Balyan, told them he would write to the Russian embassy to verify Aygul's domicile status. According to Sumit, the EO has been harassing them by not issuing the certificate despite categorical directions to do so from the deputy commissioner of Panchkula and the clearance of docu ments by the entire MC staff.“He said he had got the job after 10 years and wouldn't risk it for this case.When we contacted the Russian embassy , they said they can verify no such document as the passport is proof of domicile in itself,“ said Sumit.He added that now if the certificate was not issued, the couple would marry each other again, in Chile, and register their marriage there as it is much easier than registering it in one's own country .“They are highly educated professionals and always wanted to marry in India. My brother is an established neuroscientist and both were even willing to work in India. But now they feel shattered because of official apathy in issuing them a marriage certificate,“ added Sumit.When contacted, Arvind Balyan said though he could not recollect the case in an instant, the couple could have it verified by the embassy for the sake of accuracy as the act was not clear on several matters.“These are very sensitive issues.We have to take extra care to prevent any complication in future. I am otherwise a very liberal person and even available to people at my home. I will examine this issue again,“ Balyan added when asked about the allegations of harassment.