Thiruvananthapuram: The sub-registrar office at Punalur became the venue for the country's first-ever online wedding the other day.

The role of technology in daily lives scripted history when Ukraine-based Jeevan Kumar of Ilambal in Punalur wedded Dhanya Martin of Kazhakootam in the presence of sub-registrar TM Firoze and relatives of both the bride and groom.

The wedding was conducted under the Special Marriage Act.

Dhanya arrived at the office with her and Jeevan's relatives while the groom logged in from Ukraine. Jeevan's father Devarajan signed the register and the sub-registrar handed over the bride the marriage certificate immediately after completing the procedures.

Though the historic marriage was solemnised within a brief time, it has a tale of friendship, love, COVID-19 and a legal battle in the background. The wedding was conducted based on an order issued by a High Court Division Bench. Dhanya had taken up the legal battle for her online wedding with Jeevan, a mechanical engineer in Ukraine. The bride has been employed with an America insurance group based at Infopark, Thiruvananthapuram.

Jeevan and Dhanya had their schooling together. The bride's mother Thankachi Mathen and Jeevan's father Devarajan were colleagues at VSSC in Thumba, and both the families have been closer.

Once the families accepted the young couple's desire to live together, COVID played spoilsport. Though Jeevan landed the job last year, his visa got delayed, and the families decided to register the marriage before the young man left for Ukraine. They even fixed March 14 for the wedding, and the couple applied to the sub-registrar office for their wedding under the Special Marriages Act.

As per the norms, the wedding could be held only 35 days after submitting the application, which would be valid for 90 days. Meanwhile, COVID-19 started raging in Ukraine, and Jeevan was asked to join before that country went into a lockdown.

Jeevan left for Ukraine on March 14 four days ahead of meeting the 35-day norm. His plan was to return before the validity period of 90 days, get married, and fly back. His return trip, however, had to be cancelled due to COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the 9sub-registrar office at Thiruvananthapuram renewed their application after the expiry of the 90-day validity period. Dhanya approached the High Court in June after the office clarified that both the bride and groom should be physically present for registering their marriage.

The High Court accepted Dhanya's plea and gave a favourable order on September 9. Dhanya is now preparing to fly to her husband in Ukraine.