India, Aug. 4 -- After nearly 10 days of house hunting and a monthly rental budget of almost Rs.1 lakh, a married couple in Mumbai thought they had finally found the perfect 3BHK in the city's western suburbs. But before they could sign the leave-and-licence agreement, they were allegedly asked to produce their marriage certificate. The demand, shared in a viral post on X, has reignited a familiar debate over privacy, housing discrimination and the extent to which cooperative housing societies can scrutinise prospective tenants.

According to the post, the broker first took the couple to meet members of the housing society's managing committee, a common practice in many Mumbai societies, before the rental agreement could be executed betwe...