Court marriages in India, unlike marriage customs according to one’s religion, are done in accordance with the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, of 1954. As per the Act, marriages could be solemnized in court in the presence of the marriage officer and three witnesses.
Who would be eligible for the court marriage?
Two persons of different genders, belonging to different castes, religions, places etc. can marry through the Court.
There are, however certain conditions that are required to be fulfilled to register for court marriage-
There shall be no pre-existing marriage, in case there was, there shall be no living spouse at the time of the court marriage, i.e. the person applying for court marriage, if was married earlier to some third party, then at the time of marriage he/she should be either a divorcee or a widower/widow.
The male must have completed the age of 21 years and the female should be 18 years old or above.
As per the provisions of the Act, the parties filing for court marriage shall not be within the degrees of prohibited relationship. Provided the customs governing at least one of the parties allows for a marriage between persons within the degrees of prohibited relationship.
Documents required for court marriage:
Application form to be duly filled and signed by the parties
Receipt of the fees paid for the application form should be attached with other documents.
Documents proving the date of birth of the parties to the court marriage.
Documentary evidence proving either of the parties has stayed in the area under the jurisdiction of the marriage officer for a minimum period of 30 days.
Affidavits from both parties regarding-
Date of birth of the parties
Present marital status of both parties i.e. unmarried, divorcee, or widow/er
Affirmation from the parties that they are not within the degrees of the prohibited relationship as provided by the Act.
Passport-size photos of the parties duly attested.
Procedure for the Court Marriage-
As per Chapter II of the Act, titled “solemnization of special marriages”, the procedure for court marriage is as follows-
Notice for intended marriage
Provided under Section 5 of the Act, a notice has to be given to the marriage officer.
The parties are required to provide the notice in writing as well as in the form prescribed in the Schedule II of the Act to the Marriage officer.
The marriage officer so mentioned, should have jurisdiction over the area where at least one of the parties has been residing for a period not less than 1 month.
Publication
The notice would then be published in some inconspicuous part of the Marriage officer by him, from where such notice could be visible to the general public.
All true copies of the notices would be kept in the marriage Notice Book.
In case the parties do not reside in the area under the jurisdiction of the marriage officer then he would send these copies of the notice to the marriage officer under whose jurisdiction either of the parties resides.
Objection
As provided under Section 7 of the Act of 1954, any person can raise an objection to the notice of marriage published in the office of the registrar on the grounds provided in the Act under Section 7.
These objections must be raised within a period of 30 days from the date of publication of the notice.
The objection so raised would be then recorded in the marriage Notice Book by the Marriage Officer.
As per Section 8, the marriage officer would a period of 30 days to enquire about the validity of the objections so raised.
The marriage would be solemnized if the objections raised were found to be invalid.
However, if the objection raised was found valid by the Marriage officer then in such a situation, the marriage won’t be solemnized in the court, the matter, however, could be taken into appeal before the District Court by the parties concerned.
Place of solemnization
As provided under Section 12 of the Act, a court marriage could be solemnized at the office of the Marriage Officer or at a place within a reasonable distance of the office of the Marriage Officer.
Marriage would be solemnized only when both parties in the presence of the marriage officer say that they intend to marry the other party and also the presence of the three witnesses is required.
Certificate of marriage
The marriage certificate issued to the parties would contain the name of the parties, witnesses, and the marriage officer as well as their signatures, including the date of marriage. The marriage certificate issued is conclusive evidence of marriage.
Conclusion
It could be concluded by the above article, that the marriages in Court are solemnised by the marriage officer, who is the only authority verifying the validity of the documents or the objections raised if any.
The procedure for the court marriage though requires a number of steps to be followed, which could be easily completed with the assistance of experienced Court Marriage Lawyers In Hyderabad or Court Marriage Lawyers In Aurangabad, or your city. Even after the notice has been accepted and if any objection is raised by a third party, an experienced Court Marriage Lawyers In Faridabad could represent your case in the respective court.
Thus, if you have decided to get married through court marriage, it is advised that you talk to a lawyer before starting the procedure or you can also seek legal advice online by contacting us at Lead India.
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