Court Marriage Process In India

Court marriages process in India, unlike marriage customs according to one’s religion, are done in accordance with the provisions of Special Marriage Act,1954. According to the Act, marriages are solemnised in the court in the presence of the marriage officer and three witnesses

Eligibility for the court marriage procedure ?

Two individuals belonging to different genders, of different castes, religion, place etc. can apply for marriage through the Court.

There are, however certain conditions which must be fulfilled in order to register for court marriage-

• No pre-existing marriage should be there, in case there was, there must be no living spouse at the time of court marriage, i.e.the person applying for court marriage, in case the party was married earlier to some third party, then when applying for court marriage, the respective party should be either a divorcee or a widower/widow.

• The male should have attained the age of 21 years and the female must have attained the age of 18 years.

• As per the provisions of the Act, parties applying for court marriage must not fall within the degrees of prohibited relationship . Provided the customs governing at least one of the parties, permits for marriage between persons falling within the degrees of prohibited relationship.

Documents necessary for court marriage:

1. Application form must be filled and signed by the parties properly

2. Receipt of fees paid for application form must be attached with other documents.

3. Documents which prove the date of birth of the parties to the court marriage.

4. Documentary evidence proving that the parties stayed in the area under the jurisdiction of the marriage officer for 30 days.

5. Affidavits from both parties about-

6. Date of birth of parties

7. Present marital status of both parties i.e. if they are unmarried, divorcee or widow/er

8. Affirmation from parties that they do not fall within the degrees of prohibited relationship as provided by the Act.

9. Passport size photos of the parties.

Procedure for the Court Marriage-

As per Chapter II of the Act, titled as “solemnization of special marriages”, the court marriage procedure is as follows-

• Notice for intended marriage

• Section 5 of the Act provides that a notice must be submitted to the marriage officer.

• The parties would have to provide for the notice in writing as well as in the form which has been prescribed under Schedule II of the Act to the Marriage Officer.

• The marriage officer mentioned above, must have jurisdiction over the area where at least one of the parties to the court marriage have been residing for a period not less than 1 month.

• Publication

• The notice would then be published in some inconspicuous part of the office of the Marriage Officer by him, from where such notice is visible to the general public.

• All true copies of notices have to be recorded 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 reside.

• Objection

• An objection to the marriage application could be raised by anyone as has been provided under Section 7 of the Act of 1954, on the grounds provided in the Act under Section 7.

• Such objections must be raised within a period of 30 days from the date of publication of notice.

• The objection so raised then shall be recorded in the marriage Notice Book by the Marriage Officer .

• According to Section 8 of the Act, a marriage officer will have a period of 30 days to enquire about the validity of the objections raised.

• The marriage would then be solemnised in case the objections raised were found to be invalid.

• However, if the objection so raised was found valid by the Marriage Officer then in such a situation, marriage will not be solemnised in the court, the matter, however, can be further taken into appeal before the District Court by the parties concerned.

• Place of solemnisation

• Under Section 12 of the Act, court marriage can be solemnised at the office of the Marriage officer or at some place which falls within a reasonable distance of the office of the Marriage Officer.

• Marriage shall be solemnised only when the interested parties in the presence of the marriage officer affirm that they intend marry the other party in the presence of the three witnesses

• Certificate of marriage

• A marriage certificate will be issued to the parties, which shall include 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 the 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 an experienced court marriage lawyer near you.

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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