The procedure of Court Marriage
Court marriages are the marriages solemnized in accordance with the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The Court marriage procedure does away with traditional marriage rituals and ceremonies. Parties of all the religions belonging to any caste, creed, color, or sex who want to get married can marry in front of a court, a marriage officer and in the presence of three witnesses under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Court marriage can be solemnized between an Indian and a foreigner. It is an easy, effective and very affordable process for marriage.
Conditions of Court Marriage
According to Chapter II, Section 4 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 following are the necessary conditions for solemnization of a court marriage:
1. No pre-existing marriage: Neither of the parties should have a living spouse while applying for the court marriage.
2. Free will: Parties applying for court marriage should have free consent. The parties must not be incompetent in giving free consent by reason of unsoundness of mind.
3. Age Criteria: Age criteria for performing court marriage for a boy should be 21 years old, and the girl should be 18 years old.
4. Prohibited degrees of relationships: Both the parties to the marriage should not be related to each other under the forbidden degrees of marriage, except in the case where the custom governing at least one of the parties permits of a marriage between them such marriage may be solemnized irrespective of the relationship falling within the degrees of prohibited relationships.
Procedures for a Court Marriage
1. Notice of intended marriage:
According to section 5 of the act, when a marriage is intended to be solemnized, the parties to the marriage shall give notice showing the intention of parties to marry in writing in the form specified in the Second Schedule to the Marriage Officer of the district in which at least one of the parties to the marriage has resided for a period of not less than thirty days immediately preceding the date on which such notice is given.
2. Publication of Notice:
The Marriage officer shall publish the notice by affixing it to a place in his office which is clearly visible while keeping the original copy of the notice in his notice book. If the notice of intention to marry is sent to the office of marriage registrar who doesn’t have the jurisdiction then he shall forward the same to the officer in whose jurisdiction the parties reside so that the notice can be affixed at the right place.
3. Objection to marriage:
According to section 7 of the act, any person can raise an objection against the marriage so intender before the Marriage Officer on the grounds that the marriage would violate any conditions specified in section 4 of the act. The objection shall be raised within 30 days from the date of publication of the notice by the Marriage Officer. The nature of the objection shall be recorded by the Marriage Officer in the Marriage Notice Book. As per section 8, the Marriage Officer on receiving an objection would enquire into it within 30 days and solemnize the marriage if the objection is unjustified then will proceed with the Court Marriage registration. But, if the objection stands then the marriage officer shall not solemnize the marriage; parties can file an appeal with the district court against the order of the marriage officer.
4. Declaration by the parties and witnesses:
Before the marriage is solemnized the parties and three witnesses shall sign a declaration in the form specified in the Third Schedule to this Act, in the presence of the Marriage Officer. The declaration shall be countersigned by the Marriage Officer.
5. Place and form of Solemnization:
Section 12 provides that the court marriage can be solemnized at the office of the Marriage Officer, or at such other place at a reasonable distance. Court marriage can be solemnized by filling up the form online and payment of court fees.
6. Marriage Certificate:
Once the solemnization of the marriage takes place according to the rules and regulations of Court Marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the marriage registrar enters the details of the marriage, in the marriage in the form specified in Schedule IV of the act. The Court Marriage certificate is conclusive proof of a valid marriage statement signed by the parties and their witnesses. A marriage certificate can also be downloaded online.
This Article is Authored by Prakriti Ghatiya, 4th Year BBA. LLB(H) Student at Amity University Rajasthan.
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