We offer legal consultancy for court marriage where we give the couple excellent suggestions regarding the marriage. We also have qualified advocates who arrange the whole marriage procedures with legal documents and assist them in whole process. We also manages to give the registration certificate at the earliest. A marriage which has already been solemnised can be registered either under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 or under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The Hindu Marriage Act is applicable in cases where both husband and wife are Hindus, Buddhists, Jains or Sikhs or where they have converted into any of these religions. Where either of the husband or wife or both are not Hindus, Buddhists, Jains or Sikhs, the marriage is registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
Further, marriage can be solemnised between any two persons under the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
Registration of Marriages which have already been solemnised.
Solemnisation of Marriage under Special Marriage Act
The documents required for registering a marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act are as follows:
Application form duly signed by both husband and wife
Documentary evidence of date of birth of parties (Matriculation Certificate / Passport / Birth Certificate) Minimum age of both parties is 21 years at the time of registration under the Special Marriage Act
Ration card of husband or wife whose area SDM has been approached for the certificate
Affidavit by both the parties stating place and date of marriage, date of birth, marital status at the time of marriage and nationality
Two passport size photographs of both the parties and one marriage photograph
Marriage invitation card, if available
If marriage was solemnized in a religious place, a certificate from the priest is required who solemnized the marriage
Affirmation that the parties are not related to each other within the prohibited degree of relationship as per Hindu Marriage Act or Special Marriage Act as the case may be
Attested copy of divorce decree/order in case of a divorcee and death certificate of spouse in case of widow/widower
In case one of the parties belong to other than Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh religions, a conversion certificate from the priest who solemnized the marriage
All documents excluding receipt should be attested by a Gazetted Officer
Verification of all the documents is carried out on the date of application and a day is fixed and communicated to the parties for registration. On the said day, both parties, along with a Gazetted Officer who attended their marriage, need to be present before the SDM. The marriage certificate under the Hindu Marriage Act is issued on the same day or within a few days.Registered/Court marriage as you call it is solemnized under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 all such marriages can take place between any two Indian citizens as well one Indian citizen with a foreigner irrespective of their religion, caste or creed, and you can say this is the secular form of marriage available in our country. Such a marriage is solemnized before the marriage officer/registrar usually D.C. deputy commissioner of the area /SDM where both or any of the parties to such a marriage reside permanently or for at least one month. Cost of such a marriage as the rate prevalent in your area. Now how you proceed? Both the parties to the marriage file a joint application before the marriage officer along with individual affidavit attested by notary public specifying the age(boy 21yrs &girl 18yrs), place of residence, marital status(unmarried or divorcee as the case maybe), mental status(not idiot or not with unfit mind), not related to each other. Along with this you have to give proof of age (School certificate, Passport, Pan card), proof of residence (Passport, ration card, voters ID card, rent agreement), & the application/notice of such a marriage maybe asked to be witnessed by 3 independent adult persons, affix one photograph of each of the parties & all the 3 witnesses. You have made such an application/notice to the marriage officer in person along with all the 3 witnesses. On receiving such an application/notice the marriage officer issues a month notice regarding the intended marriage & get such a notice affixed on the notice board out side his office, a copy of such notice is sent to the marriage officer under whose jurisdiction the other party lives, also a copy is to the individual parties address. After expiry of the period of notice a date is fixed on which all the persons parties to the marriage & 3 witnesses appear again before the marriage officer who declare them married & issue a certificate to this regard. Incase of any objections raised the marriage officer will settle these objections.
Special Marriage Act, 1954
Special Marriage Act allows any two individuals to marry (including intercast marriages), irrespective of their religion, caste and nationality. It even applies to people living abroad, with Indian nationality. Therefore, any marriage under the Special Marriage Act is a Civil Marriage by registration. However, there are some conditions to be fulfilled under this act.
Neither party should have a living husband or wife.
Neither party should be a lunatic or insane.
The bridegroom should not be less than 21 years of age whereas the bride must be 18 years old.
The parties should not be involved in any prohibited relationship.
Both parties should be the citizens of and domiciled within the territories mentioned in the Act.
The process begins like this:
Both the interested parties to the marriage file a joint application before the marriage officer along with individual affidavit attested by notary public specifying the age (boy 21yrs and girl 18yrs), place of residence, marital status ( unmarried or divorcee ), mental status ( not idiot or not with unfit mind ), not related to each other.
Along with this you have to give proof of age , proof of residence ( Passport, ration card, voters id card, PAN card, rent agreement ) and the application of such a marriage should be witnessed by 3 independent adults, affix one photograph of each of the parties and all the 3 witnesses.
You have made such an application/notice to the marriage officer in person along with all the 3 witnesses.
After submission of an application the marriage officer issues a month notice regarding the proposed marriage and get such a notice affixed on the notice board out side his office, a copy of such notice is sent to the marriage officer under whose jurisdiction the other party lives, also a copy is sent to the individual parties address.
After expiry of the period of notice, a date is fixed on which the party along with 3 witnesses appear again before the marriage officer who declare them married and issue a certificate to this regard.
In case of any objections raised the marriage officer will settle these objections.
The next obvious question is what can be the objections that can be raised?
These can only be regarding the conditions necessary for such mariage & nothing else. What are the conditions? As I stated above i.e. Age, martial status, mental status, prohibited relationship (related to each other by blood).For Registration of Marriages which have already been solemnized, following documents are required:
Application form duly signed by both husband and wife.
Documentary evidence of date of birth of parties (Matriculation Certificate / Passport / Birth Certificate). Minimum age of both parties is 21 years for male and 18 years for female, at the time of registration under the Special Marriage Act / Hindu Marriage Act.
Ration card of husband or wife, at least one should be resident of Delhi for 30 days.
Affidavit by both the parties stating place and date of marriage, date of birth, marital status at the time of marriage and nationality.
Three passport size photographs of both the parties and one marriage photograph.
Marriage invitation card.
If marriage was solemnized in a religious place, a certificate from the priest is required who solemnized the marriage.
Affirmation that the parties are not related to each other within the prohibited degree of relationship as per Special Marriage Act. For details of such relationships please read below at end.
Attested copy of divorce decree/order in case of a divorcee and death certificate of spouse in case of widow/widower.Documents required for Court marriage under Special Marriage Act:-
Application form / Notice duly filled and signed by the bride and the groom.
Documentary evidence of date of birth of both parties (Matriculation Certificate/ Passport/ Birth Certificate).
Documentary evidence regarding stay in Delhi of one of the parties for more than 30 days (ration card or report from the concerned SHO, Police Station).
Separate affidavits from bride and groom giving:
Date of birth.
Present marital status: unmarried/widower/ divorcee.
Affirmation that the parties are not related to each other within the degree of prohibited relationship defined in the Special Marriage Act (See at end to know the meaning of prohibited relationship).
Citizenship
Parties intent to marry with each others
Passport size photographs of both parties (3 copies each) duly attested by a Gazetted Officer.
Copy of divorce decree/order in case of a divorcee and death certificate of spouse in case of widow/widower.
In case of a foreign national, a no objection certificate from the concerned Embassy regarding his / her present status.
Some countries insist for proof of proceeding of civil marriage & marriageablity certificate of Indian fiancee before granting visa to a foreign national to visit / stay in India for marriage.
Foreign national who intent to stay in India for long time after marriage should know before marriage about grant of citizenship of India and about profession / tax liability.
Advocate Supreme Court of India | Lawyer Supreme Court Delhi 