special marriage act
javed
(Querist) 09 September 2016
This query is : Resolved
Hi I am from small town dahod of gujarat. There are many people who wants to marry through special marriage act. But don't know where to apply. So pls clarify about authority where to apply to marry a cording to special marriage act.
Ms.Usha Kapoor
(Expert) 10 September 2016
Dear Client
Sections 4 to Sections 13 of Special Marriage Act lays down detailed procedure of special or regi9stered Marriage as per the below given provisions. If you've any clarification regarding interpretation or meaning of the provisions I'd help you in clarifying th
The Special Marriage Act, 1954
Page Contents [hide]
2. Definitions
3. Marriage Officers
Chapter II Solemnization of Special Marriages
4. Conditions relating to solemnization of special marriages
5. Notice of intended marriage
6. Marriage Notice Book and publication
7. Objection to marriage
8. Procedure on receipt of objection
9. Powers of Marriage Officers in respect of inquiries
10. Procedure on receipt of objection by Marriage Officer abroad
11. Declaration by parties and witnesses
12. Place and form of solemnization
13. Certificate of marriage
14. New notice when marriage not solemnized within three months
Chapter III Registration of Marriages celebrated in other forms
15. Registration of marriages celebrated in other forms
16. Procedure for registration
17. Appeals from orders under section 16
18. Effect of registration of marriage under this Chapter
Chapter IV Consequences of Marriage under this Act
19. Effect of marriage on member of undivided family
20. Rights and disabilities not affected by Act
21. Succession to property of parties married under Act
21 A. Special provision in certain cases
Chapter V Restitution of Conjugal rights and judicial separation
22. Restitution of conjugal rights
23. Judicial separation
Chapter VI Nullity of marriage and divorce
24. Void marriages
26. Legitimacy of children of void and voidable marriages
27. Divorce
27 A. Alternate relief in divorce proceedings
28. Divorce by mutual consent
29. Restriction on petitions for divorce during first three years after marriage
30. Remarriage of divorced persons
Chapter VII Jurisdiction and Procedure
31. Court to which petition should be made
32. Contents and verification of petitions
33. Proceedings to be in camera and may not be printed or published
34. Duty of court in passing decrees
35. Relief for respondent in divorce and other proceedings
36. Alimony pendente lite
37. Permanent alimony and maintenance
38. Custody of Children
39. Appeals from decrees and orders
39 A. Enforcement of decrees and orders
40. Application of Act V of 1908
40 A. Power to transfer petitions in certain cases
40 B. Special provision relating to trial and disposal of petition under the Act
40 C. Documentary evidence
41. Power of High Court to make rules regulating procedure
Chapter VIII Miscellaneous
42. Saving
43. Penalty on married person marrying again under this Act
44. Punishment of bigamy
45. Penalty for signing false declaration or certificate
46. Penalty for wrongful action of Marriage Officer
47. Marriage Certificate Book to be open to inspection
48. Transmission of copies of entries in marriage records
49. Correction of errors
50. Power to make rules
51. Repeals and savings
THE FIRST SCHEDULE
PART I
PART II
THE SECOND SCHEDULE
THE THIRD SCHEDULE
THE FOURTH SCHEDULE
THE FIFTH SCHEDULE
Chapter I Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement
[Act No. 43 of 1954]1
[9th October, 1954]
An Act to provide a special form marriage in certain cases, for the registration of such and certain other marriages and for divorce.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
——————–
1. The Act has been extended to Dadra and Nagar Haveli by Reg. 6 of 1963 and Pondicherry by Reg. 7 of 1963.
(1) This Act may be called the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and applies also to citizens of India domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends who are 1[in the State’s, of Jammu and Kashmir].
(3) It shall come into force on such 2date, as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
——————–
1. Subs. For word “outside the said territories” by Act No. 33 of 1969, w.e.f. 31-8-1969.
2. Became enforceable on 1-1-1955, vide S.R.O. 3606, dated 17th December, 1954.
2. Definitions
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
1[* * *]
(b) “Degrees of prohibited relationship”-a man and any of the persons mentioned in Part I of the First Schedule and a woman and any of the persons mentioned in Part II of the said Schedule are within the degrees of prohibited relationship;
Explanation I. -Relationship includes, –
(a) Relationship by half or uterine blood as well as by full blood;
(b) Illegitimate blood relationship as well as legitimate;
(c) Relationship by adoption as well as by blood; and all terms of relationship in this Act shall be construed accordingly.
Explanation II. –”Full blood” and “half blood”-two persons are said to be related to each other by full blood when they are descended from a common ancestor by the same wife and by half blood when they are descended from a common ancestor but by different wives.
Explanation III.-”Uterine blood” two persons are said to be related to each other by uterine blood when they are descended from a common ancestress but by different husbands.
Explanation IV.-In explanations II and III, “ancestor” includes the father and ancestress” the mother;
2[(c) [* * *]
(d) “District” in relation to a Marriage Officer, means the area for which he is appointed as such under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of Section 3;
3[(e) “District court” means, in any area for which there is a city civil court, that court, and in any other area, the principal civil court of original jurisdiction, and includes any other civil court which may be specified by the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette as having jurisdiction in respect of the matters dealt with in this Act;]
(f) “Prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
4[(g) “State Government”, in relation to a Union territory, means the administrator thereof.]
——————–
1. Cl. (a) omitted by Act No. 33 of 1969, w.e.f. 31-8-1969.
2. Cl. (c) omitted by Act No. 33 of 1969, w.e.f. 31-8-1969.
3. Substituted by Act 68 of 1976, w.e.f. 27-5-1976.
4. Substituted by the Adaption of Laws (No.3) Order, 1956.
3. Marriage Officers
(1) For the purposes of this Act, the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint one or more Marriage Officers for the whole or any part of the State.
1[(2) For the purposes of this Act, in its application to citizens of India domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends who are in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify such officers of the Central Government as it may think fit to be the Marriage Officers for the State or any part thereof.]
——————–
1. Subs. by Act No. 33 of 1969, w.e.f. 31-8-1969.
Chapter II Solemnization of Special Marriages
4. Conditions relating to solemnization of special marriages
Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force relating to the solemnization of marriages, a marriage between any two persons may be solemnized under this Act, if at the time of the marriage the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:
(a) Neither party has a spouse living;
1[(b) Neither party-
(i) Is incapable of giving a valid consent to it in consequence of unsoundness mind; or
(ii) Though capable of giving a valid consent, has been suffering from mental disorder of such a kind or to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage and the procreation of children; or
(iii) has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity 2[* * *]
(c) The male has completed the age of twenty-one years and the female the age of eighteen years;
3[(d) The parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship;
Provided that where a custom governing at least one of the parties permits of a marriage between them, such marriage may be solemnized, not withstanding that they are within the degrees of prohibited relationship; and ]
4[(e) Where the marriage is solemnized in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, both parties are citizens of India domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends.]
5[Explanation. -In this section, “customs”, in relation to a person belonging to any tribe, community, group or family, means any rule which the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf as applicable to members of that tribe, community, group or family;
Provided that no such notification shall be issued in relation to the members of any tribe, community, group of family,-unless the State Government is satisfied-
(i) That such rule has been continuously and uniformly observed for a long time among those members;
(ii) That such rule is certain and not unreasonable or opposed to public policy; and
(iii) That such rule, if applicable only to a family. has not been discontinued by the family.]
5. Notice of intended marriage
When a marriage is intended to be solemnized under this Act, the parties to the marriage shall give notice thereof in writing in the form specified in the Second Schedule to the Marriage Officer of the district in which at least on 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.
6. Marriage Notice Book and publication
(1) The marriage Officer shall keep all notices given under Section 5 with the records of his office and shall also forthwith enter a true copy of every such notice in a book prescribed for that purpose, to be called the Marriage Notice Book, and such book shall be open for inspection at all reasonable times, without fee, by any person desirous of inspecting the same.
(2) The Marriage Officer shall cause every such notice to be published by affixing a copy thereof to some conspicuous place in his office.
(3) Where either of the parties to an intended marriage is not permanently residing within the local limits of the district of the Marriage Officer to whom the notice has been given under section 5, transmitted to the Marriage Officer of the district within whose limits such party is permanently residing, and that Marriage Officer shall thereupon cause a copy thereof to be affixed to some conspicuous place in his office.
7. Objection to marriage
(1) Any person may, before the expiration of thirty days from the date on which any such notice has been published under sub-section (2) of section 6, object to the marriage on the ground that it would contravene one or more of the conditions specified in section 4.
(2) After the expiration of thirty days from the date on which notice of an intended marriage has been published under sub-section (2) of section 6, the marriage may be solemnized, unless it has been previously objected to under sub-section (1).
(3) The nature of the objection shall be recorded in writing by the Marriage Officer in the Marriage Notice Book, be ready over and explained, if necessary, to the person making the objection and shall be signed by him or on his behalf.
8. Procedure on receipt of objection
(1) If an objection is made under section 7 to an intended marriage, the Marriage Officer shall not solemnize the marriage until he has inquired into the matter of the objection and is satisfied that it ought not to prevent the solemnization of the marriage or the objection is withdrawn by the person making it; but the Marriage Officer shall not take more than thirty days from the date of the objection for the purpose of inquiring into the matter of the objection and arriving at a decision.
(2) If the Marriage Officer upholds the objection and refuses to solemnize the marriage, either party to the intended marriage may, within a period of thirty days from the date of such refusal, prefer an appeal to the district court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the Marriage Officer has his office, and the decision of the district court on such appeal shall be final, and the Marriage Officer shall act in conformity with the decision of the court.
9. Powers of Marriage Officers in respect of inquiries
(1) For the purpose of any inquiry under section 8, the Marriage Officer shall have all the powers vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908), when trying a suit in respect of the following matters, namely:-
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of witnesses and examining them on oath;
(b) discovery and inspection;
(c) compelling the production of documents;
(d) reception of evidence on affidavits; and
(e) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses; and any proceeding before the Marriage Officer shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of section 193 of the Indian Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860).
Explanation. – For the purpose of enforcing the attendance of any person to give evidence, the local limits of the jurisdiction of the Marriage Officer shall be the local limits of his district.
(2) If it appears to the Marriage Officer that the objection made to an intended marriage is not reasonable and has not been made in good faith he may impose on the person objecting costs by way of compensation not exceeding one thousand rupees and award the whole or any part thereof to the parties to the intended marriage, and any order for costs so made may be executed in the same manner as a decree passed by the district court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the Marriage Officer has his office.
10. Procedure on receipt of objection by Marriage Officer abroad
Where an objection is made under Section 7 to a Marriage Officer 1[in the State of Jammu and Kashmir in respect of an intended marriage in the State], and the Marriage Officer, after making such inquiry into the matter as he thinks fit, entertains a doubt in respect thereof, he shall not solemnize the marriage but shall transmit the record with such statement respecting the matter as he thinks fit to the Central Government, and the Central Government, after making such inquiry into the matter and after obtaining such advice as it thinks fit, shall give its decision thereon in writing to the Marriage Officer who shall act in conformity with the decision of the Central Government.
——————–
1. Subs. by Act No. 33 of 1969, w.e.f. 31-8-1969.
11. Declaration by parties and witnesses
Before the marriage is solemnized the parties and three witnesses shall, in the presence of the Marriage Officer, sign a declaration in the form specified in the Third Schedule to this Act, and the declaration shall be countersigned by the Marriage Officer.
12. Place and form of solemnization
(1) The marriage may be solemnized at the office of the Marriage Officer, or at such other place within a reasonable distance therefrom as the parties may desire, and upon such conditions and the payment of such additional fees as may be prescribed.
(2) The marriage may be solemnized in any form which the parties may choose to adopt:
Provided that it shall not be complete and binding on the parties, unless each party says to the other in the presence of the Marriage Officer and the three witnesses and in any language understood by the parties,- “I, (A), take thee (B), to be my lawful wife (or husband).
13. Certificate of marriage
(1) When the marriage has been solemnized, the Marriage Officer shall enter a certificate thereof in the form specified in the Fourth Schedule in a book to be kept by him for that purpose and to be called the Marriage Certificate Book and such certificate shall be signed by the parties to the marriage and the three witnesses.
(2) On a certificate being entered in the Marriage Certificate Book by the Marriage Officer, the Certificate shall be deemed to be conclusive evidence of the fact that a marriage under this Act has been solemnized and that all formalities respecting the signatures of witnesses have been complied with.
Dr J C Vashista
(Expert) 10 September 2016
@ Javed,
The district magistrate of your residence may be contacted, who will guide you.
@ Ms. Usha Kapoor,
I would like to suggest that it would have been more appropriate to advise the quirkiest in one/two lines to provide a solution to his/her problem instead of delivering such a lengthy academic lecture/ discussion/reply, which is very difficult to be followed by a layman. If s/he is not satisfied, may consult a local lawyer.
You may notice the author is in the habit of posting such academic queries.
Warm regards.
Kumar Doab
(Expert) 10 September 2016
Approach the authority.
Kumar Doab
(Expert) 10 September 2016
Respected Dr.J.C.Vashista,
Sir,
You are right.
Many persons know that they are using the internet for posting queries, and same internet can be used to type a few words and search them self to know whom to approach.
Nowadays each authority has its website and all procedures, forms and formats and contact details are available on website.
Still LCI has become a kind of inquiry counter.
We are here for enriching discussions.
These are getting reduced.
With Regards
KumarDoab
Kumar Doab
(Expert) 10 September 2016
Respected Dr.J.C.Vashista,
Sir,
You are right.
Many persons know that they are using the internet for posting queries, and same internet can be used to type a few words and search them self to know whom to approach.
Nowadays each authority has its website and all procedures, forms and formats and contact details are available on website.
Still LCI has become a kind of inquiry counter.
We are here for enriching discussions.
These are getting reduced.
With Regards
KumarDoab
Ms.Usha Kapoor
(Expert) 10 September 2016
Respected Sir Mr.Vasashista,
Actually I made a reply of few lines only by that time i wanted to click submit it got disappeared and some other page got displayed. Then to type again the entire thing I felt a bit lazy. So I( reproduced the entire provisions.
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 10 September 2016
Anyway, total Act has been submitted before the author and now it is his option to chose the appropriate section as per his requirement.
Rajendra K Goyal
(Expert) 21 September 2016
Respective law / Act has been given by the expert, author should go through it.
Sudhir Kumar, Advocate
(Expert) 10 September 2016
