Laws and legal provisions related to the registration of marriage

In Seema v. Ashwani Kumar (order dated 14 February 2006), a Supreme Court Bench headed by Hon’ble Justice Arijit Pasayat directed all states and union territories to frame rules within three months making registration of marriages compulsory. The Court held that, irrespective of religion, citizens should register their marriage in the state where it is solemnized. This direction applies to people of all religions, such as Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists. The Supreme Court reiterated and tightened these directions in subsequent orders in 2013, and most states have since notified compulsory marriage-registration rules. In the capital, registration is governed by the Delhi (Compulsory Registration of Marriage) Order, 2014, under which marriages solemnized in Delhi are to be registered. A marriage may be registered under the relevant personal-law statute (such as the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955) or under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, depending on the parties; registration provides important documentary proof of marriage even though, for many religions, it does not by itself determine the validity of the marriage.

As per calculations of social engineers, compulsory registration of marriages in India would go a long way in reducing the crime against women.

The Special Marriage Act, 1954 replaced the old Act III, 1872. Conditions of this marriage Act are -

• The bridegroom must be at least 21 years old and the bride must be at least 18 years old.
• The parties should not fall within the degree of prohibited relationship.
• Each party involved should have no other subsisting valid marriage. In other words, each party should be monogamous.
• The parties should be competent in regards to their mental capacity to the extent that they are able to give valid consent for the marriage.

Applicability of special marriage Act, 1954 -

• This Act is applicable to the entire territory of India.
• Any person, irrespective of religion.
• Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Parsi, or Jewish can perform marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
• Inter-caste marriages are performed under this Act.

Process for Registration under Special Marriage Act 1954:

After receiving the application signed by both the parties, the marriage officer gives a public notice allowing a period of thirty days inviting any objection related to the concerned marriage. Registration is done 30 days after the date of notice; both parties are required to be present after submission of documents along with three witnesses.

The following conditions must be satisfied as per the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act:

• It can be solemnized between two Hindus if neither party has a living spouse at the time of marriage;
• The age of valid marriage is 21 and 18 respectively for the boys and girls
• At the time of the marriage, neither party is incapable of giving valid consent or suffering from a mental illness that inhibits their fitness for marriage.
• The Act specifically disallows marriages between prohibited degrees of relationships.

The provisions of the Act are applicable to any person who is Hindu by religion in any of its forms; this Act is not applicable on Muslim, Jew, Christian, or Parsi by religion. After completing the verification process, a date is fixed when both the parties along with the witness should be present. The Certificate of Marriage is issued on the same day.

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