Court marriages in India, unlike marriages as per one’s customs, are done in accordance with the provisions of Special Marriage Act, 1954. As per the Act, a marriage could be solemnized in the court or in the presence of the marriage officer and three witnesses.

Eligibility

Two persons belonging to different genders, from any caste, religion, place etc. are eligible to marry through the Court.

However, certain conditions are required to be fulfilled for two persons to register for court marriage-

There must be no pre-existing marriage, in case either of the party to the court marriage was married earlier, no living spouse should be there, i.e.the person applying for court marriage, if was married earlier, then at the time of the marriage must be either a divorcee or a widower/widow.
The groom should have attained the age of 21 years while the female should be above 18 years old.
The parties filing for court marriage must not fall within the degrees of prohibited relationship . Provided that the customs governing at least one of the parties permits so.

Documents required

Application form must be duly filled and signed by the parties to the marriage
Receipt of the fees paid for the application form should be attached
Documents proving date of birth of both the parties must also be there.
Documentary evidence proving the stay of the either party in the area under the jurisdiction of the marriage officer.
Affidavits from parties regarding-

Their date of birth
Present marital status of the parties i.e. if they are unmarried, divorcee or widow/er
Affirmation from the parties that they do not fall within the degrees of prohibited relationship as provided by the Act.

Passport sized photos of the parties should be duly attested by a gazette officer.

Procedure for the Court Marriage

As has been provided under Chapter II entitled as “solemnization of special marriages”, the procedure for court marriage in Bangalore or court marriage in Indore or other part of the country could be counted as follows-

Notice for intended marriage

Mentioned under Section 5 of the Act, a notice should be given to the marriage officer. The parties have to provide the notice in writing and in the form prescribed in the Second Schedule to the Marriage officer. The marriage officer so mentioned, must have the jurisdiction over the area where at least one of the parties have resided for a period not than 1 month. For example, for court marriage in Kolkata, one of the parties must be residing in the area under the jurisdiction of the marriage officer for at least a period of 30 days.

Publication

The Marriage officer shall publish the notice in some inconspicuous part of his office.

All true copies of the notice for marriage must be kept in the Marriage Notice Book.

If the parties do not reside in the area under the jurisdiction officer then he would send the copies of the notice to be published in his office.

Objection

Under Section 7 of the Act, anyone can raise an objection to the notice of marriage published in the office of the registrar. The objection to the marriage could be raised on the basis of the grounds mentioned in Section 7 of the Act.

Such objection must be raised within a period of 30 days of the publication of the notice.

The objection raised shall be recorded in the marriage Notice Book by the Marriage Registrar.

Mentioned under Section 8 of the Act, a marriage officer has a period of 30 days to enquire about the validity of such objections raised.

The marriage must be solemnized if such objection was not found to be valid.

However, in case the objection raised to the court marriage was found valid by the Marriage officer then the marriage won’t be solemnized in the court, however, the matter could still be taken into appeal before the District Court by the parties concerned.

Certificate of marriage

The marriage certificate issued after the court marriage must contain the name of the parties, witnesses, and the marriage officer as well as their signatures, including the date of marriage.

Conclusion

As could be inferred from the above discussion that for court marriage a number of documents are required to be submitted. However, in case your parents do not agree to court marriage, it is advised to seek legal advice from an experienced court marriage lawyer to seek proper advice. A notice would be sent to both addresses and parents can raise objections to the marriage.

For further advice or legal assistance for matters related to the court marriage, Lead India Law offers you a team of experienced advocates who have been successfully assisting parties with the court marriages. Hence, in case you wish to talk to a lawyer or seek free legal advice online, you may contact us.

What if Parents Object to My Court Marriage ?