What is the procedure to do court marriage

714 votes

Hello,

Following are the steps for court marriage in brief:

Steps for Court Marriage
1. Notice of Intended Marriage
2. Publication of Notice
3. Objections to Marriage
4. Signing of Declaration
5. Place of Marriage
6. Certificate of Marriage

COURT MARRIAGE PROCEDURE: STEP 1

Notice/Application of intended marriage

To be married in court, the marriage officer of the district must first be informed of the intention to marry.

Who must give notice?
A notice in writing is to be given by parties to the marriage.

To whom should the notice be given?
The notice is given to the marriage officer of the district in which at least one party must have stayed for 30 days immediately before the date when the notice is served. For example, if the male and female are in Delhi, but wish to marry in Mumbai. At least one of them must travel to Mumbai 30 days before the intended date and live there until the date of the marriage.

What is the format of the notice?
The notice must be as per the format provided in Schedule II of the act with documents attached as proof of age and residence. See below or click here for downloadable format:

NOTICE OF INTENDED MARRIAGE

To the Marriage Officer of the __________ District.

We hereby give you notice that a marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, is intended to be solemnised between us within three calendar months from the date hereof.

Name: ____________

Condition: _____________

Occupation: _____________

Age: ________________

Dwelling place: ___________________________________________________________________

Length of residence: _______________________________________

Permanent place of residence: _____________________________________________________

Groom’s Name (Choose One):
1. Unmarried
2. Widower
3. Divorcee

Bride’s Name (Choose One):
1. Unmarried
2. Widow
3. Divorcee

Witness our hands this ____________ day of 20__
(Signed) Groom
(Signed) Bride

COURT MARRIAGE PROCEDURE: STEP 2

Publication of Notice

Who publishes the notice?
The marriage officer of the district to whom the notice has been served publishes the notice.

Where is the notice published?
At a conspicuous place in the office and one copy in the office of the district where the other party permanently resides (if any).

COURT MARRIAGE PROCEDURE: STEP 3

Objections to Marriage

Who can raise the objection?
Any person, of course! Any person can raise objections to the marriage based on the grounds listed in Chapter II, Section 4 of the Act (see above). If the objections have little to do with any of the factors mentioned above, then the objection will be of no consequence. However, in most cases, the marriage officer would need to examine the objection.

To whom objection is raised?
To the marriage officer of the concerned district.

What are the grounds of objection?
Any one of the conditions stated above and specified in Chapter II, Section 4 of the act.

What are the consequences if objection(s) are accepted?
The marriage officer must, within 30 days from the date of objection, make inquiries and if the objections are found to be true, the marriage cannot be solemnised.

What is the remedy in case objection(s) have been accepted?
An appeal can be filed by either party.

To whom is the appeal filed?
The district court within the local limits under the jurisdiction of the marriage officer.

When can an appeal be filed?
Any time within 30 days from the date of refusal to solemnise marriage.

COURT MARRIAGE PROCEDURE: STEP 4

Signing of the Declaration

Who has to sign the declaration?
Both parties and three witnesses (in the presence of the marriage officer). It will also be countersigned by the marriage officer.

What is the content and format of declaration?
It is as provided in Schedule III of the act. Find the format below or click here for download.

DECLARATION TO BE MADE BY THE BRIDEGROOM

I, , hereby declare as follows:

1. I am, at the present time, ________ (unmarried, widower or divorcee, as the case may be).

2. I have completed ___ years of age.

3. I am not related to _____, the bride, within the degrees of prohibited relationship.

4. I am aware that if any statement in this declaration is false and if in making such statement I either know or believe it to be false or do not believe it to be true, I am liable to imprisonment and also to a fine.

Signed
___________

DECLARATION TO BE MADE BY THE BRIDE

I, , hereby declare as follows:

1. I am, at the present time, ________ (unmarried, widower or divorcee, as the case may be).

2. I have completed ___ years of age.

3. I am not related to _____, the bridegroom, within the degrees of prohibited relationship.

4. I am aware that if any statement in this declaration is false and if in making such statement I either know or believe it to be false or do not believe it to be true, I am liable to imprisonment and also to a fine.

Signed
___________

Signed in our presence by the above-named and . So far as we are aware, there is no lawful impediment to the marriage.

(Signed Witness 1)

(Signed Witness 2)

(Signed Witness 3)

(Countersigned Marriage Officer)

Dated: The ______ day of ______ 20__

COURT MARRIAGE PROCEDURE: STEP 5

Place of Marriage

Place of Marriage: Either the office of marriage officer or any other place within a reasonable distance can be the place of marriage.

Form of Marriage: Any form as the parties to the marriage choose but each party in presence of marriage officer will have to say:

“I, _______, take thee, ________, to be my lawful wife/husband.”

COURT MARRIAGE PROCEDURE: STEP 6

Certificate of Marriage

The marriage officer enters a certificate in the form specified in Schedule IV of the act in the marriage certificate book. If signed by both parties and three witnesses, such a certificate is conclusive evidence of the court marriage. The certificate of marriage is as follows:

CERTIFICATE OF MARRIAGE

I, , hereby certify that on the ___ day of ____ 20__, and appeared before me and that each of them, in my presence and in the presence of three witnesses who have signed hereunder, made the declarations required by Section 11 and that a marriage under this Act was solemnised between them in my presence.

(Signed),

Marriage Officer for __________ District

(Signed Groom)

(Signed Bride)

This is the Court Marriage Procedure in India in 6 Easy Steps.

Advocate Anilesh Tewari LawRato

661 votes

Court marriage is something entirely different. It is done only if bride and bridegroom belong to different religions or if they're both atheists. If you both belong to same religion then simply marry as per your customs and then fill up the online form for marriage registration and then you to go the local Sub Registrar Office with Address proof, ID proof, proof of age and marriage invitation card on any working day. You will be required to put your thumb impression on biometric device and you will get marriage certificate. For any clarification feel free to contact me.

Advocate Prateek Mishra LawRato

863 votes

Court marriage covered u/s spl marriage act fistly apply in the court of city magistrate / spl marriage officers after received your application marriage officer call the report for concerns police station also thasil and also issued notice to parents after 21 days according the report marriage officer issued court marriage cirtifecate

Advocate Mahesh Kumar Gupta LawRato

704 votes

Hi,
Individuals from any religion can opt for a court marriage. You can belong to the same religion or two different religions. It does not affect the process of court marriage.

Indian laws still do not allow same sex marriages. So, the marriage can take place only between a male and a female.

Moreover, the law says that any two persons can get married under this act. The condition is they should fulfill the eligibility criteria. This means that it is not compulsory to be an Indian citizen for getting married under this Act.

Both the bride and the groom must fulfill the following conditions.

They should not have a living husband/wife at the time of marriage.
They should not be incapable of giving consent due to unsound mind.
Even if they can give consent, they should not have a mental disorder which makes them unfit for marriage or having children.
They must not suffer from insanity or epilepsy.
The bride should be at least 18 years old and the groom at least 21.
Both parties must not be within prohibited relationship with each other.

Even if you are within degrees of prohibited relationship, you can get married if your custom allows you to do so. This exception will apply even when the customs of only one of the parties allow such marriage.

The second exception is the citizenship rule for court marriages in Jammu & Kashmir. If the marriage is taking place in the state of J & K, then both parties must be citizens of India. Moreover, both parties should have domicile in a state to which this act applies. This means that foreign nationals cannot get married in Jammu & Kashmir under this Act.

There is another condition for foreigners. They must live in India for at least 30 days before the marriage. They can get a proof of residence from their local police station.

Process of court marriage in 5 steps
Court marriage in India takes place in 5 steps.

Step 1: Notice of marriage
The first step is to give a notice of marriage to the marriage officer. The couple needs to give notice to the marriage officer of the district where at least one of them is residing for 30 days before giving notice.

notice of marriage
Step 2: Publishing of notice and compulsory waiting period
The marriage officer will display the notice in his office at a place where it is visible.

He also needs to forward the notice to the district of each party’s permanent residence.

After display of the notice in the above manner, the compulsory waiting period of 30 days begins. Anyone can object to the marriage within this period. But, the objection should be as per the Act and the eligibility conditions. Any person who believes that the marriage violates one or more eligibility conditions can object to it. But, not otherwise. So, if a person objects to your marriage due to some other reason, he has no legal basis of doing so.

If there is no objection to the marriage within 30 days of publishing the above notice, the marriage officer can perform the marriage.

Step 3: Objections and investigation
If the marriage officer receives an objection, he will record it in the notice book. He will then investigate the objection. If he feels that the objection does not come in the way of marriage, he can go ahead and perform the marriage.

If the marriage officer finds the objection to be valid, he can refuse to solemnize the marriage.

In any case, he cannot take more than 30 days to arrive at a decision.

In case of refusal, the couple can appeal to the district magistrate within 30 days of such decision.

Step 4: Declaration by parties and witnesses
The Bride, the Groom, and three witnesses need to sign the below declaration in the presence of the marriage officer. It is not necessary to sign the declaration in the marriage officer’s office. If the parties wish, they can do it at any other place which is at a reasonable distance.

declaration form for marriage
Moreover, the parties can choose the manner of solemnizing the marriage. But, the marriage will not be complete without both parties saying the below words. The parties can say these words in any language that they understand.

I (A) take (B) to be my lawful wife (or husband)

After saying the above words, the bride and the groom become husband and wife. The last remaining step is to get a marriage registration certificate.

Step 5: Marriage registration certificate
The marriage officer will enter the marriage certificate in the Marriage Certificate Book. The couple and three witnesses need to sign this certificate.

So, this is how a court marriage takes place in India.

I can arrange for witnesses too. Feel free to get in touch with me for any assistance.

Advocate Rajesh Kumar K LawRato

960 votes

Is it a marriage between two Hindus or of different religions
You may approach the Registrar if marriages of your place fill up the necessary forms furnishing the details as per the columns in the form and submit it to the registrar, who will guide you about the next steps

Advocate Prof V Narayana Swamy LawRato