How to do Court Marriage
Introduction
Court marriages in India are documented and solemnized under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. An Indian man and woman can solemnize Court marriage irrespective of their religion. An Indian and a foreign citizen can also solemnize Court marriage. Unlike traditional marriages, Court marriages do not require any rituals or ceremonies. So, the process of Court marriages in India is relatively simple. The parties directly apply to the marriage registrar for the performance and registration of marriage and subsequently receive the certificate.
Essentials conditions
- Firstly, there should be no existing valid marriage of the parties with any other person.
- Secondly, the court marriage age is that of any major, i.e the groom should be of 21 years of age and the bride should of 18 years of age.
- Also, neither of the parties should be of unsound mind which would make them unable to give consent to the wedding or have a mental disorder to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage.
- Lastly, the parties should not be within the degree of prohibited relationship.
The Court procedures for marriage for marrying the Hindu as well as when both the parties are from different religions are different.
1. Court wedding procedure when both the parties are Hindu
Procedure
The parties must file a notice of intended marriage in the specified form with the marriage registrar. The jurisdiction lies of the marriage registrar of the district in which one of the parties has been residing for a period of not less than 30 days before the filing of the notice.
The registrar then publishes a notice inviting objections. If no objection is received within 30 days of publishing the notice, the marriage may be solemnized at the specified marriage office.
Both parties along with 3 witnesses are to be present on the date of solemnization.
Documents Required
For the procedure of Court Marriage, the followings documents are necessary:
- Application form as prescribed along with the required fee
- Passport size photographs
- Residential proof
- Date of Birth Proof
- Residential Proof and Pan card of witnesses
- Death certificate or divorce decree (in case one of the parties had been married in the past)
2. Court wedding procedure when both the parties are of different religions
This marriage will be performed under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Therefore, this is for solemnization of marriages of those who are not Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh.
Documents Required
- Application form signed by both the parties
- Date of Birth and Residential Proof
- Passport size photographs
- Death certificate or divorce certificate. (Where either of the parties is previously married.)
Procedure
The parties must file a notice of intended marriage in the specified form with the marriage registrar. The jurisdiction lies of the marriage registrar of the district in which one of the parties has been residing for a period of not less than 30 days before the filing of the notice.
The registrar then publishes a notice inviting objections. If no objection is received within 30 days of publishing the notice, the marriage may be solemnized at the specified marriage office.
Both parties along with 3 witnesses are to be present on the date of solemnization.
Court marriage of an Indian citizen and Foreigner
A marriage between parties one who must be an Indian citizen may be solemnized under the special marriage act.
Eligibility Criteria
- There should be no existing valid marriage of any of the parties with any other person
- The groom should be of 21 years of age and the bride should of 18 years of age.
- Neither of the parties should be of unsound mind which would make them unable to give consent to the wedding or have a mental disorder to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage.
- The parties should not be within the degree of prohibited relationship.
Documents Required
You need certain documents completing the legal marriage process in court. Without these documents, the solemnization of the marriage process in India is not possible.
- Application form signed by both parties
- Evidence of date of birth
- Passport copies with valid visas
- Residential Proof
- Evidence regarding stay in India for one of the parties for more than 30 days
- NOC from the concerned Embassy or consulate
- Death certificate or divorce certificate. (Where either of the parties is previously married.)
Procedure
The parties must file a notice of intended marriage in the specified form with the marriage registrar. The jurisdiction lies of the marriage registrar of the district in which one of the parties has been residing for a period of not less than 30 days before the filing of the notice.
The registrar then publishes a notice inviting objections. If they receive no objection within 30 days of publishing the notice, the marriage may be solemnized at the specified marriage office. Both parties along with 3 witnesses are to be present on the date of solemnization.
If you are wondering, that these steps are lengthy and a bit confusing, well, you can take our help. At Law Offices of Vivek Tanwar Advocate and Associates, we believe in making legal simple for you. A lawyer from our firm can also assist you in doing the Court marriage.
By Aryan Dhingra
B.B.A LLB 2nd Year student of OP Jindal Global University