Notary Services and Court Marriage: Documents

Indian Special Marriage Act, 1954

Act No. 43 of 1954

CHAPTER I

PREMILINARY

1.    Short title, extent and commencement:

1) This Act may be called the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

2) It extends to the whole of India and applies also to citizens of India domiciled in     the

territories to which this Act extends who are in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by     notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

2.    Definitions: In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-

a)  …

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;

3.    Marriage Officers

1.  ..

2.  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. 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.

CHAPTER II

SOLEMIZATION 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;

b)           neither party--

             i.  is incapable of giving a valid consent to it in consequence of unsoundness of 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 the male has completed the age of           twenty-one years and the female the age of eighteen years;

c)           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, notwithstanding that

         they are within the degrees of prohibited relationship; and

d)           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.        Explanation- In this section, "custom", in relation to a person belonging to any

          tribe,  community, group or family, means any rule which the State G-overnment  

          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 or 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 to 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 one 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.   

7.              Marriage Notice and Book Publication: 

               i.         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.

             ii.         The Marriage Officer shall cause every such notice to be published by affixing a copy thereof to some conspicuous place in his office.

            iii.         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, the Marriage Officer shall also cause a copy of such notice to be 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.

8.           Objection to marriage:

          i.         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.

         ii.         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).

       iii.         The nature of the objection shall be recorded in writing by the Marriage Officer in the Marriage Notice Book, be read over and explained, if necessary, to the person making the objection and shall be signed by him or on his behalf.

9.         Powers of Marriage Officers in respect of inquiries - 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 (5 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 of 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

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