How Can A Family Lawyer Help Me In Marriage ?

In India, Court Marriage is solemnised under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Individuals belonging to any caste, religion or nationality can have their marriage solemnised in the presence of a marriage officer as well as three witnesses. Marriage Officer is generally the Sub-Registrar appointed under the Act of 1954.

Conditions for Court Marriage-

A Marriage Officer solemnised the Court Marriage between the bride and the bridegroom as provided under the Act of 1954 when following conditions are followed-

There shall be no living spouse of either parties to the court marriage when applying for the court marriage
The bride and the groom-

Must be capable of giving their valid consent to the marriage and must not be of unsound mind.
Even if the parties are capable of giving their valid consent and are not suffering from such mental disorder of the kind making them unfit for marriage or procreation.
Parties do not suffer from recurrent attacks of insanity.

The bride shall be 18 years old or above and the groom must be 21 years old or above.
The couple should not fall within the degrees of prohibited relationship.

Documents required to apply for Court Marriage-

Documents which are necessary to apply for Court Marriage are-

Separate affidavits from both bride and the groom related to-
Their Date of Birth
Marital status of the parties when applying for court marriage, i.e.if they are unmarried, divorced or widowed.
Affirmation from the parties that they are not related to one another within the degrees of prohibited relationship.
Passport size photos of the parties
Residential proof of the parties.
Evidence for the date of birth of the parties.
A copy of the notice of intended marriage which is signed by the couple.
Copy of the decree of divorce, if either party to the court marriage is divorced or copy of the death certificate of the previous spouse if either party is a widow or widower.
The documents which are required to be submitted by the witnesses-

Passport size photos
Copy of PAN card
Copy of Identity proof.

Procedure for Court Marriage-

Notice- the parties to the marriage are to submit the court marriage application form, i.e. the notice of the intended marriage to the respected marriage officer. The notice shall be submitted to the marriage officer under whose area of jurisdiction either party to the court marriage has been living for a period not less than 30 days.
Publication of the Notice- the Marriage Officer, as per the law, would have to publish the notice for intended marriage by affixing it in a conspicuous place in his office from where it is visible to the general public.
Objection to the marriage- An object could be raised against the marriage so registered by any person within 30 days from the publication of the notice of the intended marriage. An objection to the marriage is to be submitted to the marriage officer on the basis of the grounds as have been provided under the Act. The marriage officer is then required to enquire about any such objection raised within a period of 30 days from the date of receiving the objection against the court marriage. If the objection raised against the court marriage is found as invalid by the marriage officer, he will continue the procedure to solemnise the marriage on the prescribed date.
Declaration by the parties- if no objection is raised against the marriage application so submitted or the objection raised was found to be invalid by the marriage officer, the parties would have to appear before the marriage officer submitting their declaration as has been mentioned in the Third Schedule of the Act.

Later a marriage certificate is issued by the marriage officer which shall be conclusive evidence of the marriage.

Conclusion-

As can be inferred from the above discussion, court marriage is a simple process which involves a number of documents which are required to be submitted at different stages of the entire process. Also, if an objection is raised against the application for the marriage and the marriage officer finds the objection to be valid, the marriage application would be cancelled. An appeal can be filed against such a decision of the marriage officer by the aggrieved party in the respective district court. These situations can be easily handled if an experienced advocate is there to assist you.

Lead India offers you a wide pool of experienced lawyers who can deal with such cases related to the court marriage in Jaipur, court marriage in Imphal, court marriage in Agra, or in your city. Hence, in case you wish to talk to a lawyer or seek free legal advice , you may contact us.