The Special Marriage Act, 1954 is an Act of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

with provision for

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintaining a pop ...

(or "registered marriage") for people of India and all Indian nationals in foreign countries, irrelevant of the religion or faith followed by either party. The Act originated from a piece of legislation proposed during the late 19th century. Marriages solemnized under Special Marriage Act are not governed by personal laws.

Background

Henry Sumner Maine Sir Henry James Sumner Maine, (15 August 1822 – 3 February 1888), was a British Whig comparative jurist and historian. He is famous for the thesis outlined in his book '' Ancient Law'' that law and society developed "from status to contract. ...

first introduced Act III of 1872, which would permit any dissenters to marry whomever they chose under a new civil marriage law. In the final wording, the law sought to legitimize marriages for those willing to renounce their profession of faith altogether ("I do not profess the Hindu, Christian, Jewish, etc. religion"). It can apply in

inter-caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

and

inter-religion Interfaith marriage, sometimes called a "mixed marriage", is marriage between spouses professing different religions. Although interfaith marriages are often established as civil marriages, in some instances they may be established as a religiou ...

marriages. The Bill faced opposition from local governments and administrators, who believed that it would encourage marriages based on lust, which would inevitably lead to immorality. The Special Marriage Act, 1954 replaced the old Act III, 1872. The new enactment had three major objectives: # To provide a special form of marriage in certain cases, # to provide for registration of certain marriages and, # to provide for divorce.

Applicability

# Any person, irrespective of religion. # Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, or Jews can also perform marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. # Inter-religion marriages are performed under this Act. # This Act is applicable to the entire territory of India and extends to intending spouses who are both Indian nationals living abroad. # Indian national living abroad.

Requirements

# The marriage performed under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 is a civil contract and accordingly, there need be no rites or ceremonial requirements. # The parties have to file a Notice of Intended Marriage in the specified form to the Marriage Registrar 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. # After the expiration of thirty days from the date on which notice of an intended marriage has been published, the marriage may be solemnised, unless it has been objected to by any person. # The marriage may be solemnised at the specified Marriage Office. # Marriage is not binding on the parties unless each party states "I, (A), take thee (B), to be my lawful wife (or husband)," in the presence of the Marriage Officer and three witnesses.

Conditions for marriage

# Each party involved should have no other subsisting valid marriage. In other words, the resulting marriage should be monogamous for both parties. # The groom must be at least 21 years old; the bride must be at least 18 years old. # The parties should be competent in regard to their mental capacity to the extent that they are able to give valid consent for the marriage. # The parties should not fall within the degree of prohibited relationship. Court Marriage is a union of two soul where oath ceremony is performed according to Special Marriage Act-1954 before the Registrar of Marriage in the presence of three witnesses thereafter a court marriage certificate is issued directly by the Registrar of Marriage appointed by the Govt. of India.

Succession to the property

Succession to the property of person married under this Act or customary marriage registered under this Act and that of their children, are governed by Indian Succession Act.http://indiankanoon.org/doc/552306/ Bombay High court judgment reported by Indian Kanoon However, if the parties to the marriage are Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jain religion, the succession to their property will be governed by

Hindu succession Act The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to amend and codify the law relating to intestate or unwilled succession, among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs. The Act lays down a uniform and comprehensive syste ...

. The Supreme Court of India, in 2006, made it required to enroll all relational unions. In India, a marriage can either be enlisted under the

Hindu Marriage Act The Hindu Marriage Act is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1955 which was passed on 18th of May. Three other important acts were also enacted as part of the Hindu Code Bills during this time: the Hindu Succession Act (1956), the Hind ...

, 1955 or under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The Hindu Marriage Act is pertinent to Hindus, though the Special Marriage Act is appropriate to all residents of India regardless of their religion applicable at Court marriage.

References