The Procedure Of Court Marriage Registration In Delhi

karunasharma October 21, 2021

In India, court marriage came into vogue after introducing the Special Marriage Act of 1954. Under this act, people of the opposite gender can marry the bride of 18 years and the groom of 21 years. However, if both the bride and the groom are Hindus, the marriage falls under the Hindu Marriage Act. On the other hand, in the case of inter-caste marriages, the marriage falls under the Special Marriage Act generated in 1954.

Documents required for court marriage

According to the court marriage process in Delhi, these are the list of documents required for filing an appeal for court marriage:

Address proof of both the bride and the groom
Application form signed by both the bride and the groom
Proof of date of birth of both the bride and the groom
ID proof document
Two passport size photographs of both the bride and the groom
A valid death certificate of the previous spouse if any of the parties were married previously
A divorce certificate if any of the parties have had a marriage earlier that did not work well

Conditions for court marriage

Chapter II of Section 4 of the Special Marriage Act points out some of the conditions that must be met by both the bride and the groom to get married. These conditions are as follows:

Both the groom and the bride should not have a husband or wife alive. In short, any previous marriages, if occurred, should not be valid anymore.
Both the parties should have consent for the marriage.
The groom has to be 21 years and above, while the bride must be 18 years and above.
None of the parties should be unable to procreate children.
None of the parties should be attached to prohibited relationships.

Court marriage procedure

Before you hire a court marriage register, here is the court marriage procedure illustrated in detail:

Step 1: Informing court about the intended marriage

First and foremost, the information about the marriage has to be presented in the marriage register office of the district. Here, both parties have to fill up a marriage registration application form mentioned in Schedule II of the Special Marriage Act. This form has to be filled up and submitted 30 days before the date of marriage to the marriage register officer. Then, the marriage registry office of that district has to be chosen where any one of the couples resides.

Step 2: Displaying the notice

After the form has been filled up and submitted, the notice of marriage will be displayed for 30 days at the marriage registration office. During this time, anyone can produce objections towards this marriage if they feel that it is illegal. According to Section 7 of the Special Marriage Act, a person can object within 30 days of this notice from the publication of the notice.

After receiving any objection, it is the responsibility of the marriage register to find the truth behind it and see if the objections made are valid. If the objections are cleared with satisfactory justifications, the court marriage register can proceed with the marriage. In this case, if the bride and the groom want, they can appeal against the marriage register in the concerned district court.

Step 3: Day of marriage

On this day, a declaration has to be signed by both the bride and the groom. Also, three witnesses have to be arranged from both the bride’s and the groom’s side each to sign the declaration in the presence of the marriage registrar. The declaration states that both parties, along with the witnesses, have consent in the marriage.

Step 4: Court marriage certificate

After completing all formalities, all the details are added by the marriage registrar in the marriage registration certificate, as scheduled in Section IV of the Special Marriage Act. It takes 15 to 30 days to issue the marriage registration certificate.

Conclusion

Therefore, it can be rightly stated that marriage registration is certainly not a one-day affair. It takes at least two months to get completed entirely. Follow all the rules as stated in the Special Marriage Act and you are good to go.