marriage can be defined as the approval of union between two people which must be a steady and lasting relationship. Marriage creates an environment for the cultivation and fulfillment of love. In legal terms, marriage is defined as a contract by which a man and a woman reciprocally engage with each other so as to live together. Legally, it is important for both the parties to subscribe to the contract by will if they want to call it as marriage.
It is important to know what are the legal procedures involved in a valid marriage. This article gives a brief idea about the same. Firstly, let’s figure out which acts are related to marriage in India. In India, there are different marriage acts for different religions. For Hindus, there is the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955,
which is also applicable for Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists. Muslims also have their personal law, which states that Nikah or marriage is a contract and may be permanent or temporary and permits a man to have four wives, the condition being that he must treat all of them equally. For the Parsees, there is a Parsee Marriage & Divorce Act, 1939, which governs the provisions of their marriage and law. For an Indian Christian, there is the Indian Christian Marriage Act 1889.
- The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
- The personal laws of marriage and divorce. https://blog.registermarriage.org/special-marriage-procedure-in-chennai/
Procedures of marriage and registration under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
As stated above, the Hindu Marriage Act, of 1955 applies to many religions such as the Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and the Buddhists. It is also applicable to the persons if they have converted to any of these religions from any other religion. The primary condition according to this act is the age of the bride and the bridegroom. While in the case of the bride it has been stated as 18 years, in the case of the bridegroom, it is 21. This means that no male or female belonging to any of the above-mentioned religions shall be legally allowed to marry before attaining the aforementioned ages. The Hindu marriage act applies to all over Indian states and the Union territories, Jammu and Kashmir being an exception to it.
According to the law and as per the recent strict guidelines of the Supreme Court, it is highly necessary to register marriages. Let’s now take a look at a few of the registration processes and the cost of the same.
As per the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the following are the requirements for registration:
- One can apply for marriage at any sub-divisional magistrate’s office; the offline application method can be initiated from there itself; the registration can be done online as well. The details are required after confirming your district/state. In the case of the Hindu Marriage Act, one has to wait only 15 days for an appointment while it may extend to 30 days in the case of the Special Marriage Act.
- The registration form must be duly signed by both males and females with a sound state of mind. Both the parties must not fall within any degree of prohibited relationship.
- T registration under Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 is any document that provides the date of birth of the individual. The documents may be the birth certificate, matriculation certificate, passports, PAN cards, etc.
- Two passport-size photographs of both the parties are required, also one marriage photograph and a Marriage invitation card.
- In a case where the individuals have converted to any of the religions that the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 covers the conversion certificate duly verified by a priest to the religion to which the individuals have converted to, is also required.
- The most important process for the registration to complete is the attestation of a Gazetted officer. All the above-mentioned documents must be verified by a Gazetted Officer.
- After the submission of all the above-mentioned documents is duly verified, it shall be the duty of the district court to confirm and put a final thumbs up on the marriage registration of the individuals. www.registermarriage.org