All marriages in India can be registered under the respective personal law Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Muslim Marriage Act, 1954, or under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. It is the duty of the judiciary to ensure that the rights of both the husband and wife are protected. The Special Marriage Act, 1954 is an Act of the Parliament of India with provision for civil marriage for people of India and all Indian nationals in foreign countries, irrespective of religion or faith followed by either party.
The Act originated from a piece of legislation proposed during the late 19th century. It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir 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.
What is the Special Marriage Act:
A marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 allows people from two different religious backgrounds to come together in the bond of marriage. The Special Marriage Act, 1954 lays down the procedure for both solemnization and registration of marriage, where either of the husband or wife or both are not Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, or Sikhs.
According to this Act, the couples have to serve a notice with the relevant documents to the Marriage Officer 30 days before the intended date of the marriage. However, while this process has been enabled online on https://registermarriage.org, the couple will have to visit the marriage officer for the solemnization of marriage.
Registration process Special Marriage Act:
- Both parties are required to be present after the submission of documents for issuance of public notice inviting objections.
- One copy of the notice is posted on the notice board of the office and a copy of the notice and is sent by registered post to both parties as per the given address.
- Registration is done 30 days after the date of notice after deciding any objection that may have been received during that period by the SDM.
- Both parties along with three witnesses are required to be present on the date of registration.