Info About the Marriage Laws in India

Learn how marriages are legally registered in India and also know about the various religious sentiments that acted as underlying concepts for designing provisions of personal religion-centric marriage Acts.

Overview

There are four marriage laws in India; Hindu Marriage Law, Christian Marriage Law, Muslim Marriage Law, and Special Marriage Law. 

A marriage certificate appears to be the only legal declaration that confirms two adult Indian citizens are married. Marriage registration abides by the provisions of the Marriage Act enforced since 1955. A marriage certificate is accepted as legitimate evidence in all government establishments, banks, and other private organizations. 

The Supreme Court of India compulsorily stipulated marriage certificates for all married couples in 2006. This was a revolutionary step taken toward protecting women’s rights in India. Marriage registration comes with a set of benefits and features. 

The groom must be above 21 years old to apply for a marriage certificate, while the bride should not be below 18. A marriage registration certificate is needed when someone applies for a passport or VISA. It is also required for the woman to open bank accounts after her marriage if she changes her surname after marriage. 

Thus, the government tried to emphasize the necessity of issuing a marriage certificate to all the citizens by every possible means. However, the norms of marriage registration vary from one religion to another, but the underlying idea remains the same. A marriage certificate can now be downloaded online too. 

This reduces the hassle that would have been involved otherwise in the traditional method where a couple needed to visit the Registrar’s office and be physically available for all the tedious procedures, starting from submitting documents to collecting the marriage certificate.

Indian Marriage Laws 

Hindu Marriage Law of 1955

To legally regulate the affairs in post-marriage life, the court has customised rules for the Hindus who live in India. Some of the provisions are stated below:

• In Hindu marriage, no one can have more than one husband or wife simultaneously. Therefore if someone wishes to marry after the first time, then they must have the divorce certificate otherwise, the death certificate should be there in case their previous spouse has died.
• The minimum age criteria for marriage are set as 18 for women and 21 for men by the highest jurisdiction, i.e., the Supreme Court of India.
• Both the groom and bride must be able to consent independently to their marriage. They should not be suffering from any form of mental illness. If found to be so, there must be written approval of marriage from the end of their spouse.
• The bride or groom cannot be sapindas, i.e., by no means they should be bloodline relatives.

Section 5(4) of the Hindu Marriage Law states some conditions that are ill-fit for issuing a marriage registration:

• One relative or family member of the spouse if found to be of the same lineage, then the certification of such marriage can be stopped.
• The wife of a prospective groom, if found to be previously married to his brother, maternal brother, or any other person belonging to paternal or maternal lineage, such marriages can be declared illegitimate. 
• Incestuous marriage is not supported under Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

Section 18(b) specifies that if a party is found guilty of being in an affair with another person while married, they will be penalised an amount of ₹10,000 and may end up behind bars for one month.

Muslim Marriage Law 

No legislative outline has been drawn to govern Muslim marriages in India. Muslim matrimony is conducted as per the civil contract, which is termed nikahnama. The basic credentials assessed before a marriage registration in the Muslim community are that both the parties must be mentally prepared for marriage. Contractual status is achieved through the proposal (ijab) and acceptance (qubool). 

No such legal barriers come up if the conditions mentioned earlier are met. However, there must be witnesses present from both ends. Both Sunnis and Shias have their norms regarding the minimum number of adult witnesses. Marriages are fasid or irregular if the witnesses fail to appear on either of the halves at the time of marriage. There is another marital status that is unique for Muslims in India. 

This is the muta marriage where husband and wife stay with each other for a predetermined period to fulfil their needs, after which they separate. The Sunnis refrain from Muta marriage. Muslim Marriage Law was introduced in a registration act that mandated the marriage registration of all Indian Muslims who wed after 1981.

Christian Marriage Law, 1872

The marriage between the Christian bride and groom is solemnised in front of priests, churchmen, or other related persons like church administrators. The law regulating Christian marriages was introduced back in 1872. 

As per the provision, a marriage registration certificate shall not be granted to an underage married couple, i.e., the groom should be 21 years old, and the bride must be at least 18 years of age. The marriage must be a voluntary act initiated from both ends. 

The partners are not allowed to invite their ex-spouses on the day of the marriage ceremony. The law stipulates that there must be at least two eye-witnesses available at the wedding. This applies to both parties.

Special Marriage Law, 1954 

This marriage Act is valid for all citizens of the country regardless of their caste and religion. This Act has legally approved the marriage between people belonging to two different religions. However, if such a marriage is solemnised, a few rules have to be followed:

• Marriage registration is mandatory in marriages that involve people from two separate religious backgrounds.
• Both the partners should possess sound minds. 
• 37 forms of relationships that are somehow related to the blood lineage of the groom or spouse are forbidden to convert the relationship status to “married”.

Conclusion

Marriages in India are regulated by personal as well as generalized marriage Acts. Court marriage registration demands a notice that must be delivered to the marriage registrar within one month of marriage. Supporting documents are also produced during this time as age proof, identity proof, address proof, and for fulfilling other sorts of legal purposes. 

If the bride stays in a separate district, then a copy of the notice is sent to that district’s magistrate for a thorough investigation. The scrutiny status remains active for one month, within which any party involved in the marriage can object. The Registrar is entitled to declare any marriage as void if he feels the necessity to do so.

Frequently Asked Questions

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