Court Marriage in India: Laws, Procedure and Documents

The whole stepwise procedure of Court marriage is as follows:

• Notice of Intended Marriage: The very first step for court marriage is to give 30-day prior notice to the Registrar. It must be in specified format with the provisions of Section 5 of the Special Marriage Act and submitted to the Registrar of the District in which one from both resides.
• Publication for any Objections: After receiving the notice, the registrar put it into display for any objections against it. If no objection is raised against the marriage then, process starts ahead. If any objection is raised and proved to be valid then the court marriage could not be processed further.
• Marriage and Sign of Declaration: The bride, groom, and two witnesses have to sign a declaration form in the presence of the marriage registrar or at a location that is reasonably close to the registrar's office (as mentioned in Section 12 of the Special Marriage Act). The declaration has to state that the parties are proceeding with the court marriage, with their consent.
• Certificate of Marriage: If all the formalities are completed, the marriage registrar specifies the details of the court marriage in the court marriage certificate.This is as per provisions mentioned in Schedule IV of the Special Marriage Act. The certificate takes 15-30 days for issuance.

As per the Special Marriage Act,1955 the documents needed for the partners are explained below. Since the Special Marriage Act allows one partner to be a foreigner, the documents needed in that case are quite different.

1. In the case of both Indian Partner

• Four Passport Size Photographs
• Residential Proof
• Date of Birth Proof
• Application Form
• Two Witnesses(Both Major)
  1. Identity Proof of Witness
  2. Permanent Resident Proof of Witness

2. In the case of both Foreign Partner

• A copy of passport and visa .
• A certificate of NOC or marital status certificate from the concerned embassy .
• One of the parties should produce documentary evidence regarding a stay in India for 30 or more days (proof of residence or report from the concerned SHO).

However, marriage registration all seem to be quite similar. But do not be mistaken. Marriage Registration and Court Marriages are two different terms with completely different meanings.

Marriage registration defines a state where the couple is already married and seek to legalise their marriage in the eyes of the law through registering their marriage. On the contrary, Court marriage is a ceremony which takes place in the presence of the Marriage Registrar and does not need to prove the legality of the marriage.

Court Marriages take nearly 30-days prior notice to the registrar where in Marriage Registrations, no such notice is needed.

Since the sole purpose of both the terms is the same, we mean legalising the marriage in the eyes of law is the ultimate goal of marriage registration and court marriages.

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