Can Court Marriage Be Done On One Day?

Initially, marriages in India were initiated only by different religious laws, depending on the religion to which the bride and the groom belonged. However, the year 1954 saw the introduction and development of the Special Marriage Act, according to which people of different religions could marry at ease. In fact, after the intervention of the Special Marriage Act, inter-caste marriages began to be considered valid. 

Many people ask a court marriage lawyer in Delhi whether it is possible to conduct a court marriage in one day. To answer this question, we have come up with this blog that details the court marriage procedure that a person needs to follow to get married. 

Process of court marriage 

The Special Marriage Act of 1954 governs the court marriage laws in India has mentioned some rules that ought to be followed by both the groom and the bride to get married. Here is the stepwise process of court marriage in India: 

Step 1: Documents 

First and foremost, it has to be checked that whether you are eligible for the marriage. For example, a person in India will be considered suitable for court marriage provided he has the following: 

• Neither the groom nor the bride has a spouse alive when applying for the court marriage. 
• Both the bride and the groom are fit to procreate children. 
• The bride shall have to be of 18 years, and the groom must be of 21 years age. 
• Both the bride and the groom should be of a sound mind to give valid consent to each other. 
• None of the parties should belong to the degrees of prohibited relations. However, if both the parties agree to prohibited relations, then the marriage shall be considered valid.

Step 2: Filing notice of intended marriage

In the second step, a notice of intended marriage has to be filed in a manner specified in the second schedule of the Special Marriage Act of 1954. In this notice, the following details should have to be contained – Proof and specifications of both the parties regarding their age, occupation, marital status, address, and permanent address if they are living in is not a permanent one. 

The marriage registry officer of the district has to file this notice. The marriage registry officer of such a district has to be chosen where anyone from the bride and the groom has resided in the district for at least 30 days. The marriage officer has to keep a record of all these marriages. Also, a copy of the notice has to be put up in the office. 

Step 3: Compulsory waiting period 

After the marriage registry notice is published, both the bride and the groom must wait for thirty days. During this period, any person can object to the marriage. However, if both the bride and groom abide by the rules as mentioned in step 1, none of the objections will stand to be true. Also, the marriage registry officer will verify it first and then take the necessary steps in case of any complaints. Until the marriage registry officer reaches a decision, the marriage cannot be solemnized. 

Suppose the marriage registry officer considers the objection and refuses to solemnize the marriage. In that case, the couple can file an appeal in the district jurisdiction in an area where the marriage registry officer is located. This appeal has to be filed within 30 days from when the marriage was refused to be solemnized. Here, the decision taken in the district court will be held as final, and the marriage officer will have to act according to it. 

Step 4: Solemnization of marriage 

After the completion of the thirty days waiting period, and if no objections have been made, or even if a complaint has been made and the decision is in favor of the bride and the groom, the intended parties can solemnize their marriage. 

Step 5: Witnesses 

After the solemnization of the marriage, both the bride and the groom have to have three witnesses from each side for signing in the marriage certificate. This marriage certificate will be held as solid proof until the couple gets separated by divorce. 

Conclusion 

Therefore, if the bride and the groom meet the eligibility criteria and no objections can be raised. Then, the court marriage can be conducted efficiently by following the process as mentioned above.