Special Marriage Act

Objective
The motive of the act is to provide coherent legal provisions for safeguarding the people
willing to do inter-caste or inter-religion marriages. The Act works in the interest of all
citizens of India by providing a mechanism to institute an inter-faith marriage.
The Act contains provisions for a valid marriage, requirements for a valid marriage,
dissolution of inter-faith marriage, registration of marriage and others. Hence, enacting the
said legislation aimed to safeguard people’s fundamental rights and empower them to choose
their marital partners.
The Act further attempted to curb the menace of social evils like Honour Killing and Love
Jihad and recognize the rights of children born out of such wedlock.

Important Sections of the Special Marriage Act, 1954

Section 4 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 addresses the numerous requirements for a
lawful marriage. It specifies four basic requirements for a legitimate marriage:

4. Conditions relating to solemnization of special marriages.―

1. No living spouse: The Act mandates that at the time of marriage, neither party should have
a living spouse.
2. Valid Consent: Essentially, the parties should be able to give valid consent. Neither of them
should be of unsound mind or liable to get a recurring insanity act. Even if not insane, unfit
for marriage or inability to procreate, children render them unfit for marriage
under this section.

3. Age: Any male who is 21 years of age or female who is 18 could marry as per the Act.
4. The parties shall not be within the prohibited degree of relations as prescribed
under their law.

Section 5 of the Act specifies that the parties must give written notice to the Marriage Officer
of the District and that at least one of the parties must have lived in the district for at least 30
days immediately before the date of such notification. The application must be filed in
accordance with the required format, which is listed in schedule two of the act.

According to Section 6 of the Act, the original and genuine copy of the notification must be
submitted in the ‘Marriage Notice Book.’ After the Marriage Officer receives the
application, he or she will publish a thirty-day public notice to see whether there are any

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 objections to the marriage. Non-compliance with any of the Act’s criteria or requirements is
one of the most common objections dealt with.

Section 8 of the legislation stipulates that anybody may object to the intended marriage after
the notice is published. When a Marriage Officer receives an objection, he or she must do the
necessary investigation and deal with it correctly.

According to Section 11 of the Act, the declaration of marriage must be signed by the parties
to the marriage and three witnesses, and it must be checked and signed by the Marriage
Officer.
According to Section 12 of the Act, the marriage may be solemnised in the Marriage
Officer’s office or within a reasonable distance of the office. If the marriage takes place
outside of the Marriage Officer’s office, there should be additional costs paid.

Section 13 of the Act deals with marriage certification. The marriage officer enters the
marriage in the ‘Marriage Certificate book’ and issues a Marriage Certificate when the
marriage is solemnised.

There are no religious rites necessary under Section 16 of the Act which defines the
procedure for registration of marriage. The marriage under this Section is solemnized by a
Marriage Officer designated by the Government, and the relevant parties to the marriage
must provide notice to the Marriage Officer in the appropriate way.

Section 26 of the Act recognizes the validity of children born to people who married under
the Special Marriage Act, 1954. They retain ownership of the property even after the
marriage is declared null and void. The offspring of such marriages are not entitled to
ancestral property. They can only obtain a share of their parents’ self-owned or
inherited property.

Divorce under Special Marriage Act

Grounds for Divorce

Under Section 27, the Act laid specific common grounds for the petitioner filing the divorce
irrespective of religion. These are:

1. Adultery

2. Desertion for a minimum of two years

3. Respondent subject to imprisonment for a minimum of seven years

4. Cruelty

5. Unsound Mind

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 6. Venereal Disease

7. Leprosy

8. Divorce by Mutual Consent

The parties who have agreed to a mutual divorce could file a petition under Section 28 of the
said Act. They could move the application to the District Court stating that they have been
living separately for more than one year and have discovered that they could not live in the
matrimonial ties anymore.

1. Presumption of Death

2. Responded husband guilty of rape or outraging women’s modesty

It must be noted that the Court might not entertain the petition if a minimum of one year has
not passed since marriage registration. However, in some instances where the petition is
subject to ultimate hardships, the court would accept the petition.

Case Laws
Lata Singh V. State of UP
In this landmark case, the Apex Court ordered the State Governments to promulgate the
mechanism to provide safety to the individuals marrying under the purview of the Special
Marriage Act.

In the present case, the petitioner wanted to quash the petition filed by her enraged brother
because the petitioner underwent an intercaste marriage. Hence, the Apex Court ruled that the
petitioner being 24 years of age, is major and in a position to chose her matrimonial partner.

Shafin Jahan v. Asokan K.M

The celebrated case is commonly known as Hadiya Case. Under the said case, the Supreme
Court accepted the right to choose a matrimonial partner as a fundamental right.

The Kerala High Court claimed that ‘an unmarried girl is the property of her father and in an
early age, 20’s, she is unable to the make wise decision for her. Later the Supreme Court
quashed the High Court’s erroneous judgment and stated that Hadiya is free to pursue her
course and live her life on her terms. Further, the Apex Court justified that right to marry a
person of owner’s choice is very much a part of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

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