Essentials of Marriage in India Under Hindu, Muslim, Christian Personal Laws & Special Marriage Act
Essentials of Marriage in India Under Hindu, Muslim, Christian Personal Laws & Special Marriage Act
Essentials of Marriage in India Under Hindu, Muslim, Christian Personal Laws & Special Marriage Act
Marriage is a socially recognized union of two people that has the sanction of law. In India marriage is
considered to be one of the most auspicious unions between two individuals of every religion. For the
legal recognition of a marriage, the marriage should be registered under the personal laws in force in
India.
Section 60 - The age of the groom should not be less than 21 years and the age of the bride should not
be less than 18 years at the time of marriage. Both parties must give voluntary consent without coercion
or misrepresentation. Also both parties should not have a living spouse at the time of marriage. The
marriage must be performed in the presence of a person licensed to grant a license of marriage and two
reliable witnesses.
Any individual who has received episcopal ordination and is authorized to solemnize a marriage by
following the rules, rites, ceremonies, and customs of the Church he is Minister of,
Any clergyman who belongs to the Church of Scotland and is authorized to solemnize a marriage by
following the rules, rites, ceremonies, and customs of the Church of Scotland,
An individual who is a Minister of Religion who is authorized to solemnize marriage with license as per the
act,
Any individual who is licensed under this act to grant a certificate of marriage between Christian marriage.
This point is explained in section 9 of the act.
Bigamy
Bigamy amounts to having two living wives at the same time which is illegal in Hindu law; without
finalizing the divorce from the first marriage, a person can’t marry someone else. The first one will be
considered a legal marriage. The provision of section 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 will be
applicable to the person performing the second marriage after already having a living husband and wife.
Prohibited Relationship
Section 5 (iv) of the act states that neither party shall fall under degrees of prohibited relationships except
when such union is allowed by custom or usage. A marriage solemnized within the prohibited degrees of
relationship would be void as per Section 11 of the Act and is punishable with simple imprisonment which
may extend upto one month, or with fine or with both as per Section 18 (b) of the act. If such a custom
prevails, then it must have a recognition as per Section 3 (a) and must not be ruled out as per Section
3(g) of the Act.
Sapinda relationship
Section 3 (f)(ii) & Section 18 (b) All prohibited relationships are Sapinda but all Sapinda relationships are
not prohibited relationships. Sapinda relationship is the chain of all the relationship from the side of the
brother and sister in the family; they can’t marry each other due to prohibited relationship and also their
generation till three generations from the girl side and five-generation from the boy side, till that they all
are in Sapinda relationship. Avoidance of Sapinda can be achieved as the girl reaches the fourth
generation and boy (brother) reaches the sixth generation after that both families can have a marriage
that will be neither prohibited relationship nor Sapinda relationship.
It is also noteworthy that the consent must be free and devoid of any coercion, compulsion or
misrepresentation or a result of duress or undue influence.
-The bridegroom must be at least 21, and at the time of the marriage, the bride must be at
least 18 years of age. This is the minimum age limit respectively for a boy/girl to marry.
-At the time of their marriage, both parties must be monogamous; i.e., they must be
unmarried and at that time should not have any living spouse.
-In order to be able to decide for themselves, the parties should be mentally fit, i.e., they
must be sane at the time of marriage.
-They should not be related to themselves through blood relationships; i.e. they should not
be subjected to prohibited relationships that otherwise act as a ground for dissolving their marriage.