SECULAR MARRIAGE LAWS IN INDIA-INDIA FOREIGN MARRIAGE ACT, 1969 PART I

THE FOREIGN MARRIAGE ACT, 1969     

(33 OF 1969)

                                                                                                                                                                                       [31stAugust, 1969]
   An Act to make provision relating to marriages of citizens of India outside India.

be it enacted by Parliament in the Twentieth Year of the .Republic of India as follows:—

Statement of Objects and Reasons.—This Bill seeks to implement the Twenty-third Report of the Law Commission on the law relating to foreign marriages. There is, at present, considerable uncertainty as to the law on the subject, as the existing legislation touches only the fringes of the subject and the matter is governed by principles of private international law which are by no means well-settled, and which cannot readily be applied to a country such as ours in which different marriage laws apply to different communities. The Special Marriage Act, 1954 sought to remove the uncertainty to some extent by providing that marriages abroad between citizens of India who are domiciled in India might be solemnized under it.

In the course of the debates in relation to that Act in Parliament, it was urged that a
provision should also be made for marriages abroad where one of the parties alone is an
Indian citizen. In this context, an assurance was given that Government would, after careful
consideration, introduce comprehensive legislation on the subject of foreign marriages. The
present Bill is the outcome of that assurance.               ” ‘””

(2) The Bill is modelled on the Special Marriage Act, 1954, and the existing English and Australian Legislation on the subject of foreign marriages, subject to certain important modifications rendered necessary by the peculiar conditions obtaining in our country.

The following are the salient features of the Bill:—

(i) It provides for an enabling form of marriage more or less on the same lines as the Special Marriage Act, 1954 which can be availed of outside India where one of the parties to the rharriage in an Indian citizen; the form of marriage thus provided being not in supersession of, but only in addition to or as an alternative to, any other form that might be permissible to the parties.

(«’) It seeks to lay down certain rules in respect of capacity of parties and conditions of validity of marriage and also provides for registration of marriage on lines similar to those in the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

(Hi) The provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, in regard to matrimonial reliefs
are sought to be made applicable, with suitable modifications, not only to marriages
solemnized or registered under the proposed legislation, but also to other marriages
solemnized abroad to which a citizen of India is a party. .                                                    

                CHAPTER I                  

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title.—This Act may be called the foreign marriage act, 1969.

2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

(«) “degrees of prohibited relationship” shall have the same meaning as in the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (43 of 1954);

(b) “district”, in relation to a Marriage Officer, means the area within which the duties of his office are to be discharged;

(c) “foreign country” means a country or place outside India, and includes a ship which is for the time being in the territorial waters of such a country or place;

                                                  FOREIGN MARRIAGE ACT, 1969                                       

Objects and Reasons—Clause 2.—Any ship in the territorial waters of a foreign country will be deemed to be a foreign country and that expression is defined accordingly so that solemnization of marriages on board such ships may be facilitated.

(d) “Marriage Officer” means a person appointed under section 3 to be a
Marriage Officer;                                     .                                                

(e) “official house”, in relation to a Marriage Officer, means—,              
(i) the official house of residence of the officer;                

(ii) the off ice in which the business of the of ficer is transacted;
(iii) a prescribed place; and        

(/) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act.

3. Marriage Officers.—For the purposes of this Act, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint such of its diplomatic or consular officers as it may think fit to be Marriage Officers for any foreign country.

Explanation.—In this section, “diplomatic officer” means an ambassador, envoy, minister, high commissioner, commissioner, charge d’ affairs or other diplomatic representative or a counsellor or secretary of an embassy, legation or high commission.

Objects and Reasons—Clause 3.—This provides for the appointment of Marriage Officers and follows section 3 of the Special Marriage Act.

CHAPTER II                                                     
SOLEMNIZATION OF FOREIGN MARRIAGES

4. Conditions   relating   to   solemnization   of   foreign   marriages.—A

marriage between parties one of whom at least is a citizen of India may be solemnized under this Act by or before a Marriage Officer in a foreign country, if, at the time of the marriage, the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:—

(a) neither party has a spouse living,

(b) neither party is an idiot or a lunatic,

(c) the bridegroom has completed the age of twenty-one years and the bride the age of eighteen years at the time of the marriage, and

(d) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship:

Provided that where the personal law or a custom governing at least one of the parties permits of a marriage between them, such marriage may be solemnized, notwithstanding that they are within the degrees of prohibited relationship.

Objects and Reasons—Clause 4.—Apart from making it clear that only marriages between parties, one of whom at least is a citizen of India, can be solemnized under the proposed Act, this clause lays down the essential conditions of a marriage, following in this respect mainly the corresponding provisions in the Special Marriage Act.

The Committee are of the view that such a marriage, i.e., within prohibited degrees of relationship between personal law or custom allows it, should also be permitted under this Act. A proviso has therefore been added to achieve this objective.

5. Notice of intended marriage.—When a marriage is intended to be solemnized under this Act, the parties to the marriage shall give notice thereof in writing in the form specified in the First Schedule to the Marriage Officer of the District in which at least one of the parties to the marriage has resided for a