THE SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT, 1954 (43 OF 1954)
[9th October, 1954]
An Act to provide a special form of marriage in certain cases, for the registration of such and certain other marriages and for divorce.
be it enacted by Parliament in the Fifth Year of the Republic of India as
follows:—
Statement of Objects and Reasons—This Bill revises and seeks to replace the Special Marriage Act of 1872 so as to provide a special form of marriage which can be taken advantage of by any person in India and all Indian nationals in foreign countries irrespective of the faith which either party to the marriage may profess. The parties may observe any ceremonies for the solemnization of their marriage, but certain formalities are prescribed before the marriage can be registered by the Marriage Officers. For the benefit of Indian citizens abroad, the Bill provides for the appointment of Diplomatic and Consular Officers as Marriage Officers for solemnizing and registering marriages between citizens of India in a foreign country.
2. Provision is also sought to be made for permitting persons who are already married under other forms of marriage to register their marriages under this Act and thereby avail themselves of these provisions.
3. The bill is drafted generally on the lines of the existing Special Marriage Act of 1872 and the notes on clauses attached thereto explain some of the changes made in the Bill in greater detail.
Amendment Act 32 of 1963—Statement of Objects and Reasons.—Under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 marriage can take place between two persons who are not withiii the degrees of prohibited relationship. Ordinarily, such marriage takes place between persons professing different faiths or belonging to different communities or groups and the question of prohibited degrees between the parties does not normally arise. There may, however, be some cases where marriage is solemnized under the Special Marriage Act between persons professing same faith and belonging to the same group or family. In such a case, marriage, cannot take place between the parties who are within the degrees of prohibited relationship.
2. Under the Hindu Law also, marriage is normally prohibited between persons who are within the degrees of prohibited relationship or who are sapindas of each other. But in some parts of India and in some tribes and communities, there is a well-recognised custom which permits marriage between persons within the degree of prohibited relationship. In the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a specific provision was, therefore, inserted to save such custom. In the Special Marriage Act, however, marriage between persons within the degrees of prohibited relationship is totally prohibited and no exception has been made on grounds of custom or usage as in the Hindu Marriage Act. It is, therefore, considered necessary that a specific provision should be inserted in the Special Marriage Act to permit marriage between persons within the degrees of prohibited relationship, if there is a well-recognised custom applicable to one of the parties under which such marriage is permissible, hence, the Bill.
Amendment Act 68 of 1976—Statement of Objects and Reasons.—The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (25 of 1955), became law on the 18th May, 1955. It applies to all Hindus, Buddhists, Jainas or Sikhs. It applies also to all other persons who are not Muslims, Christians, Parsis or Jews unless they establish that they were not governed by Hindu Law, custom or usage prior to the Act.
Since the passing of the Hindu Marriage Act, various suggestions for amending the same as well as the Special Marriage Act, 1954, were received from some Members of Parliament and the general public. The Special Marriage Act, 1954, being a civil law applicable to all, has necessarily to keep pace with any reform of matrimonial laws. The Law Commission was requested to examine the matter and they have presented the Fifth-ninth Report which contains their recommendations. The Bill seeks to amend both the Acts aforesaid so as to implement, with necessary modifications, the recommendations contained in that Report. The Committee on Status of Women in India have generally supported the amendments proposed by the Law Commission and suggested, inter alia, the incorporation of a suitable provision for mutual consent in the Hindu Marriage Act more or less on the lines of a provision in that behalf in section 28 of the Special Marriage Act. It is, however, felt that when once the parties have chosen to move the Court for divorce by mutual consent, it is not necessary to make them wait for a further period of one year to obtain relief. This period of waiting is, therefore, proposed to be reduced from one year to six months. The committee has further suggested that having regard to the frequent violations of the provisions of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, it is necessary to provide in the Hindu Marriage Act a suitable provision conferring the right of repudiation of girls who are subject to such marriages, whether the marriage was consummated or not. The right of repudiation is proposed to be conferred on such girls subject to their exercising the same before attaining the age of 18 years. To avoid multiplicity of litigation and consequent delay, it is also proposed to apply the amended law in relation to all pending proceedings under the relevant Acts. Notes on clauses appended to the Bill indicate the changes proposed to the statutes. The objects of the legislation are mainly, (2) to liberalise the provision relating to divorce; (2) to enable expeditious disposal of proceedings under the Act; and (3) to remove certain anomalies and handicaps that have come to light after the passing of the Acts.
Amendment Act 50 of 2003—Statement of Objects and Reasons.—The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 provide that a petition for relief under the provisions of these Acts shall be presented to the District Court within the limits of whose original civil jurisdiction the marriage was solemnized or the respondent, at the time of the presentation of the petition, resided or the parties to the marriage last resided together or the petitioner was residing at the time of the presentation of the petition, in a case where the respondent was at the time residing outside the territories to which these Acts extended or had not been heard of as being alive for a period of seven years by those who would naturally have heard of him if he were alive. However, these provisions are not considered adequate or fair as far the women are concerned. Under the existing provisions, a petition cannot be filed by the aggrieved wife to the District Court within the local limits of whose ordinary jurisdiction she may be residing. In view thereof, the Government has decided to amend the provisions of these Acts so that the wife can also file petition in the District Court within local limits of whose jurisdiction she may be residing. The proposed amendments to sections 31 and 19 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 respectively are based on the recommendations of the Law Commission of India and the National Commission for Women.
2. The Government has also decided to amend section 39 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and section 28 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 to provide respectively that the parties to a matrimonial suit could prefer appeal within a period of ninety days instead of thirty days. This amendment is based on the observations made by the Supreme Court in a judgment delivered recently. The amendment to these provisions is proposed so that unscrupulous litigant spouses are not facilitated to frustrate the marriages, taking advantage of the inadequate period provided in law.
CHAPTERI PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the
special marriage act, 19541.
1. The applicability of the Act has been extended to (1) Dadra and Nagar Haveli by Regulation 6 of 1963, and (2) Pondicherry by Regulation 7 of 1963.
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and applies also to citizens of India domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends who are 2[in the State of Jammu and Kashmir] .
(3) It shall come into force on such date3, as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
Objects and Reasons. — The Act is to have extra-territorial operation so as to permit of marriages between citizens of India being solemnized outside India. — S.O.R.
This law should also apply to persons permanently residing in any part of India outside the State of Jammu and Kashmir who may, for the time being, be in that State in the same manner as it applies to such persons outside India. — J.C.R.
2. Definitions. — In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, —
(b) “degrees of prohibited relationship” — a man and any of the persons mentioned in Part I of the First Schedule and a woman and any of the persons mentioned in Part II of the said Schedule are within the degrees of prohibited relationship;
Explanationl. — Relationship includes, —
(a) relationship by half or uterine blood as well as by full blood;
(b) illegitimate blood relationship as well as legitimate;
(c) relationship by adoption as well as by blood; and all terms of relationship in this Act shall be construed accordingly.
Explanation II. — “Full blood” and “half blood” — two persons are said to be related to each other by full blood when they are descended from a common ancestor by the same wife and by half blood when they are descended from a common ancestor but by different wives.
Explanation III. — “Uterine blood” — two persons are said to be related to each other by uterine blood when they are descended from a common ancestress but by different husbands;
Explanation IV. — In Explanations II and III, “ancestor” includes the father and “ancestress” the mother;
5[>**1
(d) “district”, in relation to a Marriage Officer, means the area for which he is appointed as such under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 3;
6[(e) “district Court” means, in any area for which there is a City Civil Court, that Court, and in any other area, the principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction and includes any other Civil Court which may be specified by the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette as having jurisdiction in respect of the matters dealt with in this Act;]
(/) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
7[(g) “State Government”, in relation to a Union territory, means the administrator thereof.]
2. Substituted by Act 33 of 1969, S. 29, for “outside the said territories” (w.e.f. 31-8-1969).
3. Brought into force on 1st January, 1955.
4. Cl. (a) omitted by Act 33 of 1969, S. 29 (w.e.f. 31-8-1969).
5. Cl. (c) omitted by Act 33 of 1969, S. 29 (w.e.f. 31-8-1969).
6. Substituted by Act 68 of 1976, S. 20 (w.e.f. 27-5-1976).
7. Substituted by the Adaptation of Laws (No. 3) Order, 1956.
3. Marriage Officers.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint one or more Marriage Officers for the whole or any part of the State.
8[(2) For the purposes of this Act, in its application to citizens of India domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends, who are in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify such officers of the Central Government as it may think fit to be the Marriage Officers of the State or any part thereof.]
CHAPTER II SOLEMNIZATION OF SPECIAL MARRIAGES
4. Conditions relating to solemnization of special marriages.— Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force relating to the solemnization of marriages, a marriage between any two persons may be solemnized under this Act, if at the time of the marriage the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:—
(a) neither party has a spouse living;
9[(b) neitherparty—
(i) is incapable of giving a valid consent to it in consequence of unsoundness of mind; or
(it) though capable of giving a valid consent, has been suffering from mental disorder of such a kind or to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage and the protection of children; or
(Hi) has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity 1C[* * *];] (c) the male has completed the age of twenty-one years and the female the age of eighteen years;
n[(cf) the parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship: Provided that where 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; and
u[(e) where the marriage is solemnized in the State of Jammu and Kashmir, both parties are citizens of India domiciled in the territories to which this Act extends.]
^[Explanation.—In this section, “custom”, in relation to a person belonging to any tribe, community, group or family, means any rule which the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf as applicable to members of that tribe, community, group or family:
Provided that no such notification shall be issued in relation to the members of any tribe, community, group or family, unless the State Government is satisfied—
(/) that such rule has been continuously and uniformly observed for a long time among those members;
8. Substituted by Act 33of 1969, S. 29 (w.e.f. 31-8-1969).
9. Substituted by Act 68 of!976,S. 21 (w.e.f. 27-5-1976).
10.Thewords”orepilepsy”omittedbyAct39ofl999,S.3(w.e.f.29-12-1999).
11. SubstitutedbyAct32ofl963,S. 2(w.e.f.22-9-1963).
12. Substituted by Act 33 of 1969,5. 29 (w.e.f. 31-8-1969).
13. Inserted by Act 32 of 1963, S. 2 (w.e.f. 22-9-1963).
