IMPORTANT PROVISIONS OF SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT,1954

Theoretical Overview

The Special Marriage Act was enacted in 1954 as one of independent India’s most major secular measures. The Act was designed to be a piece of legislation that regulates weddings that cannot be solemnized due to religious traditions. It is an aspect of the legislation that creates a particular sort of marriage through registration. Marriage is unique in that no religious conversion or denial is required. In contrast to traditional arranged marriages, which include two families from the same caste or community, the Act seeks to legalize interreligious or inter-caste marriages. The Certificate of Registration issued under the Act has long been accepted as universal proof of marriage.

Purpose of the Special Marriage Act, 1954

The Act’s goal is to create consistent legal safeguards for people who want to marry across castes or religions. The Act supports the interests of all Indian people by establishing a system for inter-faith marriages.

The Act contains provisions for lawful marriage, marriage prerequisites, dissolution of an interfaith marriage, marriage registration, and other rules. As a result, the aforementioned legislation was enacted in order to protect people’s basic rights and allow them to choose their marital partners. The Act also aims to eliminate the threat of societal problems like honor killing and love jihad, as well as to recognize the rights of children born from such marriages. 

Important Provisions 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:

1. It outlaws polygamy and declares a marriage null and void if neither party had a spouse living at the time of the marriage.

2. The married partners must be mentally stable. The parties must be able to make their own decisions and be rational at the time of marriage.

3. Both parties to the marriage must have reached the legal age of majority. The female party must be at least eighteen years old at the time of marriage application, and the male party must be at least twenty-one years old.

4. The parties to a marriage should not be in close proximity to one another and should not be in a forbidden relationship with one another.

The degree of prohibited relationship is decided by the norms of the individuals concerned, which vary from one culture to the next. Schedule one of the legislation describes the degrees of prohibited links; nonetheless, in most cases, the norms governing individuals take precedence. Only if all of these conditions are met will the marriage be legal. Another requirement for a legal marriage is the consent of both parties, with both parties entering into the marriage offering appropriate consent. The willingness of both parties is considered. The caste or religion of either party is not considered and will not act as a barrier.

Section 5 of the Act requires the parties to provide written notice to the Marriage Officer of the District, and at least one of the parties must have lived in the district for at least 30 days prior to the date of such notification. The application must be filed in accordance with the format specified in Schedule 2 of the act.

Section 6 of the Act requires the original and genuine copy of the notification to be filed in the ‘Marriage Notice Book.’ After receiving the application, the Marriage Officer will issue a thirty-day public notice to see whether there are any objections to the marriage. One of the most prevalent objections dealt with is noncompliance with any of the Act’s criteria or requirements.

Section 8 of the legislation states that after the notice is issued, anybody may object to the intended marriage. When a Marriage Officer receives an objection, he or she must do the appropriate investigation and properly handle it.

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 solemnized 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, additional fees must be paid.

Section 13 of the Act deals with Marriage certification. When a marriage is solemnized, the marriage officer enters it in the ‘Marriage Certificate book’ and issues a Marriage Certificate.

Section 16 of the Act, which describes the procedure for marriage registration, states that no religious rites are required. The marriage under this Section is solemnized by a Government-designated Marriage Officer, and the relevant parties to the marriage must provide appropriate notification to the Marriage Officer.

Section 26 of the Act acknowledges the legitimacy of children born to people who married under the Special Marriage Act of 1954. Even if the marriage is found null and void, they maintain ownership of the property. The children of such marriages have no claim to ancestral property. They are only entitled to a portion of their parents’ self-owned or inherited property.

Section 27 of the Act deals with Divorce. The Special Marriage Act, like all personal laws, provides provisions for divorce, and the couples registered under this act can file for it under Section 27, which specifies that a petition for divorce can be brought by either the husband or the wife on the grounds of-

• After the marriage was solemnized, the respondent engaged in voluntary sexual intercourse with anyone other than his or her spouse.

• Desertion of the petitioner for a continuous period of at least 2 years immediately preceding the filing of the petition after the marriage is solemnized.
• The respondent is serving a sentence of seven years or more in prison for an offense described in the Indian Penal Code.
• The respondent has been cruel to the petitioner since the marriage was solemnized.
• The respondent has been incurably insane or has been suffering from a mental condition of such a nature and extent that the petitioner cannot fairly be expected to live with the respondent.
• The respondent has been suffering from infectious venereal illness.
• The respondent has not been heard of as being alive for at least seven years by those who would have naturally heard of the responder if he or she were alive.

A wife may also file a divorce petition in district court on the grounds –

• That her husband was found guilty of rape, sodomy, or bestiality shortly after their marriage was solemnized.
• A decree or order has been issued against the husband awarding maintenance to the wife, and cohabitation between the parties has not been restored for one year or more following the issuance of such decree or order.

Section 28 of the Act deals with Mutual Divorce. The Special Marriage Act also takes a progressive step, keeping unwanted litigation and overburdened courts in mind, by including a Mutual Divorce provision under Section 28, which states that a petition for divorce may be presented to the district court by both parties together on the grounds that they have been living separately for a period of one year or more, and that they have not been able to live together, and that they have mutually agreed that they will not live together.

Section 24 of the Act talks about Void marriages. Some marriages are null and void from the start. Because these marriages have no foundation, there is no need to examine the facts to see if they are valid. If the court rules that a party’s marriage is invalid after they file a petition, they do not need to present any further evidence to the court.

The court would do nothing more than declare the facts and issue the annulment decree. The reasons for a null and void marriage are specified in Section 24(1) of the Special Marriage Act of 1954.

Grounds:

1. A marriage is null and void if one or both parties violate any of the conditions stated in Sections 4(a) through 4(d) of the Special Marriage Act.

2. Impotence: If the respondent was incapable of reproducing at the time of the marriage or the filing of the lawsuit, the marriage would be deemed null and void. Here, the party seeking relief has the burden of proof. It is the obligation of the aggrieved party to establish that the marriage could not have taken place due to the impotence of their spouse.

3. According to Section 24(2), unless the registration violated the terms outlined in Section 15(a) to (e) of the SMA, 1954, any marriage that has been solemnized within the meaning of Section 18, SMA 1954, which describes the effect of registration of marriage, shall not be affected by anything contained in Section 24.

Section 25 deals with Voidable marriages. Marriages that are voidable stay legal until one of the two parties agrees to cancel them under Section 25 of the SMA, 1954. In a legal action, either partner may request that the marriage be annulled. If the petition to annul the marriage is denied, the marriage will still be recognized as valid. Even if one of the spouses dies while the petition is underway, the marriage will be considered as legal.

The Special Marriage Act of 1954, Section 25, lists the following reasons why a marriage may be voidable:

Wilful rejection: The other party’s willful unwillingness to participate in sexual activity with his or her spouse may be good grounds to seek an annulment from the proper court with jurisdiction.

Pregnancy: If the petitioner discovers that the responder was already pregnant when they married someone else, he may be granted an annulment.

However, this argument may fail if the petitioner was aware of the alleged allegations.

The lawsuit was filed more than a year after the wedding.

Since learning of the alleged facts, the petitioner and respondent have not engaged in marital sexual intercourse.

Consent that was gained under coercion or fraud: An annulment declaration may be requested by either party on the grounds that the parties assent to the marriage was not voluntary and was instead obtained by threats or concealment of essential material information in order to induce the other party to join the marriage. However, he or she may be unsuccessful in obtaining the decree of annulment if: despite the fraud’s exposure or the cessation of coercion, the aggrieved party did not file the lawsuit within a year of the discovery or termination; or the offended party continued to reside with the other party of his or her own free will.

Important Differences

Relevant Sections

Important sections under Special Marriage Act,1954.

Section 4: Conditions relating to the solemnization of special marriages

Section 5: Notice of intended marriage

Section 6: Marriage Notice Book and Publication

Section 8: Procedure on receipt of an objection

Section 11: Declaration by parties and witnesses

Section 12: Place and form of solemnization

Section 13: Certificate of marriage

Section 16: Procedure for registration

Section 24: Void marriages

Section 25: Voidable marriages

Section 26: Legitimacy of children of void and voidable marriages

Section 27: Divorce

Section 28: Divorce by Mutual Consent

Important Case Laws

1. Jolly Das (Smt) Alias Moulick v. Tapan Ranjan Das (1994)- the appellant claimed that the respondent obtained her signature on blank forms under the pretense that she was submitting an application for a music competition and then fraudulently registered the marriage under the Special Marriage Act of 1954. The Learned Additional District judge ruled that this marriage was null and void after the appellant requested an annulment under Section 25(iii). The Calcutta High Court, however, overruled the judgment.

As a result of the District Court’s ruling is affirmed and the marriage being deemed null and void in accordance with Section 25(iii) of the SMA, 1954, the aggrieved appellant subsequently sought redress from the Apex court.

2. Payal Choudhury v. Pardip Das (1998)- the boy pretended to be a successful businessman, the girl fell in love with him, and they were wed in accordance with the Special Marriage Act of 1954. She later discovered that the boy had lied to her about his financial status after the marriage, when he refused to take her to their new home. Invoking Section 25, the appellant sought annulment (iii). The Hon’ble Guwahati High Court made a ruling in favour of the applicant and pronounced this marriage to be a sham.

3. K. Santhosha v. Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation (2019)- The Hon’ble Karnataka High Court stated that “no child is born in this world without a father and a mother” when deciding the petitioner’s legal status under Section 26 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

4. Prabir Chandra Chatterjee v. Kaveri Guha (1987)– The wife had filed a petition for divorce labelling it as both under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and Section 27 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954. In that case, the marriage between the parties was first solemnized according to Hindu rites under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and it was thereafter also registered under Section 13 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

5. Stephen Joshus v. J.D. Kapoor (1995)– The parties were Christians who had been married to each other under the provisions of the Indian Christian Marriage Act, of 1872. A joint petition was preferred by them under Section 28 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 seeking the dissolution of marriage by a decree of divorce by mutual consent. The trial court dismissed the petition on the ground that the marriage was solemnized under the Christian Marriage Act whereas divorce had been sought under the Special Marriage Act and therefore, the petition was not maintainable.

Important Legal Maxims

1. Ab initio – From the very beginning of the law/ act it was bad. Any marriage which does not follow the conditions mentioned in section 4 will be considered a void marriage, which means void from the beginning, under section 24 of the Special Marriage Act,1954.

2. Pendente lite – This means a pending legal suit in court or pending lawsuit. It is a temporary comfort that the court awards to the parties to suit. Section 36 of the Special Marriage Act entitles the wife to have no independent income sufficient for her support and necessary expenses to be paid, which the court thinks is reasonable. 

Points to Remember

1. The property obtained by the married couple is devolved to their offspring under the secular law of succession, the India Succession Act, 1925.

2. Unlike the earlier Marriage Act of 1872, the present Special Marriage Act, 1954 allows for divorce. It also emphasizes mutual consent to divorce. It registers marriage with the government, legalizes it in a court of law, and allows for marriage under unusual situations.

3. Marriage does not require the spouses to alter their caste or religion

4. The Act has established laws for lawful marriage, invalid marriage, voidable marriage, registration procedure, reasons for divorce, support, child status, and remarriage.

5. As per Section 5 of the Act Couples have to serve a notice with the relevant documents to the Marriage Officer 30 days before the intended date of marriage.

6. Both parties are required to be present after the submission of documents for issuance of public notice inviting objections.

7. Registration is done 30 days after the date of notice after deciding any objection that may have been received during that period by the SDM.

8. Both parties along with three witnesses are required to be present on the date of registration.

9. The objection is recorded in the marriage book with the signature of the person raising the objection. The marriage officer has the power to inquire about the validity of the objection.

10. On a certificate being entered in the Marriage Certificate Book by the Marriage Officer, the Certificate shall be deemed to be conclusive evidence of the fact that a marriage under this Act has been solemnized and that all formalities respecting the signatures of witnesses have been complied with.