Special Marriage Act 1954 is an Indian law that provides a legal framework for the marriage of people belonging to different religions or castes. To protect an individual’s right, religious laws like Hindu Marriage Act 1955, Christian Marriage Act 1872, Muslim personal law 1937, Parsis marriage and divorce act 1939 were enacted. Though these laws allow an individual to get married but in order to get these marriages registered before law, a special marriage act was required.
Registration of Marriages under special Marriage Act.
A Marriage between two persons will be solemnized if following conditions were met during marriage:
1 Neither party has a living spouse.
2 Neither of them are unsound or suffering from any mental illness.
3 Male has complete an age of 21 and female 18years.
4 The parties are not in the degree of prohibited relationship.
5 Before the solemnization of marriage, both the party has to inform the marriage officer in the district in writing form.
Divorce under Special Marriage Act
Special Marriage Act has provisions for divorce also. The Parties registered under this act can file for a divorce on following grounds:
1 The Respondent had a sexual intercourse with any person other than spouse after solemnization of marriage.
2 After solemnization of marriage, desertion of petitioner for a continuous period of 2 years immediately before filling of the petition.
3 The respondent has treated the petitioner with cruelty.
4 The respondent is undergoing a sentence of imprisonment for seven years or more.
5 The respondent has been suffering from vulnerable disease.
6 The respondent has not been seen alive for period of 7years of more.
Applicability– The applicability of the Act extends to the people of all faiths, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists, across India.
Recognition of Marriage- The Act provides for the registration of marriages, which gives legal recognition to the marriage and provides a number of legal benefits and protections to the couple, such as inheritance rights, succession rights, and social security benefits.
It forbids polygamy and declares a marriage null and void if either party had a spouse living at the time of the marriage or if either of them is incapable of giving a valid consent to the marriage due to unsoundness of mind.