The Marriage Certificate Issued By Arya Samaj Is Illegal: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court declared the marriage certificate issued by Arya Samaj is illegal.
A marriage certificate is a document that declares two people married legally. In India, marriages are registered in two ways; either under the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 or under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Honourable Supreme Court, in the year 2006, made it mandatory in India to get a marriage registered to legalize it.
Under The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
For registration under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the eligibility of the parties is that they must be Indian, i.e., only if they are Hindus, Sikhs, Jains or Buddhists. Also, if the marriage is already solemnized, the couple can apply for registration. Marriage can be performed at the sub-registrar’s office, under whose jurisdiction; one of the partners is residing for more than six months. According to the customs and rituals of either party, a Hindu marriage can be solemnized.
Under The Special Marriage Act, 1954
For registration under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, all the citizens of India can get their marriage registered irrespective of their religion. However, the couple applying under the Special Marriage Act has to give a 30 days notice to the sub-registrar under whose jurisdiction any of the partners reside.
The registrar puts up a notice on the board for 30 days, and if they do not receive any objection within the duration, the marriage gets registered. The sub-registrar of the jurisdiction must keep a copy of the notice. This whole process enables the marriage to be complete without any religious ceremony.
Case
The court was hearing the bail plea of the accused of abduction and rape of a minor girl under Sections 363, 366A, 384, 376(2)(n), 384 IPC and Section 5(L)/6 of the POCSO Act from Madhya Pradesh. The matter is being told of love marriage.
The girl's family members have lodged an FIR for kidnapping and raping their girl, saying that she is a minor, while the youth told the girl is an adult. She has decided to get married of her own free will. This marriage took place in Arya Samaj Mandir.
Under Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj marriage is similar to a Hindu ceremony involving a sacred fire. It derives its validity from the Arya Samaj Marriage Validation Act, 1937, along with the Hindu Marriage Act provisions, 1955. Any Arya Samaj temple issues the marriage certificate after the ceremony has been conducted as per the Vedic rituals.
The court dismissed the petition of the accused.
During the hearing, the bench refused to accept the marriage certificate of Arya Samaj as valid and dismissed the petition of the accused. The Arya Samaj is a Hindu reformist organization founded by Swami Dayanand Saraswati in 1875.
Giving marriage certificates is not the work of Arya Samaj: SC
Vacation Bench Justices Ajay Rastogi and BV Nagarathna rejected the arguments of the counsel for the accused. They said that it is not the work of Arya Samaj to issue a marriage certificate. This is the job of the officers. Show the original certificate.
MP High Court had given instructions to conduct marriages under SMA
On April 4, the Supreme Court had agreed to hear the petition challenging the order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. In fact, on December 17, 2021, the MP High Court directed the Madhya Bharat Arya Pratinidhi Sabha of Arya Samaj Sangathan to follow the provisions of the Special Marriage Act 1954 (SMA) while performing marriages.
Validation of Marriage certificate
In India, the marriage should be registered in court by the registrar only. A marriage certificate may be provided in only two ways; either under the Hindu Marriage act, 1955 or the Special Marriage Act, 1954; no other institution is eligible to give a marriage certificate.
The procedure of registered marriage
In India, the application for a marriage can be registered both online and offline. The applicant may apply online for the registration on the state's official website in which the marriage was solemnized, or either of the partners is residing for more than six months after filling the forms with all necessary documents. Then, the registrar's office will call the applicant for the verification of the documents with two witnesses to register the marriage.
In the offline procedure, the applicant needs to visit the sub-registrar's office of the jurisdiction where the marriage was solemnized. Then, they have to fill out the application manually, preceded by both the party’s signature and required documents. After 30 days, if there found no objections, the application for the marriage will be registered.
The important point is that if the marriage is registered under the Special Marriage Act of 1954, a marriage officer can only solemnise the marriage. In such cases, a notice is given to the registrar by the couple, which is to be put on the notice board for the next 30 days. If there is no objection during this time period, the marriage gets registered.
Important Document
The documents required to get a marriage registered in India may slightly vary from one state to another. However, most of it remains the same. It is essential to know that a gazetted officer at submission should duly sign all the documents. The standard documents for all states are:
* An application form signed by the couple.
* A document for birth proof.
* Residential proof of both the parties
* Rs 100 if the marriage is registered under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and Rs 150 if the marriage is registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, to be submitted to the district cashier. The receipt of the payment is to be attached with the application form.
* The age of the male applying for a marriage registration should be 21, and the female should be 18. This applies to both the Hindu Marriage Act, of 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, of 1954.
* In case the marriage took place in any religious place, a certificate from the institution certifies the marriage's solemnization.
* Two passport size photos of the couple. And one marriage photo in case it is already solemnized.
* The invitation card for the wedding if the marriage is solemnized.
* Both the parties have to affirm that they are neither relayed to nor fall into any decree of prohibited relationship mentioned under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 or the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
* If any of the parties is a divorcee, an attested copy of the divorce decree should be attached with the application form.
* In case any of the parties is a widow or a widower, the spouse's death certificate should be attached with the application form.
* An affidavit should be attached with the application form that states the place of marriage, date of marriage, time of marriage, marital status and nationality of both the parties.
* Two witnesses from both sides need to be present in the sub-registrar office at the meeting time.
* In case the marriage is solemnized, two witnesses who attended the wedding must be present in the sub-registrar office at the time of the meeting.
