PRELIMINARY

1. Short title. - This Act may be called the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872.

Extent. - It extends to the whole of India except the territories which, immediately before the 1st November, 1956, were comprised in the States of Travancore-Cochin, Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir.

2. Enactments repealed. - [Rep. by the Repealing Act, 1938 (1 of 1938), Section 2 and Sch., Pt. I].

3. Interpretation-clause. - In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context, -

"Church of England" and "Anglican" means and apply to the Church of England as by law established;

"Church of Scotland" means the Church of Scotland as by law established;

"Church of Rome" and "Roman Catholic" means and apply to the Church which regards to Pope of Rome as its spiritual head;

"Church" includes any chapel or other building generally used for public Christian worship;

"India" means the territories to which this Act extends;

"minor" means a person who has not completed the age of of twenty-one years and who is not a widower or a widow;

the expression "Christians" means persons professing the Christian religion;

and the expression "Indian Christians" includes the Christian descendants of natives of India converted to Christianity, as well as such converts;

"Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages" means a Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages appointed under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, 1886 (6 of 1886).

Comments

Any person professing the christian religion although he has not been baptised is a Christian for the purposes of the Act. (K.J.B. David v. Nilamani Devi, AIR 1953 Orissa 10).

PART I

THE PERSONS BY WHOM MARRIAGES MAY BE SOLEMNIZED

4. Marriages to be solemnized according to Act. - Every marriage between persons, one or both of whom is or are a Christian, or Christians, shall be solemnized in accordance with the provisions of the next following section; and any such marriage solemnized otherwise than in accordance with such provisions shall be void.

5. Persons by whom marriages may be solemnized. - Marriages may be solemnized in India -

(1) by any person who has received episcopal ordination, provided that the marriage be solemnized according to the rules, rites, ceremonies and customs of the Church of which he is a Minister;

(2) by any Clergyman of the Church of Scotland, provided that such marriage be solemnized according to the rules, rites, ceremonies and customs of the Church of Scotland;

(3) by any Minister of Religion licensed under this Act to solemnize marriages;

(4) by, or in the presence of, a Marriage Registrar appointed under this Act;

(5) by any person licensed under this Act to grant certificates of marriage between Indian Christians.

Comments

"Solemnised" in Section 5 means "celebrated" and refers to ceremonies only.

If a marriage is not solemnised in accordance with the provisions of Section 5 of the Indian Christian Marriage Act, it would enable the Court to declare such marriage as null and void. (Mariasoosai v. Clara Mary, AIR 1995 Madras 35 : 1995 (1) HLR 275 (S.B.).

6. Grant and revocation of licenses to solemnize marriages. - The State Government, so far as regards territories under its administration, may, by notification in the Official Gazette, grant licences to Ministers of Religion to solemnize marriages within such territories and may, by a like notification, revoke such licences.

7. Marriage Registrars. - The State Government may appoint one or more Christians, either by name or as holding any office for the time being, to be the Marriage Registrar of Marriage Registrars for any district subject to its administration.

Senior Marriage Registrar. - Where there are more Marriage Registrars than one in any district, the State Government shall appoint one of them to be the Senior Marriage Registrar.

Magistrate when to be Marriage Registrar. - When there is only one Marriage Registrar in a district, and such Registrar is absent from such district, or ill, or when his office is temporarily vacant, the Magistrate of the district shall act as, and be, Marriage Registrar thereof during such absence, illness, or temporary vacancy.

8. Marriage Registrars in Indian States. - [Rep. by A.O. 1950].

9. Licensing of persons to grant certificates of marriage between Indian Christians. - The State Government may grant a license to any Christian either by name or as holding any office for the time being, authorizing him to grant certificates of marriage between Indian Christians.

Any such licence may be revoked by the authority by which it was granted and every such grant or revocation shall be notified in the Official Gazette.

PART II

TIME AND PLACE AT WHICH MARRIAGES MAY BE SOLEMNIZED

10. Time for solemnizing marriage. - Every marriage under this Act shall be solemnized between the hours of six in the morning and seven in the evening:

Exceptions. - Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to -

(1) a Clergyman of the Church of England solemnizing a marriage under a special licence permitting him to do so at any hour than between six in the morning and seven in the evening, under the hand and seal of the Anglican Bishop of the Diocese or his Commissary, or

(2) a Clergyman of the Church of Rome solemnizing a marriage between the hours of seven in the evening and six in the morning, when he has received a general or special licence in that behalf from the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Vicariate in which such marriage is so solemnized, or from such person as the same Bishop has authorised to grant such licence, or

(3) a Clergyman of the Church of the Scotland solemnizing a marriage according to the rule, rites, ceremonies and customs of the Church of Scotland.

11. Place for solemnizing marriage. - No Clergyman of the Church of England shall solemnize a marriage in any place other than a church where worship is generally held according to the forms of the Church of England],

unless there is no such church within five miles distance by the shortest road from such place, or

unless he has received a special license authorizing him to do so under the hand and seal of the Anglican Bishop of the Diocese or his Commissary.

Fee for special licence. - For such special licence, the Registrar of the Diocese may charge such additional fee as he said Bishop from time to time authorizes.

PART III

MARRIAGES SOLEMNIZED BY MINISTERS OF RELIGION LICENSED UNDER THIS ACT

12. Notice of intended marriage. - Whenever a marriage is intended to be solemnized by a Minister of Religion licensed to solemnize marriages under this Act -

One of the persons intending marriage shall give notice in writing according to the form contained in the First Schedule hereto annexed, or to the like effect, to the Minister of Religion whom he or she desires to solemnize the marriage, and shall state therein - 

 (a)  the name and surname, and the profession or condition, of each of the persons intending marriage,

 (b)  the dwelling-place of each of them.

 (c)  the time during which each has dwelt there, and

 (d)  the church or private dwelling in which the marriage is to be solemnized:

Provided that, if either of such persons has dwelt in the place mentioned in the notice during more than one month, it may be stated therein that he or she has dwelt there one month and upwards.

13. Publication of such notice. - If the persons intending marriage desire it to be solemnized in a particular church, and if the Minister of Religion to whom such notice has been delivered be entitled to officiate therein, he shall cause the notice to be affixed in some conspicuous part of such church.

Return or transfer of notice. - But if he is not entitled to officiate as a Minister in such church, he shall, at his option, either return the notice to the persons who delivered it to him, or deliver it to some other Minister entitled to officiate therein, who shall thereupon cause the notice to be affixed as aforesaid.

14. Notice of intended marriage in private dwelling. - If it be intended that the marriage shall be solemnized in a private dwelling, the Minister of Religion, on receiving the notice prescribed in Section 12, shall forward it to the Marriage Registrar of the district, who shall affix the same to some conspicuous place in his own office.

15. Sending copy of notice to Marriage Registrar when one party is a minor. - When one of the persons intending marriage is a minor, every Minister receiving such notice shall, unless within twenty-four hours after its receipt he returns the same under the provisions of section 13, send by the post or otherwise a copy of such notice to the Marriage Registrar of the district, or, if there be more than one Registrar of such district, to the Senior Marriage Registrar.

16. Procedure on receipt of notice. - The Marriage Registrar or Senior Marriage Registrar, as the case may be, on receiving any such notice, shall affix it to some conspicuous place in his own office, and the latter shall further cause a copy of the said notice to be sent to each of the other Marriage Registrars in the same district who shall likewise publish the same in the manner above directed.

17. Issue of certificate of notice given and declaration made. - Any Minister of Religion consenting or intending to solemnize any such marriage as aforesaid, shall on being required so to do by or on behalf of the person by whom the notice was given, and upon one of the persons intending marriage making the declaration hereinafter required, issue under his hand a certificate of such notice having been given and of such declaration having been made:

Proviso. - Provided -

 (1)  that no such certificates shall be issued until the expiration of four days after the date of the receipt of the notice by such Minister;

 (2)  that no lawful impediment be shown to his satisfaction why such certificate should not issue; and

 (3)  that the issue of such certificate has not been forbidden, in manner hereinafter mentioned, by any person authorized in that behalf.

18. Declaration before issue of certificate. - The certificate mentioned in Section 17 shall not be issued until one of the persons intending marriage has appeared personally before the Minister and made a solemn declaration -

 (a)  that he or she believes that there is not any impediment of kindred or affinity, or other lawful hindrance, to the said marriage,

and, when either or both of the parties is or are a minor or minors -

 (b)  that the consent or consents required by law has or have been obtained thereto, or that there is no person resident in India having authority to give such consent, as the case may be.

19. Consent of father or guardian or mother. - The father, if living, of any minor, or if the father be dead, the guardian of the person of such minor, and, in case there be no such guardian, then the mother of such minor, may give consent to the minor's  marriage,

and such consent is hereby required for the same marriage, unless no person authorised to give such consent be resident in India.

Comments

Where the marriage of a girl above 18 years but below 21 and belonging to Roman Catholic Church is solemnised by a Minister belonging to the Church, the marriage does not become null and void on the ground that the consent of the girl's parents is not taken. (Lakshmi Sanyal v. S.K. Dhar, AIR 1972 S.C. 2667).

20. Power to prohibit by notice issue of certificate. - Every person whose consent to a marriage is required under Section 19, is hereby authorized to prohibit the issue of the certificate by any Minister, at any time before the issue of the same, by notice in writing to such Minister, subscribed by the person so authorized with his or her name and place of abode and position with respect to either of the persons intending marriage, by reason of which he or she is so authorized as aforesaid.

21. Procedure on receipt of notice. - If any such notice be received by such Minister, he shall not issue his certificate and shall not solemnize the said marriage until he was examined into the matter of the said prohibition, and is satisfied that the person prohibiting the marriage has no lawful authority for such prohibition,

or until the said notice is withdrawn by the person who gave it.

22. Issue of certificate in case of minority. - When either of the person intending marriage is a minor, and the Minister is not satisfied that the consent of the person whose consent to such marriage is required by Section 19 has been obtained, such Minister shall not issue such certificate until the expiration of fourteen days after the receipt by him of the notice of marriage.

23. Issue of certificates of Indian Christians. - When any Indian Christian about to be married makes a notice of marriage to a Minister of Religion, or applies for a certificate from such Minister under Section 17, such Minister shall, before issuing the certificate, ascertain whether such Indian Christian is cognizant of the purport and effect of the said notice or certificate, the case may be, and if not, shall translate or cause to be translated the notice or certificate to such Indian Christian into some language which he understands.

24. Form of certificate. - The certificate to be issued by the Minister shall be in the form contained in the Second Schedule hereto annexed, or to the like effect.

25. Solemnization of marriage. - After the issue of the certificate by the Minister, marriage may be solemnized between the persons therein described according to such form or ceremony as the Minister thinks fit to adopt:

Provided that the marriage be solemnized in the presence of at least two witnesses besides the Minister.

26. Certificate void if marriage not solemnized  within two months. - Whenever a marriage is not solemnized within two months after the date of the certificate issued by such Minister as aforesaid, such certificate and all proceedings (if any) thereon shall be void,

and no person shall proceed to solemnize the said marriage until new notice has been given, and a certificate thereof issued in manner aforesaid. 

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