1. Which law applies in my case?
Marriage,
Divorce, Custody and Maintenance are largely governed by the religion
practiced by the parties to the marriage. If both parties belong to the
same religion, one of these acts would apply:
a. If you are Christians, The Indian Divorce Act, 1869 and the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872;
b. If you are Parsis, the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936;
c. If
you are Hindus, the Hindu code comprising the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955,
the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, the Hindu Minority and
Guardianship act, 1956 and the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. The term
‘Hindu’ in these acts applies to Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains, or in other
words, all those who are not Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew;
d. If
you are Muslims, the Muslim Personal law (Shariat) Application Act,
1937, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 and the Muslim Women
(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.
Every
act specifies the particular procedures to be fulfilled before the
marriage can be considered solemnised, such as the saptapadi for the
Hindus, or ashirwad for Parsis.
If both of you do not follow the same religion, you would have two options:
1. One
of you could convert to the religion of the other so that you could be
married under the relevant law. To convert to Hinduism, you need to
approach an Arya Samaj temple, which is authorised to convert persons to
Hinduism, and also solemnise marriages. To convert to Islam, you need
to approach a Madrassa of the specific sect to receive instruction. To
convert to Christianity, you need to approach a church of the specific
sect to receive instruction or
2. You
could be married under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. This act is a
secular act, and you can choose to be married under this act even if you
can be validly married by any of the other acts. The Special Marriage
Act requires the filing of a 30-day notice of intended marriage before
the marriage officer.
2. Whom can I marry?
There are several considerations:
Age:
The Child Marriage Restraint Act, the Hindu Marriage act, and the
Special Marriage act fix the age of marriage for women at 18, and for
men at 21. Marriage in contravention of this requirement is punishable
by fine or imprisonment, but the marriage remains valid. If the party is
too young to be capable of giving valid consent, the marriage could be
annulled. The Shariat gives a party to the marriage the option to
repudiate a marriage contracted during minority on the attainment of
majority, though it requires that the person be competent to make a
valid contract. A vast difference of age is not a legal impediment. The
woman can be older than the man.
Marital status:
All matrimonial codes except the Shariat state expressly that the
parties have no surviving spouse at the time of marriage. Such a
marriage would be void from its inception. The party who is validly
married to another person may be liable to criminal prosecution for
bigamy filed by the spouse.