Chapter VIII§42–51
Miscellaneous
Closing provisions. §42 is a saving — the Act does not invalidate non-SMA marriages or other modes of contracting marriage. §43 punishes a married person who marries again under this Act (IPC §494/§495). §44 punishes an SMA spouse who contracts another marriage. §45 punishes false declarations (IPC §199). §46 punishes a Marriage Officer who wilfully solemnises a marriage without notice, within 30 days of notice, or otherwise in breach of the Act. §47 keeps the Marriage Certificate Book open for inspection; §48 transmits copies to the State Registrar-General; §49 lets the Marriage Officer correct entry errors. §50 is the rule-making power. §51 repeals the Special Marriage Act, 1872 and saves marriages and pending proceedings under it.
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Saving
Nothing in this Act affects the validity of any marriage not solemnised under it, nor does the Act, directly or indirectly, affect the validity of any other mode of contracting marriage.
Nothing contained in this Act shall affect the validity of any marriage not solemnized under its provisions; nor shall this Act be deemed directly or indirectly to affect the validity of any mode of contracting marriage.
Penalty on married person marrying again under this Act
Save the Chapter III registration carve-out, any already-married person who procures an SMA marriage of himself or herself is deemed to have committed bigamy under IPC §494 or §495, and the SMA marriage so solemnised is void.
Save as otherwise provided in Chapter III, every person who, being at the time married, procures a marriage of himself or herself to be solemnized under this Act shall be deemed to have committed an offence under section 494 or section 495 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), as the case may be, and the marriage so solemnized shall be void.
Punishment of bigamy
Every SMA spouse who, during the lifetime of the other, contracts another marriage is liable under IPC §§494–495 (now BNS §82) and the second marriage is void.
Every person whose marriage is solemnized under this Act and who, during the lifetime of his or her wife or husband, contracts any other marriage shall be subject to the penalties provided in section 494 and section 495 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), for the offence of marrying again during the lifetime of a husband or wife, and the marriage so contracted shall be void.
Penalty for signing false declaration or certificate
Making, signing or attesting a false declaration or certificate under the Act (knowingly or without believing it to be true) is punishable as an offence described in IPC §199.
Every person making, signing or attesting any declaration or certificate required by or under this Act containing a statement which is false and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true shall be guilty of the offence described in section 199 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
Penalty for wrongful action of Marriage Officer
A Marriage Officer who knowingly and wilfully solemnises an SMA marriage without publishing the §5 notice, within 30 days of the notice, or otherwise in breach of the Act is liable to simple imprisonment up to 1 year, fine up to ₹500, or both.
Any Marriage Officer who knowingly and wilfully solemnizes a marriage under this Act,— (1) without publishing a notice regarding such marriage as required by section 5, or (2) within thirty days of the publication of the notice of such marriage, or (3) in contravention of any other provision in this Act, shall be punishable with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.
Marriage Certificate Book to be open to inspection
The Marriage Certificate Book is open for inspection at all reasonable times and is admissible as evidence; certified extracts are given by the Marriage Officer on payment of the prescribed fee.
(1) The Marriage Certificate Book kept under this Act shall at all reasonable times be open for inspection and shall be admissible as evidence of the statements therein contained.
(2) Certified extracts from the Marriage Certificate Book shall, on application, be given by the Marriage Officer to the applicant on payment by him of the prescribed fee.
Transmission of copies of entries in marriage records
Every Marriage Officer must, at prescribed intervals and in prescribed form, transmit true copies of all entries since the last transmission to the State Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages (or to a Centre-specified authority, for offices outside India).
Every Marriage Officer in a State shall send to Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages of that State at such intervals and in such form as may be prescribed, a true copy of all entries made by him in the Marriage Certificate Book since the last of such intervals, and, in the case of Marriage Officers outside the territories to which this Act extends, the true copy shall be sent to such authority as the Central Government may specify in this behalf.
Correction of errors
Within one month of discovering an error, the Marriage Officer may correct it in the margin (without altering the original entry) in the presence of the married parties or two credible witnesses; the correction is dated, signed and (if already transmitted) reported separately to the Registrar-General.
(1) Any Marriage Officer who discovers any error in the form or substance of any entry in the Marriage Certificate Book may, within one month next after the discovery of such error, in the presence of the persons married or, in case of their death or absence, in the presence of two other credible witnesses, correct the error by entry in the margin without any alteration of the original entry and shall sign the marginal entry and add thereto the date of such correction and the Marriage Officer shall make the like marginal entry in the certificate thereof.
(2) Every correction made under this section shall be attested by the witnesses in whose presence it was made.
(3) Where a copy of any entry has already been sent under section 48 to the Registrar-General or other authority the Marriage Officer shall make and send in like manner a separate certificate of the original erroneous entry and of the marginal corrections therein made.
Power to make rules
The Centre (for central Marriage Officers) and the State Government (otherwise) may make rules on Marriage-Officer duties and jurisdiction, inquiry procedure, record-keeping, fees, §16 public notice and §48 transmissions; central rules are laid before Parliament (30-day modification window) and State rules before the State Legislature.
(1) The Central Government, in the case of officers of the Central Government, and the State Government, in all other cases, may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:— (a) the duties and powers of Marriage Officers and the areas in which they may exercise jurisdiction; (b) the manner in which a Marriage Officer may hold inquiries under this Act and the procedure therefor; (c) the form and manner in which any books required by or under this Act shall be maintained; (d) the fees that may be levied for the performance of any duty imposed upon a Marriage Officer under this Act; (e) the manner in which public notice shall be given under section 16; (f) the form in which, and the intervals within which, copies of entries in the Marriage Certificate Book shall be sent in pursuance of section 48; (g) any other matter which may be or requires to be prescribed.
(3) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.
(4) Every rule made by the State Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as it is made before the State Legislature.
Repeals and savings
Repeals the Special Marriage Act, 1872 and corresponding Part B State laws; saves all marriages already solemnised under them (treated as SMA marriages) and pending matrimonial proceedings (continued as if instituted under this Act); General Clauses Act, 1897 §6 also applies.
(1) The Special Marriage Act, 1872 (3 of 1872), and any law corresponding to the Special Marriage Act, 1872 (3 of 1872), in force in any Part B State immediately before the commencement of this Act are hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal,— (a) all marriages duly solemnized under the Special Marriage Act, 1872 (3 of 1872), or any such corresponding law shall be deemed to have been solemnized under this Act; (b) all suits and proceedings in causes and matters matrimonial which, when this Act comes into operation, are pending in any court, shall be dealt with and decided by such court, so far as may be, as if they had been originally instituted therein under this Act.
(3) The provisions of sub-section (2) shall be without prejudice to the provisions contained in section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897), which shall also apply to the repeal of the corresponding law as if such corresponding law had been an enactment.