Ironically, if we get to the root of these two cases, the provision of the Special Marriage Act for interfaith marriage itself becomes the biggest barrier to marriage. Twenty-seven-year-old Aafreen Ansari* was under enormous pressure from her family to marry. But she was already in love with a Hindu boy and the idea of an interfaith marriage was vehemently rejected by her parents. So, without further ado, she and Mohan Sharma* decided to enter into a judicial marriage under the SMA around August 2020. In two separate incidents in Nashik and Pune districts, some organizations rejected marriage between a Muslim man and a Hindu woman. While the couple decided to postpone their wedding in Pune, the Nashik were already married after the Special Marriage Act of 1954 and simply wanted to perform a Hindu ceremony. Right to Love lawyer Vikas Shinde asked the inspector general of registration, Shravan Hardikar, to inform him of the abuse of the marriage announcement. You must submit documents for marriage registration. Although the required documents vary by state/territory of the Union, here is a general list of documents you might need: The Special Marriage Act of 1954 allows for the registration of marriages, which is not permitted by the personal laws of their practicing religions. The law is particularly favored by interfaith couples who want to marry without converting from their respective religions. Last year, lawmakers in Uttar Pradesh, a state ruled by Hindu monk Yogi Adityanath, passed India`s first “jihad of love” law, which requires couples of different religions to notify an official two months in advance before getting married. The legislation applies to all interfaith marriages, but mainly affects Muslims, as Islam requires a non-Muslim to convert in order to sanctify the association.
If you wish to marry under this law, then at the time of marriage: In India, most marriages are still arranged by families of the same religion or caste. But there are couples who fall in love and sometimes choose partners of a different faith. Now India`s Hindu nationalist government is making it harder for them. NPR`s Lauren Frayer has been following an interfaith couple in their marriage struggle for several months. ANiS President Avinash Patil was a member of this committee and recommended the committee for legal reform. Like the SMA, the Anti-Conversion Act now gives state authorities additional discretion to decide on the validity of interfaith marriages. All conversions are subject to review by the district judge and are publicly challenged. By allowing the state to judge a person`s intention to convert or marry, the law gives state authorities and the general public access to invade two deeply personal matters of the individual – marriage and conversion. Unlike protecting the individual`s freedom to marry whomever he or she wants, the law endangers individual freedoms.
Once enacted, the law would subject interfaith marriages to further scrutiny in an atmosphere of growing hostility to such relationships. This is a significant step backwards from the days when our constitutional leaders sought to protect interfaith marriage. The recent trend of state laws combining anti-conversion with interfaith marriage is now exacerbating the challenges faced by interfaith couples seeking to marry. This legislative push to demand more and more explanations from those who marry outside their faith violates the individual freedoms of these people and gives the state the ability to regulate an individual`s personal choice. By restricting conversion for the purpose of marriage, it also limits the scope of religious freedom under section 25. Kaur, Mehta and Ambedkar would be very concerned about these developments. Succession to the property of persons married under this Act, or customary marriage registered under this Act and that of their children, is governed by the Indian Succession Act. [10] [11] However, if the parties to the marriage are Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jain nationals, the succession of their property is governed by the Hindu Inheritance Act. [12] Experts say that it is not easy to prove that conversion is forced unless the woman acknowledges it because she invariably signs a statement before marriage saying that she is ready for it. Section 5 of the SMA requires a person who marries under the SMA to give notice of the intended marriage, and section 6(2) states that the marriage must be placed in a conspicuous place in the marriage officer`s office. Article 7 § 1 allows any person to object to the marriage within 30 days of the publication of the notice, failing which a marriage may be consummated in accordance with Article 7 (2).
The law does not require such notice to be sent to families, but there are often instances where marriage officials and state governments go above and beyond the law to destroy those marriages. Regardless of their religion, two persons may marry under the Special Marriage Act as long as certain conditions are met. However, the law only provides for marriage between a man and a woman and has not yet extended its scope to same-sex couples and transgender people. You can solemnize the marriage in the office of the marriage commissioner. You can also choose to get married at another location within a reasonable distance of the office. However, you will have to pay an additional fee for this. If you wish to marry under the Special Marriage Act, you must terminate the marriage in writing. The notice must be sent to the marriage officer in the county where you or the person you wish to marry lived. You must have lived in the county where you are resigning for at least thirty days before notifying the officer.
If the marriage officer maintains the objection and refuses to contract the marriage, you can appeal to the competent district court, i.e.: The competent court in the district where the marriage officer has his office. You must appeal within thirty days of the officer`s rejection. The District Court will make the final decision on the appeal, and the official will obey the court`s decision. Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (ANiS) heads a marriage department that advises couples on legal issues related to inter-caste and interfaith marriages. “Some states require couples to also obtain a clearance certificate from their parents. Maharashtra (Department of Registration and Stamps) publicly shares details of these couples on its website, from where community elements can access them and threaten couples. SMA for interfaith couples is often their last resort, and they want to marry as soon as possible, as parents and hateful preachers can prevent these connections. If couples can`t even marry civilly, they have no choice but to flee,” says Asif Iqbal, a founding member of the NGO Dhanak, which helps interreligious, intercaste, gay and transgender couples. The Lucknow Court of the Allahabad High Court said in an order passed in January 2021 that it would not be mandatory for couples with interfaith marriages to publish the marriage notice. Karnataka`s Anti-Conversion Act merges religious conversions and interfaith marriages.
Article 6 of the bill prohibits marriages contracted solely for the purpose of conversion, as well as conversions made solely with the intention of marrying. These marriages can be annulled whether the conversions take place before or after the marriage. Nevertheless, human rights groups say violence against interfaith couples has increased in recent years, perpetrated by radical Hindu nationalists who want to end such relationships.