The Bombay High Court has ruled that a marriage duly certified under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 cannot be deemed illegal or void solely because one of the spouses did not fulfill the residency requirement under Section 5 of the Act. This provision mandates that at least one of the parties must reside in the district where the marriage is registered for a continuous period of 30 days.
A division bench comprising Justices Girish Kulkarni and Advait Sethna held that once a marriage certificate is issued by the Registrar of Marriages under the Act, it serves as conclusive evidence of the marriage’s legality unless annulled by a court of law.
“Any irregularity in meeting the 30-day residency requirement does not affect the solemnity or validity of the marriage as reflected in the marriage certificate. Such an irregularity does not render the marriage void,” the court observed, emphasizing that the grounds for declaring a marriage void are specifically outlined in Section 24 of the Act.
The ruling came in response to a petition filed by a woman challenging the rejection of her visa application by the German Embassy. The embassy had deemed her marriage invalid on the grounds that neither she nor her spouse had complied with the Section 5 residency condition.
While considering the case, the court referred to Section 13 of the Act, which stipulates that a marriage certificate, once entered into the Marriage Certificate Book by the Marriage Officer and signed by the parties and witnesses, serves as conclusive evidence of the marriage’s solemnization.
“Given the legal sanctity attached to a marriage certificate issued under the Act, no person or authority can disregard its validity. The certificate issued to the petitioner and her spouse remains legally recognized under Indian law,” the bench ruled.
With these findings, the High Court dismissed the petition, reaffirming that non-compliance with the residency requirement does not invalidate a duly registered marriage under the Special Marriage Act.
