The Delhi High Court has held the regulation doesn’t require at the least one in all a pair to be an Indian citizen for the aim of registration of marriage below the Special Marriage Act.

Justice Prathiba M Singh allowed a Hindu Canadian citizen holding OCI card and a Christian American citizen to register their marriage right here below the particular regulation whereas noting that it stated “any two persons” and never “citizens” can search solemnization of their marriage below the Act.

The couple had approached the excessive court docket final 12 months as a result of, despite being a resident of town for over six months, they had been unable to apply on-line for registration of their marriage as the web site required at the least one occasion to be an Indian citizen.

“A perusal of Section 4 of the Special Marriage Act, 1953 leaves no doubt that any two persons can seek solemnization of their marriage so long as conditions therein are fulfilled. Sub-Sections (a), (b), (c) and (d) of Section 4 do not make any reference to citizens,” the court docket stated in a latest order.

“The statute having made a clear distinction between ‘any two persons’ in the initial part, in contradistinction with ‘citizens’ in Sub-Section (e) of Section 4, it is clear that the requirement of at least one party being a citizen of India is not required under the Special Marriage Act,” dominated the court docket.

The court docket directed the Sub-Divisional Magistrate involved to course of the petitioner couple’s utility for marriage registration in accordance with the prescribed process with out taking the objection that one in all them has to be a citizen of India.

The court docket, in its order, acknowledged that the Delhi authorities guideline for registration of marriages, which mandated both the bride or the groom to be an Indian citizen, was opposite to the statutory provisions in addition to earlier selections of the excessive court docket, and sought a report on the steps taken to accordingly amend it.

“A status report shall be placed on record by the Secretary of the concerned Ministry GNCTD giving the details of the steps taken for amending the guidelines as also the steps taken for editing the requirements in the e-portal under the Special Marriage Act so as to ensure that the requirement of one of the parties being a citizen is not insisted upon,” it stated.

The court docket noticed that for the reason that instructions to amend the rules to allow overseas nationals to register their marriage had been first issued in one other matter in 2019, the standing report indicating compliance shall be filed inside 4 weeks, failing which, a senior official who’s conscious of the matter, shall be a part of the proceedings.

The petitioners had earlier submitted the appropriate to get married was a part of their proper to life.

In their plea, the petitioners, represented by lawyer Rishabh Kapur, had stated there was no bar on non-Indians from getting their marriage solemnized and registered below the Special Marriage Act, 1954 so long as they adjust to the necessities prescribed and that stopping two consenting adults from getting married below the Act was in violation of their proper to marriage.

The matter shall be heard subsequent in April.

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