Marriage Registration is a very important process. No married couple in India must ignore this legal formality, especially because after 2006, the Supreme Court has in a judgment called Seema v. Ashwani Kumar, made it mandatory for every couple to get their marriage registered. The process of getting a marriage registered might seem to be very burdensome in the first instance to many people. However, quite contrary to the common belief, marriage registration, in today’s times, is not that cumbersome a process as it used to be in the older times. States across India, have introduced a systematic process for the formality to be carried out smoothly. Not only has the process been made hassle-free, but, the time limit required usually for the project has also been reduced by a great extent. This blog seeks to focus on the entire process, with a specific example of Delhi.
For online marriage registration, the first and foremost step that a couple needs to take is that of creating an account on the concerned website. Every state in India has its own respective website and the couple is required to create an account with that website by registering with it. For example, for Delhi, the portal name and its link are, “https://edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in/in/en/Account/Login.html”. Upon opening the said portal, on the right-hand side column of the website, there will be an option called, “Apply Online for Certificates”. The couple intending to get their marriage registered will have to click on that link. Upon clicking that link, there will show up a list of certificates like, for example, marriage registration certificate, birth certificate, death certificate. In the instant case, since the couple intends to get their marriage registered, the couple will have to click on the option of “Marriage Certificate”. On further clicking on that option, the couple will be given an option to register with the website by creating a new account. The couple will have to necessarily create an account if they wish to obtain a marriage registration certificate through the online procedure. For successfully creating an account, the couple will have to provide certain details such as their names, contact numbers, etc. In order to verify the identity of the applicant, it is possible that the portal requires the intending applicant to fill a one-time password for the creation of their account. Further, in order to verify that an applicant is a natural person and not a robot, the couple, will probably, also be required to provide details relating to the captcha.
On successful creation of an account, the couple will be given a reference number (portals of different States might have different numbers for this number). This reference number must be safely remembered by the applicant since the same will be needed at a later stage in the process. During the pendency of the application, this number can be used by the couple to track the status of their application. Post this, the couple must click on, “Application Form”. This form must be downloaded by the couple and the couple is then required to fill out all the details related to them as well as their marriage. This might include details pertaining to their date of birth ( in order to check the malpractice of child marriages in the country) to ensure that both parties are competent under Indian law to marry, their identity proof, (this may be any government-issued document like the PAN card, Aadhar card, driving license, etc.), address proof. The details related to the marriage might include heads like date of the marriage, place where the marriage was solemnized, etc. The religion of the parties is also a very important factor since that will decide what law shall govern the parties’ matrimonial ties. For example, if the parties are both Hindus, it is the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which shall be the governing law, however, if both the parties belong to two different religions, the Special Marriage Act, 1954 shall govern their marriage ties, and all other aspects related to divorce, custody, maintenance. After filling in the details, the form shall need to be submitted on the portal. Along with the application, the parties shall also be required to upload soft copies of the photos of both the parties, copies of the identification documents, like, passport, Aadhar card, driving license, etc. After having submitted these requisite documents on the portal, the authorities shall process the application of the applicants. If the application seems satisfactory, in that, no illegality must be apparent on the face of their application, then, the authorities shall notify the couple about a date on which the couple will be required to physically appear before the SDM or ADM. These authorities might vary in different states. Also, the couple will be required to be accompanied by two eyewitnesses, in order to give proof about their marriage. If everything goes well, the authority shall, then and there, issue the couple a marriage certificate. This successfully marks the completion of the process.
