Special Marriage Act, 1954: All Sections Explained

In short: The Special Marriage Act, 1954 (Act No. 43 of 1954) covers civil marriage between any two persons regardless of religion, including inter-religion marriages: notice, objections, solemnisation, registration and divorce. It was enacted on 9 October 1954. It has 57 section entries, listed below with a plain-English summary of each. Part of our Law Library.

हिंदी में: विशेष विवाह अधिनियम, 1954 की सभी धाराएँ नीचे सरल भाषा में दी गई हैं।

All sections of the Special Marriage Act, 1954

Section	Title	What it covers
Preliminary
1	Short title, extent and commencement	Name of the Act, its extent and commencement.
2	Definitions	Defines degrees of prohibited relationship, district, Marriage Officer and related terms.
3	Marriage Officers	Appointment of Marriage Officers for each district.
Solemnization of special marriages
4	Conditions relating to solemnization of special marriages	Any two persons may marry if neither has a living spouse, both are of sound mind, the man is 21 and the woman 18, and they are not within prohibited degrees.
5	Notice of intended marriage	The parties give written notice to the Marriage Officer of the district where one of them has lived for at least thirty days.
6	Marriage Notice Book and publication	The notice is entered in the Marriage Notice Book and published.
7	Objection to marriage	Any person may object within thirty days on the ground that a condition in section 4 is not met.
8	Procedure on receipt of objection	The Marriage Officer inquires into the objection; an appeal lies to the district court.
9	Powers of Marriage Officers in respect of inquiries	Marriage Officers have civil court powers for these inquiries.
10	Procedure on receipt of objection by Marriage Officer abroad	Procedure where the Marriage Officer is outside India.
11	Declaration by parties and witnesses	The parties and three witnesses sign a declaration before the marriage.
12	Place and form of solemnization	The marriage is solemnised at the office or nearby, in any form the parties choose, with a declaration that they take each other as spouses.
13	Certificate of marriage	The Marriage Officer issues a certificate, which is conclusive evidence of the marriage.
14	New notice when marriage not solemnized within three months	A fresh notice is needed if the marriage is not solemnised within three months.
Registration of marriages celebrated in other forms
15	Registration of marriages celebrated in other forms	A marriage already performed in another form can be registered under the Act if the conditions are met.
16	Procedure for registration	Public notice and the procedure for registering such a marriage.
17	Appeals from orders under section 16	Appeal against refusal to register, to the district court.
18	Effect of registration of marriage under this Chapter	A registered marriage is treated as solemnised under the Act.
Consequences of marriage under this Act
19	Effect of marriage on member of undivided family	A member of an undivided family who marries under the Act is treated as severed from the family.
20	Rights and disabilities not affected by Act	Marriage under the Act does not change rights and disabilities regarding religious office or property.
21	Succession to property of parties married under Act	Succession to their property is governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
21A	Special provision in certain cases	Where both parties are Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs or Jains, sections 19 and 21 do not apply.
Restitution of conjugal rights and judicial separation
22	Restitution of conjugal rights	A spouse may seek an order that the other resume cohabitation.
23	Judicial separation	Judicial separation on the grounds available for divorce or for failure to comply with a restitution decree.
Nullity of marriage and divorce
24	Void marriages	Marriages in breach of the section 4 conditions, or where the respondent was impotent, are void.
25	Voidable marriages	Marriages voidable for non-consummation, pregnancy by another man or consent obtained by fraud or coercion.
26	Legitimacy of children of void and voidable marriages	Children of void and voidable marriages are legitimate.
27	Divorce	Grounds for divorce, similar to the Hindu Marriage Act, including adultery, cruelty and desertion.
27A	Alternative relief in divorce proceedings	The court may grant judicial separation instead of divorce in some cases.
28	Divorce by mutual consent	Joint petition after one year of separation; decree on the second motion six to eighteen months later.
29	Restriction on petitions for divorce during first one year after marriage	No divorce petition within a year of marriage, except for exceptional hardship or depravity.
30	Re-marriage of divorced persons	When divorced persons may remarry.
Jurisdiction and procedure
31	Court to which petition should be made	Which district court can hear petitions, including cases where the respondent lives abroad.
32	Contents and verification of petitions	What a petition must state and how it is verified.
33	Proceedings to be in camera and may not be printed or published	Proceedings are held in camera and may not be published.
34	Duty of court in passing decrees	What the court must be satisfied of, including efforts at reconciliation.
35	Relief for respondent in divorce and other proceedings	The respondent may also seek relief in the same proceedings.
36	Alimony pendente lite	Interim maintenance and costs for the wife while the case is pending.
37	Permanent alimony and maintenance	Permanent alimony or periodic maintenance at the time of the decree or later.
38	Custody of children	Orders on custody, maintenance and education of minor children.
39	Appeals from decrees and orders	Appeals from decrees and orders, within ninety days.
39A	Enforcement of decrees and orders	Decrees and orders are enforced like civil court decrees.
40	Application of Act 5 of 1908	The Code of Civil Procedure applies.
40A	Power to transfer petitions in certain cases	Transfer and joint trial of petitions filed by both spouses.
40B	Special provisions relating to trial and disposal of petitions under the Act	Day-to-day trial, disposal within six months as far as possible, and appeals within three months.
40C	Documentary evidence	Documents are not inadmissible only because they are unstamped or unregistered.
41	Power of High Court to make rules regulating procedure	High Courts may make procedural rules.
Miscellaneous
42	Saving	Other valid ways of marrying are not affected.
43	Penalty on married person marrying again under this Act	Marrying again under the Act while a spouse is alive is punishable.
44	Punishment of bigamy	A second marriage while a spouse is alive is void and punishable as bigamy.
45	Penalty for signing false declaration or certificate	Signing a false declaration or certificate is punishable.
46	Penalty for wrongful action of Marriage Officer	Punishment for a Marriage Officer who acts wrongfully.
47	Marriage Certificate Book to be open to inspection	The Marriage Certificate Book is open to public inspection and certified extracts may be obtained.
48	Transmission of copies of entries in marriage records	Copies of entries are sent to the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
49	Correction of errors	Correction of errors in the records.
50	Power to make rules	The Government may make rules.
51	Repeals and savings	Repeals the Special Marriage Act, 1872, with savings.

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Prepared by Adv. Mridul Jindal, Law Chambers of Mridul Jindal, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad. Last updated 11 November 2026. Summaries are in plain English for general information and are not the text of the law or legal advice; always read the official text on India Code. Disclaimer.