Saturday 18 February 2012


Christian Marriage Acts 


The law regulating solemnization of marriages among Indian Christians is laid down in the Indian Christian Marriage Act of 1872. It was the British-Indian administration that enacted the law.

Marriage, as is seen in Christian tradition, is not merely a civil contract nor is it purely a religious contract. It is seen as a contract according to the law of nature, antecedent to civil institutions and by itself an institution. A marriage among Christians is traditionally understood as the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, and Indian law follows suit, so that India does not allow for the possibility of same-sex marriage as it has been celebrated by some churches in other countries in recent years.
The Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872, relates to solemnization of marriage of persons professing Christian religion. The Act provides that any marriage solemnized otherwise than in accordance with the Act shall be void.


Solemnization of Christian Marriage

Under Section 5 of the Act Christian marriages can be solemnized by -
·         A person who has received Episcopal ordination,
·         Any clergyman of the Church of Scotland,
·         Any Minister of Religion licensed under the Act.,
·         A Marriage Registrar appointed under section 7 of the Act and
·         Any person licensed under section 9 to grant certificates of marriage.

Requirements

Marriage under Christian Law is in the nature of contract and hence there should be a free and voluntary consent between the parties. When there is a minor, as defined in the Act, the consent of father or guardian is necessary. Marriage is not permissible between the parties who are within the prohibited degrees of relationship under section 19 of the Act. There is no legal impediment for marriage between a Catholic and a Protestant. By marriage, the husband and wife become one person, ie, the legal existence of the women is incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband.

Divorce

The law regarding divorce, judicial separation and allied matters is contained in the Indian Divorce Act, 1869. Under section 18 of the Act either spouse can seek divorce on the grounds contained in Section 19 which reads as follows:- 

Section 19: Grounds for Decree of Divorce :

1.     That the respondent was impotent at the time of marriage and institution of the suit,
2.     That the parties are within the prohibited degree of consanguinity or affinity,
3.     That either party was a lunatic or idiot at the time or marriage.
4.     That the former husband or wife of either party was living at the time of marriage and the said marriage was then in force.
5.     Nothing shall affect the jurisdiction of the High court to make decrees of nullity of marriage on the ground that the consent of either party was obtained by force or fraud.

Conclusion

    It can be concluded that the Indian Christian Marriage Act is comprehensive enough to deal with matters regarding solemnization of marriages among Christians in India when both the parties to the marriage are Christians. But where one of the parties to a marriage in India is a Christian and the other party is a non-Christian the best course to adopt is to solemnize the marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Or in the alternative, if a marriage has been solemnized between a Christian and a non-Christian under the provisions of the Indian Christian Marriage Act, it can be registered again under the provisions of section 15 of the Special Marriage Act of 1954 by way of caution.





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