In exercise of the powers conferred by
Section 50 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (Central Act 43 of 1954), the
Government of Karnataka hereby makes the following rules.- (1)
These rules
may be called the Special Marriage (Karnataka) Rules, 1961. (2)
They shall
extend to the whole of the State of Karnataka. In these rules.- (a)
"Act"
means the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (Central Act 43 of 1954); (b)
"Form"
means a form appended to these rules; (c)
"Section"
means a section of the Act. Every Marriage Officer shall cause his name, designation and the regular
working hours of his office to be written in English and in Kannada and
displayed in a conspicuous part of the building in which his office is
situated. (1)
Notice of
any intended marriage under the Act shall be given in writing in the form
specified in the Second Schedule to the Act, to the Marriage Officer by both
the parties intending to enter into the marriage, either in person or by
registered post.. (2)
Where the
notice is delivered in person, the fee prescribed there for in Rule 10 shall be
paid directly in cash to the Marriage Officer. Where the notice is sent by
registered post, the fee shall be remitted by money order at the remitter's
expense and the receipt issued to the remitter by the post office through which
the remittance is made shall be attached to the notice. (3)
As soon as
the notice has been received by the Marriage Officer a distinctive serial
number shall be entered on it and such number and the date of receipt of the
notice shall be attested by the signature of the Marriage Officer. If the
notice is in conformity with the requirements of the Act, it shall be entered
in the marriage Notice Book which shall be a bound volume, the pages of which
are machine numbered consecutively, with a nominal index attached. If the
notice is not in conformity with the requirements of the Act, it shall be got
rectified by the parties if they are present or returned to them by post for
rectification and retransmission within a date to be fixed. Every item of
rectification shall be attested by both the parties. (4)
The Marriage
Officer may for purposes of satisfying himself that the parties to the intended
marriage have attained the age specified in clause (c) of Section 4, require
them to produce their Birth Certificate or other satisfactory evidence of age. (5)
A true copy
of the notice under the seal and signature of the Marriage Officer shall be
exhibited in a conspicuous place in his office. (1)
Where an
objection to the solemnization of an intended marriage together with the fee
prescribed in Rule 10 has been received and recorded by the Marriage Officer,
he shall, unless by an order in writing rejects the objection summarily on the
ground that the objection is not based on contravention of any of the
conditions specified in Section 4, enquire into the objection on a day to be
fixed by him. The day so fixed shall not be later than thirty days from the
date of the objection. (2)
The Marriage
Officer shall, at the time of recording the objection, ascertain from the
objector whether he has any documents on which he relies or whether he desires
any witness or witnesses to be examined on his behalf. If the objector states
that he has, the Marriage Officer shall require the objector to produce the
documents or the witnesses on the day fixed for the enquiry. If the objector
desires that summons shall be issued to the witnesses to appear and give
evidence or to produce any document, the Marriage Officer shall issue such
summons to the witnesses cited, on payment of the process fee prescribed there
for in Rule 10 and the reasonable expenses of travelling and subsistence
allowance to the witnesses. The enquiry relating to the objection including the
production of documents and the examination of witnesses shall be completed and
the decision of the Marriage Officer arrived at within the period of thirty
days specified in Section 8. If, within the prescribed period, the documents
are not produced and the witnesses do not appear before the Marriage Officer,
the Marriage Officer shall take a decision without waiting for the production
of such documents or the appearance of such witnesses. (3)
The Marriage
Officer shall also give notice of the date and time fixed for the enquiry to
the parties to the intended marriage. (4)
The notice
or summons to any party or witness under this rule shall be in Form I or Form
II, as the case may be, and shall be sent by registered post. (5)
On the date
fixed for the enquiry or on any adjourned date, the Marriage Officer shall
record in his own hand the evidence given in the course of the enquiry, his
decision on the objection and the reasons there for. (1)
An
application under Section 16 for the registration of a marriage celebrated in
other forms shall be in Form III. (2)
Such
application shall be presented to the Marriage Officer by any one of the
parties in person or sent to him by registered post. (3)
Notice of
the application under sub-rule (1) shall be given by the Marriage Officer by
exhibiting a true copy thereof under his seal and signature in a conspicuous
place outside his office. The notice also shall state that objections, if any,
to the registration of the marriage should be preferred by the objector in person
orally or in writing to the Marriage Officer within thirty days from the date
on which the notice is exhibited. (4)
Any
objection received within the said period together with the fee prescribed
there for in Rule 10 shall be recorded and the enquiry in respect thereto made
as nearly as possible in the manner prescribed in The Marriage Officer may, on application by both the parties to the
Marriage, solemnize the same at any place outside his Office, provided the
additional fee prescribed there for in Rule 10 is paid and the hour is not
unreasonable. The Marriage Certificate Book shall be a bound volume the pages of which
are machine numbered consecutively with a nominal index attached. Every
marriage certificate entered therein during each calendar year shall be
consecutively numbered and every authenticated copy of a certificate issued to
the parties shall bear the number and the date, month and year in which the
certificate was entered. The following fees shall be levied by the Marriage Officer.- Rs. nP. (i) for
every notice of intended marriage or application for the registration of a
marriage (to be paid by the parties to the marriage) 3 00 (ii) for
recording an objection (to be paid by the objector) 2 00 (iii) for
every enquiry into an objection (to be paid by the objector) 50 00 (iv) for
every notice and for every summons to a witness to appear and give evidence
or produce a document (to be paid by the objector) .0 50 (v) for
solemnizing or registering a marriage (to be paid by the parties to the
marriage) 10 00 (vi) for a
certified copy of an entry.- (a) in the
Marriage Notice Book other than an entry relating to an objection; or (b) in the
Marriage Certificate Book (to be paid by the applicant) 2 00 (vii) for
a certified copy of an entry in the Marriage Notice Book other than a notice
or of any other proceeding not already provided for (to be paid by the
applicant) 2 00 (viii) for
solemnizing a marriage at any place outside the office of the Marriage
Officer, in addition to the fee in entry (v) to be paid by the parties to the
marriage Note.- This
fee may be appropriated by the Marriage Officer. No travelling allowance
shall, however, be claimed in addition. 15 00 (ix) for
making a search (to be paid by the applicant).- (a) if the
entry is of the current year (b) if the
entry related to any previous year or years (for each such year) 0 50 1 00 The fees prescribed above shall be paid either in person or remitted by
money order to the Marriage Officer. A receipt duly signed by the Marriage Officer shall be issued for all
fees received by him under the Act and the rules. The receipt books shall be
bound volumes of one hundred leaves each with foils and counterfoils which
shall be machine numbered consecutively. All money received by the Marriage
Officer except the fee mentioned in entry (viii) above shall be remitted into
the local treasury. Copy of entries in the Marriage Certificate Book which Marriage Officers
'are required to send under Section 48 to the Registrar-General of Births,
Deaths and Marriages shall be certified in Form IV and shall be sent at
intervals of three months on, or as nearly as possible after the 1st of
January, April, July and October in each year. If no entries have been made in
the book during the preceding three months, a nil certificate shall be sent to
the said Registrar-General. The Bombay Special Marriage Rules, 1955, as in force in the Bombay Area,
the Coorg Special Marriage Rules, 1955, as in force in the Coorg District, the
Hyderabad Special Marriage Rules, 1955, as in force in the Hyderabad Area, the
Madras Special Marriage Rules, 1954, as in force in the Madras Area and the
Mysore Special Marriage Rules, as in force in the Mysore Area, are hereby
repealed: Provided that the provisions of Section 6 of the General Clauses Act,
1897 (Central Act X of 1897), shall be applicable as regards the effect of the
repeal of the said rules: Provided further that anything done or any action taken under the said
rules shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding
provisions of these rules. [1] Published in the Karnataka Gazette, dated
18-5-1961, vide Notification No. HD 13 GIM 59(1), dated 2-5-1961[1]SPECIAL MARRIAGE (KARNATAKA) RULES, 1961
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