[1][THE KERALA SPECIAL MARRIAGE RULES, 1958] In exercise of the
powers conferred by Section 50 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (Central Act
43 of 1954). the Government of Kerala hereby make the following Rules. (1)
These
Rules, may be called the Kerala Special Marriage Rules 1958. (2)
They
extend to the whole of the State of Kerala. (3)
They
shall come into force on the First day of February 1958. In these rules,- (a)
"the
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 the language or languages of the district and displayed in a
conspicuous part of the building in which his office is situated. (a)
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. (b)
Where
the notice is delivered in person, the fee prescribed therefor 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. (c)
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 requirement 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 normal 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. (d)
The
Marriage Officer may for the purpose of satisfying himself that the parties to
a marriage have completed the age specified in Section 4(c) require them to
produce birth certificate or any other satisfactory evidence to prove their
age. 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. (a)
Where
an objection to the solemnization of an intended marriage together with the fee
prescribed therefore in Rule 10 has been received and recorded by the Marriage
Officer, he shall, unless by an order in writing he 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. (b)
The
Marriage Officer shall, at the time or 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 summonses shall be issued to the witnesses to appear and
give evidence or to produce any document, the Marriage Officer shall issue such
summonses to the witnesses cited, on payment of the process fee prescribed
therefore in Rule 10 and the reasonable expenses of travelling and subsistence
of 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 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. (c)
The
Marriage Officer shall also give notice of the date and time fixed for the
enquiry to the parties to the intended marriage. (d)
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. (e)
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 enquirys, his
decision on the objection and the reasons therefor. (a)
An
application under Section 16 for the registration of a marriage celebrated in
other forms shall be in Form III. (b)
Such
application shall be presented to the Marriage Officer by any one of the
parties in person or sent to him by registered post. (c)
Notice
of the application under sub-rule (a) 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 shall also 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. (d)
Any
objection received within the said period together with the fee prescribed
therefore in Rule 10 shall be recorded and the enquiry in respect thereto made
as nearly as possible in the manner prescribed in Rule 6. 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 therefore 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 this number and the date, month
and the year in which the certificate was entered. The following fees shall be levied by the
Marriage Officer:- Rs. No. (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 0 (ii)
For recording an objection (to be paid by the objector) 2 0 (iii)
For every enquiry into an objection (to be paid by the objector). 50 0 (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 0 (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 0 (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 0 (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) 15 0 Note:-
This fee may be appropriated by the Marriage Officer. No travelling allowance shall,
however, be claimed in addition. (ix)
For making a search (to be paid by the applicant)- (a)
If the entry is of the current year- 0 50 (b)
If the entry related to any previous year or years- 1 0 for each such year) 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 moneys received by the Marriage Officer
except the fee mentioned in entry (viii) above shall be remitted into the local
treasury. Copies 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. Should no
entries have been made in the book during the preceding three months a
certificate to this effect shall be sent to the said Registrar-General. The Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and
Marriages shall cause indexes of copies of entries in marriage Certificate
Books received by him in a bound register the pages of which are
machine-numbered consecutively. Separate Registers may be maintained for each
Marriage Officer or separate pages in the same Register may be allotted for
each Marriage Officer. Copies of the entries from Marriage
Certificate Books received in accordance with Rule 11 will be arranged in a
file book in the chronological order. Separate file book will be maintained for
each Marriage Officer. The Register of indexes referred to in Rule
12 shall at all reasonable times be open for inspection on payment of a fee of
annas eight if the reference relates to the current year or a fee of rupee one
if the reference relates to any other year. Copies of the entries from Marriage
Certificate Books kept in the file book may be given to any person who apply
for them on the payment of a fee of rupees two. A copy of the entry given under Rule 15 shall
be certified by the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages and shall
be admissible in evidence for the purpose of proving the marriage to which the
entry relates. The Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and
Marriages shall exercise a general superintendence over all Marriage officers
in the State. [1] Issued under
Notification No. D. Dis. 15676/57/EHD dated 15-1-1958 pub. in K. G. dated
4-2-1958.THE KERALA SPECIAL MARRIAGE
RULES, 1958
PREAMBLE