Hindu-Christian marriage invalid under Hindu Act: Indian Supreme Court

It does, if you do it through Arya Samaj, if you want the registrar to accept your conversion and marriage certificates.

Hehe... well, no plans on getting divorced, but we don't live in India now either.

Ugh, yeah we got registered (that was basically our wedding as we weren't into having a ceremony or big 'do'). We were in Bombay.. what an utter pain in the proverbial. The Bandra court is very busy and hard to get into without some greasing of the wheels. Had to go the corrupt agent route which was highly unpleasant - he wouldn't even look at me, and when I was annoyed about some of the details, he told my husband in Hindi that this was man's business and I had no place in the discussion. Sure mate... It's a while ago now (and a day I try not to remember), but I think we paid him 17,000 rupees - imagine eh? Spent a boiling day outside the courthouse, eventually getting crammed in with a huge number of people and physically crushed and bruised until our turn came up to sign documents. I came out covered in bruises and quite shaken up... so romantic

I sound rather bitter I suppose, but it's not really that. We would have been quite happy to live into our old age as unmarried utterly committed partners and didn't wish to get married, but for visa purposes it was important. My husband is now a resident of New Zealand and we are both incredibly happy (and every day wonder to each other how we can be so lucky to live here). It all works out in the wash But I don't envy anyone going through the registration... poor poor Indians. Once you experience government departments in a place like NZ it makes you terribly sad to think over a billion people get treated like they do in India.

You were overcharged by Rs.2000. That's all I can say

This was in 2008. I remember at the time reading somewhere here (I may have posted about it back then - haven't visited IndiaMike in a long time) that if you actually managed to do it yourself in a smaller place (with no bribery) it is quite reasonable.

The "express" Rs.15000 fee is normally supposed to exempt you from all these sufferings, and register it in 15 minutes.

Interesting... I wonder how that works in real life. We were led to believe it was to get all the various stamps, signatures and official seals put on the document in a timely fashion and returned to us the next day (with many pockets lined along the way of course). All water under the bridge now...

hehe

Wow, judecg... what an experience. And people think that the idea of getting married in India is romantic! Huh! .

We were lucky with our Special Marriage Act wedding: the registrar was 100% straight, and there was no question of any unofficial cash being asked for --- although a couple of hundred was requested by a clerk, and given.

17,000? Overcharged by 2,000? I'd say you were overcharged by 16,500-and-something. The real, official cost of registering a marriage, and getting certificates, is a very small number of Rupees.

What exactly does that marriage certificate say ? The Juridiction, and the Authority and Title of the person who signed it ?

Why not ? What registrar ?

You could because [drumroll] Johnny Walker said...

How so ?

Where is this said for Bombay or Maharashtra & Gujurat ?

How you get married, and where you get married and who registers you are distinct functions. What is applicable in Delhi and accepted is not the same in Punjab, or Kerala, or the St. Lucia. As they say in NooYok - What ever floats your boat.

judecg was probably not registered under Hindu Marriage Act, even though she was married under a modified Justice of Peace pandit marriage.

Rajesh Khanna-Sharmila Thakur/Aradhana style marriage with an eye witness works in Bollywood's Bombay


[watch the youtube link above for hints as to why. Answer after I return from SriLankan brunch ]

Because changing religion, or being shown not have been a Hindu (etc) at the time of the wedding, have been accepted by courts as reasons for divorce or annulments of Hindu marriage.

Authority? Haven't a clue. Just picked up along the days of newspaper reading.

The State of Bombay (before it became Maharastra & Gujurat) had its own Marriage Act - All the registration in Bombay were guided by the Bombay Marriage Act. So as long as the priest (Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Microsoft, Bollywood ) and/or a Gazette Officer attested the were accepted.

Just hauled it out .. lots in Hindi and Marati, and Form E, Certificate of Registration of Marriage .... yadda yadda. There are sooo many seals and stamps on the back, a lot are smudged. Most I can make out say something about A.P. Maroo, Maharashtra, Notary Govt of India. It's mostly a mess though... lots of signatures and some stamps in Hindi that look like govt? not sure.



Why do you assume that? We couldn't do the Special Marriage Act (is that the right name?... I have forgotten it all now) as we didn't have the time to wait. I had to 'convert' first with a JP (who kept asking if I knew what I was doing and had I been forced... hehe... I was 39 and he was 26 - must've looked sooo weird to Indians). Then we went to some dodgy local temple nearby where we had a 5 minute ceremony with a priest and then back to the courthouse to wait for the rough stuff.

Yup Nick, it was a horrible day. I remember looking at the young Indian brides around me - quiet and scared looking - all being squished by loud grumpy sweaty men, and wondering what life was going to be like for them. It was like a cattle truck.

Makes me love this sweet New Zealand air even more... we are lucky beyond words.

Do remember that India produced no less than ...your husband!

Can't be all bad, can it?

Our formal marriage was not so bad --- but it was totally unromantic.

In State of Bombay (Which was split in two states - Maharastra & Gujurat) there are just to Acts - SMA & Bombay Marriage Act. It took me time to locate the official governmental website.

http://igrmaharashtra.gov.in/FaqMerriage.aspx

And finally the brief summary of registration of marriage under the various marriage act(s) in India, by the Law Commission of India