Explainer: is a Hindu marriage valid if it was never registered?
Yes — the Hindu Marriage Act says so in terms. But registration is compulsory in Delhi and is what every office asks for. Here is why both statements are true.
We have added ten detailed questions and answers to each of our six marriage pages, covering the questions couples most often ask before they marry in Delhi.
Couples planning to marry in Delhi ask us the same questions again and again. We have now answered sixty of them in writing, ten on each of our main marriage pages.
While adding these answers we corrected one of our own older statements. Our Arya Samaj page said that an Arya Samaj marriage needs registration for legal validity. That was not accurate. Under the Hindu Marriage Act, a marriage performed with the proper rites is valid even if it is not registered. Registration still matters, because the registrar’s certificate is what passport offices, embassies and banks ask for, and because registration is compulsory in Delhi. The page now says exactly that.
News on this page is general information, not legal advice. For your own matter, talk to our team, or find an advocate for court work — the advocate’s fee is engaged and paid by you directly.
Yes — the Hindu Marriage Act says so in terms. But registration is compulsory in Delhi and is what every office asks for. Here is why both statements are true.
The thirty-day residence and notice rules under the Special Marriage Act cannot be waived by any office. Here is what the law requires, and what the faster routes actually are.
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