While asking the authorities to expedite the process of an application for solemnization of the marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the Gauhati High Court has held that no parental consent or no-objection certificate from parents is prescribed as a condition for the solemnization of a marriage between persons who fulfil statutory requirements.

The petitioner had approached the High Court challenging the inaction of the respondent Marriage Officer in processing their application for solemnization of marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

The Single Bench of Justice Arun Dev Choudhury held, “The statutory scheme thus specifies the conditions to be fulfilled by the parties and the procedures to be followed by the Marriage Officer. Neither parental consent nor a no-objection certificate from the parents is prescribed as a condition for the solemnization of a marriage between persons who fulfill statutory requirements inasmuch as it is a secular legislation intended to enable persons to solemnize their marriage under a civil law without being required to conform to the personal law of either party.”

Advocate D Akram represented the Petitioner while Govt. Advocate represented the Respondent.

Arguments

The grievance of the petitioner was that the respondent had declined to proceed with the application solely on the ground that the petitioners had not furnished a No Objection Certificate from their parents and had not secured their presence before the Marriage Officer.

Reasoning

The Bench clarified that neither parental consent nor a no-objection certificate from the parents is prescribed as a condition for the solemnization of a marriage between persons who fulfil statutory requirements. “At the same time, this Court cannot be unmindful of the mandate of the Assam Right to Public Services Act, 2012, and registration of a marriage also comes within the purview of the said Act”, it added.

The Bench accepted the unintentional, inadvertent action of the Marriage Officer and further held, “...however, as a note of caution, it is recorded that the Assam Right to Public Services Act, 2012, was enacted with a noble object of ensuring delivery of notified public services to citizens within stipulated time limit and to secure accountability of public servant entrusted with that responsibility.”

The Bench thus disposed of the Petition by asking the authorities involved in the registration of such marriage to strictly adhere to the timeline prescribed under the aforesaid Act and proceed with the application submitted by the petitioners under the Special Marriage Act.

Cause: A v. The State Of Assam (Case No.: WP(C)/5564/2026)

Appearance

Petitioner: Advocates D Akram, B K Deka

Respondent: Govt. Advocate Assam, SC, Revenue and Disaster Management Dept

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Gauhati High CourtJustice Arun Dev Choudhury

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.