Can Marriages Under Special Marriage Act Be Solemnised Through Video Conferencing? Kerala High Court Reserves Order

The Kerala High Court during its proceedings on Thursday stumbled upon a question of whether a marriage under the Special Marriage Act can be solemnised through video conferencing. The Court has reserved its orders in the matter.

Justice P B Suresh Kumar was hearing a plea where the petitioners wished to solemnise their marriage under SMA through video conferencing since they could not make physical appearance owing to the pandemic. 

They asserted that the personal physical presence of the bride and groom is not necessary for solemnisation of nuptials under the law and that when marriages under SMA can be registered online, solemnisation does not call for the physical presence of the parties either.

Another argument they raised was that there are various judicial decisions where it was held that appearing via video conferencing is akin to being present in person, while adding that signatures can be submitted in digital format which was recognised under the Information Technology Act.

The petitioner further alleged that under SMA the marriage can be solemnised by any means, such as exchange of garlands or shaking of hands, as long as both parties make the declaration that they take each other as the lawfully wedded husband and wife.

The State vehemently opposed the plea and expressed its clear disapproval of the online solemnisation of marriages under SMA.

It added that under the Act, solemnization was mandatory prior to registration of marriage. Therefore, the presence of both the parties and the witnesses before the Marriage Officer was asserted to be necessary by the State. 

It was further argued that if an online mode of solemnisation was permitted, it would call for maintaining an electronic register of marriages and setting up an online mode of payment, both of which are not in place at present.

The State also submitted that the Act required at least one of the two parties has to be a resident of the area within the territorial limits of the Marriage Officer for a minimum of 30 days prior to issuing the notice of the intended nuptials before the marriage. Therefore, it alleged that two persons living abroad cannot have their marriage solemnised online if they do not satisfy the residential requirement.

After hearing substantial arguments from all stakeholders, the court reserved its order in all the petitions before it on the issue of online solemnisation of marriages under SMA.

The Supreme Court had dismissed an appeal challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court's order of granting a marriage certificate under the Special Marriage Act through video conferencing earlier this week.

"Law has to march along with technology," a Division Bench comprising Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice V. Ramasubramanian had orally observed.