Marriage Between Indian & Foreigner Solemnised Outside India Cannot Be Registered Under Special Marriage Act : Kerala High Court

Justice C S Dias observed that the petitioners, an Indian citizen and an Indonesian citizen, who have solemnised their marriage under the civil laws of Indonesia, can register their marriage formally under the Foreign Marriage Act and not under the provisions of the SMA.

“On a comparison of the provisions of the Special Marriage Act and the Foreign Marriage Act, it is apparent that a marriage between parties, of whom at least one is a citizen of India, can be solemnised and/or registered or certified before a Marriage Officer in a foreign country under the provisions of the Foreign Marriage Act and a marriage between two persons can be solemnised and/or registered in India under the provisions of the Special Marriage Act.”

In the facts of the case, the petitioners are presently residing in Thrissur in India. They wanted to formally register their marriage under the SMA and submitted a joint application before the Marriage Officer. The Marriage Officer sought clarification from the District Marriage Officer, and no response was received.

The Petitioners submitted that they have fulfilled all the requirements under the SMA, and therefore, the refusal to register their marriage was violative of Article 21 of the Constitution.

The Court noted that the petitioners had performed their marriage in Indonesia as per the civil laws of Indonesia.

The Court noted that the Foreign Marriage Act defines 'foreign country' as any country or place outside India. It further stated that the Foreign Marriage Act includes provisions for registering foreign marriages solemnized under other laws, recognising marriages solemnized under the law of foreign countries, and the certifying marriage documents solemnized in accordance with local laws of a foreign country.

Thus, comparing the provisions under the SMA and the Foreign Marriage Act, the Court stated that the Petitioners cannot register their marriage under the provisions of the SMA.

“On analysing the scheme and provisions of both the Acts and their interpretation by this Court, there is no doubt that the petitioners are precluded from getting their marriage registered under the provisions of the Special Marriage Act.”

Further, referring to Arun R.K. v. State of Kerala(2023), the Court stated that the petitioners can register their marriage under the Foreign Marriage Act in online mode, without going to Indonesia.

As such, the writ petition was disposed of.

Counsel for Petitioner: Advocates P.Jinish Paul, Aswini S., Sneha V.

Counsel for Respondents: DSGI T C Krishna, Government Pleader Vidhya Kuriakose, Advocate Thomas C Abraham (Amicus Curiae)

Case Title: Vipin P G v State of Kerala

Case No: WP(C) NO.36871 OF 2024

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 73

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