MAHARASHTRA REGULATION OF MARRIAGE BUREAUS AND REGISTRATION OF MARRIAGES ACT, 1998
(1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Regulation of Marriage Bureaus and Registration of Marriages Act, 1998.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,
(a) "Government" means the Government of Maharashtra in the Public Health Department:
(b) "marriage" includes a remarriage;
(c) "marriage bureau" or "bureau" means a bureau or institution consisting of a person or group of persons, which carries on the activity of helping the unmarried persons including divorcees, widows and widowers, desirous of getting married, registered with the bureau, in finding a suitable match for them by arranging to bring such persons together etc., and which is registered under section 5
(d) "memorandum" means a memorandum for registration of marriage mentioned in section 6;
(e) "parties" means the hus
(l) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint as many persons, as it thinks necessary to be the Registrars of Marriage Bureaus and Marriages, for such areas as may be specified in such notification.
(2) The Registrar shall exercise such powers and duties as provided by or under this Act and shall work under the general supervision and control of the Registrar and General and the Government.
From the date of coming into force of this Act, every marriage bureau and every marriage in the State shall be registered with the Registrar of marriage bureaus and marriages.
(l) Any person or group of person desirous of conducting or running a marriage bureau shall apply for registration of such marriage bureau to the Registrar, in such manner and along with such fees and document as may be prescribed :
Provided that, the marriage bureaus existing on the date of commencement of this Act shall apply for registration within a period of three months from the date of such commencement.
(2) The Registrar shall, on receiving an application under sub-section (1), after scrutiny of such application and verifying the prescribed documents, register such marriage bureau and grant a certificate of registration to such bureau, in the prescribed form. The registration certificate so granted shall be displayed prominently by such bureau in its registered office premises.
(3) In
(l) (a) On solemnization of a marriage, it shall be the responsibility of the husband to present, within a period of ninety days from the date of solemnization of the marriage, a memorandum in the prescribed form before the Registrar within whose jurisdiction the husband ordinarily resides or where either one of the parties ordinarily reside;
(b) the parties and three witnesses to the marriage shall appear in person before the Registrar and sign the memorandum;
(c) the memorandum shall be accompanied by such fee and other documents as may be prescribed ;
(d) the Registrar before whom the memorandum is presented shall, after verification of the identity of the parties and the witnesses in the prescribed manner, register the marriage in the register of marriages ;
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(1) Where the Registrar, before whom the memorandum is presented under section 6, on scrutiny of the document submitted with the memorandum or, on the basis of other facts noticed or brought to his notice, is satisfied or has reason to believe that,--
(a) the marriage between the parties is not performed in accordance with the personal law of the parties; or
(b) the identity of the parties or the witnesses or the persons testifying the identity of the parties and the solemnization of the marriage is not established beyond reasonable doubt; or
(c) the documents tendered before him do not prove the marital status of the parties; he may, after hearing the parties and recording the reasons in writing, refuse to register the marriage and may,--
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The Registrar General, on receiving under section 7 from the Registrar, shall within a period of one month from the date of receipt of such report after giving an opportunity to the parties concerned of being heard, pass an order, after recording the reasons in writing, either directing the Registrar to register the marriage, or confirming the order of the Registrar refusing to register the marriage.
The person or party aggrieved by the order of the Registrar General under section 8 refusing to register the marriage under this Act may, within a period of thirty days from the date of the order appeal against such order to the District Court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the Registrar of Marriages has his office, and the decision of the District Court on such appeal shall be final, the Registrar of Marriages before whom the memorandum was presented under section 6 shall act in conformity with such decision.
Subject to the provisions of section 9, no marriage to which this Act applies shall be deemed to be invalid solely for the reasons that it has not been registered under this Act.
No employer or a Government or Semi-Government Authority or Company, or Public Sector Undertaking or Local Authority shall carry out any change in their office record or in any office documents, such as change in the marital status or change of nomination, etc., of its employee or in their dealings with any person, customer or client, unless the employee or, as the case may be, the applicant, applying for carrying out or recording of such change, submits a certified copy of the Marriage Registration Certificate granted under section 6 of this Act.
(l) on solemnization of a marriage,--
(a) if the husband fails to submit a memorandum as provided under section 6, within the time limit specified therein, or
(b) if the husband or the wife makes any statement or declaration in such memorandum which is false in any material particular or submits any documents or papers which he or she, as the case may be, knows or has reason to believe to be false the husband or the wife as the case may be, shall be guilty of an offence punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.
(2) Any person or bureau or party who contravenes any of the provisions of this Act, shall, on conviction, be punishable with fine may which extend to five thousand rupees or, with simple imprisonment which may extend six months, or with both.
No prosecution for an offence punishable under this Act shall be instituted except by an officer authorised by the Registrar General, by general or special order, in this behalf
(l) The register maintained under this Act, on application made to the Registrar and on payment of such fees as may be prescribed, shall, at all reasonable times, be open for public inspection.
(2) On an application being made in that behalf, and on payment of such fee as may be prescribed, the Registrar shall furnish to the applicant a copy of any extract of the register maintained under this Act.
Subject to the provisions of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929(19 of 1929), any marriage solemnized when parties are minor, or where either of the party is a minor shall be registered as provided in sub-section (1) of section 6
Provided that, the Registrar shall, immediately, report such marriage to the local police station within whose jurisdiction, the parties ordinarily reside, for necessary action under the provisions of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929(19 of 1929).
When the Registrar registers a marriage under this Act, he shall immediately thereupon send a duplicate copy of the registration certificate, to the Registrar General.
Every Registrar and every employee in the office of the Registrar shall, while acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act (45 of 1860), be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.
No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall be instituted against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or rules made thereunder.
(l) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matter, namely:--
(a) the form and the manner of, maintenance of registers or records under this Act;
(b) (i) the form of application for registration of a marriage bureau;
(ii) the documents to be submitted therewith by the applicant
(iii) the amount of fees for grant of and renewal of, such registration;
(iv) the form of certificate of registration to be granted to a marriage bureau and the terms and c
This Act shall not apply to Marriages contracted under the Special Marriage Act, 1954(42 of 1954) the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872(15 of 1872), or the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936(3 of 1936).
The Bombay Registration of Marriages Act, 1953(Bom V of 1954), is hereby repealed. Notwithstanding such repeal, any marriage registered or any action taken by the Registrar, under the provisions of the said Act before such repeal shall be deemed to have been validly registered or, as the case may be, taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act.
The Government may, from time to time, issue such directions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, to the Registrar and the Registrar General, as it may think fit in this regard for the effective and smooth implementation of the provisions of this Act; and the Registrar and the Registrar General shall be bound to follow such directions.
(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the State Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, give such directions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for the purposes of removing the difficulty.
(2) No order under sub-section (1) shall be made after the expiry of two years from the date on which this Act comes into force.
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