Special Marriage Act, 1954: Sections 18, 19, 20, 21, 21A and 22

SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT, 1954

Section 18. Effect of registration of marriage under this Chapter

Effect of registering a marriage celebrated in another form

A marriage registered under Chapter III is treated as a marriage solemnized under this Act from the date of its entry in the Marriage Certificate Book. The provision also addresses the legitimacy of children born after the marriage ceremony, subject to the stated restriction on property rights against third parties and section 24(2).

Statutory provision

Subject to the provisions contained in sub-section (2) of section 24, where a certificate of marriage has been finally entered in the Marriage Certificate Book under this Chapter, the marriage shall, as from the date of such entry, be deemed to be a marriage solemnized under this Act, and all children born after the date of the ceremony of marriage (whose names shall also be entered in the Marriage Certificate Book) shall in all respects be deemed to be and always to have been the legitimate children of their parents:

Provided that nothing contained in this section shall be construed as conferring upon any such children any rights in or to the property of any person other than their parents in any case where, but for the passing of this Act, such children would have been incapable of possessing or acquiring any such rights by reason of their not being the legitimate children of their parents.

SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT, 1954

Section 19. Effect of marriage on member of undivided family

Marriage and an undivided family

Ordinarily, solemnization under the Act effects severance from an undivided family for a member professing the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion. The exception in section 21A is important: section 19 does not apply where both parties profess one of these religions.

Statutory provision

The marriage solemnized under this Act of any member of an undivided family who professes the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religions shall be deemed to effect his severance from such family.

SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT, 1954

Section 20. Rights and disabilities not affected by Act

Existing succession rights and disabilities

Section 20 refers to the Caste Disabilities Removal Act, 1850, and preserves the relevant position regarding succession, subject to section 19. The disability-creating part is excluded in cases covered by section 21A.

Statutory provision

Subject to the provisions of section 19, any person whose marriage is solemnized under this Act shall have the same rights and shall be subject to the same disabilities in regard to the right of succession to any property as a person to whom the Caste Disabilities Removal Act, 1850 (21 of 1850), applies.

SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT, 1954

Section 21. Succession to property of parties married under Act

Which succession law applies?

As a general rule, succession to the property of parties married under this Act and their children is governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925, subject to the special exclusion concerning Parsi intestates. Section 21A creates an important exception for marriages where both parties profess Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religions.

Statutory provision

Notwithstanding any restrictions contained in the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (39 of 1925), with respect to its application to members of certain communities, succession to the property or any person whose marriage is solemnized under this Act and to the property of the issue of such marriage shall be regulated by the provisions of the said Act and for the purposes of this Act shall have effect as if Chapter III of Part V (Special Rules for Parsi Intestates) had been omitted therefrom.

SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT, 1954

21A. Special provision in certain cases

Exception for marriages between specified communities

Where both parties profess Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religions, sections 19 and 21 do not apply and section 20 does not create a disability. Consequently, the ordinary applicable personal succession law, including the Hindu Succession Act where applicable, is not displaced merely by choosing a Special Marriage Act ceremony.

Statutory provision

Where the marriage is solemnized under this Act of any person who professes the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion with a person who professes the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jaina religion, section 19 and section 21 shall not apply and so much of section 20 as creates a disability shall also not apply.]

SPECIAL MARRIAGE ACT, 1954

Section 22. Restitution of conjugal rights

Petition for restitution of conjugal rights

A spouse may petition the district court where the other spouse has withdrawn from their society without reasonable excuse. The court must be satisfied that the statutory requirements are met. The explanation places the burden of proving reasonable excuse on the spouse who withdrew; the remedy is not an authorization to compel physical intimacy.

Statutory provision

When either the husband or the wife has, without reasonable excuse, withdrawn from the society of the other, the aggrieved party may apply by petition to the district court for restitution of conjugal rights, and the court, on being satisfied of the truth of the statements made in such petition, and that there is no legal ground why the application should not be granted, may decree restitution of conjugal rights accordingly.

Explanation.-Where a question arises whether there has been reasonable excuse for withdrawal from the society, the burden of providing reasonable excuse shall be on the person who has withdrawn from the society.]

Related statutory provisions and official resources

Read section 18 with section 24(2), and section 22 with the provisions concerning judicial separation and nullity. For the current authoritative legislation, refer to the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (India Code PDF), the India Code Act record, and the India Code portal. Relevant legislation includes the Indian Succession Act, 1925, the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and the Caste Disabilities Removal Act, 1850.

Actual rights depend on the parties' circumstances, the form and validity of marriage, the nature of the property, and applicable succession law. Court relief under section 22 depends on evidence and the legal grounds available in the particular case.