Sunday, August 29, 2010

Marriage registration in kerala


Statutory provisions available for the registration of marriages in Kerala state are:
 
Hindu Marriage Act,1955 and the Kerala Hindu Marriage Registration Rules,1957 
( Applicable to Hindus, Buddhists, Jainas and Sikhs and registration done at the local government where marriage solemnization occurred)

Kerala Registration of Marriages (Common) Rules, 2008 
(Applicable to all and registration done at the local government where marriage solemnization occurred)

Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Kerala Special Marriage Rules, 1958 
(Applicable to all and marriage solemnisation & registration or registration done before any Sub Registrar at the Sub Registrar Office of Registration Department)



    All marriages solemnized in the State after the commencement of these Rules shall compulsorily be registered irrespective of religion of the parties. Marriages are registered at panchayat/municipalities/corporation offices. Application has to be submitted within 45 days from the date of solemnization of marriage. There is  prescribed form for filing application (Form No.1) which is available free of cost at the offices of the registrar.  Parties to the marriages and two witnesses should be present at the time of registration. A registration fee of rupees one hundred shall be payable along with the submission of the memorandum for registration.(marriage certificate fee of Rs.20/- can also be paid at the time of registration. ie; total Rs.120/-). For SC/ST/BPL persons fee for registration will be Rs.10/-

Documents needed for registration: 
1) Memorandum in duplicate in Form No. I  along with one  passport size photo each of husband and wife (Total three photos needed. Two photos for affixing in memorandum and  one in marriage register )

(2)A copy of the certificate of marriage issued by the religious authority concerned or a declaration from a Gazetted Officer/Member of Parliament/Member of Legislative Assembly/Member of a Local Self Government Institutions in Form No. II 
(3) Attested copy of S.S.L.C Book/passport/driving licence/extract of school admission register or other records issued by Government showing date of birth

Delay registration: 
Marriages solemnized after the commencement of these Rules, in respect of which no memorandum is filed within the period of forty-five days and a period of one year has not expired from the date of such solemnization, may be      registered subject to sub-rule (3) by the Local Registrar after imposing a fine of rupees one hundred. In such cases the memorandum shall be filed together with a declaration from a Gazetted Officer/Member of Parliament/Member of Legislative Assembly/Member of a Local Self Government Institutions in Form No. II appended to these Rules or with any other document to prove the solemnization of the marriage to the satisfaction of the Local Registrar.

Registration of marriages after one year:Marriages solemnized after the commencement of these Rules in respect of which no memorandum for registration is filed within one year of its solemnization and marriages solemnized before the commencement of these Rules in respect of which no memorandum for registration was filed before the expiry of 31-12-2010  shall subject to sub-rule (3) of Rule 9, be registered, by the Local Registrar with the permission of the Deputy director of panchayat and on payment of a fine of rupees two hundred and fifty. In such cases also the memorandum shall be filed together with a declaration from a Gazetted Officer/Member of Parliament/Member of Legislative Assembly/Member of Local Self Government Institutions in Form No. II appended to these Rules.

Common Marriage Registrations - Furnishing of application using web service

Important Notice:-
As regards any matter mentioned in these notes, the Kerala Registration of Marriages (Common) Rules 2008 and amendments there on with directions from appropriate authorities issued from time to time are final and binding.
General Information
1. Under the Kerala Registration of Marriages (common) Rules 2008, registration of marriages became mandatory, for the marriages which was solemnized since 29.02.2008. Accordingly all the Grama Panchayats, Municipalities, Corporations and Kannur Cantonment are designated as registration units and are carrying out registration as per the said rules
2. Marriages are to be registered in the respective Grama Panchayat, Municipality or Corporation where the marriage is solemnised. For this purpose, the parties to a marriage shall prepare a memorandum in duplicate in FORM I and submit the same to the concerned local body with the prescribed fee of ten rupees for BPL, SC/ST and one hundred for others. The memorandum should be signed by both parties to the marriage along with two persons as witnesses. The form should be accompanied by copy of the certificate to prove age, marriage solemnisation etc.
3. If the application is submitted after 45 days of solemnisation and within one year of marriage, a certificate in Form II with a fine of rupees one hundred should also be remitted. If submitted after one year, the application should be accompanied by a fine of rupees two hundred and fifty. In cases of delayed applications submitted after one year of solemnisation, the registration will be done only after getting condonation from Registrar General (Deputy Director of Panchayat) of the concerned District.
4. The following Documents are to be submitted along with Form 1:-
i. Attested copy of the certificate to prove age of husband
ii. Attested copy of the certificate to prove age of wife
iii. Copy of the certificate from auditorium or marriage place / religious authority concerned or a declaration in form II from a MP/MLA/Gazetted officer/ Member of Local Self Government Institution, regarding solemnization of marriages.
iv. Marriage invitation letter (optional)
v. Form 2 certified by a Gazetted officer or elected representatives or any other proof of solemnisation of marriage to the satisfaction of Local Registrar/Registrar General in case of delayed applications
vi. For age proof documents such as SSLC book, driving license, Passport, School admission register, or other records issued by Government will be accepted.
5. The husband and wife should appear personally before the Registrar and sign in the marriage Register. A fee of Rupees 10 is to be paid for getting marriage certificate
6. The present process of marriage registration is time consuming, as the registration officials have to enter all the required details in form 1 electronically. (Form III register manually where no electronic registration is done )
7. To ease out the time consuming process, Information Kerala Mission had developed a module in the Civil Registration (Common Marriage) application software for e-furnishing application of marriage registration form (Form I) under common marriage rules.
8. By utilising this facility, an electronic copy of Form 1 can be submitted through web alongwith uploaded scanned photos for registration of marriages under the Kerala Registration of Marriages (common) Rules 2008.
9. This can be done only in the Local bodies where the following facilities are available :-
i. Registration under Common Marriage rules are carried out using Sevana Civil Registration (Common Marriage) application software.
ii. Local bodies established KSWAN or BSNL-VPN connectivity.
iii. Birth, Death and Marriage data is maintained, uploaded and updated regularly to the State Data Centre.
iv. The local bodies who have updated the Masters.
Important Notice:-
v. The e-furnishing of data will not be considered as the statutory filing of memorandum for marriage registration as prescribed in the rule.
vi. As per the existing rule, the husband and wife should appear before the registrar for signing for registration of the marriage.
  
Forms