There was a time when court marriages were associated only with eloping or impoverished couples, and the proper Indian wedding was a grand ceremony attended by relatives and friends in their best attire. Over the last decade, however, inter-religious marriages have become common, and people are opting for the easier, quicker and simple procedure -- a civil union. 

So just how does one go about a civil marriage ceremony? First off, you need to make sure you qualify for one. The Special Marriage Act 1954 has outlined the following conditions with regards to the same:

• Neither party should have a living spouse at the time of the marriage.
  
• Both parties should be capable of giving valid consent to the wedding. There should be no mental or physical illness to the extent that the person is unfit for marriage. This includes severe epilepsy, insanity and other illnesses.
  
• The bridegroom should be 21 years of age or above, and the bride 18 years of age or above.
  
• The Marriage Act has stringent rules when it comes to marrying a blood relative. The marriage officer has a list of blood relations at hand, called the 'degrees of prohibited relationships', which is forbidden. In other words, as per the listing of the degrees of prohibited relationships, you may be forbidden from marrying your sibling, uncle, aunt and other such relations. This list even forbids marrying such relations if the party in question is adopted. If, however, the communal customs of the marriage parties in question allow for such a wedding, no objection can arise.
  
• If the marriage is to be solemnised in Jammu and Kashmir [Images], both parties should be Indian citizens. They should be domiciled in Indian territories only (not in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir).

The procedure for a civil ceremony is as follows:

• First off, a notice has to be sent to the marriage officer of the district where either the bride or groom has resided for not less than 30 days subsequent to the submission of the notice. The format can be obtained from the office of the marriage Registrar.
  
• This notice is then prominently posted on the marriage office premises. Within the next 30 days, anyone can object to the marriage. The reasons are then investigated and the case is decided upon by the District Court. Otherwise, the marriage may be solemnised anytime after the 30 day period.
  
• On the actual day of the marriage, three witnesses have to be present. They have to sign a declaration made by both the bride and groom. In this letter, each party declares that they have fulfilled all the conditions required and are abiding by the law.
  
• The marriage can take place either at the office of the marriage official, or at any other place requested by the parties involved. For this, an additional fee has to be paid.
  
• If a marriage is not solemnised within three calendar months from the date on which notice has been given to the marriage officer, a new notice has to be issued. If an objection to the marriage is filed, the marriage officer has thirty days within which to uphold or dismiss the appeal. If he dismisses it, the marriage can be solemnised as scheduled; if the objection is upheld, the parties in question can appeal to the District Court. The Court's ruling in this regard is the final word. 

Once the procedure is done with and you are declared husband and wife, the court does not object to solemnising the wedding in any other traditional way.

A few pros and cons:

Sarika [Images] Kumar* recently got married in court. She says, "We decided on a court marriage for a couple of reasons. Since my husband and I are from different religious backgrounds, we realised that our families would feel awkward about any one religious ceremony. Also, it was a simpler option in terms of time and coordination constraints."

"It's also a quicker option," continues Sarika. "Court marriage saves you the trouble of organising a big wedding and the hassles that come with it. Booking a hall, a caterer, a decorator, card printing -- all that is done away with. Furthermore, it saves you a lot of tension when you think of all those people you might have forgotten to invite! At Indian weddings, someone or the other is always in a huff at not being included in some ritual or the other."

And, of course, there's always the middle path. "You could always team up a court marriage with a small reception later on, sans all the difficulty," says Sarika. "That way, you get to celebrate without going bankrupt sponsoring a grand affair!"

Of course, not everyone thinks that way. "If you are the kind of person who enjoys rituals and tradition, you will miss out on all that. The moment of the actual wedding isn't all that grand. No vows will be exchanged and no flowers and rice will be thrown," explains Sarika. "Another not-so-great part is the government office where you will actually be 'married' -- you will be waiting along with lots of other people who have all come to collect marriage certificates. All that kills the mood we associate with a wedding."

* Name changed to protect privacy.

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