There is a difference between registration of a marriage, which has already happened outside the court, and a court marriage, which allows couple to get married in court.

Process for a Court Marriage in Pune

Marriages in India are registered under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 or the Special Marriage Act of 1945. All marriages must be registered under these acts, failing which the marriage will be considered illegal. Before going through the procedure, please remember that age of the groom should be 21 years or above and bride should be 18 years or above. The bride or the bridegroom must be a resident of Pune district. The first thing you need to do is get the application form for court marriage. You can get the forms in any marriage registration office in Pune. Take three copies of this form, fill them, and keep them ready. The form is fairly simple, so fill it up neatly and carefully. The details that you are not sure about, you can fill them at the time of submission or seek help from others. After filling the form, make sure that you attach all your documents and photographs (35x35 mm or 45x35 mm ― 4 each). The documents required are your age proof, permanent address proof, and your address proof of Pune. For age proof, try to submit government recognized documents like PAN card, passport, voter's ID, driving license, ration card, birth certificate, etc. For permanent address proof also, try to furnish government recognized documents like passport, ration card, electricity bill, driving license containing address, voter's ID, school leaving certificate, or any document which has your permanent address. For Pune address proof, you can give your office address proof, rent agreement, driving license, etc. At least one person among the couple needs to furnish documents that mention their local Pune address. Get all the photocopies attested. And in case one among the couple is a divorcee or widow/widower, they will be required to submit the documents of termination of previous marriage or death certificate of the spouse from previous marriage. Attach all the documents neatly. To submit the form and documents, you need to go to the court marriage office. Submit your documents to the concerned person between the stipulated timings. If the photocopies of your documents are not attested, they can be done from the office itself. Submit the three forms with photocopies and photographs pasted on the form, and you will get a receipt of certain amount by the officer. Once the application is signed by the officials, your one month's notice period begins from the submission date. The applicants can get married within two months after the notice period begins. And also, after one month's notice period, you will get a date or you can ask for a date to the officer (which is after a month of your notice period and one that suits everybody's schedule). You can mention this date to the officer while taking the receipt from him/her. While appearing in court for marriage, you will need three witnesses. Each witness should carry two passport-sized photographs, two address proofs on which the same address is mentioned, and attested photocopies of these original documents. The address proof can be their ration card, voter's ID, electricity bill, BSNL telephone bill, driving license, or passport. Please note that the witnesses should be adults above the age of 21. They can be parents, friends, or even relatives. On the date you wish to get married, you need to carry basic things like garland, ring, sweets, mangalsutra, etc., according to your convenience. On the day of your marriage, you will need to fill a simple one page form and submit it to the officials. The couple and witnesses will be required to paste their photos. Along with this, the witnesses will also need to clip their attested photocopies. The signatures of both parties and witnesses are obtained on the official documents. The marriage will be solemnized, and a marriage certificate will be issued to the couple that day itself.

Benefits of Court Marriage

• The biggest benefit is that you will have a valid document that you can produce for official reasons to show that you are married.
• Many people do this so that they can have the document which confirms the couple as married. It can come handy for various purposes.
• It can help make the VISA process easier if your spouse is outside the country. It can also help you get couple membership to a gym or club.
• As mentioned earlier, a major reason people get married in the court is because they don't want to spend money on a wedding, but simply be married in court. Hence, it is budget friendly. It is great for those couples who have plans on spending lavishly on a grand honeymoon, buying a house, or any other major investments.
• It saves time and is a quick procedure. It also saves you from all the wedding stress and jitters.