D JAYALAKSHMI ALIAS D JAYAM Vs. RSOUNDARARAJAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This suit is one for nullity under the Special Marriage Act III of 1872 as amended. The petitioner was born on the 28 of January 1929, and is therefore today under 20 years of age. Her father died in 1938 and since then she has lived with her mother and latterly with her mother in her maternal uncle's house. In 1947-48 she was attending school in Coimbatore and through one of her school mates met the respondent, a young man now aged about 22. On the 24 of March, 1948, the parties appeared before the Registrar and went through a form of marriage purporting to be in accordance with this Act. At that time the petitioner was just over 19 years of age and the respondent about 21.

(2.) The question is whether the form of marriage was correct under the provisions of the Act. It is necessary to refer to one or two sections. The first is Section 2 which lays down the conditions upon which marriages under the Act may be celebrated. The parties are Hindus and at the time of the marriage, the petitioner being under the age of 21, it was necessary that the consent of her father or guardian should have been obtained. Section 2, Sub-section (3). It is presumed that due notice was given to the Registrar under Section 4. Section 10 provides as follows: Before the marriage is solemnized, the parties and three witnesses shall, in the presence of the Registrar, sign a declaration in the form contained in the second schedule to this Act. If either party has not completed the age of 21 years, the declaration shall also be signed, by his or her father or guardian, except in the case of a widow, and, in any case, it shall be counter-signed by the Registrar. Pausing here it may be observed that the requirements of this section were admittedly not fulfilled. There was no declaration made as required in the form in the second schedule. Despite the statement of the Registrar in the so-called certificate that the declarations required by the Act had been made, they had not been made, and I consider it a grave dereliction of duty on the part of the Registrar that the requirements of Section 10 were not complied with.

(3.) Section 17 provides that the Indian Divorce Act shall apply to marriages solemnized under the Special Marriage Act and that any marriage contracted under this Act may be declared null in the manner provided by the Indian Divorce Act.