Marriages,
they say, are made in heaven. But that is the spiritual
aspect of marriages. A practical problem a person
intending to get married faces is the legal formalities
involved in doing so. Most people would not like
to start their married life with legal complications,
and for that reason it is useful to know the law
so that one can abide by it.
REGISTRATION
Marriages
in Goa are compulsorily registerable. Only a civil
registration of marriages in Goa is accepted as
evidence of the marriage. Like births and deaths,
marriages also have to be registered to create legal
rights.
This
law which requires registration is the Code of Civil
Registration. Chapter VII prescribes that the registration
of the marriages shall be made in accordance with
the Decree Law No. 1, dated 25th December, 1910.
In
every taluka, there are offices of the Civil Registrar,
where the marriages are to be registered. Those
who desire to marry have to declare their desire
before the Officer of the Taluka chosen, alongwith
(1) a certificate of domicile of residence &
(2) the certificates of birth.
BIRTH
CERTIFICATE
Thus,
the first requirement is that you must obtain the
birth certificates of both the boy and the girl
and the domicile certificate of any one party. If
the birth was not registered, a slightly lengthy
procedure has to be followed. Firstly, you will
have to secure a NIL registration certificate from
the Civil Registration Office that your Birth is
not registered. This will then have to be produced
before the Mamlatdar of the taluka with an affidavit
that your birth was never registered earlier and
your actual birthdate. Thereupon, the Mamlatdar
will order your birth to be registered and this
will enable you to obtain the birth certificate.
DOMICILE
CERTIFICATE
This
certificate is to be obtained from the Talathi of
the taluka, that you reside in that taluka. At least
one of the parties must produce the Domicile certificate
to facilitate the Registration of the Marriage.
If
the office selected for the purpose of the marriage
is not of the domicile of both, the officer shall
send copies thereof to the offices of domicile and
birth of the parties.
WHO
CAN MARRY?
The
Law of Marriage in Goa treats a Marriage as a CIVIL
CONTRACT, solemnised between two persons of different
sex, with the purpose of legitimately constituting
a family.
Any boy who is 21 years of age or more and any girl
who is 18 years of age or more, can enter into a
marriage. In the case of a girl above 18 but below
21 years, she will require the consent of her parents
or where such consent is not given, she will have
to approach the Court. A boy and girl above 21 years
can marry without consent of the parents. A person
who has previously married and the marriage is not
dissolved, cannot marry again. So also legitimate
or illegitimate brothers and sisters cannot marry
each other.
PROCEDURE
The
persons getting married will have to appear themselves
or through their attorneys before the Civil Registrar.
If the consent of parents is necessary as discussed
above, they will have to remain present. Besides,
there have to be four witnesses for the ceremony
of the registration, who know the parties marrying
and who know that they are not married earlier.
Before
the date of registration of the marriage, the Civil
Registrar shall affix a Public Notice on the office,
inviting objections if any, within 10 days. This
is known as the EDITAL period.
If
a party is in a hurry to get married, he has to
make an application before the Delegado, i.e. the
Asst. Public Prosecutor of the taluka, who is empowered,
and he can give exemption from waiting for the said
10 days. It is then possible to register the marriage
immediately, probably even on the same day you first
approach the Registrar.
UNIFORM
MARRIAGE LAW
The
above provisions for marriage apply for all religious
communities in Goa. There is also no obstacle legally
for a person of one religion, say a Hindu to marry
a person of another religion. Thus inter-religious
marriages are not prohibited under the Civil Law.
CHURCH
MARRIAGES
It
must however be noted that there are special provisions
in Goa for Catholic marriages. Catholics in Goa
can marry as per the colonial laws. Both will have
to be Catholics or convert as Catholics. Such marriages
will produce all civil effects. The parishes are
considered as offices of Civil Registration and
the marriages are solemnised in the Church. But
a certificate will have to be produced from the
office of the Civil Registrar that there is no objection
for solemnisation of the marriage. It is common
knowledge that the wedding banns or notices are
read out in the church on two Sundays before the
marriage, calling for any objections.
WHAT
ABOUT FOREIGNERS?
If
a foreigner wants to marry a Goan, in Goa, besides
the birth certificates of both, the domicile certificate
of the Goan and the passport of the foreigner will
be required. The foreigner will have to apply to
Court under Article 248 of the Civil Registration
Code. The Court on being satisfied that the foreigner
is not previously married, (the passport will indicate
this) and that the marriage is not barred under
the law of his country, will grant the certificate
to get married. This will have to be tendered before
the Civil Registrar.
MARRIAGES
OUTSIDE GOA
The
civil law of a person follows the person. But Goans
residing outside Goa, normally get married under
the laws of that place, and do not bother to register
their marriages in Goa. It is advisable that the
marriages are also registered formally in Goa, by
producing the marriage certificate from outside
Goa.
No
doubt, our law has been so interpreted if two persons
have been living openly as husband and wife, they
can legally be presumed to be actually married and
this will cure any defect of non-registration.
Nikkis
Business Center, Annexe, Calangute Tourist Resort,
Calangute, Bardez, Goa 403516
