How to Register for a Court Marriage in Khar Court, Mumbai?

 

Getting married is a dream come true for every couple. But to make this come true was full of craziness when it comes to planning a Court Marriage.

I'm putting down my journey of getting to figure out how to register for a court marriage after 4 years of courtship with my boyfriend who lives in Jaipur and I am based out of Mumbai. Because I don't want people to waste their money through touts and if you really want to spend it then please Gpay me after reading this article.

So, when I started searching out, I actually inquired among friends and families who recently got married and pulled in contacts to get in touch with some touts.

After multiple calls and voracious online research, I was sitting with 4-5 quotes - One said INR 5000 because I was coming through X person's contact, one was INR 9000, one was INR 17000 and one was INR 7000. It's a business racket you should not fall trap to. And people give in because the content on the government website is placed in a cramped manner and is quite unclear, and left for people to read and understand. This invariably makes it seem highly complicated which actually is not. (https://mregigr.maharashtra.gov.in/MarriageEntry/frmHomePage.aspx)

That's why I have decided to clean it up for all and place it clearly at least for the kind of marriage I registered for so that you can use this as a directional document.

As we all know, there are two types of marriage-

Form 16 marriage: The wedding already took place but is to be registered in Maharashtra

Form 16 marriage- This is getting married first as per your customs, producing id details of the pandit/priest, your wedding card, and your wedding pictures in certain poses to prove that you are married, and then registering for a marriage certificate. This happens at the Bandra Court.

Official definition: The marriage already took place but is to be registered in Maharashtra. 

The touts outside do the form 16 process by charging a fee for young adults who usually decide to run and get married the same day. This is the fake way of producing evidence.

Special Marriage- This is getting married through the court directly.

Official definition: The marriage for which notice is to be given 1 month before the actual marriage to Marriage Registrar office in front of marriage officer.

Prerequisites for special marriage? Ans: One month notice either by bride or bridegroom to the concerned marriage registrar.

This happens at the Khar court.

Now while you research for Special Marriage, you will come across 2 government links-

1. This is the actual correct link that will help you print the actual notice to submit to the marriage registrar. https://mregigr.maharashtra.gov.in/MarriageEntry/frmHomePage.aspx

2. This link will ask you for thumb scanning and taking pictures which is not possible through the common man's home due to lack of governments' quoted hardware/software tools like Biometric Device- Secugen Hamster Pro20 (Thumb Scanner). Again a means used by a tout to quote and extract monies. https://mregigr.maharashtra.gov.in/autonoticepublic

So, now I will elaborate on the process of applying for a Special Marriage through Khar court. In my case, the bride is based is out of Mumbai and the groom is based out of Jaipur.

Note:

1. One of the partners has to be based out of Mumbai to apply through the Khar court for a Special Marriage.

2. There's a 30-day residency requirement, which means that either the bride or the groom has to be living in India for at least 30 days prior to applying to the local registry office to get married.

I had taken a lot of extra copies of all documents notarized. I am mentioning here what finally worked for me once I was there.

The golden simple steps to register for Khar Court Special marriage:

Step 1: Take a single printout of your passport of both. Take a printout of your 3 witnesses id proofs which includes both address and their age and names. I took their passports in my case. So, 5 passport copies *2 front & back = 10 copies.

Step 2: Get all 5 documents notarized by any officially gazetted officer. He/She needs to mention his/her name, address, signature on both sides of the passport photocopy. It will look something like this. I did it near Kandivali station west for just INR 20/page. (INR 200 rupees in total). Don't search for any rubber stamp, etc. This is enough.

Step 3: Fill the form as per the details here. Take the print of this form. Paste your passport size photos and sign at the required places. Take a photocopy after pasting your photo and signing it. https://mregigr.maharashtra.gov.in/MarriageEntry/frmHomePage.aspx

Note:

1. Match your exact name address etc. as per your passport. Any error can call for a lot of rework.

2. Always keep the same Present Address and Permanent Address to avoid unnecessary dispute.

3. Kindly Select the Document type for Age Proof and Residential Proof. You can choose 'other' from the options and later write 'passport' there with a pen.

4. Also, make sure your residential proof is more than 30 days or you're living at the same address for more than 30 days. The unit is days here. Not clear from the way the form is presented.

Save the data reference number with you. I usually paste it into my Gmail draft box. You will be able to edit data by clicking on the partial entry button on the home screen.

This is it. You need to then go to Khar court, climb onto 2nd floor, left side- counter number.2. Go with your partner to avoid any hassle. Either one of you can go as well. We both went along.

What happens there? - Our process- 18th Feb 2021.

1. You need to place the above bundle of documents in the person's hand sitting on counter number 2.

2. He will verify it and asks the couple to remove their masks so that he matches the faces, ask their names and address to confirm the same. He checks the original passports of you two. Witness original documents are not required.

3. He will send it to the Mam/Sir sitting inside the cabin for approval and ask you to wait for 5-10 mins based on how crowded it is.

4, The counter 1 person will call out your name and asks you two to sign on the document bundle which you gave. And take INR 100 rupees as the registration challan.

5. They will again ask you to wait for 5-10 mins and a person opens a Planner diary (The day-wise one). Yes, you can select a date of your choice. You can quote the day of the wedding you want here if you have predecided and checked some auspicious day at your end. Sat-Sun is not available so don't count them. And agree to a date. The person will mention it in the diary and ask you to be present with all witnesses and their id proofs documents on that day. He will give you a challan which you need to produce on that day.

So, I visited the Khar court on 18th Feb and currently on my 1 monthly notice. As per an auspicious day, we booked 7th of May as our wedding day. You have to choose a day within 3 months of applying a notice otherwise it gets void and you need to do the entire process again. Once a wedding date is chosen, it's final and cannot be amended.

What happens next on the D-day?- We went on 7th of May 2021.

1. You go to the counter number 1 and show the bride and groom's original passport and challan. They will ask you to wait basis the crowd and tell you how many couples are ahead of you. In our case, our number was 7th and the running one was 4th- and our turn came in approx 15-20 mins.

2. You can pay INR 100 rupees if you wish to get the car within the Khar court building compound. We waited inside the car itself. And our witnesses waited upstairs and alerted us once our turn was about to come.

3. I climbed the stairs carefully- was putting up with a heavy saree... and we reached the office. There is a main cabin where there are 3 counters-

4. The left one is where a person sits on a PC and takes thumb print and photo of all 5. You need to use your left thumb.

5. The centre one is space where couples can click pics- we exchanged garlands, he put mangalsutra, kumkum and we took pictures here.

6. The right side is where the main Marriage Officer sits.

Now the process-

1. The Marriage Officer calls the couple in with their id proofs. He asks them to remove their mask. And checks the forms and confirms the identity. And sends them out of the cabin again.

2. Post this, the couple is asked to go to the left counter. They are asked to write their names on the register. And process their thumb prints and click photos for identities.

3. The three witnesses are then called in and asked to submit their thumb prints with photo ids.

4. Post this, everyone is sent to the right counter of Marriage Officer where everyone's sign is taken on 2 sets of papers.

5. After this, the couple is asked to read out a vow that they accept each other as legally wedded husband and wife.

And that's about it. The Special Marriage is complete.

The couple is then asked to move to the centre of the cabin. They can now exchange garlands, put kumkum and mangalsutra and take group pics.

They will be pushed to vacate the cabin given the pandemic and to accommodate the next waiting couples in. With this, the couple can now go to the 1st counter outside and get a receipt to collect their marriage certificate. A fee of INR 150 is to be paid here. But people generally pay over and above some INR 100-300 as Shagun.

Currently, couples are asked to collect the certificate on the 5th day from the day of the wedding. Anyone can collect the certificate on their behalf.

And that's the entire process. Whoever is reading it until here and utilises it well to successfully get married in Khar court without paying the touts, my effort to write this blog will certainly be a success. If this has helped you, I'd love to hear a shoutout at shrutisoneji@gmail.com

***********