Bollywood weddings are that one thing we all eagerly await. From the venue to the outfits of our favourite celebs, and from the menu to the guestlist, we want to know it all. Throughout the wedding day of these celebs, we repeatedly scroll through our Instagram accounts to see pictures and videos of our celebs saying ‘I do’.
While many of them go for luxurious, opulent weddings, some opt for a low-key wedding. Yes, there are several Bollywood celebrities who had intimate, small weddings, including court marriages.
Today, we list down celebrity couples who opted for court marriages. Let’s take a look.
What is a court marriage?
Credits: Instagram/kareenakapoorkhan
• Court marriage is a legal process to complete the wedding of two partners.
• It is performed in court by following the different laws in India.
• Under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, everyone has the right to marry the person of their choice and court marriage allows the couples to marry their partners irrespective of their religion or caste.
• There are many laws for court marriage and marriage registration in India.
• Some of them are Special Marriage Act, Hindu Marriage Act, Anand Marriage Act, Indian Christian Marriage & Divorce Act, etc.
• Court marriage is completely different from traditional marriage.
• During traditional marriages, all rituals and ceremonies are performed. But court marriages are performed in court in the presence of a marriage registrar and witnesses.
Eligibility criteria for court marriage
Credits: Instagram/sridevi.kapoor
Couples who want to have a court marriage must have to fulfil the eligibility criteria. There are certain terms and conditions everyone needs to adhere to before their marriage.
1. Age criteria:
• A couple who wants to have a court marriage must have reached the minimum age required as per the Indian law.
• The male partner should have reached the minimum age of 21 years.
• The female partner must have reached 18 years.
2. Mutual consent of partners:
• A consent from both the partners is very important to get married in the court.
• Both the partners should agree that they want to marry each other.
• They both have to tell the court that they have taken the decision to get married under pressure.
3. Non-prohibited relationships:
• There are certain marriages that are not allowed in different religions.
• Some relationships are prohibited in different Indian laws pertaining to different religions.
• Both the partners must not belong to these categories to get married in the court.
4. No active relationships:
• In India, bigamy is not allowed.
• Therefore, both the partners must be single and not have any other active marriage.
• In the case of prior relationships, either they have got the divorce decree from the court or one of the spouses is not living.
• A death certificate or divorce decree needs to be submitted before the court.
Important documents required for court marriage & fees
Credits: Instagram/dreamgirlhemamalini
Certain documents are required for the court marriage of both partners and witnesses. Here’s the list of documents that the partners and witnesses are required to submit before the court.
• Address proof of both the partners: A copy of Aadhar card or rent agreement or Voter ID card or electricity bill is needed. The partners could submit any one of them in the court.
• Birth proof of both the partners: The partners need to submit either their marksheet of class 10 or the birth certificate to prove that they are not minors.
• Divorce decree: In the case of a previous relationship, if the previous partners have taken divorce, they have to submit the divorce decree for marriage.
• Death certificate: A death certificate is applicable only for the partners who had been in a previous relationship and their spouse has died. The living partner must have to submit the death certificate of the non-living spouse.
• Photos of both the partners: Both male and female partners have to submit passport size photos.
• Identity proof of the witnesses: The witnesses are also required to submit an ID proof. It can be either a PAN card or Driving License or Passport.
• Address proof of the witnesses: All the witnesses are required to submit their address proof. It could be either an Aadhar card or rent agreement or Voter ID card or electricity bill.
• Photos of the witnesses: Passport size photos of all the witnesses are to be submitted in the court.
• Fees: The parties should pay the court marriage fee to the office of the marriage officer. Although the court marriage fee differs from state to state, it generally ranges between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.
Process for court marriage
Credits: Instagram/priyarunchal
• Step 1- Notice of marriage: The partners need to give notice to the marriage officer of the district they want to get married in. It is important to note that at least one of the partners has lived in the district for at least 30 days. The marriage application must be signed by both the partners.
• Step 2- Publish the notice: The Marriage Officer shall publish the notice by affixing it to some remarkable place in his office after publishing the notice. Also, the marriage registrar has to maintain the records of all the marriage applications in the Marriage Notice Book.
• Step 3- Objection to marriage: Under Section 7, anyone can object to the court marriage within the 30 days period. Anyone who has a problem with this marriage can directly contact the marriage officer and raise an objection. The marriage officer will then investigate the matter and can even stop the marriage process.
• Step 4- Declaration by the parties and the witnesses: Before the solemnization of the marriage, three witnesses and the partners are required in court marriage and they need to sign in the declaration form in the presence of the Marriage Officer.
• Step 5- Certificate of marriage: After following all these steps, the marriage officer will give the marriage certificate. And this certificate must be signed by both the parties and three witnesses. Such a certificate is conclusive evidence of the court marriage.
7 Bollywood celebs who opted for a court marriage
1. Dharmendra-Hema Malini
Credits: Instagram/dreamgirlhemamalini
Dharmendra was already in a marriage when he met Hema Malini. The couple eloped and got married in a court. As per rumours, both Dharmendra and Hema changed their religion before they got married in 1980. However, the couple never talked about it in the public.
2. Boney Kapoor and Sridevi
Credits: Instagram/sridevi.kapoor
Boney was married to Mona Kapoor at the time he started dating Sridevi. He divorced his first wife and married Sridevi in court in 1996. He had two kids with his first wife, Arjun and Anshula, when he married Sridevi.
3. John Abraham and Priya Runchal
Credits: Instagram/priyarunchal
John Abraham and Bipasha Basu were in a relationship for several years. After a few years, John tied the knot with Priya Runchal in a court. The couple got married in 2018.
4. Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor
Credits: Instagram/kareenakapoorkhan
Saif and Kareena had a court wedding on September 12, 2012. The couple later had a grand wedding on October 16, 2012. All the Bollywood biggies were invited to their wedding reception.
5. Sanjay Dutt and Maanyata
Credits: Instagram/duttsanjay
Sanjay and Maanyata were in a relationship for a long time. The duo got secretly married in a court in the year 2008. It was the third marriage of Sanjay Dutt. The couple kept their marriage a secret for a long time.
6. Swara Bhaskar and Fahad Ahmad
Credits: Instagram/reallyswara
Swara Bhasker opened up about her wedding with political activist Fahad Ahmad in 2023. She also revealed that they had legally wed on January 6, 2023, as per the Special Marriage Act.
7. Shashi Kapoor and Jennifer Kendal
Credits: Instagram/sanjna.junoon
Jennifer and Shashi met each other while pursuing theatres. The duo fell in love eventually and decided to marry, but Jennifer’s father was against it. However, they got married in July 1958.
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Social and lead images credits: Instagram/kareenakapoorkhan, Instagram/dreamgirlhemamalini
