68 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
(21)
Registration of Dharmik marriages as civil marriages
21. Procedure for registration of certain Dharmik Marriages. —(1) Where any two Hindus have gone through a Dharmik form of marriage,—
(a) before the commencement of this Code, and doubts are entertained as respects the validity of any such marriage by reason of the provisions of any text, rule or interpretation of Hindu Law or any usage or custom in force at the time of the marriage, or
(b) after the commencement of this Code and such marriage is invalid by reason of the fact that it is in contravention of the provisions contained in clause (v) of section 7.
such persons may, at any time apply to the Registrar of the district in which either of them has resided for not less than thirty days immediately preceding the application to have their marriage registered as if it were a civil marriage solemnized before the Registrar.
(2) Upon receipt of any such application, the Registrar shall give public notice thereof in such manner as may be prescribed and after allowing a period of thirty days for objection and after hearing any objections received within that period the Registrar, if he is satisfied—
(a) that the ceremony of marriage was performed on the date mentioned in the application and that the parties have been living together as husband and wife ever since;
(b) that the conditions specified in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of section 8 are satisfied as between the parties to the marriage on the date of the application; and
(c) that, where either party not being a widow at the time of the marriage has not on the date of the application completed the age of twenty one years, the consent of his or her guardian in marriage has been obtained to the registration of the marriage as a civil marriage.
shall enter a certificate of the marriage in the Hindu Dharmik Marriage Register in the form specified in the Seventh Schedule and such certificate shall be signed by the parties to the marriage as well as by three witnesses.
(3) Upon the entry of any such certificate as is specified in sub-section
(2),the marriage shall be deemed to have been valid for all purposes and all children born after the date on which the parties went through the Dharmik form of marriage (whose names shall also be entered in the Certificate and the Hindu Dharmik Marriage Register) shall, in all respects, be deemed to be and always to have been the legitimate children of their parents.
(4) Any party to such marriage aggrieved by any order passed under this section may appeal against that order to the district court as defined in section 3 within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the Registrar exercises jurisdiction and the decision of the district court on such appeal shall be final.