USA CITIZEN GETTING MARRIED IN INDIA! Need advice!

[Jenny82]

Hello,
I am a Catholic US Citizen wishing to get married in India to my boyfriend who is a Sikh Indian Citizen. I have a few questions and am wondering if anyone here can assist me with them...

Is it possible to have a "court" wedding in India, similar to what we have in the US? Meaning, we don't want it to be a religious ceremony, but we want it to be legal and recognized by the Indian courts. If so, how do we arrange this?

Thanks for any advice on this!

[BigJoe5]

FROM the US State Department website Reciprocity table for India:
(google for it)

Marriage Certificates

Available. The Hindu and Muslim communities do not usually register marriages, however, marriages by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains or Sikhs may be voluntarily registered under the Hindu Marriage Act of l955. This Act does not apply to Muslims, Parsis, Jews or Christians, who may register their marriages under the Special Marriage Act of l954, or the Christian Marriage Act. Marriage certificates for marriages registered under these Acts may be obtained from the offices of Government Registrar of Marriages, which are located in the headquarters of each district. The certificate will be issued by the Registrar only if the bride and groom personally appear before the official and pay the required fee.

A certificate of marriage between Muslims is usually issued by the priest who performed the ceremony. The document is in the Urdu language, and a certified translation is required. Marriages between Christians are usually obtainable from Church records. If the marriage has not been officially registered, then two sworn affidavits giving the names, dates and places of birth of the bride and groom, and the date and place of marriage, as well as the names of the parents of both parties are acceptable. The affidavits must be executed by one of the parents of each party, or if the parents are deceased, by the nearest relative of each party who was present at the wedding.

Note: A document termed as "Marriage Agreement" or "Deed of Marriage" to live as man and wife (under the Registration Act of l908) is not confirmation of a marriage solemnized legally under the Indian Marriage Acts now in force. Such a document does not confer upon the contracting parties’ legal marital status under the law.

END