Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act,1936 (PDF)

 

Short title, extent and commencement.-

 (1) This Act may be called the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936.

(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir:

Provided that the Central Government may, in respect of territories which, immediately before the 1st November, 1956, were comprised in Part B States by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that the provisions of this Act relating to the constitution and powers of Parsi Matrimonial Courts and to appeals from the decisions and orders of such Courts shall apply with such modifications as may be specified in the notification:

Provided further that nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the Renoncants of the Union territory of Pondicherry.

(3) It shall come into force on such date5 as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

Definitions.- 

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-

(1) "Chief Justice" includes senior Judge;

(2) "Court" means a Court constituted under this Act;

(3) to "desert" together with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means to desert the other party to a marriage without reasonable cause and without the consent, or against the will, of such party;

(4) "grievous hurt" means-

(a) emasculation;

(b) permanent privation of the sight of either eye;

(c) permanent privation of the hearing of either ear;

(d) privation of any member or joint;

(e) destruction or permanent impairing of the powers of any member or joint;

(f) permanent disfiguration of the head or face; or

(g) any hurt which endangers life;

(5) "husband" means a Parsi husband;

(6) "marriage" means a marriage between Parsis whether contracted before or after the commencement of this Act;

(7) a "Parsi" means a Parsi Zoroastrian;

(8) "priest" means a Parsi priest and includes Dastur and Mobed; and

(9) "wife" means a Parsi wife.

 Requisites to validity of Parsi marriages.-

 (1) No marriage shall be valid if-

(a) the contracting parties are related to each other in any of the degrees of consanguinity or affinity set forth in Schedule I; or

(b) such marriage is not solemnized according to the Parsi form of ceremony called "Ashirvad" by a priest in the presence of two Parsi witnesses other than such priest; or

(c) in the case of any Parsi (whether such Parsi has changed his or her religion or domicile or not) who, if a male, has not completed twenty-one years of age, and if a female, has not completed eighteen years of age.

(2) Notwithstanding that a marriage is invalid under any of the provisions of sub-section (1), any child of such marriage who would have been legitimate if the marriage had been valid, shall be legitimate.

Remarriage when unlawful.- 

(1) No Parsi (whether such Parsi has changed his or her religion or domicile or not) shall contract any marriage under this Act or any other law in the lifetime of his or her wife or husband, whether a Parsi or not, except after his or her lawful divorce from such wife or husband or after his or her marriage with such wife or husband has lawfully been declared null and void or dissolved, and, if the marriage was contracted with such wife or husband under the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act,1865, or under this Act, except after a divorce, declaration or dissolution as aforesaid under either of the said Acts.

(2) Every marriage contracted contrary to the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be void.

Punishment of bigamy.- Every Parsi who during the lifetime of his or her wife or husband, whether a Parsi or not, contracts a marriage without having been lawfully divorced from such wife or husband, or without his or her marriage with such wife or husband having legally been declared null and void or dissolved, shall be subject to the penalties provided in sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code for the offence of marrying again during the lifetime of a husband or wife.

Certificate and registry of marriage.- 

Every marriage contracted under this Act shall, immediately on the solemnization thereof, be certified by the officiating priest in the form contained in Schedule II. The certificate shall be signed by the said priest, the contracting parties and two witnesses present at the marriage; and the said priest shall thereupon send such certificate together with a fee of two rupees to be paid by the husband to the Registrar of the place at which such marriage is solemnized. The Registrar on receipt of the certificate and fee shall enter the certificate in a register to be kept by him for that purpose and shall be entitled to retain the fee.

Parsi Chief Matrimonial Courts.- 

The Court so constituted in each of the Presidency-towns shall be entitled the Parsi Chief Matrimonial Court of Calcutta, Madras or Bombay, as the case may be. The local limits of the jurisdiction of a Parsi Matrimonial Court shall be coterminous with the local limits of the ordinary original civil jurisdiction of the High Court. The Chief Justice of the High Court, or such other Judge of the same Court as the Chief Justice shall from time to time appoint, shall be the Judge of such Matrimonial Court, and, in the trial of cases under this Act., he shall be aided by five delegates, except in regard to-

(a) interlocutory applications and proceedings;

(b) alimony and maintenance, both permanent as well as pendente lite;

(c) custody, maintenance and education of children; and

(d) all matters and proceedings other than the regular hearing of cases.

Parsi District Matrimonial Courts.-

Every Court so constituted at a place other than a Presidency-town shall be entitled the Parsi District Matrimonial Court of such place. Subject to the provisions contained in section 21, the local limits of the jurisdiction of such Court shall be coterminous with the limits of the district in which it is held. The Judge of the principal Court of original civil jurisdiction at such place shall be the Judge of such Matrimonial Court, and in the trial of cases under this Act he shall be aided by five delegates, except in regard to-

(a) interlocutory applications and proceedings;

(b) alimony and maintenance, both permanent as well as pendente lite;

(c) custody, maintenance and education of children; and

(d) all matters and proceedings other than the regular hearing of cases

 Settlement of wife's property for benefit of children.- 

In any case in which the Court shall pronounce a decree of divorce or judicial separation for adultery of the wife, if it shall be made to appear to the Court that the wife is entitled to any property either in possession or reversion, the Court may order such settlement as it shall think reasonable to be made of any part of such property, not exceeding one half thereof, for the benefit of the children of the marriage or any of them.

Applicability of provisions of the Act.-

 (1) The provisions of this Act shall apply to all suits to which the same are applicable whether the circumstances relied on occurred before or after the passing of this Act, and whether any decree or order referred to was passed under this Act or under the law in force before the passing of this Act, and where any proceedings are pending in any Court at the time of the commencement of this Act, the Court shall allow such amendment of the pleadings as may be necessary as 'the result of the coming into operation of this Act.

(2) A Parsi who has contracted a marriage under the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 18659, or under this Act, even though such Parsi may change his or her religion or domicile, so long as his or her wife or husband is alive and so long as such Parsi has not been lawfully divorced from such wife or husband or such marriage has not lawfully been declared null and void or dissolved under the decree of a competent Court, under either of the said Acts, shall remain bound by the provisions of this Act