Substituted Service

It is seen that sometimes married couple drift apart without even divorce, it happens mostly in young marriages or when the marriage is the only option in a particular situation. Until one of the spouses think to marry again and realize some paperwork needs to be done, none of them bothers where the other partner is. In India, only an unmarried person can marry so in such case also to get married again you have to be unmarried again otherwise you shall be charged bigamy. If you do not have information about the existence of your partner and can’t file a divorce petition against him/her then you can get divorce through a special procedure known as substituted service.

Process

Substituted service is granted in a case where one of the spouses’ whereabouts is not known. In such cases, an application is written to the court asking for the substituted service, generally before the divorce petition is issued. The plaintiff must submit an affidavit in a court of law showing that several attempts have been made to locate the other spouse and measures taken learn about their whereabouts but no clue found. The only method left of serving the petition was substituted service but also, before applying for substituted service you must have to at least:

• Find out the missing spouse’s last known address (court will ask you how, when and from whom you get it).
• Search at that address about the whereabouts of your spouse and ask from people living there or neighbors.
• Contact every relative, friends, past employees and other people you think might be having his/her information because in the court, you need to submit a summary of your efforts made to find your spouse, attached with the affidavit. Mentioning the dates, names, and output of your efforts.
• Try to find him online on social media sites tracing his last activation on a particular social media site.
• Contact a tracing agent, and try your best level to find him/her out.

All of these efforts will be made to show the court that you couldn’t serve the petition to your partner in person and thus, you have applied for substituted service. In a proper case, the court will verify all of your efforts and then, itself try finding out your spouse at first through the newspaper publications, online, e-mail, etc. The method of searching by court will depend upon the facts of the case. The court will also decide the period of time under which the intention to defend will be served.
After the court search and verification is over and your efforts are proven then the court can give orders for the dissolution of your marriage, which will be followed up by the division of property, assets and debts, child custody, etc.

Sikhs Can Register Their Marriages Under The Anand Marriage Act

Sikhs can now register their marriages under the Anand Marriage Act. The Marriage Register is open on all working hours for the examination of the records by the parties to the marriage. A complete application form signed by the parties is required, along with the documentary evidence of date of birth of both parties and an affidavit provided by both parties mentioning the time, date, and location of marriage.

When Supreme Court of India Made Registration of Marriages Compulsory?

When Supreme Court of India made registration of marriages compulsory, it was obligatory for Sikhs to get their marriages registered under Hindu Marriage Act. Sikhs then did everything they possibly could to get an amendment in an already existing Act called Anand marriage Act, 1909. This act was passed by British legislative council and for the first time Sikh marriage was recognized through “Anand” which is also popularly known as “Anand Karaj”. The act amendment was made in 2012 by the Central Government, keeping a provision for registration of marriages performed by Sikhs through Anand or Anand Karaj.

Registration of the Anand Marriages of the Sikhs Under This New Amended Act.

After the amendment by the Central Government, the states were supposed to make their own rules to facilitate registration of the Anand marriages of the Sikhs under this new amended Act. However, through RTIs, it has come to light that only Haryana has framed their rules in 2014 and no other state has framed the rules so far. As a result, the circumstances are now forcing the Sikhs to get their marriages registered under “Hindu Marriage Act” instead of “Anand Marriage Act”.

India has diverse religions and cultures, therefore it becomes necessary that the laws meet the desires of its citizens so that they can have freedom, profess and spread their religion without clashing with people from other religions. This way the envision of the framers of the constitution of a Secular, Democratic and Socialist nation can be attained fully in both spirit and letter.

The constitution of India which first invalidated the Anand Marriage Act 1909 has failed to even consider the amendment into the constitution which was adopted in 1950. According to this Act Sikhs are deemed Hindus and hence they are supposed to follow all Hindu laws. Even though the Anand Marriage Act was passed in 1909, there was no provision for registration of marriages and they were registered under the Hindu Marriage Act.

Indian Parliament Passed the Anand Marriage Amendment Bill 2012

However, in 2012 both houses of the Indian Parliament passed the Anand Marriage Amendment Bill 2012. This bill legalized Sikh traditional marriages, amending the Anand Marriage Act of 1909, consequently making a provision for the registration of Anand marriages. According to the amended Anand Marriage Bill, couples who have registered their marriages under this new Act will not have to get their marriage registered under any other law.

• Check if someone from the girl’s mother’s family or father’s family has ditcher her husband and living at her parent’s house
• Check if the girl’s family is in deep debt and their earning capacity is less than their spending habits.
• Make sure there is not much difference in the economic status between the two families.
• Check and confirm the complete family background and status of the girl and her family as well.

By correctly following the above tips, one can avoid getting into a matrimonial alliance where the intention of the girl’s family is to loot the boy and his family. Nevertheless, a situation may also arise when the wife after marriage puts a false dowry case over the husband and his family. In such circumstances, one may act wisely and do the following:

• Contact a lawyer as soon as possible and file affidavit in court.
• Make your lawyer to apply for bail of those people who have been named in the FIR.
• If your wife is living separately from you, send her a legal notice asking her to come back. In this situation, the police won’t file FIR as you have got the proof that your wife is living separately from you.
• On the basis of the notice, file divorce at once.

So, the cases in matrimonial matters can be avoided by taking every step carefully.

For further assistance, Please contact Law office of G. S. Bagga and Associates, we provide free consultation.

• The first thing that one needs to have is the proof or the evidence that the one who has taken dowry actually possess all the listed items that were claimed as dowry.
• Secondly, those items must be registered in the name of the wife or the girl from whom the dowry has been demanded.
• Next, the cash that was brought, was it brought in the form of bank draft or cheque or in cash itself.
• If the cash was in liquid form, there must be a receipt or record for the same.
• The jewelry brought as ‘stridhan’ is supposed to be with the wife unless it is kept in bank locker by her or by husband or by both and in which form it is kept should also be known.
• If the jewelry is with the husband or the in-laws, the woman must immediately file a police complaint for misappropriation of it by them without her permission if there was record with her.
• If it is so, the police investigation will reveal the truth that they illegally possessed all those items from the woman, without her permission or consent and this way she can get back her dowry items.

There are proper remedies for getting the items back from the cruel in-laws or the husband and if not this, having compensated for the same is also an option. This law has been made to eradicate the menace of dowry from the country and consequently the world.

If you need further assistance, Please contact Law office of G. S. Bagga and Associates, We provide free consultation.