Response

A notarised marriage is not a valid marriage and therefore, one cannot file for divorce based on a notarised marriage. Any type of Marriage is deemed valid only when registered with the proper authority. A notary’s job is only to validate the legal/ official documents by attesting them with a proper before me stamp. Notarized document simply means that the document is true in nature.

However, a notary is not authorized to validate a marriage and that is why a notarised marriage is not a valid marriage. If the marriage has been performed by customs of the religion of one of the two parties or the marriage has been registered by the property authority, only then, one of the parties can claim validity of marriage and seek action against their partner (the other party). Karnataka High Court has held that notaries canÕt issue marriage certificates.

And therefore, marriages can be registered only with the Registrar of Marriage, who is the proper authority to issue marriage registration certificate. Your notarised marriage with the man will not be considered a valid marriage and you donÕt need to get a divorce from him to marry another man. If you have followed customs as per Section 5, Hindu Marriage Act, then you will need to seek divorce before another marriage.

Reference:

20210027202100428545

LAWAYZ-2023-388