Nepali Marriages and Their Types:
According to Article 67 of National Civil Code 2017 any person, male or female, is said to be married when they accept each other as husband and wife through a legal, formal or traditional ceremony. Likewise, Article 5 of Marriage Registration Act 2058 states that any male or female interested to get married need to fulfil the eligibility requirements and submit an application for marriage registration as stipulated in Article 4 of the said Act .
Our legal system recognizes three kind of marriage.
- Traditional marriage
- Marriage by registration/ Court Marriage
- Love marriage
- Traditional Marriage – Marriage arranged by family through mutual understanding or by following the traditional rituals is known as Traditional Marriage. Traditional Marriages are very common in Nepal.
- Marriage by Registration– The marriage that District Court registers upon receiving application submitted after fulfilling legal procedure in the concerned District Court is called marriage by registration or Court Marriage.
- Love Marriage –If a boy or a girl has attained legal age of marriage, falls in love and gets married with or without the consent of their guardian is called Love marriage.
Voidable marriages
1.Marriage without Consent
If a marriage is performed without consent of either the bride or the bridegroom, the forcing party is liable up to two years of imprisonment and up to NRS 20,000 fine.
2. Marriage within Incest
If such marriage is performed without consent of the party, then it is voidable.
3. Child Marriage:
Legal age for marriage is 20 years. Forcing or manipulating a minor into a marriage is considered illegal and is punishable by law. Any person found to have practiced child marriage is liable up to three years of imprisonment and up to NRS 30,000 fine.
4. Bigamy Practice
Marrying an already married person is considered illegal. A married individual when marries a new person before getting divorced, then such a marriage doesn’t have any legal validity. If a husband /wife have been legally separated through property partitioned between them, then only they can get married to a new person. Any person found to have practiced bigamy is liable up to one to five-years of imprisonment and NRS 10, 000 to 50,000 fine.