Section 2 of SMA : Section 2: Definitions

Bare Act

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -

(b) "degrees of prohibited relationship" - a man and any of the persons mentioned in Part I of the First Schedule and a woman and any of the persons mentioned in Part II of the said Schedule are within the degrees of prohibited relationship.

Explanation I - Relationship includes, -

• (a) relationship by half or uterine blood as well as by full blood;
• (b) illegitimate blood relationship as well as legitimate;
• (c) relationship by adoption as well as by blood; and all terms of relationship in this Act shall be construed accordingly.

Explanation II - "Full blood" and "half blood" - two persons are said to be related to each other by full blood when they are descended from a common ancestor by the same wife and by half blood when they are descended from a common ancestor but by different wives.

Explanation III - "Uterine blood" - two persons are said to be related to each other by uterine blood when they are descended from a common ancestress but by different husbands.

Explanation IV - In Explanations II and III, an...

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Simplified Act

This section explains certain terms used in the Special Marriage Act, 1954:

(b) "Degrees of prohibited relationship" means that there are certain relatives you are not allowed to marry. For men, the list of these relatives is in Part I of the First Schedule of the Act, and for women, the list is in Part II of that Schedule.

Explanation I - When we talk about relationships, it includes:

• (a) Relatives by half blood (same parent, different other parent) or by full blood (same parents);
• (b) Relatives whether the family connection is official (legitimate) or not (illegitimate);
• (c) Relatives by adoptio...

Explanation using Example

Imagine a couple, John and Jane, who want to get married under The Special Marriage Act, 1954. Jane has a half-brother, Mike, from her mother's first marriage, and a full brother, Alex, from both her parents. When considering their marriage, they need to ensure that they are not within the "degrees of prohibited relationship" as defined in the Act.

Accordi...