Under section 3(1) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, Marriage Officers for the whole or any part of a…

Section 3(1) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 provides that "the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint one or more Marriage Officers for the whole or any part of the State". Marriage Officers under the Act are thus appointed by the executive government of the State.

Neither the High Court nor the District Court appoints Marriage Officers; the district court hears, for example, an appeal under section 8(2) against a Marriage Officer's refusal to solemnize a marriage. Section 3(1) gives the appointing power to the State Government, not the Central Government.