Under Section 46(3) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, liability arises where marriage is solemnized:

Section 46(3) is a residual clause: a Marriage Officer is liable if he knowingly and wilfully solemnizes a marriage "in contravention of any other provision contained in this Act", beyond the notice and thirty-day defaults in clauses (1) and (2). The Act requires no religious ceremony, and the wishes of the parties' families do not govern a marriage under it.