Voidable Marriages in India

A voidable marriage is valid until a court annuls it. This differs from a void marriage, which is invalid from the start. This article is a general overview of the position under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

Grounds under section 12

Section 12 lets a spouse ask the Family Court to annul a marriage on these grounds:

• The marriage was not consummated because the other spouse was impotent.
• At the time of the marriage the other spouse had a mental disorder of a kind and extent that made them unfit for marriage and for having children.
• The petitioner’s consent, or the consent of the petitioner’s guardian, was obtained by force or by fraud.
• The wife was pregnant by someone other than the husband at the time of the marriage.

Time limits

Petitions based on force or fraud must be filed within one year of the force ceasing or the fraud being discovered, and the petitioner must not have lived with the other spouse as husband or wife after that point. Petitions based on the wife’s pregnancy are also subject to a one-year limit and to conditions about the parties’ conduct after the petitioner learned of it.

Effect of annulment

Until a decree is passed the marriage is treated as valid. Under section 16, children born of a voidable marriage that is annulled are treated as legitimate.

Related topics

See annulment of marriage, bigamy and divorce. The Special Marriage Act, 1954 has comparable provisions for marriages under that Act.