Annulment of Marriage in India

Annulment is a legal procedure which cancels a marriage. There are two ways to legally end a marriage. One is by way of Divorce and another by declaring a marriage null and void. An annulment is the legal procedure for declaring that a marriage is null and void from its inception i.e. declaration that the marriage never existed.

Annulment is a legal procedure which cancels a marriage. Annulment refers only to making a voidable marriage null, if the marriage is void ab initio means void from the inception, then it is automatically considered to be null.

Annulment of marriage is very important in the scheme of matrimonial laws as there is no point in carrying the burden of divorce in cases where marriage has been solemnized on the strength of fraud or where the marriage is solemnized despite the fact that the responding spouse was already married.An annulment of marriage can be initiated by either of the parties to the marriage. Only the party who is initiating the annulment has to prove that he or she has the grounds to do so and if it is proved by the party, the marriage will be considered as null and void by the court. Nullity can be granted when a marriage is either void or voidable.

Voidable marriage :

Section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act,1955 deals with voidable marriage. A voidable marriage means a valid marriage till it is annulled by a decree of nullity by the court.

The instances of the voidable marriage are as follows:-

1. impotency of the respondent or
2. unsoundness of mind or
3. consent obtained by force or fraud or
4. pregnancy of the wife at the time of marriage.

Void Marriage :

Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 deals with void marriage. A void marriage means a marriage that never existed from the beginning.

If the party has married a person who :-

1. has a spouse living at the time of the marriage or
2. is in prohibited degrees of relationship or
3. are sapindas (generally speaking cousins) to each other.

Difference between Void and voidable Marriages

The void marriage is void ab initio (right from the very inception) and is a nullity. A voidable marriage on the other hand is a marriage which is valid for all the purposes till it annulled by a decree of nullity.

Implications of void marriage

1. In case of void marriage, a wife doesn’t have the right to claim maintenance as this marriage is considered as null from the very beginning.
2. In case of void marriage, parties does not have the status of husband and wife.
3. In case of void marriage, no decree of nullity is required.
4. Children born out of void marriage are legitimate as per section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act,1955.

Implications of voidable marriage

1. In case of voidable marriage, a wife has the right to claim maintenance.
2. In case of voidable marriage, parties have the status of husband and wife.
3. In case of voidable marriage, a decree of nullity is required.
4. Children born out of voidable marriage are legitimate as per section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act,1955.