what is an annulment of marriage?-khanna & associates llp
TRANSCRIPT
ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE
A COMPLETE GUIDE ON ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE IN HINDU LAW
A Legal procedure which cancels a marriage between a man and a woman is ‘ANNULMENT’. Annulling a marriage is, legally declaring that the marriage between the two never existed or was never valid.
A marriage can be declared null and void if certain legal requirements were not met at the time of the marriage. If these legal requirements were not met then the marriage is considered to have never existed in the eyes of the law. This process is called annulment. It is very different from divorce in that while a divorce dissolves a marriage that has existed, a marriage that is annulled never existed at all. Thus unlike divorce, it is retroactive: an annulled marriage is considered never to have existed
A petition for annulment can be moved based on certain grounds and these grounds are :
Fraud : one of the spouses agreed to marry other based on the misrepresentation or on the lies.
Forced Consent : when one of the spouses was threatened or forced into marriage with the
other spouse.
Bigamy : when either of the spouse was already married to someone else at the time of the
marriage in question.
Underage : either spouse was too young to be married, or too young to be married without
required parental or court consent.
Mental Illness
Marriage prohibited by law : marriage between parties who comes under prohibited
relationships.
Inability to Consummate Marriage : either spouse was physically incapable of having sexual
relations or impotent during the marriage.
Mental Incapacity : when either of the spouse was unable to make the informed consent under
the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the marriage.
For getting an annulment, a person needs to fill needs to meet the residency requirements of the state
that they live in. The jurisdictional requirements are similar to those required for dissolution or divorce:
one of the parties must live in the state where the marriage annulment is filed for a continuous ninety-
day period. Similar to a divorce filing, marriage annulment case proceeds with a filing, petition,
summons, and ancillary documents. An annulment case can be initiated by either the husband or the
wife in the marriage. The annulment procedure is similar to that of a standard divorce. A divorce can be
much more complicated than an annulment.
Annulment of marriage is very important as there is no point in continuing the marriage which was
solemnized on the strength of Fraud, Misrepresentation, Bigamy, etc.
Void Marriages:
Nullity of marriage and divorce- Void marriages - Any marriage solemnized after the commencement of this Act
shall be null and void and may, on a petition presented by either party thereto, against the other party be so
declared by a decree of nullity if it contravenes any one of the conditions specified in clauses (i), (iv) and (v) of
Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955
Voidable Marriages:
A voidable marriage (Section 12 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 )is one where an annulment is not automatic and
must be sought by one of the parties. Generally, an annulment may be sought by one of the parties to a marriage if
the intent to enter into the civil contract of marriage was not present at the time of the marriage, either due to
mental illness, intoxication, duress , fraud or the marriage is in contravention of the condition specified in clause
(ii) of Section 5
Section 5 Condition for a Hindu Marriage - A marriage may be solemnized between any two Hindus, if the
following conditions are fulfilled, namely:
(i) Neither party has a spouse living at the time of the marriage;
(ii) At the time of the marriage, neither party,-
(a) is incapable of giving a valid consent of it in consequence of unsoundness of mind; or
(b) though capable of giving a valid consent has been suffering from mental disorder of such a kind or to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage and the procreation of children; or
(c) has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity or epilepsy;
(iii) The bridegroom has completed the age of twenty one years and the bride the age of eighteen years at the time of the marriage;
(iv) The parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two;
(v) The parties are not sapindas of each other, unless the custom or usage governing each of them permits of a marriage between the two:
An annulment may be granted when a marriage is automatically void under the law for public policy reasons or voidable by one party when certain requisite elements of the marriage contract were not present at the time of the marriage.
What is the difference between a divorce and an annulment?
An annulment of marriage is a legal decree that a marriage is null and void. Annulments are
granted when a court makes a finding a marriage is invalid. While a divorce ends a legally valid
marriage, an annulment treats the marriage as if it never existed.
What is the time limit to get an annulment?
An action for an annulment must be started by a certain time. The time limit depends on the type
of marriage. The shortest time to start an annulment is 4 years after the marriage. If you have
questions about the time limit to start an annulment, seek legal assistance in your local area .
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