Annulment of Marriage: What is it?
Marriage is always a big decision in our lives, but some difficult situations demand the complete cancellation of the marriage. Our lawyers have the expertise of helping our clients with the annulment of marriage, where the marriage will be declared as something that never happened.
Indians have a different perspective of marriage. A marriage is believed to happen in up above the skies while formalized on the Earth. The opinion differs from religion to religion. While personal laws also govern marriages, India has a complete legal system in place to govern ending of a marriage. Generally you can end a marriage in two forms either by divorce or through annulment.
Both are different. While a divorce dissolves a marriage, annulment declares it null and void as if it never materialized in the first place. A couple which go through annulment returns to ‘single’ status.
Explaining Annulment
We already know that annulment declares a marriage null and void. But there are different grounds to annul the marriage. Here is a rundown of those legal grounds.
- If marriage is not consummated. This can happen if either of the spouse is chronically unable to have sexual intercourse or is medically declared as impotent.
- Consent to the marriage is imperative without which a marriage can be annulled. If either of the spouse has not given consent at the time of marriage, this is ground for annulment.
- If either of the spouse is found to be suffering from a mental disorder at the time of marriage, legally he or she is not considered fit for marriage, and procreation of the next generation.
- You can annul a marriage if your spouse suffers from recurrent and persistent attacks of epilepsy or insanity.
- Last but the most important ground for annulment of marriage is marrying a girl or boy under the legal age which is 21 for males and 18 for females.
Annulment can be sought in void and voidable marriages. A void marriage is taken as invalid right from the start while a voidable marriage is valid unless one or both parties question its validity. Let’s take a look at voidable marriages.
Voidable Marriages
Section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act considers a marriage voidable if:
- Consent is based on fraud.
- Consent is forced through coercion or physical threat.
- If a material fact like age or criminal record is deliberately concealed.
- If the respondent is pregnant with a child of some other person, the husband can seek an annulment.
Divorce Lawyer Delhi Can Help You Get Through Annulment
Our Divorce lawyers In Delhi can help if you are, unfortunately, on the verge of seeking annulment to your marriage. They take each case individually to make sure your rights are secured.
FAQs
In simple terms, divorce is a legal procedure where either the husband or wife files a petition to end their marriage. On the other hand, marriage annulment is a legal term used when the petitioner proves that the marriage never existed due to conditions such as forced marriage, false marriage ceremony, or abduction marriage. This is the main difference between divorce and marriage annulment.
The grounds for annulment of marriage in India include fraud, coercion (by threat), unsoundness of mind, mental disorder, venereal disease, impotence, and bigamy (being already married). If one of these conditions is met, one can file for a marriage annulment.
Yes, an annulment can be contested in court. The spouse who is seeking to have the marriage annulled must provide evidence to support their claim, and the other spouse may contest the grounds for annulment or present evidence to dispute the claim.
Yes, there is a time limit for filing for annulment of marriage in India. Remember, it is very rare for a court to grant you an annulment after a long time of marriage, but it is generally possible within a few years of the marriage.
