HMA 12 — Voidable marriages

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

Statutory text

(1) Any marriage solemnised, whether before or after the commencement
of this Act, shall be voidable and may be annulled by a decree of nullity on any of the following grounds, namely:—

[(a) that the marriage has not been consummated owing to the impotence of the respondent; or]
(b) that the marriage is in contravention of the condition specified in clause (ii) of section 5; or
(c)  that  the  consent  of  the  petitioner,  or  where  the  consent  of the  guardian  in  marriage  of  the
petitioner

[was  required  under  section  5  as  it  stood  immediately  before  the  commencement  of  the
Child  Marriage  Restraint  (Amendment)  Act, 1978  (2  of  1978)],  the  consent  of  such  guardian  was
obtained  by  force

[or  by  fraud as  to  the  nature  of  the  ceremony  or  as  to  any  material  fact  or
circumstances concerning the respondent]; or
(d)  that  the  respondent  was  at  the  time  of  the  marriage  pregnant  by  some  person  other  than  the petitioner.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), no petition for annulling a marriage—
(a) on the ground specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall be entertained if—
(i) the petition is presented more than one year after the force had ceased to operate or, as the
case may be, the fraud had been discovered; or
(ii) the petitioner has, with his or her full consent, lived with the other party to the marriage as
husband or wife after the force had ceased to operate or, as the case may be, the fraud had been
discovered;
(b) on the ground specified in clause (d) of sub-section (1) shall be entertained unless the court is satisfied—
(i) that the petitioner was at the time of the marriage ignorant of the facts alleged;
(ii)  that  proceedings  have  been  instituted  in  the  case  of  a  marriage solemnised  before  the
commencement of this Act within one year of such commencement and in the case of marriages
solemnised after such commencement within one year from the date of the marriage; and
(iii)  that  marital  intercourse  with  the  consent  of  the  petitioner  has  not  taken  place  since  the
discovery by the petitioner of the existence of

[the said ground].

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