Marriage in Hindu Law is treated as a sacrament but it happens sometimes that a marriage is nulled due to some reasonable causes. Annulment of marriage is a legal procedure which is meant to declare a marriage null or void. A marriage is declared null or void if certain legal requirements were not fulfilled at the time of marriage due to any reasons. The marriage is considered never existed in the eyes of law in the absence of the fulfillment of certain legal requirements for making a marriage certified. This procedure is called annulment of marriage. It is different from divorce. Whereas divorce dissolves a marriage that was existed, annulment disqualifies a marriage that was never existed at all.
Grounds of annulment
There are specific grounds of annulment of marriage which can vary sometimes, but are generally limited to deceit, blood relationship, bigamy and mental ineptitude as mentioned below:
- Either spouse was already married when the marriage took place;
- Either spouse was not at an age of marriage as per law;
- Either spouse was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the marriage;
- Either spouse was mentally retarded or ill at the time of the marriage;
- If the marriage was consented consent on the basis of any fraud or force;
- Either spouse was physically incompetent to be married;
- If the marriage is proscribed by law due to the relationship between both;
- Criminals who have already sentenced to a term of life imprisonment may not marry.
- In the case of Concealment of an important fact (e.g. one of the parties concealed previous criminal record, drug addiction or a sexually transmitted disease)
To putting in simple words, annulment of marriage is a way of putting an end a never-existed matrimonial bond that is not valid due to one or many of above-mentioned reasons.
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