The Karnataka High Court has invalidated the marriage of a Christian couple, ruling that the woman had misrepresented and concealed her true age during the marriage ceremony. The husband had filed a petition under Section 18 of the Indian Divorce Act, which was rejected by the family court for lack of evidence. However, a division bench of Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Vijaykumar Patil overturned the family court’s decision and granted the husband’s petition.
According to the claim, the appellant and the respondent were Indian Christians who got married in Bhadravathi in 2014. The respondent’s mother and brother brought the marriage proposal, stating that the respondent was 36 years old at the time of marriage. The appellant and his family members agreed to the marriage based on this representation, believing it to be true.
The appellant alleged that the respondent and her family members concealed important information during the marriage proposal, including the respondent’s age and her incurable illness. It was later revealed that the respondent was actually 41 years old at the time of marriage, and the appellant had been misled into believing she was 36. The appellant argued that the marriage was obtained by fraudulent means, and therefore, should be considered null and void. The court examined the records and found that the appellant had specifically mentioned the concealment of the respondent’s age in his petition.
The respondent, during her cross-examination, admitted that she had misrepresented her age as 36 years at the time of the marriage proposal when, in fact, she was 41.
The court found no reason to disbelieve this admission, and concluded that the family court had erred in its ruling. The Indian Divorce Act allows for a petition to declare a marriage null and void under Section 18, with Section 19 stipulating grounds for such a declaration, including consent obtained through fraud.
The court found that the appellant had proven that the marriage was obtained through fraudulent means and declared it null and void.
Source: https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/karnataka-high-court-annulment-of-marriage-concealment-of-actual-date-of-birth-by-wife-fraud-indian-divorce-act-223692
