The Allahabad High Court ruled that a Hindu marriage governed by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 cannot be declared void at the instance of the in-laws at a belated stage by alleging that the bride was underage at the time of the marriage.
The Court noted that under Section 5(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the bridegroom must have attained the age of 21 years and the bride 18 years at the time of solemnisation of the marriage. However, Section 11 of the Act specifies that a marriage can be declared void only for violations of clauses (i), (ii) and (iv) of Section 5, and such a declaration can be sought only by either party to the marriage.
The Bench comprising Justice Arindam Sinha and Justice Satya Veer Singh observed:
“The Legislature has consciously excluded clause (iii) of Section 5 from the scope of Section 11. Moreover, the cause of action under Section 11 is available only to a spouse to the marriage, whereas the appellants are the parents of the deceased husband. Even Section 12, which deals with voidable marriages, does not refer to clause (iii) of Section 5 as a ground on which a marriage may be declared voidable or annulled by a decree of nullity.”
Amid a prolonged legal dispute between a war widow and her in-laws over the entitlement to benefits payable to the dependents of a deceased Army officer, the woman claiming to be the officer’s wife moved the Family Court in Uttar Pradesh seeking a declaration of the validity of her marriage.
The Family Court allowed her application. Aggrieved by this decision, the in-laws approached the High Court, contending that she was a minor at the time of the marriage and that the marriage was therefore void.
The Court observed that an identity card placed on record indicated that the wife was two months short of attaining 18 years of age at the time her marriage with the deceased was solemnised. It held that this circumstance did not constitute a ground for declaring the marriage void under Section 11 of the Act, particularly at a belated stage, more so when the plea had never been raised before any court earlier and was not even taken in the written statement filed before the Family Court.
The Court further held that a declaration of a void marriage can be sought only by the parties to the marriage and not by any third party. Consequently, the appeal filed by the in-laws was dismissed.
