Nullity of Marriage : Voidable Marriages

According to section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 any marriage solemnized, 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:

(a) that the marriage has not been consummated owing to the impotency of the respondent

(b) that at the time of the marriage, either party was incapable of giving a valid consent to it in consequence of unsoundness of mind; or though capable of giving a valid consent has been suffering from mental disorder of such a kind or to such an extent as to be unfit for marriage and the procreation of children; or has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity or epilepsy

(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, 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 circumstance concerning the respondent. The petition must not be presented more than one year after the force had ceased to operate or, as the case may be, the fraud had been discovered; or 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.

(d) that the respondent was at the time of the marriage pregnant by some person other than the petitioner provided that the petitioner was at the time of the marriage ignorant of the facts alleged and that proceedings have been instituted in the case of a marriage solemnized before the commencement of this Act within one year of such commencement and in the case of marriages solemnized after such commencement within one year from the date of the marriage.