Spouse can’t seek nullity of marriage after years of togetherness, children, rules HC

Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 31
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that a spouse cannot seek directions to declare a marriage null after a long duration of cohabitation and the birth of children. The Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma emphasised that the extended period of marital relationship and the birth of children indicate that the marriage has been consummated and accepted, negating grounds for declaring it null and void.
The case revolved around a marriage solemnised on July 15, 2002. The petitioner-husband’s case was that his wife at the time of their marriage was still legally wedded to another man. Her earlier marriage was dissolved by a decree of divorce on October 1, 2002, just three months after her marriage to the petitioner.
The husband, during the course of proceedings, argued that his marriage to the respondent should be declared null and void because she was still wedded at the time of their marriage. After hearing the arguments and going through the documents, the Bench reiterated that the remedy of nullity was primarily available in cases where the marriage was void from the outset due to factors such as prohibited degrees of relationship or incapacity to marry. It further clarified that long-term cohabitation and the birth of children reinforced the validity of the marriage, making annulment an unsuitable recourse.
The Bench also underscored the importance of marital stability and the welfare of children born from the union, noting that seeking nullity after such a long period could disrupt the family structure and adversely affect the children’’s well-being. The prolonged cohabitation of the parties from 2002 to 2014 indicated condonation of the respondent’’s earlier marriage status.
The court added that the minimal gap of three months between the respondent’’s divorce and her marriage to the petitioner did not invalidate the marriage post-October 1, 2002. The court emphasised that the marriage had been accepted and consummated over the years.
In its final order, the court found no merit in the appeal and dismissed it, with no order as to costs. All pending applications were also disposed of.

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Court’s observation

The Bench reiterated that the remedy of nullity was primarily available in cases where the marriage was void from the outset due to factors such as prohibited degrees of relationship or incapacity to marry.