Marriage is the basis of Social organization and the foundation of important legal rights and obligations. As per Hindu Law, marriage is a Sanskar or sacrament. Not only the couple but the two families are also joined together through marriage.
In case, the spouse has hidden the fact of the previous marriage, then the aggrieved party could file for dissolution of marriage through either divorce or annulment. Concealing a material fact by the respondent makes you entitled to a decree of nullity as per Section 12 of the HMA. For further information, you may contact an experienced Divorce Lawyer in Delhi, who could offer you proper guidance.
Void Marriage
As provided under Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, the following conditions are necessary for a valid marriage-
Neither party should have a spouse living at the time of marriage
The parties should not be within the degrees of prohibited relationship unless the customs of either of the parties allow so.
The parties should not be sapindas of each other unless customs or usages of either of the parties allow so.
If anyone of the above-mentioned conditions are not fulfilled, the marriage could be rendered null and void. Section 11 of the Act provides that such marriage shall be null and void.
Voidable Marriages
As provided under Section 5 of the Act, at the time of marriage-
Neither party should be incapable of providing valid consent to the marriage due to unsoundness of mind
Even though being capable of giving consent, the party has been suffering from a mental disorder of such kind as to be unfit for marriage and the procreation of children.
Either the party to the marriage has been subject to recurrent attacks of insanity.
Judicial view-
Recently, the Hyderabad High Court while deciding a divorce petition decided that hiding a previous marriage is good enough ground for nullifying a marriage.
While declaring the marriage null and void, when the wife hid the fact that she was married once before the present marriage, the High Court said that discovering the previous marriage or some undisclosed mess in the life of either husband or wife could make the life of his/her partner miserable with one evocative lurking suspicion leading the other snowballing into wild imagination of the human mind, resulting which the lives of both parties will be ruined.
In another case, Justice Akil Kureshi of the Gujarat High Court observed that if a woman conceals her previous marital status including the previous marriage which ended in a divorce, it shall amount to cheating. In such a situation, the aggrieved party could file a police complaint against his/her wife, the court held.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it could be inferred that not informing your partner of your previous marriage could amount to cheating and the aggrieved party could file for nullity of marriage. For further information about the legal provisions involved, you should consult Divorce Lawyer in Gurgaon or Divorce Lawyers in Kolkata, or divorce lawyers in your own city.
In order to talk to a lawyer or seek free legal advice online, you may contact us at Lead India, as we offer you a team of experienced advocates who have been successfully handling cases related to divorce, child custody, etc.
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