2 weeks ago
Delhi High Court Rejects Husband’s 18-Year Marriage Challenge
A man asked the court to end his marriage many years after the wedding.
He said he had been given a sedative during the marriage ceremony.
The court said this might allow someone to challenge a marriage, but only within a specific time limit.
The man also said his wife had lived separately since 2013.
He argued that he was paying her Rs 10,000 each month as maintenance.
The court said maintenance payments are a legal duty and do not automatically justify divorce.
The wife said she was willing to live with him again.
The court decided that the husband had not made a real effort to restart the marriage and rejected his appeal.
The Delhi High Court dismissed a husband’s appeal seeking dissolution of his marriage nearly 18 years after the wedding.
The husband alleged he was under the influence of a sedative during the 2008 marriage ceremonies.
The court said such circumstances could make the marriage voidable, but required annulment proceedings within one year of discovering fraud.
The husband argued his wife had lived separately since 2013 and cited his monthly Rs 10,000 maintenance payments.
The court found he had not sincerely tried to resume married life and said irretrievable breakdown alone was not grounds for divorce.
- Who
- A husband and wife; the husband appealed, while the wife opposed the appeal. The Delhi High Court heard the case.
- What
- The court rejected the husband’s request to dissolve his marriage and ruled that his sedative-related allegation could not be raised at this stage to challenge the marriage’s validity.
- Where
- The marriage took place at Arya Samaj Mandir, and the appeal was heard by the Delhi High Court.
- When
- The couple married in 2008; the High Court order was dated August 18, and the appeal followed a 2016 dissolution petition.
- Why
- The court found that the husband had not made sincere efforts to resume married life, and that irretrievable marital breakdown alone was not a legal ground for dissolution.
Husband’s Arguments
Wife’s and Court’s Position
Validity of the marriage
Husband’s Arguments
The husband argued that no valid marriage existed because he was under the influence of a sedative during the wedding ceremonies.
Wife’s and Court’s Position
The court said the allegation could at most make the marriage voidable and that an annulment petition should have been filed within one year of discovering the alleged fraud.
Living separately
Husband’s Arguments
The husband argued that his wife had lived separately since September 2013 without sufficient cause and had not tried to resume married life despite a court order.
Wife’s and Court’s Position
The wife said she had always been willing to rejoin her husband and had filed proceedings to resume their married life. The court found that the husband had not made sincere efforts to do so.
Maintenance and dissolution
Husband’s Arguments
The husband argued that regularly paying Rs 10,000 per month in maintenance showed he had not committed a wrong under the Hindu Marriage Act.
Wife’s and Court’s Position
The court said maintenance is a legal obligation and that complying with a maintenance order does not by itself entitle a person to divorce.
Key facts
- Marriage year
- 2008
- Marriage venue
- Arya Samaj Mandir
- Children
- The couple had no children.
- Separate living
- The husband claimed the wife had lived separately since September 2013.
- Maintenance
- The husband was paying Rs 10,000 per month to his wife.
- Legal provision
- The court referred to Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act concerning voidable marriages involving consent obtained through force or fraud.
- Court outcome
- The Delhi High Court dismissed the husband’s appeal.
Quotes
Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Renu Bhatnagar
Judges of the Delhi High Court
“"A party cannot approbate and reprobate simultaneously, i.e., disputing the factum of marriage while simultaneously praying for its dissolution under the Hindu Marriage Act," it added.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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