Hindu Marriage Cannot Be Declared Void At In-Laws' Instance After Husband's Demise Due To Bride Being Underage: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that a Hindu marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 cannot be declared void at the behest of in-laws at a belated stage raising claim of her being underage at the time of solemnization of the marriage. Sub-clause (iii) of Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 provides that a bridegroom should be of 21 years of age and the bride should be of 18 years at the time of marriage as conditions for a Hindu marriage. Section 11 of the Act provides of void marriages where violation of sub-clauses (i), (ii) and (iv) of Section 5 can be reasons for declaring marriage void if either party to the marriage. The bench of Justice Arindam Sinha and Justice Satya Veer Singh held “The Legislature consciously omitted to include clause (iii) under section 5 in the provision of section 11. Furthermore cause of action in section 11 is only available to a spouse in a marriage. Appellants are parents of the deceased husband. Section 12, providing for voidable marriages, does not mention clause (iii) in section 5, for contravention of which a ground can be urged saying the marriage is voidable and be anulled by a decree of nullity.”In continuous legal battle between a war-widow and her in-laws regarding the entitlement of benefits awarded to the dependents of the deceased army officer, the alleged wife of the deceased filed an application for declaration of marriage before a Family Court in the State of U.P. The Family Court granted her the declaration. Against this, the in-laws approached the High Court claiming that she was a minor at the time of the marriage and accordingly, the marriage was void. The Court noted that an identity card was produced according to which the wife was 2 months short of 18 years age when her marriage with the deceased was solemnized. It held that this was not a ground for declaring the marriage void under Section 11 of the Act at this stage especially when the ground was not taken before any Court before and the same was not taken in any written statement filed before the Family Court. Further, it held that a declaration of void marriage could only be sought by the parties to the marriage and not any third party. Accordingly, the appeal by the in-laws was dismissed. Case Title: Rajdhari And Another v. Sadhna Devi [FIRST APPEAL No. - 493 of 2025]Case Title: X & Anr. v. Y [FIRST APPEAL No. - 493 of 2025]Click Here To Read/Download Order

Hindu Marriage Cannot Be Declared Void At In-Laws' Instance After Husband's Demise Due To Bride Being Underage: Allahabad High Court

Upasna Agrawal

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