‘If not declared void at 18, minor marriage valid’

‘If not declared void at 18, minor marriage valid’

Ajay.Sura@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh:20.09.2021

The Punjab and Haryana high court ruled that a girl married off before the age of 18 can seek separation only through a decree of divorce if she did not declare the marriage void on attaining the age of majority.

The division bench of Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Arun Monga issued the order while setting aside a Ludhiana family court's refusal to grant divorce by mutual consent to a couple who had got married when the wife was a minor. The family court had ruled that the couple’s marriage wasn't valid in the first place as the wife was younger than18 at the time of nuptials.

“Since the respondent wife was 17 years, 6 months and 8 days old at the time of marriage, and for all intents and purposes no petition was filed for declaration of her marriage as void by the wife, the petition for divorce under Section13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, should have been allowed,” the high court said.

After recording the statements of both parties, the bench granted them divorce by mutual consent.

The couple from Ludhiana had got married on February 27, 2009 — the man was around 23 at the time. The couple jointly filed a petition for dissolution of their marriage before the Ludhiana family court last year. While dismissing the plea, the family court cited Section 5(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which requires the bride to be18 or above for the union to be considered legally valid.

A petition for nullity under Section 13 (2)(iv) could be filed if the girl had got married at the age of 15, and she then filed a petition for dissolution of marriage before turning 18. In this case, since the girl was just over 17 years old at the time of the wedding, and she did not file a petition to get her marriage declared void on attaining the age of majority, the plea for dissolution by mutual consent should have been allowed by the family court, the high court held.

The family court had ruled that the couple’s marriage wasn’t valid in the first place as the wife was younger than 18 at the time of nuptials