NULLITY OF MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

Section 11: Void marriages

The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

Any marriage solemnised after the commencement of this Act shall be null and void and may, on a petition presented by either party thereto ¹[against the other party], be so declared by a decree of nullity if it contravenes any one of the conditions specified in clauses (i), (iv) and (v) of section 5.

Footnotes in the official text

1.Ins. by s. 5, ibid. (w.e.f. 27-5-1976).

Leading cases

Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India (1995)A Hindu husband who converts to Islam and marries again without dissolving his Hindu marriage contracts an invalid second marriage, which is void for the purposes of Section 494 IPC, and he is guilty of bigamy.

Questions on this section

1 question in 3 of our papers cite Section 11. Try these from the free papers:

1. Consider the following statements about Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: 1. It applies to marriages solemnised before as well as after the commencement of the Act. 2. The petition for a decree of nullity is presented by either party to the marriage against the other party. 3. A marriage between sapindas, not permitted by custom or usage governing each party, can be declared void under it. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Practise questions on Hindu Law