Void vs Voidable Marriage: How Annulment Works in India

When Sneha of Nagpur found her husband already had a living wife, she learned her own marriage was never valid in law. That is a void marriage: null from the day it happened, no divorce needed. Annulment and divorce are not the same thing, and the difference decides your rights.

If you are short on time, jump to the grounds table below to see which category your situation falls under.

A void marriage is treated as if it never happened. You do not need a court order to end it, though you can ask a court to formally declare it void for clarity and records.

Under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, a marriage is void if it breaks any of clauses (i), (iv) or (v) of Section 5. In plain words:

• Bigamy clause (i): one party already has a living spouse and that earlier marriage is still valid.
• Prohibited degrees clause (iv): the parties are within the degrees of prohibited relationship, unless a custom that governs both of them allows it.
• Sapinda relationship clause (v): the parties are sapindas of each other, unless a valid custom permits the match.

Note: an underage Hindu marriage is not void or voidable under these sections. It is punishable, but the marriage itself still stands in law unless another ground applies.

A voidable marriage is legally valid and stays valid until the aggrieved party gets it annulled. If neither party challenges it, it continues as a normal marriage.

Section 12 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 lists four grounds:

1. The marriage has not been consummated because the respondent is impotent.
2. The respondent could not give valid consent or has a mental disorder covered by Section 5(ii).
3. The petitioner's consent was obtained by force or by fraud about the ceremony or a material fact concerning the respondent.
4. The respondent was pregnant by another person at the time of the marriage.

Time limits matter here. For force or fraud, you must file within 1 year after the force stopped or the fraud was discovered, and you must not have lived together as husband and wife after that point. For pre-marriage pregnancy, you must have been unaware of it at the time, must file within 1 year of the marriage, and must not have had marital intercourse since discovering it.

If you married under the Special Marriage Act 1954 (civil marriage), the same idea applies through different sections. Section 24 covers void marriages and Section 25 covers voidable marriages.

The grounds are not a mirror image of the Hindu Marriage Act. For example, impotence is a void ground under SMA Section 24, while under the Hindu Marriage Act it is a voidable ground. So check the exact section that applies to your marriage rather than assuming the rules match.

Yes. Under Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, children of both void and voidable marriages are legitimate, whether or not a decree of nullity is granted. This protects the child even though the marriage itself failed.

One limit to know: this legitimacy gives the child rights only in the property of their own parents. It does not, by itself, hand the child a share in ancestral or third-party property they would not otherwise have had.

A void marriage gives neither party the status of husband or wife, so maintenance is not automatic the way it is after a normal divorce. But the law is not a flat no.

In a 2025 ruling (2025 INSC 197), the Supreme Court held that a spouse whose marriage is declared void under Section 11 can still seek permanent alimony under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955. The grant is discretionary and depends on the facts and the conduct of the parties. Do not assume you will get maintenance, and do not assume you cannot. Ask your lawyer to argue it on your facts.

1. Confirm your ground. Match your situation to Section 11 (void) or Section 12 (voidable) above.
2. Check the clock. For voidable grounds, the 1-year limits and the no-intercourse-since-discovery conditions can sink a late petition.
3. Gather proof. Marriage records, the earlier marriage proof for bigamy, medical reports for impotence, or evidence of fraud or force.
4. File a petition for a decree of nullity in the District Court or Family Court that has jurisdiction.
5. Attend hearings. The court examines evidence; there is no 6-month cooling-off period for nullity.
6. Collect the decree. Once granted, keep certified copies for records, remarriage and any property steps.

Public records can make or break a nullity case. You can use the RTI Act, 2005 to ask a marriage registrar or municipal body for a certified copy of a marriage entry, the date of registration, or whether a particular marriage was ever registered. This is useful to prove a spouse's earlier subsisting marriage in a bigamy claim.

Draft a clean application with the AI RTI Drafter. If the registrar ignores you or gives an evasive answer, run it through the PIO Reply Checker and then escalate with the First Appeal Builder. For voice complaints about a stuck office, try AwaazRTI.

If you are still in the process of registering your marriage, see our guide on how to apply for a marriage certificate online.

Sneha and Arjun, Nagpur, married in 2024. Months later Sneha found documents showing Arjun was already married and his first wife was alive. She gathered the earlier marriage certificate using an RTI request to the local registrar. Because the marriage breached clause (i) of Section 5, it was void under Section 11. The court declared it null, and their child remained legitimate under Section 16. Sneha then sought permanent alimony under Section 25, which the court considered on the facts of her case.

No. Divorce ends a valid marriage. Annulment treats a marriage as void or voidable and declares it null. A void marriage was never valid; a voidable one is valid until a court annuls it. The grounds, the sections and the consequences differ.

No. The 6-month cooling-off period applies to mutual-consent divorce under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955. A petition for a decree of nullity does not carry that waiting period.

You file in the District Court or the Family Court that has jurisdiction, usually where the marriage took place, where the couple last lived together, or where the respondent now lives. A Family Court handles it where one is set up.

No. If a person already has a living spouse and that marriage is still valid, a fresh marriage is void under Section 11 read with clause (i) of Section 5. It is also a punishable offence.

Yes for several grounds. For force or fraud you must file within 1 year of the force ceasing or the fraud being discovered. For pre-marriage pregnancy you must file within 1 year of the marriage and meet the no-intercourse-since-discovery condition.

Yes. Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 makes children of both void and voidable marriages legitimate, with or without a decree of nullity. Their property rights, though, run only against their own parents.

Not automatically. A 2025 Supreme Court ruling (2025 INSC 197) held that a spouse of a void marriage can seek permanent alimony under Section 25. The court decides on the facts; it is discretionary, not guaranteed.

Yes. File an RTI application to the marriage registrar or municipal body asking whether a person's earlier marriage is registered and for a certified copy of the entry. This can support a bigamy-based void marriage claim.

• Write down your exact ground and which section it falls under.
• Check whether any 1-year time limit applies to you.
• Draft an RTI for the registrar with the AI RTI Drafter if you need marriage records.
• Book a consult with a family lawyer to file the nullity petition.

For a deeper walkthrough of the RTI process itself, read The RTI Playbook.

• Hindu Marriage Act 1955, Sections 5, 11, 12, 16, 25, 13B
• Special Marriage Act 1954, Sections 24, 25
• Supreme Court of India, 2025 INSC 197 (permanent alimony in void marriages)

Reviewed by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak. Last reviewed: June 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice; consult a family lawyer for your case.