A General Overview of Annulment Of Marriage

   “Annulment” implies the process of nullifying a marriage. The annulment of marriage confirms wedlock to be invalid from its inception. The legal declaration of annulment can only be stated if the marriage failed to meet certain legal requirements at the time of wedding and therefore, it has no legal existence. It is to be noted that the process of annulment and divorce are completely different matters. While divorce implies the dissolving of a marriage, annulment refers to a non-existent marriage. For the official cancellation of a void marriage, the statement of nullity is required, and a legal counsel can help you throughout the whole process to carry out the actions properly.

• Reasons for Marriage Annulment

A voidable wedlock is basically a legal marriage that can be withdrawn by any one of the spouses due to the reasons like deception, infidelity, blood links, and mental instability. The annulment of marriage is contested in the court on the basis of the below-mentioned reasons:

1. Any of the partners were already married to someone at the time of the wedding
2. Any of the spouses were too young to get married without their parents’ or the court’s approval
3. If any of the spouses was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the wedlock
4. Any of the spouses is mentally impaired
5. If the permission of marriage was acquired by deception or coercion
6. If the marriage was not fulfilled due to the partner’s physical inability
7. The husband or the wife has been condemned to lifetime imprisonment
8. If the woman is pregnant with another person at the time of the marriage and the other party is unaware of the situation.
9. If one of the spouses has a contagious venereal illness

   Any spouse can submit an annulment petition to have the marriage declared null and invalid. However, this is only a formality to be recorded in front of the court and is performed as a precaution so that no allegation of invalid marriage may be raised in the future.

• Note: As per the concept of bigamy, if one of the spouses was still legally married to another person at the time of the other spouse’s marriage, the wedding is regarded null and void, and there is no need to seek an annulment from the court.

• The Annulment of Marriage Process

   If a child is born out of the nullified marriage, that child will not be considered illegitimate despite the invalid wedlock. Section 16 presents a cushion to the children of void marriages and prevents them from being devalued. To know the comprehensive details regarding the annulment of marriage, contact us!