Ahmedabad: Mere knowledge of the subsistence of an earlier marriage cannot validate a second marriage, nor can it cure its voidness, Gujarat High Court observed while declaring a woman’s marriage null and void after finding that her husband’s first marriage was still subsisting.The court set aside a Vadodara family court order that had rejected the woman’s plea for annulment on the ground that she was aware that the man was already married.The woman had been in a relationship with a married man from her neighbourhood, who had a child from his first marriage. The couple got their marriage registered with Sultanpur gram panchayat in Jhagadia in June 2022 without informing their families. They later went to Goa in Feb 2023.In her petition, the woman stated that after returning to Vadodara, she learnt that her family members had filed a missing complaint. She gave a statement saying that she had gone with the man voluntarily. Around the same time, she also came to know that the man’s first wife had lodged a complaint against him.The woman claimed that it was only then that she discovered that the man had not obtained a divorce from his first wife. According to her, he had misled her into believing that the divorce proceedings had been completed and that only the formal court decree was awaited. She alleged that he had fraudulently portrayed himself as an “unmarried” man while registering their marriage.Seeking annulment under the Hindu Marriage Act, she contended that the marriage was void because the husband’s earlier marriage was still subsisting. She also argued that the marriage was invalid as the essential Hindu ritual of saptapadi had not been performed.In Feb 2025, the family court rejected her plea, accepting the husband’s argument that she was fully aware of his first marriage and child before entering into the relationship. The court held that she could not take advantage of her own conduct.Challenging the order, the woman approached the HC. Opposing her appeal, the husband reiterated that she had knowledge of his existing marriage.However, a bench of Justice Ilesh Vora and Justice R T Vachhani held that the Hindu Marriage Act clearly provides that a second marriage contracted during the subsistence of an earlier marriage is void. The court noted that no evidence had been produced to show that the husband had legally divorced his first wife before entering into the second marriage.Allowing the appeal and declaring the marriage null and void, the bench said, “The learned family court has committed error by solely confining itself that the appellant had knowledge with regard to the previous marriage while contracting the second marriage. However, the said contention does not find any force or legs to stand, as no material and credence seems to have been filed so as to constrain the learned family judge to come to the conclusion.”
