advocatemmmohan
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 – Sections 5(i), 11 & 17 – Void marriage – Locus standi – "Either party thereto" – Third party – Civil suit – Maintainability
Question of Law
Whether the restriction in Section 11 confining a petition for a decree of nullity to "either party thereto" bars a third person whose civil rights are affected from challenging the validity of a void marriage.
Held – No.
The expression "either party thereto" in Section 11 confines the statutory matrimonial petition for a decree of nullity to the spouses to the marriage. However, neither Section 11 nor any other provision of the Hindu Marriage Act excludes the ordinary jurisdiction of the civil court. A person whose civil rights are directly affected by a marriage void under Sections 5(i), 5(iv) or 5(v) may institute an independent civil suit seeking a declaration that the marriage is void. Such a suit is not a petition under Section 11 but an exercise of the ordinary civil jurisdiction, which is not barred by the Act.
Ratio Decidendi
- The phrase "either party thereto" refers only to the husband and the wife who are parties to the marriage; it does not include third persons.
- The Hindu Marriage Act does not expressly or impliedly bar a civil suit by a person whose independent civil rights are prejudiced by a void marriage. There is a presumption against exclusion of civil court jurisdiction.
- A void marriage is non-existent in the eyes of law and incapable of ratification. Consequently, unlike a voidable marriage, its validity may be questioned in an independent civil suit by a person whose legal rights are affected.
- Accordingly, the validity of a void marriage may be examined at the instance of a third aggrieved person even after the death of one of the spouses.
