Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has ordered that a marriage cannot be annulled just because the person concerned was a minor and not 18 years of age at the time of wedding. The verdict was passed after a woman had filed a petition in the High Court challenging the family court's order annulling a marriage that had taken place before the age of 18.
The Karnataka High Court has set aside an order passed by the family court under the Hindu Marriage Act. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Vishwajit Shetty, heard the case and reversed the order of the family court. In its earlier order, the family court cited the Hindu Marriage Act by which it declared the marriage to be null and void, as the woman was allegedly minor at the time of marriage.
Sushila, hailing from Mandya district, married Manjunath on June 15, 2012, as per the Hindu Marriage Act. When Manjunath got to know about his wife's age, he had applied to the family court for annulment of his marriage. The family court which heard the application had granted the application, it was ordered that the marriage is not valid.
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Further, as per Section 5(3) of the Hindu Marriage Act, the age of the groom must be 21 years of age and the bride must be 18 at the time of marriage. The rule of 18 years at the time of marriage is excluded from the purview of Section 11. Therefore it is clear that annulment of marriage on the ground of minor under section 11 is not applicable in this case. Accordingly, the High Court set aside the order of the family court, holding that the appellant's marriage was not void.
