Annulment of marriage: void and voidable

Section 11 and Section 12 are not two degrees of the same thing. Here is which one applies, the time limits that end most petitions before the ground is even reached, what a decree of nullity changes — and when you are better served by a divorce.

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Is this an annulment question at all?

One question decides it: was there something legally wrong with the marriage at the moment it was solemnised, or did things go wrong afterwards?

When did the problem arise?

The marriage was legally invalid from the very beginning
Which condition was breached?
Section 11 covers three of the conditions in Section 5 — and only three.
- A spouse was already living
  Void — Section 11
  The second marriage is void however long it lasted and whatever the parties believed. Where a divorce decree existed, its date matters, because Section 15 bars remarriage until the appeal period has run.
- Prohibited degrees, or sapinda relationship
  Void — Section 11
  Unless a custom governing each of the parties permits such a marriage — and a custom has to be proved as ancient, certain, reasonable and continuously observed, not merely asserted.
- One party was under age
  Not a ground of nullity under Section 11
  An underage marriage contravenes Section 5(iii), but the Hindu Marriage Act does not make it void on that account. Separate remedies exist under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and a wife married before fifteen who repudiates between fifteen and eighteen has a divorce ground under Section 13(2)(iv).
The marriage was valid but affected by a defect at the time
Voidable — Section 12
Four grounds: non-consummation owing to the respondent’s impotence; incapacity to consent under Section 5(ii); consent obtained by force or by fraud; or the respondent being pregnant by another man at the time of the marriage. Two of them carry a one-year deadline — check it before anything else.
The marriage was fine; the relationship broke down later
This is a divorce question
Cruelty, desertion, adultery and the other Section 13 grounds all describe things that happened after the marriage. Annulment has nothing to offer here, and pursuing it wastes the time a divorce petition would have used.
The grounds for divorce →

A court cannot annul a marriage merely because both parties want it annulled.

Consent is the basis of a divorce under Section 13B; it is not a basis for nullity. A court can only annul a marriage on a ground that Section 11 or Section 12 actually gives, and it must be satisfied on evidence that the ground exists. Where none of the grounds fits and both parties agree the marriage should end, the mutual consent route is both quicker and far more likely to succeed.

SourceHindu Marriage Act, 1955 — s. 11Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — s. 12Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — s. 13B

Which marriages this page covers

This page covers marriages solemnised under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Section 2 of that Act applies it to Hindus in any form or development of the religion — including Virashaiva, Lingayat, Brahmo, Prarthana and Arya Samaj followers — and to Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs, as well as to anyone domiciled in India who is not a Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew by religion. If your marriage was solemnised or registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, or under Muslim, Christian or Parsi personal law, a different statute governs it and the sections on this page do not apply to you.

Quick answer

An annulment declares that a marriage was never valid, or sets aside one that was valid until annulled. Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 makes a marriage void where it breaches the conditions in Section 5 about a living spouse, prohibited degrees of relationship or sapinda relationship. Section 12 makes a marriage voidable on four grounds — non-consummation owing to impotence, mental incapacity under Section 5(ii), consent obtained by force or fraud, and the respondent being pregnant by another man at the time of the marriage — and the last two carry strict time limits of one year. Where no ground fits, divorce is the remedy, not annulment.

Key takeaways

Void and voidable are not degrees of the same thing. A void marriage is a nullity from the start; a voidable marriage is fully valid until a court annuls it, and only the aggrieved spouse can ask.
The time limits under Section 12(2) are unforgiving. A petition on force or fraud must be brought within a year of the force ceasing or the fraud being discovered; a pregnancy petition within one year of the marriage.
Continuing to live together as spouses after discovering the fraud, or after the force ceases, defeats the petition entirely.
Children of a void or voidable marriage are legitimate. Section 16 protects them, though their rights are confined to the property of their parents.
Annulment is not a faster divorce. Where the ground does not genuinely exist, a Section 13B petition finishes sooner and with far less to prove.

Void marriage, voidable marriage and divorce

These three are not degrees of the same thing. Using the words interchangeably — as most general articles do — is what leads people to file the wrong petition.

Void marriage, voidable marriage and divorce
Point of comparison	Void marriageSection 11	Voidable marriageSection 12	DivorceSections 13 and 13B
Status before any decree	No marriage in law. Void from the beginning, whether or not anyone goes to court.	A fully valid marriage, with all its legal consequences, unless and until a court annuls it.	A fully valid marriage, until it is dissolved.
Legal basis	Contravention of the conditions in Section 5 about a living spouse, prohibited degrees, or sapinda relationship.	Non-consummation from impotence; incapacity to consent under Section 5(ii); consent by force or fraud; or pregnancy by another at the time of the marriage.	A statutory ground under Section 13, or mutual consent under Section 13B.
Is a decree required?	The marriage is void anyway — but a decree is worth having, because it puts the position beyond argument for remarriage, records and succession.	Yes. Without a decree the marriage stands, indefinitely.	Yes. The marriage subsists until the decree is passed.
Who may petition	Either party.	Only the aggrieved party.	Either party, or both jointly under Section 13B.
Time limitations	None.	For force or fraud: within one year of the force ceasing or the fraud being discovered. For pregnancy by another: proceedings within one year of the marriage.	No outer limit. Section 14 bars a petition within one year of the marriage; Section 13B needs a year of separation first.
What defeats it	Nothing. Conduct cannot validate a void marriage.	Living together as spouses with full consent after the force ceased or the fraud was discovered. For pregnancy: marital intercourse since the discovery.	For Section 13B, withdrawal of consent before the decree. For Section 13, failure to prove the ground.
Effect on the parties	Treated as never having been married.	The marriage is set aside from the decree.	The marriage is dissolved from the decree. Section 15 bars remarriage until the appeal period runs.
Children	Legitimate under Section 16(1), whether or not a decree is obtained.	A child begotten or conceived before the decree is deemed legitimate under Section 16(2).	Legitimate without qualification.
Evidence needed	The earlier marriage record, the genealogy, or strict proof of a custom permitting the marriage.	Usually medical or expert evidence, or documents establishing the misrepresentation and — critically — the date it was discovered.	For Section 13B, none. For Section 13, dated particulars of the ground proved on evidence.

Void marriage

Section 11

Status before any decree: No marriage in law. Void from the beginning, whether or not anyone goes to court.
Legal basis: Contravention of the conditions in Section 5 about a living spouse, prohibited degrees, or sapinda relationship.
Is a decree required?: The marriage is void anyway — but a decree is worth having, because it puts the position beyond argument for remarriage, records and succession.
Who may petition: Either party.
Time limitations: None.
What defeats it: Nothing. Conduct cannot validate a void marriage.
Effect on the parties: Treated as never having been married.
Children: Legitimate under Section 16(1), whether or not a decree is obtained.
Evidence needed: The earlier marriage record, the genealogy, or strict proof of a custom permitting the marriage.

Voidable marriage

Section 12

Status before any decree: A fully valid marriage, with all its legal consequences, unless and until a court annuls it.
Legal basis: Non-consummation from impotence; incapacity to consent under Section 5(ii); consent by force or fraud; or pregnancy by another at the time of the marriage.
Is a decree required?: Yes. Without a decree the marriage stands, indefinitely.
Who may petition: Only the aggrieved party.
Time limitations: For force or fraud: within one year of the force ceasing or the fraud being discovered. For pregnancy by another: proceedings within one year of the marriage.
What defeats it: Living together as spouses with full consent after the force ceased or the fraud was discovered. For pregnancy: marital intercourse since the discovery.
Effect on the parties: The marriage is set aside from the decree.
Children: A child begotten or conceived before the decree is deemed legitimate under Section 16(2).
Evidence needed: Usually medical or expert evidence, or documents establishing the misrepresentation and — critically — the date it was discovered.

Divorce

Sections 13 and 13B

Status before any decree: A fully valid marriage, until it is dissolved.
Legal basis: A statutory ground under Section 13, or mutual consent under Section 13B.
Is a decree required?: Yes. The marriage subsists until the decree is passed.
Who may petition: Either party, or both jointly under Section 13B.
Time limitations: No outer limit. Section 14 bars a petition within one year of the marriage; Section 13B needs a year of separation first.
What defeats it: For Section 13B, withdrawal of consent before the decree. For Section 13, failure to prove the ground.
Effect on the parties: The marriage is dissolved from the decree. Section 15 bars remarriage until the appeal period runs.
Children: Legitimate without qualification.
Evidence needed: For Section 13B, none. For Section 13, dated particulars of the ground proved on evidence.

Section 16(3) limits the protection given to children: the section confers no rights in the property of any person other than the parents.

The Section 12 deadlines, and what resets or destroys them

Two of the four voidable grounds carry hard time limits, and they end more petitions than the substantive grounds ever do. Both are counted from an event you have to be able to evidence.

Statutory requirement
Practical step

1
Impotence — non-consummation
Statutory requirement
No statutory time limit
What matters is that the non-consummation is owing to the respondent’s impotence, which may be general or relative to this spouse, and that it continues. Long delay in filing is not fatal but invites the question why, and it is not costless.
2
Incapacity to consent, or mental disorder under Section 5(ii)
Statutory requirement
No statutory time limit under Section 12(2)
Expert medical evidence is essential, and the standard is the statutory one — incapacity to give valid consent, a mental disorder unfitting the party for marriage and procreation, or recurrent attacks of insanity — not a diagnosis on its own.
3
Force or fraud — the clock starts
Statutory requirement
The date the force ceased to operate, or the fraud was discovered
Fix this date precisely and evidence it: a message in which you confronted the other side, a complaint made to family, a medical report obtained that day. It is the single most important date in a Section 12(1)(c) petition.
4
Force or fraud — the petition must be presented
Statutory requirement
Within one year of that date
Section 12(2)(a)(i). Presented later, the petition is not entertained on that ground however strong the underlying facts.
5
Force or fraud — what destroys the claim entirely
Statutory requirement
Living with the other party as husband or wife, with full consent, after the force ceased or the fraud was discovered. This is not about time passing — a single resumed period of cohabitation after the discovery ends it. Plead the absence of cohabitation as a positive averment.
6
Pregnancy by another — three conditions, all required
Statutory requirement
Proceedings within one year of the date of the marriage
The petitioner must have been ignorant of the facts at the time of the marriage; proceedings must be instituted within one year of the marriage; and there must have been no marital intercourse with the petitioner’s consent since the discovery. Failing any one of them defeats the petition.
7
Plead the limitation facts expressly
Practical step
Do not leave a court to infer the date of discovery or the absence of cohabitation. A petition that does not plead both as positive averments will meet a limitation objection on the first date.

A petition under Section 11 carries no time limit at all, because a void marriage was never a marriage. The deadlines above belong only to the voidable grounds.

Void against voidable: the distinction that decides everything

These two words describe fundamentally different situations, and using them interchangeably — which almost every general article does — leads people to file the wrong petition.

A void marriage under Section 11 is no marriage at all. It is void ab initio: it never had legal existence, and the decree of nullity does not end it so much as record that it never began. Because there is nothing to set aside, the marriage is a nullity whether or not anyone approaches a court, and either party may present a petition to have it declared so.

A voidable marriage under Section 12 is a valid marriage. It exists, with all the consequences of a marriage, unless and until a court annuls it — and only the aggrieved party may ask. If they do not, the marriage remains valid indefinitely. If they delay past the statutory period, or continue to live with the other party as spouses after learning the truth, the right is gone and the marriage stays valid.

Section 11 against Section 12

	Void — Section 11	Voidable — Section 12
Status before any decree	No marriage in law. Void from the beginning.	A fully valid marriage, with all its legal consequences.
Who may petition	Either party to the marriage.	Only the aggrieved party.
Is a decree necessary?	The marriage is void whether or not a decree is obtained. A decree is nevertheless worth having, because it puts the position beyond argument for remarriage, records, succession and nominations.	Yes. Without a decree the marriage stands.
Time limit	None.	Strict, for two of the four grounds — one year, under Section 12(2).
Effect of living together after discovery	Irrelevant. A void marriage cannot be validated by conduct.	Fatal. Living together with full consent after the force ceased or the fraud was discovered bars the petition.
Status of children	Legitimate, by Section 16(1).	Legitimate, by Section 16(2), where a decree of nullity is granted.
Maintenance	Sections 24 and 25 can be applied for in the proceeding. Whether permanent alimony is granted after a marriage is declared void depends on the facts and has been the subject of differing views.	Sections 24 and 25 apply in the ordinary way.

When a marriage is void: Section 11

Section 11 makes a marriage null and void if it contravenes any of three conditions in Section 5 — clauses (i), (iv) and (v). It applies to marriages solemnised after the Act came into force. Note which conditions are not in the list: the age requirement in Section 5(iii) is not a ground of nullity under Section 11, and the mental-capacity condition in Section 5(ii) makes a marriage voidable under Section 12, not void.

The three grounds on which a Hindu marriage is void

Condition breached	What it means	What proves it
Section 5(i) — a spouse living	Either party had a living spouse at the time of the marriage. The second marriage is void, however long it has lasted and whatever the parties believed.	Proof of the earlier marriage and that it subsisted — the earlier marriage certificate, evidence of the ceremony, or evidence that no decree of divorce or nullity had been passed. Where a divorce decree exists, its date matters, because Section 15 bars remarriage until the appeal period has run.
Section 5(iv) — degrees of prohibited relationship	The parties are within the degrees of prohibited relationship defined in Section 3(g), unless a custom or usage governing each of them permits such a marriage.	The genealogy, and evidence of any custom relied on. A custom must be proved as ancient, certain, reasonable and continuously observed — it is not enough to assert that it happens in the community.
Section 5(v) — sapinda relationship	The parties are sapindas of each other, as defined in Section 3(f), unless a custom or usage governing each of them permits it.	The same: the line of descent, and strict proof of any permitting custom.

Underage marriage is not a ground of nullity under Section 11. A marriage where the bride was under eighteen or the groom under twenty-one contravenes Section 5(iii) but the Hindu Marriage Act does not make it void on that account. Separate remedies exist under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and a wife married before fifteen who repudiates the marriage between fifteen and eighteen has a divorce ground under Section 13(2)(iv).

When a marriage is voidable: Section 12, ground by ground

Section 12(1) sets out four grounds. Section 12(2) attaches conditions to two of them, and those conditions defeat far more petitions than the substantive grounds do.

The four grounds under Section 12(1), and the bars in Section 12(2)

Clause	Ground	Time limit and other bars
12(1)(a)	The marriage has not been consummated owing to the impotence of the respondent.	No statutory time limit. What matters is that the non-consummation is owing to the respondent’s impotence — which may be general or relative to this spouse — and that it continues. Long delay in filing invites the question why, and is not costless.
12(1)(b)	The marriage is in contravention of the condition in Section 5(ii) — incapacity to give valid consent through unsoundness of mind, a mental disorder of a kind and extent unfitting the party for marriage and procreation, or recurrent attacks of insanity.	No statutory time limit under Section 12(2), but expert medical evidence is essential and the standard is the statutory one, not a diagnosis alone.
12(1)(c)	The consent of the petitioner, or of the guardian where consent was required, was obtained by force, or by fraud as to the nature of the ceremony or as to any material fact or circumstance concerning the respondent.	The petition must be presented within one year after the force ceased to operate or the fraud was discovered. And it fails if the petitioner, with full consent, lived with the other party as husband or wife after that point.
12(1)(d)	The respondent was, at the time of the marriage, pregnant by a person other than the petitioner.	Three conditions, all of which must be satisfied: the petitioner was ignorant of the facts alleged at the time of the marriage; proceedings were instituted within one year of the date of the marriage; and marital intercourse with the petitioner’s consent has not taken place since the discovery.

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The bars in Section 12(2) end more petitions than the grounds win

Two facts kill a Section 12(1)(c) petition: filing more than a year after the fraud was discovered, and having lived together as spouses after discovering it. Both are common, because people ordinarily try to make a marriage work after learning something troubling, and because a year passes quickly. If you are contemplating annulment on fraud, the date on which you learned the truth is the most important date in your case — fix it, evidence it, and count from it.

What counts as fraud, and what does not

Section 12(1)(c) is the ground people most often want and least often satisfy, because "fraud" here is narrower than the ordinary meaning. The statute confines it to fraud as to the nature of the ceremony, or as to any material fact or circumstance concerning the respondent. Two limbs, and the second one is doing the work in almost every real case.

The recurring difficulty is the line between a material fact concealed and a disappointment discovered. Concealment of a subsisting marriage, of a serious pre-existing illness, of a prior conviction, or of a fact that goes to the identity or fundamental circumstances of the person is one thing. A spouse who turns out to earn less than claimed, or whose family behaves badly, or who is temperamentally unsuited, is another — those are not fraud within Section 12(1)(c), however genuine the grievance, and a petition founded on them is likely to fail.

Where the concealment is real, the evidence problem is proving both the misrepresentation and the date of discovery. The second matters as much as the first, because it starts the one-year clock. Anything contemporaneous — a message in which you confront the other side, a complaint made to family, a medical report obtained on that date — becomes the anchor for the limitation argument.

Nullity or divorce: which is actually better for you

People pursue annulment for reasons that are often social rather than legal — the wish to say the marriage never happened. That is a real motivation and it deserves a straight answer, which is this: unless the ground genuinely exists, annulment is slower, harder and more likely to fail than divorce, and it produces very similar legal consequences.

A nullity petition on a voidable ground is a contested proceeding in which you have to prove impotence, or mental incapacity, or fraud, or pregnancy by another — usually with expert or medical evidence, and always against a defence and cross-examination. A mutual consent petition under Section 13B requires no ground at all and finishes in six to twelve months. If the other spouse will sign, the choice is not close.

Nullity against divorce, on the things that actually differ

	Decree of nullity	Decree of divorce
What the decree says	The marriage was void, or is annulled.	The marriage existed and is dissolved from the date of the decree.
What has to be proved	A specific ground under Section 11 or Section 12, on evidence — often medical or expert evidence.	For Section 13B, nothing beyond the three requirements of the sub-section. For Section 13, a statutory ground.
Is the other party’s agreement enough?	No. A court cannot annul a marriage by consent; the ground must exist and be proved.	Yes, under Section 13B — that is the entire premise of a mutual consent divorce.
Time limits	One year for Section 12(1)(c) and 12(1)(d). None for Section 11.	No outer limit. Section 14 bars a petition within one year of the marriage, and Section 13B requires one year of separation.
Children	Legitimate under Section 16, with rights in the property of their parents only.	Legitimate without qualification.
Maintenance	Sections 24 and 25 are available in the proceeding.	Sections 24 and 25 are available.
Typical duration	A contested proceeding — commonly years, since the ground has to be proved.	Six to twelve months by mutual consent; three to five years contested.
Remarriage	Free to remarry once the decree is final.	Free to remarry once the appeal period under Section 15 has run.

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When annulment genuinely is the right petition

Where the ground is clean and provable: a subsisting earlier marriage; a marriage within prohibited degrees or between sapindas with no permitting custom; a documented fraud discovered within the last year with no cohabitation since; a pregnancy by another man discovered within a year of the marriage. In those cases the ground is worth pleading, because a declaration that the marriage was never valid is a materially different thing from a dissolution — for records, for the family, and sometimes for succession.

Children of void and voidable marriages: Section 16

The most anxious question in this area has a reassuring answer. Section 16(1) provides that a child of a marriage which is null and void is legitimate, whether or not a decree of nullity has been granted, and whether or not the marriage is held void otherwise than on a petition under the Act. Section 16(2) provides the same for a child begotten or conceived before a decree of nullity annulling a voidable marriage under Section 12 — such a child is deemed to be the legitimate child of the parties.

There is a limit, in Section 16(3). Nothing in the section confers on such a child any rights in or to the property of any person other than the parents. So the child’s position in relation to the parents is protected; what is not conferred is a claim on the wider family’s property through the void marriage.

Section 26 continues to apply to any proceeding under the Act, so the court may make orders about the custody, maintenance and education of minor children in a nullity petition exactly as it can in a divorce, and may vary them at any time in the child’s welfare.

Procedure and documents for a nullity petition

A nullity petition is filed in the same court and in the same way as a divorce petition — the Family Court, or the District Court where no Family Court exists, having jurisdiction under Section 19 of the Hindu Marriage Act. The file is built the same way. The difference is entirely in what has to be pleaded and proved.

1Plead the marriage: date, place, that it was solemnised according to Hindu rites, and its registration if any.
2Plead the applicability of the Act to both parties.
3Plead jurisdiction under Section 19, identifying the limb relied on as a fact.
4Plead the ground precisely: which sub-clause of Section 11 or Section 12, with the facts constituting it.
5For a Section 12(1)(c) or 12(1)(d) petition, plead the limitation facts expressly — the date the force ceased or the fraud was discovered, or the date of the marriage, and a positive averment that there has been no cohabitation as spouses since. Do not leave the court to infer this.
6Plead the position on children, and on maintenance if any is claimed.
7Pray for a decree of nullity under the specific section, together with any consequential relief.
8File the supporting affidavit, the vakalatnama, the marriage proof, address proofs, photographs, the index and the list of dates — as for any matrimonial petition.
9File the evidence the ground actually needs: medical or expert reports for impotence or mental disorder; the earlier marriage record for a bigamy-based Section 11 petition; the documents and messages establishing the misrepresentation and the date of discovery for fraud.

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Where maintenance is claimed, the affidavit of disclosure is mandatory here too

Rajnesh v. Neha applies to all maintenance proceedings, not only to divorce. If Section 24 or Section 25 relief is sought in a nullity petition, both parties file the affidavit of assets and liabilities in the prescribed format, and maintenance runs from the date of the application.

Official sources checked

The statutes, rules and regulator pages the statements on this page were checked against.

The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
Sections 3(f) and 3(g) (sapinda and prohibited degrees), 5, 11, 12, 13(2)(iv), 15, 16, 19, 24, 25 and 26 were read in the bare Act.
Rajnesh v. Neha, (2021) 2 SCC 324
The affidavit of disclosure is mandatory in all maintenance proceedings, which includes maintenance sought in a nullity petition.
The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006
Referred to only for the position that underage marriage is not a ground of nullity under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act.

Complete sample: petition for a decree of nullity under Section 12(1)(c)

Drafted on the fraud ground, because that is the one most petitions use and the one where the pleading decides the outcome. Paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 are the ones to read carefully: they exist solely to answer Section 12(2), and a petition that leaves the court to infer the date of discovery or the absence of cohabitation since is a petition that will be met with a limitation objection on the first date.

Sample — replace every bracketed field with your own particulars

IN THE COURT OF THE PRINCIPAL JUDGE, FAMILY COURT AT [PLACE]

Petition No. __________ of 20____

IN THE MATTER OF: The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — Section 12(1)(c)

AND IN THE MATTER OF:

[Full name], aged about [__] years,
son / daughter of [name],
resident of [full address]                                   ... Petitioner

                              versus

[Full name], aged about [__] years,
son / daughter of [name],
resident of [full address]                                   ... Respondent

     PETITION UNDER SECTION 12(1)(c) OF THE HINDU MARRIAGE ACT, 1955
                 FOR A DECREE OF NULLITY OF MARRIAGE

MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:

1.  That a marriage was solemnised between the Petitioner and the
    Respondent on [date] at [place] according to Hindu rites and
    ceremonies. [The said marriage was registered on [date] before the
    Registrar of Marriages, [place] / The said marriage was not
    registered.] A copy of the [Marriage Certificate / wedding
    invitation card and photographs of the ceremony] is annexed hereto
    and marked ANNEXURE P-1.

2.  That both parties were Hindus by religion at the time of the said
    marriage and continue to be Hindus, and the provisions of the Hindu
    Marriage Act, 1955 apply to them.

3.  That after the said marriage the parties resided together at
    [address] until [date].

4.  That [no child was born of the said marriage / the following child
    was born of the said marriage: [name], aged [__] years, presently
    residing with the [Petitioner / Respondent]].

5.  That the marriage was arranged through [source], and prior to the
    marriage the Respondent and the Respondent's family represented to
    the Petitioner and the Petitioner's family that [set out the
    representation made, precisely, with the date and the person who
    made it].

6.  That the said representation was false to the knowledge of the
    Respondent. In truth, [set out the concealed fact — its nature, and
    when it came into existence]. The Petitioner consented to the said
    marriage solely on the faith of the said representation, and would
    not have consented had the true position been disclosed. The said
    fact is a material fact and circumstance concerning the Respondent
    within the meaning of Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act,
    1955.

7.  That the Petitioner came to know of the said concealment on [exact
    date], when [set out precisely how the Petitioner discovered it —
    the document seen, the conversation, the medical report obtained].
    A copy of [the document establishing discovery] is annexed hereto
    and marked ANNEXURE P-2.

8.  That the present petition is presented within one year of the date
    on which the said fraud was discovered by the Petitioner, and is
    therefore within the period prescribed by Section 12(2)(a)(i) of
    the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

9.  That the Petitioner has not, with his / her full consent, lived
    with the Respondent as husband or wife at any time after the said
    fraud was discovered on [date]. The Petitioner left the matrimonial
    home on [date] and the parties have resided separately since.

10. That the Petitioner has not in any manner condoned or acquiesced in
    the said fraud, and there has been no unnecessary or improper delay
    in instituting these proceedings.

11. That there is no collusion between the parties, and this petition is
    not presented in collusion with the Respondent.

12. That this Hon'ble Court has jurisdiction to entertain and try this
    petition under Section 19 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, inasmuch
    as [state the limb of Section 19 relied on — where the marriage was
    solemnised, where the Respondent resides, where the parties last
    resided together, or, where the wife is the Petitioner, where she
    resides].

13. That no other petition, suit or proceeding in respect of the
    subject matter of this petition is pending between the parties
    before any court [or: the following proceedings are pending between
    the parties: [particulars, with case numbers and courts]].

14. That the requisite court fee has been paid on this petition.

                              PRAYER

It is therefore most respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Court may
graciously be pleased to:

(a) declare the marriage solemnised between the Petitioner and the
    Respondent on [date] to be null and void, and pass a decree of
    nullity under Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955;

(b) [where applicable] award maintenance and the expenses of this
    proceeding under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and
    permanent alimony under Section 25;

(c) [where applicable] make provision for the custody, maintenance and
    education of the minor child under Section 26 of the Hindu Marriage
    Act, 1955;

(d) award the costs of this petition to the Petitioner; and

(e) pass such other and further order or orders as this Hon'ble Court
    may deem just and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case.

Place: [____]
Dated: [____]
                                          ____________________________
                                                   Petitioner
                                          Through Counsel

                            VERIFICATION

Verified at [place] on this [__] day of [month] 20____ that the contents
of paragraphs 1 to 10 of the above petition are true to my own personal
knowledge, that the contents of paragraphs 11 to 14 are true on the basis
of record and legal advice which I believe to be true, that no part of it
is false and that nothing material has been concealed therefrom.

                                          ____________________________
                                                   Petitioner

[Paragraphs 7, 8 and 9 carry the whole petition. Section 12(2) bars a
fraud petition presented more than a year after the fraud was discovered,
and bars it outright where the petitioner has lived with the other party
as spouses with full consent after the discovery. Plead the date of
discovery as a specific date, evidence it, and plead the absence of
cohabitation since as a positive averment — do not leave the court to
infer either.

For a petition under Section 11 (void marriage) the structure is the
same, but paragraphs 5 to 10 are replaced by the facts establishing the
contravention of Section 5(i), 5(iv) or 5(v) — the subsisting earlier
marriage, the prohibited degree, or the sapinda relationship — and there
are no limitation paragraphs, because Section 11 carries no time limit.]

Adapt this to your own facts and have it reviewed by an advocate before filing. Where the ground is under Section 11 rather than Section 12, the limitation paragraphs come out and the facts establishing the contravention of Section 5 go in.

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Checking whether annulment applies

What to do next

1
If no nullity ground fits — and for most people none does — use mutual consent
It needs no ground at all, finishes far sooner, and produces a decree that ends the marriage just as effectively.
The Section 13B procedure →
2
If your spouse will not agree, look at the divorce grounds instead
Cruelty, desertion and the rest describe things that happened after the marriage — which is where most real cases actually sit.
Grounds and the evidence for each →
3
Build the file the same way as any matrimonial petition
Petition, supporting affidavit, vakalatnama, marriage proof, annexure index — plus the evidence the specific ground needs.
The document checklist →
4
If you are claiming maintenance in the nullity petition, file the disclosure affidavit
Rajnesh v. Neha applies to all maintenance proceedings, not only to divorce.
Assets & Liabilities affidavit generator →

Legal review

Advocate review pending. Every statutory section, case citation and procedural timeline on this page was checked against the bare Act and the reported judgment before publication by GetNyay’s editorial reviewer. An advocate’s name, State Bar Council and enrolment number will be published here once one has reviewed the cluster. We do not publish a reviewer’s name before that review has actually happened.

Content last checked against the cited statutes and judgments: September 2026. This date is maintained by hand and does not change on a redeploy. GetNyay is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal representation. The formats and estimates here are general information. Have any draft reviewed by an advocate enrolled with a State Bar Council before you file it or send it.

Annulment of marriage: void and voidable

Is this an annulment question at all?

Key takeaways

Void marriage, voidable marriage and divorce

Void marriage

Voidable marriage

Divorce

The Section 12 deadlines, and what resets or destroys them

Impotence — non-consummation

Incapacity to consent, or mental disorder under Section 5(ii)

Force or fraud — the clock starts

Force or fraud — the petition must be presented

Force or fraud — what destroys the claim entirely

Pregnancy by another — three conditions, all required

Plead the limitation facts expressly