JOIN USAnnulment is hard way out
Among piling divorce cases, Delhi gets hardly 8 to 10 per cent instances of annulment of marriage, say lawyers.
“The reason is simple. Many people in the city are not aware of annulment. Also, the procedure for annulment is lengthy because there are only four categories under which one can get their marriage annulled,” said Pawash Piyush, a city-based advocate.
Annulment of marriage is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage “null and void”. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, which means that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning as if it had never taken place.
But laws in other countries provide that a marriage is void only from the date of annulment. Under sections 18 and 19 of the Indian Divorce Act, 1869, a marriage can be nullified on any one of four grounds — respondent was impotent at the time of marriage, parties are within prohibited degrees of consanguinity or affinity, either party has been lunatic since the time of marriage or either party has married for the second time without divorcing the first spouse.
But annulment is lengthy in India because one needs to provide proof for the mentioned allegations. “It is difficult to get proof of such instances. We get clients who wish to get their marriage annulled, but after we list the grounds of getting it done, they change their mind and opt for divorce,” said Gyan Prakash, a Delhi-based lawyer dealing with cases of matrimony, divorce and domestic violence.
Lawyers say getting an annulment in countries like the US is faster. “But in India we follow traditions and try to discourage people from ending their marriage. So courts take a long time to take a decision as they believe that the sanctity of marriage should be maintained,” said Aditya Agarwal, an advocate.
Lawyers also say there is shortage of courts in Delhi and judges are overloaded with work. “I know of a judge in Karkardooma court who hears 40 to 45 cases a day,” said Agarwal.
“Whether it is divorce or annulment, till we do not shed the burden on courts, the procedure will never be simplified,” he added.