HC annuls marriage over misrepresentation of details at matrimonial portal

The Delhi High Court has upheld the annulment of a wedding after discovering that the groom’s matrimonial profile contained false claims about his marital standing and revenue.

The man had described himself as “single” on the portal, regardless of having a baby from a earlier marriage, and likewise overstated his annual revenue.

A Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan within the August 20 judgment noticed that “deliberate misrepresentation of 1’s marital historical past just isn’t a trivial omission however a transparent suppression of details going to the basis of a wedding”.

The man had challenged an order of a household courtroom which had earlier annulled the wedding on grounds of fraud.

He argued that his prior marriage had been “disclosed to the lady” throughout a gathering in November 2014. He additional claimed that the web profile was “created by his mother and father”, who had been “unaware” of his marital historical past and divorce.

The man argued that the time period ‘single’ was supposed solely to convey that he was single on the time of his second marriage.

Calling the arguments “synthetic” and “flawed”, the courtroom held that there’s a clear distinction between ‘single’ and ‘divorced’, and that the omission of such essential details amounted to deliberate misrepresentation.

“This was a element that the respondent (lady) was entitled to know earlier than making the life-altering resolution to marry the appellant (man). Its concealment strikes on the very core of free and knowledgeable consent, rendering the wedding voidable,” the courtroom mentioned.

It discovered that the current case attracts the provisions of Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act, which permits annulment of a wedding on particular grounds, together with fraud.

The courtroom famous that the existence of a kid from the earlier marriage was a profoundly materials “to any potential partner’s resolution on whether or not to marry”.

“Even if one assumes that the mere truth of a previous, now-dissolved marriage won’t all the time be decisive, the existence of a kid, in our view, may carry important weight for making a choice,” the courtroom remarked.