Legal provisions involved: Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 

Judgement by: Jharkhand High Court

Judge/Bench: Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary.

Facts

The couple married on 2 December 2015. After moving into the husband’s house, the wife found out he had previously lived with another woman in a relationship before marriage, something he did not disclose. She also said he and his family demanded ₹15 lakh as dowry and treated her badly. She was forced to leave the house in March 2016. 

The wife went to Family Court asking to annul the marriage as it was obtained by fraud, and asked for permanent alimony. The husband did not appear in the Family Court, which cancelled the marriage and ordered ₹30 lakh alimony. Both parties filed appeals.

Key legal provisions

Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 

Issues raised

Whether the ex-parte order was valid?

Whether hiding a past live-in relationship is fraud under the law, and what amount of alimony should be awarded?

Arguments of the case

The wife said the alimony amount was too low and asked for more. The husband denied the fraud and challenged the annulment and the ex-parte judgment.

Judgement

The High Court agreed that hiding the prior live-in relationship was fraud, and upheld the annulment. The Court also increased the permanent alimony from ₹30 lakh to ₹50 lakh to reasonably secure the wife’s future.

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