• Annulment of marriage registered under Special Marriage Act

my son  is settled in USA. he earns $7000 a month. he is 34 . he married to a girl in pune . through deshsthamatrimony .com.she is 30 . she  makes a small earning.

marriage is registered under Special Marriage Act. in pune on 08 08 2013. 
on 11 08 2013 she said she is not prepared for physical relationship. we told her that u may tell this to your husband. she entered the room where her husband was waiting . within 10 minutes she came back saying that she does not feel comfortable with her husband .
following  day  her parents came and they asked  her  when she would feel comfortable . she said may b never . she left our house with parents with all the stuff, clothe.s and all the ornaments we had gifted her at wedding .on 12 08 2013 . 
on 13 08 2013 she went for visa interview with her husband . they were there for 2 days . however no physical relationship was established . 
on 17 08 2013 a meeting of all concerned with 2 witnesses on our side took place . in the said meeting it was decided that we submit a case for annulment of marriage in the court  under special marriage act alleging her wilful refusal and consequently non  consumation of marriage . 
in october 2013   a case under D V Act was filed against us saying that due to indecent and improper and  behaviour and neglecting the wife of my son she did not feel comfortable and therefore marriage was not consumated .
for compensation , a hefty sum of 18 to 20 lacs was demanded . 
the case is being pursed  in the court for over a year through advocates on both sides . i would request u to please send replies to my below mentioned questions on my e mail address viz. vr_deshpande@yahoo.com
1  she left our house on her own . is maintenance payable in such cases . 
2  by virtue of just 5 days of cohabitation is she entitled to keep to the stridhanof 4 / 5 lacs of the ornaments we gifted her at wedding  .
3  parents of girl r asking us for compensation of rs. 10 lacs they say they have spent on marriage . r they entitled for this . 
4  girll is demanding the maintenance of rs. 50 thousand rs. plus a flat in pune for living there . she is now living with her parents in pune . 
5 it appears that she is drug addict and alcohol dependent . however we r not able to prove it . is there any solution . 
6  if case goes against us we propose to go to higher court . and if  we win we propose to file defamtion case . will this b right course . 
7  how much maintenance would b payable considering our son's earning of $7000 a month and only a small earning of a girl . her parents appear to b well to do . she lives in pune and my son is settled in usa .
8 the period during which such interim maintenance is payable .
is it to b paid till the decree of annulment is passed or is to b paid  permanently or till her remarriage . and if she does  not marry or does not disclose to  the court  that she has remarried .
9 after the decree of annulment is passed r the gifts need b returned by everyone to the other party . we have gifted her ornaments of some 4 / 5 lacs . would we b entitled to ask for return of these ornaments . 
10  during the pendency , can our son get married .
 thanks , 
v r deshpande
Asked 9 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

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7 Answers

1) she would be entitled to maintenance if she is not working

2)wife would be entitled to her streedhan

3)parents are not entitled to any compensation of marriage expenses

4)the issue would be whether she is working or not if she is working she would not be entitled to maintenance if there is not much disparity in income of husband and wife

5) wife is entitled to alternative accommodation or right to stay in matrimonial home under Dv act

6)no need to file defamation case . if you lose you can go in appeal against impugned order passed in DV case

7)please mention income of husband and wife . generally wife is entitled to 1/3rd husband income as maintenance .

8)wife would be entitled to maintenance till she remarries

9)no you would not be entitled to return of streedhan given to daughter in law at time of marriage

10) your son cannot remarry during subsistence of earlier marriage

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94518 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. If you can establish that she has left her matrimonial home of her own without any valid reason, then she is not entitled to any maintenance. Moreover, she won't get maitenance if she is employed,

2. Ye, she can . The items gifted by you to her are her Streedhan, Period,

3. They shall have to establish that she has been forced out of her matrimonal house or your son is responsible for her such leaving, to claim compensation,

4. If she is employed, she is not entitled to any maintenance. however, your son shall have to contest the said maintenance petition fittingly with evidence,

5. Engage a detective agency to collect evidence for your said allegation,

6.Your son's right course will be to get rid of her and start his life afresh. You can file defamation and file case for filing false case,

7. Nor normally it is between 1/5th to 1/3rd of your son's monthly net earning, if at all she is entitled to get maintenance,

8. Till she becomes capable of maintaining herself or gets remarried.

9. No those gifts are permanently gone,

10. No. Not at all. He has to get the decree of divorce before getting remarried otherwise he will be booked with the charge of bigamy punishable with jail term.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27191 Answers
726 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

The marriage seems to be over for all practical purposes and it is no more wise to run after it for the sake of keeping it alive on paper.

If they are ready for amicable settlement then latch on it and file a petition for mutual divorce. Annulment on compromise is a collusion and court may not allow it.

Considering the income of your son Rs.10 lakhs is reasonable sum on which you may agree for settling the dispute peaceably once and for all.

Devajyoti Barman
Advocate, Kolkata
22774 Answers
484 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. No maintenance is payable if it is proved that she left of her own without any valid and justifiable reasons or she is having sufficient income of her own.

2. Istreedhan is of the Stree/wife. No matter how many days she lived there or cohabited .

3. Girl's parent are not entitled for any compensation or recovery of money they spent in marriage.

4.A reasonable amount of maintenance could be awarded to her if she has no income and she is entitled for accommodation or rent for the same.

5. What legal solution you want to know about her being drug addict or alcoholic which you are not sure of.

6.If case goes against you, file an appeal.No defamation case is advisable.

7.It depends on various factors however,1/3 of income of husband is awarded.

8. Till such time she gets remarried or earns sufficient income.

9.You are not entitled to claim as same is part of Streedhan.

10. No he can remarry only after a decree of divorce is passed.

S.P. Srivastava
Advocate, New Delhi
703 Answers
13 Consultations

4.7 on 5.0

1. A wife who deserts her matrimonial house on her own accord without any sufficient cause is not entitled to claim maintenance. She is further disentitled to maintenance if she is employed.

2. Cohabitation of even a single day allows her to claim the exclusive possession of her stridhan.

3. Parents of the girl can file a lawsuit to claim the expenses incurred by them on the marriage of their girl, but they have to prove beyond a pale of doubt that their daughter was subjected to domestic abuse and was thereafter thrown out of the matrimonial house.

4. The claim to maintenance by the girl will be tested on the touchstone of her employment status, the lifestyle enjoyed in the past, the income of her husband and other relevant factors. The court can order the husband to provide alternative accommodation to her at his expenditure.

5. If you cannot prove an allegation then you should not level it. Unsubstantiated and sweeping allegations can be the foundation of a defamation case by her.

6. File for defamation only after you succeed in proving your innocence.

7. She may get 1/3rd of her husband's income. That her parents are well off is not a ground on which her claim can be rejected.

8. Maintenance is payable till the time she remarries or starts earning independently.

9. Even after annulment you will not be entitled under the law to demand the return of gifts which you gave to her. The gifts received by her are her stridhan over which she has the absolute ownership.

10. He cannot remarry until and unless annulment takes place. If he remarries without the marriage being annulled he will be liable to be prosecuted and punished for bigamy which carries an imprisonment of up to 7 years.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Hi, once the marriage is taken place it is the duty of the husband to maintain his wife whether she is stayed in 5 days or not and it is tried to settle the matter amicably so the quantum of maintenance is depend upon the income and his financial capacity and there is no hard and fast rule. it is my opinion tried to settle the mater amicabally.

Pradeep Bharathipura
Advocate, Bangalore
5604 Answers
335 Consultations

4.5 on 5.0

Dear Querist

As per your information and queries my opinion on your queries are as under:

1 she left our house on her own . is maintenance payable in such cases .

Opinion: If you proved before the court that there is no sufficient reason to left your home then she is not entitled to get any maintenance otherwise she may get the maintenance.

2 by virtue of just 5 days of cohabitation is she entitled to keep to the stridhanof 4 / 5 lacs of the ornaments we gifted her at wedding .

Opinion: yes, she is entitled to get all her istridhan

3 parents of girl r asking us for compensation of rs. 10 lacs they say they have spent on marriage . r they entitled for this .

Opinion: No, they are not entitled to get any compensation as expenses of marriage.

4 girll is demanding the maintenance of rs. 50 thousand rs. plus a flat in pune for living there . she is now living with her parents in pune .

Opinion: it may be decide by the court and she may get the maintenance and residence order as per her husband's income and status.

5 it appears that she is drug addict and alcohol dependent . however we r not able to prove it . is there any solution .

Opinion: you may file an application for her check up by Doctor before court if any matter is pending before the court.

6 if case goes against us we propose to go to higher court . and if we win we propose to file defamtion case . will this b right course .

Opinion: 100%, Filing the defamation and malicious prosecution case is best option to teach them a lesson

7 how much maintenance would b payable considering our son's earning of $7000 a month and only a small earning of a girl . her parents appear to b well to do . she lives in Pune and my son is settled in USA.

Opinion: 1/3 of income of the husband may be awarded as maintenance........

8 the period during which such interim maintenance is payable .

Opinion: It's depend on the court, generally it is for till the final disposal of the main case.

is it to b paid till the decree of annulment is passed or is to b paid permanently or till her remarriage . and if she does not marry or does not disclose to the court that she has remarried .

Opinion: It will be continue till her remarry or till she is not living in adultery or get a divorce decree of Mutual Consent.

9 after the decree of annulment is passed r the gifts need b returned by everyone to the other party . we have gifted her ornaments of some 4 / 5 lacs . would we b entitled to ask for return of these ornaments .

Opinion: Gifted which became her istridhan only be return other gift can not be return or recovered by the opposite party.

10 during the pendency , can our son get married .

Opinion: Legally not.

Nadeem Qureshi
Advocate, New Delhi
6307 Answers
302 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

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