• Breach of pre-marriage promise

hi everyone , plz help me .
I have a very unique situation where my wife is refusing to fulfill her pre marriage promise to deliver a baby with borrowed egg. 
I got married in Dec 2013. Before marriage my wife- told me that she has psoriasis-a genetic disease also have arthritis disease. I wrote an e-mail to her and made it clear that as psoriasis is a genetic disease so she would deliver our child with egg borrowed from some other healthy lady. 
she gave me affirmative answer (i have related email ). she told me that she will do whatever is beneficial for the child then we got married in Dec 2013 .
But now she is creating problems /nonsense and breaching her pre marriage promise. Now she want to have child with her own egg but she has psoriasis-a genetic disease . According to National Psoriasis Agency there are 10 % chances that the child will have the same disease . 
we leaving separately from april 2014 . Now i want to ask 
1) can i file a divorce case on the basis of genetic disease / inability to produce a healthy baby. 
2) can i get compensation for breaching the pre marriage promise .
please help me 
ashok bindra
Asked 9 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

2 answers received in 10 minutes.

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10 Answers

1) since marriage has taken place in December 2013 you can file for divorce only after expiry of one year from date of marriage ie after December 2014 . only in exceptional circumstances and with leave of court can you file for divorce earlier .

2) you were fully aware that your wife was suffering from genetic disease prior to your marriage . you had option not to marry her yet you went ahead . you cant file for divorce on grounds that she is suffering from genetic disease .

3) further you were aware that your wife had only 10%chance of delivering healthy baby . merely because your wife is unable to give you a child is no grounds for divorce .

4) your chances of getting compensation are bleak .

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94404 Answers
7468 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Hello, there isnt any law which specifically mentions that the pre marriage promise needs to be delivered because marriage is not considered as a contractual agreement in the Hindu law. However if the mutual understanding between you and your wife formed the basis of the marriage, you can file a case for divorce on that ground alone. However, i suggest that you both mutually agree and file a divorce if you both want it. With regard to Psoriasis, as per the report there are 10% chances, this isnt relevant for you as much as the understanding between both of you was on the ground that she will not bear child from her womb but from a borrowed egg, You can persuade her to do so negating the report as given by the National Psoriasis Agency.

Chances for getting compensation in such cases are less. Further even if you both are not staying together, your divorce case cannot be filed before January, 2015. since the law provides that divorce can be filed only after expiry of one year of the marriage.

I suggest you speak with your wife and persuade her not to bear child from her egg, showing her the ill effects of the disease. Go to a Family consultant if required.

Shaveta Sanghi
Advocate, Chandigarh
914 Answers
111 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

You cannot make a genetic disease as a ground for divorce coz u already had a knowledge of it before ur marriage and u married her of ur own free will u cannot claim any compensation also and as concerning the promise u r talking about marriage is nt a contract for which u can sue ur wife for its breach you only have the option for mutual concent divorce.

Swithin Subhashish Lawrence
Advocate, Allahabad
47 Answers
3 Consultations

4.8 on 5.0

Yes you can file a petition for nullifying the marriage on the ground of genetic disease or you can wait for a year and file divorce case on the ground of desertion

Jeshma Mohandas KP
Advocate, Kozhikode
567 Answers
1 Consultation

4.5 on 5.0

Dear Client,

It is very difficult to understand your problem, but it is my duty to explain the legal status of your stated facts and circumstances.

Please note that, the social contracts are not enforcebale by law. What she promised is bizzare.How it is possible to borrow a healthy egge and concieve the pregnancy for healthy child.Is it in her hand work. Who can give assurance that a baby born from healthy egg will be healthy?How can the doctor esteemated the chances of 10% if she conceive at her.Death and Birth is in the hand of CREATOR.

In reply to your first question, you are not entitle to get divorce on the said stated ground.

In reply to your second question , you are not entitle to claim any compensation unde law.

You are suggested that, keep the relationship intact, and believe the CREATOR.

Mohammad Khaleel Ahmed
Advocate, Hyderabad
184 Answers
1 Consultation

4.5 on 5.0

1) you cannot file a divorce case on the basis of genetic disease / inability to produce a healthy baby as ur were aware of this fact before marriage also.

2) no, you cannot get compensation for breaching the pre marriage promise, from ur wife as u did not have any documentary proof.

3) you, can file divorce case after 1 year of marriage on ground of desertion.

R.K. Nanda
Advocate, New Delhi
457 Answers

4.7 on 5.0

1. Legally speaking, you cannot file for divorce until and unless your marriage is a year old. The one year bar can be dispensed with by the court in only very exceptional cases.

2. As per your own facts, you were before marriage aware of her being a patient of a genetic disease. You married her fully knowing that she has a genetic disease. Even though you have proof of her having promised to deliver a child through an egg borrowed from another woman, whereas she now wants to bear a child through her own egg. Violation of pre-marital promise does not give you the right to seek divorce from her. Had she altogether refused to have a child you could have filed for divorce, but refusal to have child using the egg of another woman is no basis to seek divorce. Furthermore, Indian law does not mandate that pre-marital promises should be carried out.

3. You may, however, file for mutual divorce if your wife agrees to the same.

4. No compensation will be granted to you. Do not waste time, money and energy on filing lawsuits against your wife.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. This is an unique case,

2.Dovorce suit can be filed only after one year of marriage unless this mandatory period is dispensed with, as a special case, by the Court,

3. The reasons for divorce stated by you do not constitute valid ground for seeking a decree of divorce,

4.You can only agitate for her not complying with her pre-marital promise but there is no law in india to force her to keep her said pre-marital promise,

5. So, bear with her.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27132 Answers
726 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Hi, you can file a divorce only after completion of one year and grounds you have stated is not a ground for divorce and your wife is willing to live with you and the reason she is want to get baby by own is not amount to cruelty and it is not a ground for divorce or else go for divorce by mutual consent.

Pradeep Bharathipura
Advocate, Bangalore
5604 Answers
335 Consultations

4.5 on 5.0

Dear Querist

is there any written agreement regarding pre-marriage promises?????

if not then you may not file the divorce case on this ground.

Nadeem Qureshi
Advocate, New Delhi
6276 Answers
302 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

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