Nullity of marriage — MCQs

All questions with answers and explanations

Read the full set here, or use the practice card above to test yourself one question at a time.

1. A marriage is void under Section 11 if it contravenes conditions in Section 5 relating to:

   • Bigamy, prohibited relationship, or sapinda relationship (correct answer)
   • Age of the parties
   • Religion of the parties
   • Consent of parents only

   Explanation. Section 11 makes a marriage void if it contravenes Sec. 5(i) bigamy, 5(iv) prohibited relationship, or 5(v) sapinda relationship.

2. A void marriage is:

   • Never legally valid, from the very beginning (correct answer)
   • Valid until a court says otherwise
   • Valid for one year
   • Valid unless challenged within a fixed time

   Explanation. A void marriage never had legal existence from the very moment it was performed.

3. Which of the following is a ground for a voidable marriage under Section 12?

   • Impotence of the respondent preventing consummation (correct answer)
   • Prohibited degree of relationship
   • Bigamy
   • Sapinda relationship

   Explanation. Impotence preventing consummation is a Section 12 ground for a voidable marriage.

4. A voidable marriage remains valid:

   • Until annulled by a decree of the court (correct answer)
   • From the moment it is performed, it is void
   • Only for one year
   • Only if both parties agree it is valid

   Explanation. A voidable marriage is fully valid and subsisting until a competent court annuls it by decree.

5. Under Section 12(2), a petition on the ground of fraud must generally be filed within:

   • One year of discovering the fraud (correct answer)
   • Five years of marriage
   • Six months of marriage
   • There is no time limit

   Explanation. Section 12(2) requires such a petition to be filed within one year of the fraud being discovered.

6. Which section of the Hindu Marriage Act legitimises children born of void or voidable marriages?

   • Section 16 (correct answer)
   • Section 11
   • Section 12
   • Section 13

   Explanation. Section 16 legitimises children born of both void and voidable marriages.

7. Who can seek annulment of a voidable marriage?

   • Only the specific party entitled under Section 12 (correct answer)
   • Either party or any third party
   • Only the government
   • Any relative of either spouse

   Explanation. Only the party specifically entitled under Section 12 can seek annulment of a voidable marriage.

8. A second marriage entered into by a Hindu man while his first wife is still alive and undivorced is:

   • Void under Section 11 due to bigamy (correct answer)
   • Voidable under Section 12
   • Valid if performed with proper ceremonies
   • Valid if the second wife consents

   Explanation. This contravenes the bigamy condition in Section 5(i), making the second marriage void under Section 11.

9. Which of the following is a ground for a VOID marriage under Section 11?

   • Impotence of the respondent
   • Breach of the monogamy condition (Section 5(i)) (correct answer)
   • Fraud as to a material fact
   • Pre-marriage pregnancy by another

   Explanation. Section 11 declares a marriage void for breach of Section 5(i), (iv), or (v).

10. Which of the following is a ground for a VOIDABLE marriage under Section 12?

    • Sapinda relationship
    • Prohibited relationship
    • Impotence of the respondent (correct answer)
    • Bigamy

    Explanation. Impotence under Section 12(1)(a) is a voidable ground, unlike the void grounds under Section 11.

11. A void marriage:

    • Requires a decree to be treated as non-existent
    • Is void from the very beginning, regardless of a decree (correct answer)
    • Becomes valid if both parties agree
    • Can only be challenged by the State

    Explanation. A void marriage is void ab initio by operation of law, whether or not a decree is obtained.

12. Under Section 12(2), a petition on the ground of fraud (Section 12(1)(c)) must be filed within:

    • Six months of the marriage
    • One year of discovering the fraud (correct answer)
    • Three years of the marriage
    • There is no time limit

    Explanation. Section 12(2) requires the petition to be filed within one year of discovering the fraud or force.

13. In Jinia Keotin v. Kumar Sitaram Manjhi, Section 16 was held to legitimise children of a void marriage only for:

    • All purposes including coparcenary rights
    • Inheriting their own parents' property (correct answer)
    • Claiming property of any relative
    • Voting rights

    Explanation. Section 16 legitimises such children only for inheriting their own parents' property, per Jinia Keotin.

14. What bars relief under Section 12(2) for grounds (c) and (d)?

    • Payment of a fine
    • Continued cohabitation with full knowledge of the facts (correct answer)
    • Filing the petition too early
    • Consent of both families

    Explanation. Continued cohabitation with full knowledge of the facts bars relief under these two grounds.

15. Under Section 12(1)(a), a marriage is voidable if:

    • The respondent is unemployed
    • The marriage has not been consummated owing to the impotence of the respondent (correct answer)
    • The parties belong to different castes
    • The parties are first cousins

    Explanation. Section 12(1)(a) makes a marriage voidable where it has not been consummated owing to the impotence of the respondent. Impotence is a section 12 ground, not a section 11 ground.

16. In Revanasiddappa v. Mallikarjun (2023), the Supreme Court held that children of a void or voidable marriage:

    • Have no property rights
    • Are entitled to the property of their parents and not of any other person (correct answer)
    • Become coparceners of the wider joint family
    • Can claim the property of all relatives

    Explanation. A three-Judge Bench reconsidered Jinia Keotin and held that these children are entitled to the property of their parents and not of any other person (section 16(3)).