Delhi High Court Annuls Marriage Over Egregious Fraudulent Misrepresentations on Matrimonial Portal

In a significant ruling that underscores the critical importance of honesty in matrimonial alliances, the Delhi High Court has annulled a marriage, overturning a lower court's decision, on grounds of fraudulent misrepresentation. The court found that the wife had severely misled the husband about her age, education, and employment status on a matrimonial portal, rendering the marriage voidable.

The case, heard by a Division Bench comprising Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, involved a petition filed by the husband seeking annulment of his marriage.

The couple had met through a matrimonial website, a common platform for individuals seeking life partners today. However, what began with hopeful prospects soon unraveled into a tale of deceit.

The husband alleged that his wife had made substantial misrepresentations about her personal details.

Crucially, she claimed her birth year was 1991, when her actual date of birth was 1982, making her nine years older than stated. Furthermore, she falsely asserted a B.Sc (Computer Science) degree and claimed employment with "IBM India Pvt Ltd." In reality, she was merely a 10th-grade pass and held no such job, having not even completed her 12th standard.

The truth began to surface when the husband discovered glaring discrepancies in her documents, including her school leaving certificate and Aadhaar card.

Confronted with irrefutable evidence, the husband initiated legal proceedings for annulment. Initially, the Family Court had dismissed his petition, a decision that the High Court deemed "perverse" and "unsustainable in the eyes of the law."

The High Court emphasized that such profound misrepresentations constitute "fraud" under Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

This section allows a marriage to be declared voidable if consent was obtained by fraud or coercion. The Bench stated unequivocally, "Marriage is a sacred bond, and it is expected that parties would be honest and truthful in their representations to each other... The court cannot allow such fraudulent acts to perpetuate."

The court's judgment highlights that misrepresentations concerning crucial aspects like age, education, and employment are not mere minor embellishments but fundamental factors upon which a decision to marry is based.

Had the husband known the truth, his consent to the marriage would likely have never been given. Therefore, the consent was obtained through fraud, making the marriage liable for annulment.

This ruling serves as a vital reminder for individuals engaging in matrimonial searches, particularly through online platforms, to exercise due diligence and for all parties to uphold transparency.

It reinforces the legal principle that deliberate deception in material facts can have serious repercussions, leading to the dissolution of a marriage that was founded on a web of lies.