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PMy cousin got married 2 months ago. Just after a week of marriage she said she was forced by her parents and doesn’t want to continue the relationship. Marriage is not consummated. Before marriage she never said anything and as she is shy girl we also thought she takes time to adjust. Her parents literally beat her up before meeting my cousin. Now we are in complete shock and my cousin’s life ruined because of her decision. She is not ready for marriage counselling also and says divorce is the only option. Marriage expense was from their side, but even my cousin’s family spent a lot of money. Is there a way to ask for any compensation? also what should be our next steps? we did consult 2 lawyers both have said, before one year we can not do anything.
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Nyou can apply for annulment since you mentioned that the girl was forced by her parents. if that is the case the marriage is voidable. the petition must be filed within one year of marriage or the discovery of the force.
please find some good lawyer and work it out-
PThank you for your response. What about the compensation? Because my cousin’s family spent a lot of money on the marriage
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AAsk that as a consequential relief. In any case if the proceedings take more than a year you can convert it into a mutual consent petition and come out. Speak to a lawyer specialising in matrimonial disputes.
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SNAL but isn’t she probably a working professional?
It should be pretty straightforward to get mutual divorce as well if she herself returns the compensation as she’s broached the divorce, her parents forcing her and that not being conveyed to you could also act as a factor here to show no wrongdoing on your family end. Collect evidence from her or a statement from her to be recorded early on where she accepts that it was her parents who forced it, could work for safety later.
Compensation so can be a separate issue that can be settled out of court as well. Verify with lawyer nevertheless.
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PYeah she is a working professional. She is planning to move to Netherlands, so she want the divorce as soon as possible.
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SThen make sure that it’s on record that she herself has explicitly named her parents as the ones who forced her.
Compensation can be sought, she’s anyway going outside, use this information and share it with a good lawyer. I’m not sure about the annulment part whether original comment is by lawyer, ask about that as well with a real one. With assurance of monetary settlement.
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MHonestly writing up the girl not saying anything as she is shy isn’t the right justification either. Her family is to be blamed, but the girl had to get out of the threatening household, I can’t blame her for trying to save her life at the cost of divorce. Ideally your family should have also had exclusive discussion with the girl if you really thought her opinion mattered.
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PWe had discussions many times and even before confirming everything my cousin’s met her 2-3 times without her family. She was very much involved in wedding and setting up apartment. Not sure where everything went wrong
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MHmm.. I think the problem is with the structure and expectations out of arranged marriage. The concession I can give her is if her life was in danger. But i think there should be a better courtship period to build trust. like if she isn’t able to trust her family members then 3 meetings wouldn’t have been enough to prosper trust with your cousin. Wish you and your family the best here.
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DHi. I’m a Delhi based lawyer here. Yes, barring exceptional circumstances, you can’t do much until one year.
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PShe wants divorce and my cousin is also ready, but we are planning to ask for compensation so not sure how things will go
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CTalk to her parents and politely discuss this matter. If they deny any compensation then, let it go.
If she is ready to divorce calmly without any fuss then that’s your compensation. Trust me.
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PYeah I know calm divorce is better option. But my cousin was so ready for marriage and did everything right and settled everything including apartment before marriage. She did not utter a word throughout whole 5 months of courtship. We have spent a lot of money and we are from a working class family, this is huge loss for us. Marriage didn’t last for a week also
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I1. Ideally, you should file for annulment in the respective family court. It would be necessary to demonstrate that she married your cousin under pressure from her parents and did not genuinely consent.
The fact that the marriage has not been consummated can further support the case for annulment, as it may be indicative of the girl’s lack of willingness to enter into the marriage.If the court is not satisfied and does not grant the annulment:
2. Proceed with a mutually agreed divorce. If that is the case, make sure there are no hostilities and avoid contesting it unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, it can get ugly and costly very fast.
3. No, unless you are 99.99% sure and it is merely a formality to even ask, you should not ask for compensation, especially in court.
You’d be lucky to retrieve whatever you had gifted to her in an amicable divorce. But be aware that if pushed, she can legally claim all of it as stridhan and ask for more. -
POP is too much obsessed about compensation and not seeing the bigger picture , take the annulment/divorce when she is consenting itself , money can be earned ,but not life ,if not now it’s gonna be long term trauma
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PYeah I know how it sounds, but my aunt’s family went all in for the marriage and they spent a lot. Now we can’t repair the relation but at least somehow we could be compensated. She is ready now but she could have easily given any sign of disinterest before marriage. She waited for marriage to ruin my cousin’s life.
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LRecord record record.
Record the conversations with her
Record that she is loving without any harm and willfully
Record everything even if you think it is a small thing.
Not a lawyer.
But seen a lot of things that make me not trust other people
So make sure you have all the facts on record.
If it is not recorded then it’s not there(for male)
Please be respectful and no out bursts.
Calmly stay away from her.
Donot share the same house too.
Stay separated;
Be with your cousin!!! And tell him it is end of marriage not life!!
Call him and visit him.
Make sure he gets help from a professional too to handle this mentally.
It takes a huge toll on him.
PS: not legal advice but I wanted to say out loud to take care of your brother!!
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P1. Yes, for thee divorce either contested or mutual, the completion of 1 year from the date of marriage is mandatory. Read the pre-requisites for Mutual Consent Divorce here [https://divorcebylaw.com/mutual-divorce-lawyer-in-bengaluru/](https://divorcebylaw.com/mutual-divorce-lawyer-in-bengaluru/)
Check the grounds for contested divorce here [https://divorcebylaw.com/best-contested-divorce-lawyers-in-bangalore/](https://divorcebylaw.com/best-contested-divorce-lawyers-in-bangalore/)
2. For annulment of marriage – strict proof of evidence is needed.
**Consent of the petitioner obtained by force or by fraud** A fraud is an act of deliberate deception with the design of securing something by taking unfair advantage of another. It is a deception in order to gain by another’s loss. The fraud can be actual or constructive.
**Conditions to use ‘consent obtained by force/fraud’ as a ground seeking annulment:**
i) The petition must be presented to the court within one year from the time the fraud was discovered; or
ii) The petition must be presented to the court within one year once the force is ceased; and
iii) The petitioner with his/ her full consent must not have lived/ continuing to live with the other party after the force was ceased or the fraud was discovered.
By this explanation , it is clear that your cousin’s wife can file a suit for annulment that she was forced to marry your cousin, not the other way around.
[https://divorcebylaw.com/annulment-or-nullity-of-marriage/](https://divorcebylaw.com/annulment-or-nullity-of-marriage/)
3. I don’t see any way through which your cousin can claim compensation for the marriage expenses, if the bride’s side has taken care of the marriage expenses as such. But if there are any valuable gifted to the bride/ her family by the groom/ family can asked to be returned.
For further information consult us [https://g.co/kgs/fR1qfE2](https://g.co/kgs/fR1qfE2)
**Disclaimer:** In the absence of all the facts of the case, the comments given may not be the best solution for your case. One on one consultation with a legal counsel/ advocate is advised to get better guidance.
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PGenerally for matrimonial cases, the evidence is not strictly considered while deciding the cases. However, it is up to the discretion of the court. But the Annulment cases are like any other civil suit where the evidence has to be provided by the party claiming so. The petitioner claiming that she/ he was forced into marriage, she/he has to show some evidence in terms of messages exchanged or conversations recoded or videos where she/ he was forcefully got married off, etc.
With the facts shared here, your cousin cannot claim ‘consent obtained by force’. He can see if there is any fraud played by the bride’s family.
Examples of fraud (as per precedents):
**1. Ananth Nath Dev Vs Lajjabati Devi AIR 1959** – *it was not disclosed during negotiation of marriage that the bride was suffering from tuberculosis*
**2. Tarlochan Singh Vs Jit Kaur AIR 1986** – *concealment of the fact that the wife was suffering from schizophrenia before the marriage would lead to grant of a decree for annulment of marriage as it amounts to matrimonial fraud.*
**3. P J Boore Vs Valsa AIR 1992** – *concealment of vasectomy by the husband to the bride’s party constitutes fraud. It has observed therein that one of the sublime objects of married life is to have offspring.*
**4. Gitika Bagchi Vs Subhabrata Bagchi AIR 1996** – *the concealment of overage by three years showing her to be younger than the respondent constitutes fraud.*
**5. Sujatha Vs Hariharan 1995 (II) MLJ 327 (DB)** – *A fact concealed must be of such nature which affects ordinary marital life. Non-disclosure of an eye defect curable by proper treatment cannot be said to be fraud. Hence annulment on that ground cannot be granted.*
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BCan petition for annulment filed by the person who was forced by parents. Means can a girl file for annulment if she was forced to get married?
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P1. Petition must be filed by the one who was forced into the marriage against the other party. Again evidence is important. If the person claiming force can be seen happily participating in the wedding ceremonies (in the videos & photographs), it won’t hold.
2. Annulment is a civil suit, one party filing against the other. There is no question of consent from the other. If there is consent from the other, it is considered as collusive suit, which will be dismissed by the court.
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