The Allahabad High Court has ruled that once a marriage is declared null and void under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, the declaration takes effect from the date of the marriage. In such cases, the husband is not liable to pay maintenance. The case involved a couple married in 2015. The wife filed multiple FIRs against the husband under various IPC sections, including 498A and 406. During an anticipatory bail hearing, it was revealed that the wife had a prior marriage. She first denied this and later admitted. The trial court found she had not approached the court with clean hands. The wife filed a domestic violence case under Sections 12 and 23 of the PWDV Act. The husband filed for nullity of marriage under Section 11.
After the marriage was declared void, the wife withdrew her appeal. Despite this, she was awarded ₹10,000 per month as interim maintenance. The husband challenged this, and the High Court ruled in his favor. Justice Rajeev Misra held that since the marriage was void ab initio, no domestic relationship existed under Section 2(f) of the PWDV Act. Thus, the court set aside the maintenance order.
