MUMBAI: A family court last week annulled the marriage of a couple, who had met through a matrimonial website, on the grounds that their acrimonious relationship was never consummated.

The couple, both previously divorced, separated a day after the wedding after the husband found out that the woman had been divorced twice before.

The woman did not respond to the petition filed by the man in May last year.

To find out the reasons behind the two previous failed marriages of the respondent, he made several attempts to contact her and her family, but all the attempts were turned down. The marriage was never consummated as the respondent left his company immediately after the marriage," the court observed.

While the 37-year-old man is from Ghaziabad, the woman is from Mumbai. In the petition, the man said that they had come across each other's profiles on a matrimonial website and developed a mutual liking. Before marriage, the woman and her family had informed him that she had been divorced as her marriage had failed. The man said that as he, too, was divorced, he did not disapprove of her divorced status. With the consent of both families, the couple got married on November 30, 2012.

The man alleged that soon after the wedding, the woman's family told him about her two divorces. The man expressed his discontent and distrust towards the woman and her family and questioned her about concealing the fact. He said that had it been revealed to him sooner, he would have never consented to the marriage.

The man further stated that after she left him, he made several attempts to contact her and her family to find out the reasons behind the two previous failed marriages. However, all his attempts were turned down.

The man had filed the petition seeking a decree of nullity under Section 12(1) (a) of The Hindu Marriage Act. The section declares a marriage as voidable, if it has not been consummated. "In my considered view, the marriage between the petitioner and the respondent has not been consummated owing to impotency of the respondent qua petitioner. Therefore, he is entitled to a decree of nullity under Section 12(1) (a)," the court said.

