BABUI PANMATO KUER Vs RAM AGYA SINGH

Case Analysis of Babui Panmato Kuer vs Ram Agya Singh

• FACTS : 

The Petitioner in this case is a woman whose age was a little over 18 years when she got married to a man in the year 1959. The Petitioner had filed this case for dissolution of marriage due to fraud committed on her. The petitioner prior to her marriage to his husband that is the respondent in this case, had overheard her father having a conversation with her mother that the marriage of the petitioner was fixed with a 25 to 30 years old man and that the man was financially well off. Having overheard all these, the petitioner did not object to the same implying her consent. 

During her marriage ceremony, her  face was covered with a veil and thereby she couldn’t see the respondent. Even after the marriage she couldn’t see the face of the respondent for a long time, as he went the next morning of the marriage.

Thereafter, in the beginning of 1960 the respondent lodged a criminal case against the father of the petitioner as he denied the petitioner to the respondent’s house. The case was lodged under Section 498 IPC. However, after the said complaint, the father sent his daughter to the respondent’s house. 

After going to the respondent’s house, the petitioner for the first time saw the respondent, wherein she realized that the respondent was in reality much older than she knew, that, he was over 60 years of age. Thereafter, one day she fled from her matrimonial home to her father’s place and on being rebuked left off to her uncle’s place. 

The respondent again lodged a case under section 498 of the IPC against the parents and uncle of the petitioner. Eventually the petitioner after being confined by the respondent and fleeing again from the place, filed the petition for dissolution of marriage. The petitioner filed the same on the ground of fraud for obtaining consent for marriage. 

The petitioner appealed in the Patna High Court after the Additional District Judge of Saran dismissed the petition for dissolving of marriage.

• ISSUES INVOLVED : 

1. Whether fraud was committed on the Petitioner and whether the case falls under Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act?

2. Whether the marriage is liable to get dissolved on the ground of fraud?

• LAWS INVOLVED :

•  HINDU MARRIAGE ACT, 1955

  • Section 28 : deals with orders and decrees which are made by the Court but are appealable to the Higher Court.

  • Section 12 : deals with instances where marriages are voidable and it includes the provision for marriages where consent is obtained through fraud. 

• INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860

  • Section 498 : deals with the offence of taking a married woman with a criminal intention.

• INDIAN CONTRACT ACT, 1872

  • Section 17 : deals with and defines the concept of fraud.

• ARGUMENT OF PETITIONERS : 

The petitioner contends that the marriage took place on the basis of fraud, as she was not aware of the real age of the respondent. She also informed that she had no cohabitation with the respondent at all.

• ARGUMENT OF RESPONDENTS :

The respondent denied the all the allegations as put forth by the petitioner. The respondent also stated that the fraud committed was not committed by him but rather the father of the petitioner.

• ANALYSIS : 

The Additional District Judge of Saran had rejected the petition filed by the petitioner for two reasons. The two reasons are as follows : 

First that the petitioner did not receive any information directly but rather indirectly, as she overheard the conversation of her father and mother.

Secondly that for fraud to take place the deception must have been taken place at the time of marriage and not before that. 

The High Court was of the opinion that the above points were not correct. Even though her consent was not obtained directly, yet it can be inferred that the reason for the father conveying the details to the mother was with a view to obtain the consent. Here the mother was acting as the agent, however the father had misled the petitioner by giving false information to the mother. Even if the father wanted to get the petitioner’s consent indirectly, he had the responsibility to be true about the age. As he hid the true facts, there was concealment of facts and truth. 

The Petitioner was misled and this impression lasted even during the marriage as she couldn’t the see the respondent due to the heavy veil. The petitioner got to know about the real age much later. 

Further in order for Fraud to be committed in marriages, it is not necessary that the consent obtained by fraud is obtained at the time of marriage but what is required is that the consent takes place before marriage.

• CONCLUSION:

According to the Patna High Court, the case was a clear case of fraud and  fraud had been committed on the petitioner. As the information passed on to the petitioner’s mother by the father was with the intention to obtain the consent for the marriage, therefore the information was given with the intention to fraudulently obtain the consent of the petitioner, therefore, the case is a clear case of fraud and falls under Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act.

The High Court of Patna set aside the order of District Judge and due to the reasons as stated above, the impugned marriage shall be set aside.

However no costs were awarded as the respondent did not challenge the appeal. Therefore, the appeal was approved.