Marriage and divorce are governed by personal law. Hindu marriage is governed by Hindu Marriage Act 1955 and in Islam Muslim Personal Law Act 1937 and others too. These laws explain the procedure for a valid marriage and grounds of the divorce for the same. 

The supreme court judges bench held by Justice NV Anjaria and Sandeep N Bhatt dissolved the 5-year-old marriage of a 45-year-old professor, who forced his student for marriage she is 12 years younger than him by upholding the decision of the family court.

The husband filed a case in the supreme court against challenging the family court decision, which granted the divorce on the ground of cruelty. 

The fact of the case- The husband was the professor and the wife was a student in the same college. He insisted that she would have to act as per he desired to score an A grade in his subject. He even kept calling her and insisted on marrying him and taking care of his two children from his earlier marriage as they are missing their mother’s love. She stated that he took her signature on a document which later she found out was a marriage contract. After marrying him the situation turned worse, the mother-in-law demanded 5 lakh rupees and furniture. She was forced to abort three times. Later she found out that her wife is not dead. 

The facts of the case clarify the entire story observed by the bench.

The husband contended that it was a love marriage and not a forced marriage. He even showed the medical documents in which he alleged that he took care of her.

The bench noted that-

“According to the case of the wife, she was forced and trapped to contract marriage. There is a saying that the husband held the position of dominance and trust both. The wife, aged 28 years, was a student in the Polytechnic College. The husband aged 40 years was the teacher, who used to take the classes where she was also one of the pupil,”