Site navigation

A Hindu man whose wife is living agrees with a woman to marry her under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. How is this agreement treated under the Indian Contract Act, 1872?

Question and options

A Hindu man whose wife is living agrees with a woman to marry her under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. How is this agreement treated under the Indian Contract Act, 1872?

  1. Voidable at the option of the living wife

  2. Void, because it is in restraint of the wife's marriage

  3. Void, because its object is forbidden by law

  4. Valid, but it cannot be specifically enforced

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: C - Void, because its object is forbidden by law

Sections 5(i) and 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 forbid and make void a marriage when either party has a spouse living, so an agreement to enter such a marriage has an object forbidden by law and is void under section 23 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872. Section 26 deals with agreements that restrain a person from marrying, which this agreement does not do.

Practice for these exams

Related exam syllabi

More solved explanations in Lawful object & void agreements