Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 confers legitimacy on the children of:

Section 16(1) legitimates children of marriages void under section 11, whether or not a decree of nullity is granted. Section 16(2) covers children conceived before a decree annulling a voidable marriage under section 12 who would have been legitimate had the marriage been dissolved rather than annulled. Both categories are therefore included; a merely broken marriage is not the statutory classification.