Under Section 26(1) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, notwithstanding a marriage being void under…

Section 26(1) provides that, notwithstanding that a marriage is null and void under section 24, "any child of such marriage who would have been legitimate if the marriage had been valid, shall be legitimate". This holds "whether or not a decree of nullity is granted", so legitimacy depends neither on such a decree nor on registration or a later marriage.