Under Sections 11, 12 and 18 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, where a Hindu boy of 17 years marries a…

Under Section 5(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, a marriage may be solemnized between any two Hindus if the bridegroom has completed the age of 21 years and the bride the age of 18 years at the time of the marriage. However, contravention of Section 5(iii) is omitted from both Section 11 (void marriages, which covers only clauses (i), (iv), and (v) of Section 5) and Section 12 (voidable marriages) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; instead, contravening Section 5(iii) renders the offender punishable under Section 18(a) with rigorous imprisonment up to two years or fine up to one lakh rupees or both. (Separately, under Section 3 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, a child marriage is voidable at the option of the contracting party who was a child at the time of the marriage, and under Section 13(2)(iv) of the Hindu Marriage Act, a wife whose marriage was solemnized before she attained 15 years may seek divorce after repudiating it before attaining 18 years.)