Under the second proviso to Section 25(b) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954, decree shall not be…

Clause (b) of the second proviso to section 25 bars a decree on the coercion or fraud ground if "the petitioner has with his or her free consent lived with the other party to the marriage as husband and wife after the coercion had ceased or, as the case may be, the fraud had been discovered". Cohabitation while the coercion continued, or before the fraud came to light, does not bar relief, and the one year runs from the end of the coercion or the discovery of the fraud, not from the marriage.