The High Court has refused a woman’s petition to have her 1995 marriage declared null and void, finding there was no sustainable evidence that she had been forced to marry or that her former husband lacked capacity to sustain a normal marital relationship.
Ms Justice Reynolds delivered judgment on 29 March 2019. The petitioner had sought nullity on grounds of duress and incapacity. Her former husband denied both claims and argued that her participation in earlier judicial separation proceedings and delay should prevent the petition succeeding.
The court said a decree of judicial separation did not, by itself, bar nullity proceedings: the parties remained legally married and could pursue divorce or nullity. It also said estoppel did not apply to proceedings determining marital status. Having rejected the petition on its evidence, the judge said it was unnecessary to decide the respondent’s arguments about approbation and delay. The issue of collusion or connivance did not arise.
The petitioner said she felt pressured during the courtship and into accepting the marriage proposal. She also alleged abuse during the marriage and suggested her former husband lacked capacity to enter and sustain a normal marital relationship. The respondent denied duress and incapacity, and described a loving courtship followed by a relationship that deteriorated over time.
A court-appointed medical inspector interviewed both parties and prepared two reports. The judge said the inspector ultimately found no evidence that the respondent was unable to engage fully in a marital relationship, despite its turbulence and volatility, and no evidence of psychiatric illness in either party.
The judge found no plausible evidence that the respondent had subjected the petitioner to duress that removed her consent. The petitioner’s evidence was coloured by the later breakdown of the relationship, the court said, and did not meet the heavy burden of proof required to challenge the validity of a marriage. The court also found no evidence supporting the incapacity claim, concluding that the marriage had failed through incompatibility and deterioration over time.
The judgment records that the parties married in 1995, separated in 2008 and obtained a judicial separation in 2011. The nullity proceedings began in 2013 and were served in 2014. The High Court refused the relief sought. The judgment does not grant a nullity decree.