You are facing quite the dilemma - my sympathies. It seems your options are either a quick and painless divorce - if that is possible because of the time delay. Are you able to get hold of your ex-husband at all or he’s disappeared from the surface of the earth?

Also, to clarify, you have a child with your former husband or your current partner?

And is your estranged spouse likely to cause any problems?

Another option is to apologise and come clean with your new partner, explaining what happened, but you’ll be the best judge of how he’d react to that… Hope some future responses will be more helpful for you.

Now then.

Let us consider the position (assuming you are governed by HMA 1955):

1. If either party to a marriage has a spouse living at the time of the marriage, then the marriage is VOID, which is to say, in the eyes of the law it does not exist at all. Therefore your second marriage is a nullity.

2. Previous spouse may file a petition for restitution of conjugal rights qua yourself.

3. Previous spouse may file a criminal case against your ‘husband’ u/s 497 IPC, resulting in maximum 5 years imprisonment of either description.

Now, here are your options:

1. File for a mutual consent divorce with your spouse us 13-B of HMA 1955. This is the best option.

2. File for a conventional divorce u/s 13 of the ibid act. This is a not a very good option as it is time consuming, but if it is the only option, then there you are.

3. Once divorce proceedings are complete, re-marry.

If you use this advise purely on the basis of what is written here, and without disclosing all the facts clearly to a lawyer, you are taking a big risk. So consult a lawyer before any step.

I am warning you that this advise is based on my incomplete knowledge of facts and on certain assumption that I would not have made had I known all the fact. I expressly disclaim all liability that may arise from your usage of the following advise.

furthermore, this advise does not make you my client.

I will approach the case differently.

It is not clear how you stayed away from your first husband for such a long time.

It is also not clear how you say that you were married. (to the first guy)

It is also not clear why all of a sudden, after seven years you are worried about this.

So I assume the following:

You had a marriage with this guy that was not publicised much. perhaps one of the reason why this info has not reached your husband till now.(from dirty relatives/ friends etc)

Your “first” husband couldn’t care less about you.

My advise would therefore be slightly different from others.

Deny the first marriage. totally deny the event ever existed. if there are photographs, state that the photographs etc are all forgeries.

The only case the husband can actually file against you is restitution of conjugal right. He will obviously state some evidence showing that he is your husband. Fight this case vociferously. get your lawyer to file a contempt against this guy. (first husband)

Further file a criminal case against this guy for threat, blackmailing, extortion, and molestation and related law.

once there is a criminal case against him. trust me, he will give up. for the simple reason that if he was absent for seven years, he has no business to come and mess up your life now.

If he does not, fight this case tooth and nail. you simply cannot accept that the marriage was solemnised. Challenge this big time. He has not been in touch with you for seven years. you have a daughter with your husband and then this stalker/ imposter comes and wants to ruin all your life.

Get an injunction against this guy, restraining him from contacting you.

And then leave all to the legal system of India. No judge is going to hold your marriage with the second guy invalid. you have a kid. you have a settled life. and if your so called “first” husband too felt that there was a valid marriage what was he doing for the last seven years ?

I would strongly recommend you to fight this case. tooth and nail. Not for a moment accept that you were married to this imposter.

How will it end ?

Because of the criminal case that you file (forgery, outraging the modesty, because you are questioning the photographs and other related material as forged), and as the indian legal system works, he should not get a chance to defend himself till the time his defence is called. and that happens pretty late in the case.

so at the initial stage(where only you are heard), under the most probable of the circumstances, he would drop his claim for treating you as his wife and you will drop your claim that he is harassing you. and it will end at that.

take care

Saurabh