Padma & Padma

In the Family Court of Australia at Parramatta, Mr. Padma (the applicant husband) sought a declaration that his marriage to Mrs. Padma (the respondent wife) was null and void. The marriage was solemnised in Wellington, New Zealand, on 18 February 2006. The respondent wife did not appear at the hearing but had previously filed an affidavit indicating she did not oppose the orders sought by the applicant.

The court was required to determine whether the marriage was void. Specifically, the legal issues revolved around whether the wife was already married at the time of the ceremony in New Zealand, and if so, whether this rendered the subsequent marriage void under Australian law, particularly in light of Part VA of the *Marriage Act 1961* (Cth) and the Convention on Celebration and Validity of Marriages.

Justice Waddy found that the parties did go through a ceremony of marriage. However, he accepted the wife's evidence that she was already married at the time of the ceremony in New Zealand and had not disclosed this to the applicant. The court applied Section 88D(2)(a) of the *Marriage Act 1961*, which states that a marriage will not be recognised as valid if either party was, at the time of the marriage, a party to a prior marriage that was recognised as valid in Australia. The court found there was sufficient evidence, including the wife's own sworn testimony and her actions concerning her first husband's immigration, to establish that her prior marriage subsisted and was valid at the time of the New Zealand ceremony. Consequently, the court declared the marriage solemnised on 18 February 2006 to be absolutely null and void.