If you were in a forced marriage and currently have an ongoing extramarital relationship, and you are wondering whether you can genuinely seek a divorce given these specific and layered circumstances, understanding your available legal options is important.

Yes, you can absolutely seek a divorce, and it is genuinely important to understand that having an ongoing extramarital relationship does not itself disqualify or prevent you from pursuing your own divorce, though it does affect the specific analysis regarding which particular grounds might be available to you and how these various circumstances interact.

Given that your marriage was genuinely forced, it is worth understanding this specific circumstance itself potentially provides you with a valid and directly applicable ground for annulment under Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which specifically addresses consent to the marriage having been obtained by force, meaning if you can properly establish that you were genuinely coerced into this marriage without your free, voluntary consent, this provides you with grounds to have the marriage declared void through annulment, rather than requiring you to pursue an ordinary divorce.

It is genuinely important to understand the specific and strict limitation period applicable to this particular ground, since Section 12(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act requires that a petition for annulment on the ground of force must generally be filed within one year from when this force ceased to operate, meaning if a considerable period has genuinely passed since the forced marriage occurred without you pursuing this specific remedy, you may face genuine difficulty relying on this particular ground now, and it is worth discussing this specific timing consideration candidly with your advocate.

If this specific limitation period has genuinely lapsed, or if you prefer to pursue divorce rather than annulment for whatever specific reason, you retain the option of pursuing an ordinary divorce petition, and it is worth understanding that the fact your marriage was originally forced, even if you cannot now rely on the specific annulment remedy given this limitation period, remains genuinely relevant context that could support a broader cruelty-based divorce claim under Section 13(1)(ia), particularly if the ongoing marriage itself, given its coerced origins, has continued to cause you genuine psychological distress.

Regarding your own ongoing extramarital relationship, it is worth understanding, as discussed extensively throughout this broader context regarding a married person's own relationships outside marriage, that this does not itself prevent you from pursuing your own divorce, though it is genuinely important to understand this specific circumstance provides your spouse with independent grounds to pursue their own divorce against you, on the basis of adultery under Section 13(1)(i), should they choose to do so.

If you are specifically considering mutual consent divorce, given both the forced nature of your original marriage and your own subsequent relationship, it is worth understanding this might genuinely represent the most efficient path forward if your spouse is willing to agree, avoiding the need to properly navigate the more complex evidentiary questions your specific combination of circumstances presents.

If your spouse contests any divorce proceeding you initiate, and specifically raises your own extramarital relationship as a defence or counter-allegation, it is worth understanding this does not itself defeat your own petition if you are properly pursuing annulment based on the original force, or a cruelty-based divorce claim properly grounded in the coerced nature of the marriage and its continuing impact on you.

Given how genuinely complex and layered your specific circumstances are, spanning both the forced nature of your original marriage and your current relationship, it is essential to consult an experienced family law advocate to properly and honestly assess which specific remedy, annulment or divorce, and on which specific ground, genuinely best fits your particular situation. You can reach out via Aapka Legal Advice for a confidential, non-judgmental consultation on properly assessing your specific circumstances and identifying the most appropriate legal pathway.

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If formal legal representation is required, engaging an experienced advocate will ensure your specific circumstances are properly and sensitively assessed for the most appropriate path forward.

In summary, yes, a person who was in a forced marriage and has an ongoing extramarital relationship can genuinely seek a divorce, potentially through annulment under Section 12(1)(c) of the Hindu Marriage Act if pursued within the applicable one-year limitation period given the original force, or through an ordinary divorce petition, with the forced marriage's coerced origins potentially supporting a cruelty-based claim, while understanding that the ongoing extramarital relationship, while not preventing this pursuit, does provide the spouse with independent grounds for their own adultery-based divorce claim should they choose to pursue this.