USA-Divorce Decree is Valid in India ?

09/04/2019

https://advocateprachi.wordpress.com/2015/01/27/usa-divorce-decree-is-valid-in-india/

Foreign Divorce Validity in India A foreign judgment shall be conclusive as to any matter thereby directly adjudicated upon between the same parties or between parties under whom they or any of the…

14/08/2018

http://foreign-court-divorce-decree-in-india.blogspot.com/

14/06/2018

When foreign Court divorce decree is valid/recognized/ Enforceable in India .

When foreign Court divorce decree is valid/recognized/ Enforceable in India .

Foreign court decree of divorce or dissolution of marriage can be valid in India provided such decree is according to the provision of law in India as provided under section 13 of the Civil Procedure Code and Principle of law as laid down by the Indian courts. A foreign court divorce decree may be valid in India ONLY if the spouse had lived in that country and had consented to that country's jurisdiction.

FAQ on foreign divorce decree ?

1. Question : My husband or wife has filed divorce petition in USA/UK/Australia Court for dissolution of marriage on grounds of “Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage “ is this decree is valid in India ?
Ans. This means the couple can no longer live together as husband and wife. Both partners, and one partner, must prove to the court that the marriage broke down so badly that there is no chances of reconciliation or possible for staying together , but this ground is not available under Hindu Marriage Act in India and thus if marriage dissolved on this grounds is not valid or enforceable in India..

2. My wife or Husband has filed a divorce petition in USA/ or in abroad , he or she has received the court summons and after receiving the same relocate in India but court has passed the decree of divorce in his or her absence , Is Ex parte divorce is valid or recognized in India ?.

Ans : when an ex-parte decree is passed by a Foreign Court, it would not be valid and conclusive in India. divorce obtained on grounds other than the grounds enumerated under the Hindu Marriage Act if the parties were married under Hindu Law, as a divorce matter is governed by the law under which one gets married and not the law of the land where the party is residing.

3. When foreign court divorce decree will be valid or recognized or enforceable in India ?

Ans : It is a general rule that if one of the partners/ couple/party contests divorce filed in Foreign Court it would be said that he/she consented/ accepted to the jurisdiction of that Court, in such a case the decree would be considered to be a conclusive or valid one.
Where the wife consents to the grant of the relief by the foreign Court although the jurisdiction of the foreign Court is not in accordance with the provisions of the Matrimonial Law/ Private and Personal or International Laws of the parties, to be valid and the judgment of such foreign Court to be conclusive.

4. How can I validate/ Enforce or Execute my foreign divorce decree in India ?
Ans: A foreign judgment can be executed in two ways in India. The ways are as follows:

First, by filing an ex*****on under Section 44A of the Civil Procedure Code. Section 44A states that a decree passed by Courts in reciprocating territories can be executed in India as if the decree was passed by the Indian Courts only. The Court also see the judgments passed by foreign court as per sec.13 of Civil Procedure Code .

Secondly, by filing a civil suit upon the foreign judgment/decree. For instance, the decree does not pertain to a reciprocating territory or a superior Court of a reciprocating territory, as notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette, the decree is not directly executable in India.

30/01/2018

Enforcement of foreign divorce decree in India.

The substantial questions of law which arise for consideration in this appeal are as to whether the foreign judgment passed by the Supreme Court in the State of New York is valid and binding on the parties and whether the said judgment dissolved the relationship of marriage between the parties.

The case made out by the plaintiff in the plaint that no other forum save and except the forum in India having jurisdiction to entertain proceedings under the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 is competent to pass a decree of divorce is not acceptable in law. That the relationship of marriage governed by the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 can be dissloved by foreign decree of divorce has been long recognised by the Courts in India.The decision reported in AIR 1975 SC 105 (Smt. Satya v. Teja Singh) is a complete answer to the aforesaid question. Their Lordships have held that foreign decrees of divorce including decrees of Sister States are to be either accorded recognition or to be treated as invalid depending upon the circumstances of each case. Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure makes a foreign judgment conclusive as to any matter thereby directly adjudicated upon between the same parties except-

Section 14, C.P.C. creates a presumption that a foreign judgment, certified copy of which has been produced was a judgment pronounced by a court of competent jurisdiction unless the contrary appears on the record, but such presumption may be displaced by proving want of jurisdiction. Thus a combined reading of Sections 13 and 14 of the Code of Civil Procedure makes the position of law clear that if a certified copy of a foreign judgment is produced in a court of law directly adjudicating upon any matter between the same parties, the same shall be presumed by a court to have been pronounced by a court of competent jurisdiction unless the contrary is proved.

Orissa High Court
Dr. Padmini Mishra vs Dr. Ramesh Chandra Mishra

01/12/2017

The general rule is that a foreign matrimonial judgment can be recognized in India only if the jurisdiction assumed by the foreign court as well as the grounds on which the relief is granted are in accordance with the matrimonial law under which the parties are married, such judgments can be accepted as conclusive in India where the respondent voluntarily and effectively submits to the jurisdiction of the forum and consents to the grant of the relief although the jurisdiction of the forum is not in accordance with the provisions of the matrimonial law of the parties."

01/12/2017

Divorce given by a Dubai court to an NRI man against his wife who has moved back to Mumbai was not valid and could not be enforced in India, ruled the Bombay high court.

a division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai said, "It is not in dispute that (the woman and her husband) are Indian nationals and Hindus by birth and are governed by provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act. Consequently, the divorce petition filed by the woman before the family court could not have been dismissed on the basis of the Dubai court judgment, which is not binding and enforceable in India."

16/02/2017

The Kerala High Court in Augustine Kalathil Mathew v. Marriage Officer, North Paravur., has decided that mutual divorces in foreign courts are acceptable in India under Section 13 of the CPC. The judgment delivered by Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar allow...

Read more at: http://www.livelaw.in/mutual-divorces-obtained-foreign-courts-can-accepted-conclusive-india-kerala-hc/

The Kerala High Court in Augustine Kalathil Mathew v. Marriage Officer, North Paravur., has decided that mutual divorces in foreign courts are acceptable in India under Section 13 of the CPC. The judgment delivered by Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar allowed petitioner Augustine Mathew’s prayer for quashin...

13/02/2017

Divorce granted by a foreign court for couples married in India can be accepted if both the parties had agreed to part before the overseas forum, the high court has held.
A single bench of the high court gave the ruling based on a petition (WP-C 26008 of 2016) filed by Augustine Kalathil Mathew of North Paravur

24/12/2016

Merry Christmas to all friends.