The Supreme Court of India has delivered a significant ruling, declaring that foreign divorce decrees granted on the grounds of ‘irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ are not legally valid in India, impacting cases of bigamy and matrimonial law.
IMAGE: A view of the Supreme Court of India. Photograph: ANI Photo
Key Points
- The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared that foreign divorce decrees based on ‘irretrievable breakdown of marriage’ are not legally valid in India.
- This ruling came during the dismissal of a man’s plea to quash bigamy charges, as his second marriage was contracted after a UK divorce based on this non-recognised ground.
- The court emphasised that such foreign decrees contravene existing Indian matrimonial law and Section 13 of the CPC.
- The sanctity of matrimonial status in India cannot be overridden by ‘forum non conveniens’ arguments, especially when the original marriage was under Hindu rites.
- Criminal proceedings against the man’s parents and second wife were quashed, but the case against the man for bigamy and criminal conspiracy will proceed.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday held that the decree of divorce granted by a foreign court on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not legal.
A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar made the observation while dismissing a plea by a man seeking quashing of a case lodged against him for bigamy and criminal conspiracy.
Understanding The Court’s Rationale
“In our view, the foreign divorce decree was passed in contravention of the existing matrimonial law in India and on a ground that is not even recognised statutorily.
“This not only violates the legal threshold of Section 13 of the CPC, which every foreign decree has to pass through, but also the observations made by this Court as to the conditions required to be fulfilled by a foreign decree to be enforceable in India,” the bench said.
Dealing with the case, the top court said the sanctity of matrimonial status cannot be allowed to yield to such ‘forum non conveniens’ (inconvenient forum).
Implications For Bigamy Charges
“We cannot accept this submission in the manner canvassed as accused No.1/husband was married to respondent No.2/first wife in India under the Hindu rites, rituals and customs.
“Thus, even if the second marriage took place outside India, the allegations under Section 494 of the IPC cannot be said to be diluted since enquiry for the offence of bigamy cannot be confined to the place of second marriage but must necessarily take into account the subsisting matrimonial relationship,” the bench said.
Case Background And Legal Journey
In this case, the man married his first wife on April 18, 2003, in Sattenapalli, Andhra Pradesh, according to Hindu rites and customs. After the marriage, they resided in Hyderabad, where the husband was pursing post graduation from Osmania Medical College.
On February 4, 2005, the man went to the UK to pursue his career as a doctor and was later joined by his wife.
In August 2007, the first wife returned to her parental home in Sattenapalli for delivery. The man claimed that despite repeated requests, she did not return to the UK.
As the matrimonial relationship of the parties deteriorated, the husband instituted divorce and custody proceedings before the competent court at Narasaraopet, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, which were dismissed.
Later, he filed an appeal in the high court but it was subsequently withdrawn.
The husband was granted UK citizenship on February 1, 2013, and he instituted divorce proceedings against the first wife before the Cambridge County Court in England, which granted him divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage in 2014.
The man later remarried in Norfolk, UK.
Almost after two years, the first wife lodged a complaint at the Sattenapalli town police station, Guntur, under sections 494, 120B read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
While refusing to set aside the case against the man, the top court quashed criminal proceedings against his parents and second wife.
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