New Delhi, Nov. 4: The Supreme Court has ruled that a foreign divorce decree granted on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not legally enforceable in India.
A Bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar made the observation while dismissing a man’s plea to quash a case registered against him for bigamy and criminal conspiracy.
The Bench said the foreign court granted the divorce on a ground not recognised under Indian matrimonial law. It also said the decree failed to meet the requirements of Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
Supreme Court Explains Why Foreign Divorce Decree Is Invalid
The Supreme Court said matrimonial status cannot be determined solely by applying the principle of forum non conveniens. It noted that the man’s first marriage took place in India under Hindu rites and customs.
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The court further observed that allegations of bigamy under Section 494 of the IPC could not be dismissed merely because the second marriage took place outside India. It said the investigation must consider whether the first marriage remained legally valid.
According to the case details, the man married his first wife on April 18, 2003, in Sattenapalli, Andhra Pradesh. The couple later moved to Hyderabad, where he pursued postgraduate studies at Osmania Medical College.
On February 4, 2005, he moved to the United Kingdom to work as a doctor. His wife joined him later. However, she returned to her parental home in August 2007 for delivery and did not return to the UK, according to his claim.
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The husband later filed divorce and custody proceedings before a court in Narasaraopet. The court dismissed the proceedings. He subsequently withdrew an appeal filed before the High Court.
After obtaining British citizenship in February 2013, he approached the Cambridge County Court in England. The foreign court granted him a divorce in 2014 on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage.
He later married another woman in Norfolk, the UK. Nearly two years later, his first wife filed a complaint at Sattenapalli Town Police Station under Sections 494 and 120B read with Section 34 of the IPC.
The Supreme Court refused to quash the criminal case against the husband. However, it quashed the proceedings against his parents and second wife.
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