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Rajendra Singh   11 February 2016

Legal entangle - dv, im, foreign divorce and challenge

Married in India 2010.

She filed DV in Bangalore, India in 2012 after returning from Australia where she was a resident too.

Man currently resident of Australia.

Interim maintenance granted in 2015 -  he appealed (valid ground she is earning) in Sessions (2015) and from Sessions she appealed in High Court (2016). Case pending for hearing.

Meanwhile he filed(2013) for divorce in Australia and granted in 2015 based on "irretrivable breakdown of marriage". She participated by writting letters through her lawyer and all papers from Australian courts duely served to her. she Never, challenged or used legal course in India to stop the Australian proceedings despite parallely fighting DV and maintenance case here in India. She was given sufficient opportunity to represent (free legal resource) but she never cause "presumed" prize in India is bigger.

Understand this divorce ground is not recognized in India. Australian court also mentioned Cruelty but is not the main ground.

Now in 2016 she has challenged the divorce decree in Family court at the same time of appealing IM in High court.

Any court orders to help resolve this legal tangle?

how to get the Australian divorce valid in India or the suit infructuous?

Speed and complications of the Indian legal system isn't helping!!!

any value add thoughts much appreciated.  

 

 

 



Learning

 4 Replies

Augustine Chatterjee,New Delhi (Advocate & Solicitor at Law)     11 February 2016

Totally depends on the nature of the decree / Order passed by the Australian court . Merely because the ground of divorce in Australia is not prevalent in India , does not automatically render a decree passed there to be invalid or not binding on the parties . It will depend on the nature of the order passed as well as the finding of the Australian judge . If u can send me a copy of the said order , I'll be able to give u a better opinion . Similar situation happened in another case of mine . However in that case the divorce order was passed by a Scottish court on the ground of irretrievable break down of marriage . Even though matter in India never went to merits and hence court never gave a finding on that aspect , but the situation is strikingly similar .

Vijay Raj Mahajan (Advocate)     12 February 2016

 

There is no such process of validation of decree of divorce issued by foreign court in India by the decree holder however if the decree is challenged in India by the opposite party in India under section 13 of Civil Procedure Code and prove that the decree of divorce obtained in foreign court was against the law and legal process followed in India by Indian court as the marriage between the parties was solemnized in India according to Indian marriage laws (like the Hindu Marriage Act,1955) than only the Indian court will invalidate such foreign court divorce decree.

The opposite part in India can always file for restitution of conjugal rights against the spouse who has obtained decree of divorce in foreign country and if Indian court decided the RCR petition is affirmative and declare decree of divorce of foreign court as void the marriage between both will be held as existing and valid for all purpose in India, all related matters between the parties will be dealt accordingly by all courts in India,

Rajendra Singh   12 February 2016

Much appreciated comments from both.

Augustine : you are talking from possibility angle.

Vijay ji : you are suggesting from rudimantary indian legal system. finally this is what we have to deal with.

further twist - what if i get married again ?

Marry in india - the court papers challening Australian divorce decree are not yet served to me. So what if i get married between the Australian decree awarded date and the first date of hearing. She never challenged the decree all throughout.

Marry in Australia - since i am legally divorced here?

technically wouldn't marriage make the challenge infructuous ?

Rajendra Singh   13 February 2016

Mrs Renuka JI

Tauba Tauba - once bitten twice sorry million times shy.

the idea of "second marriage" is just to make the suit infructous nothing beyond!

hell like to get away from this legal tangle and i fear more to come as the other side trying to get more bargaining chips.


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