In an order which will affect the fate of several foreign divorce orders, Madras High Court (HC) has recently ruled that a decree for dissolution of a marriage by a foreign court is not binding for a spouse in India if the wedding is solemnised in India under the Hindu Marriage Act.This ruling applies if the spouse in India challenges the foreign court’s order.
A division bench comprising justices R. Banumathi and S. Vimala gave the ruling while dismissing an appeal by Sunder against an order of a family court in Chennai declaring a decree of divorce by Superior Court of California not binding on his wife Shyamala.
The couple tied the knot in Vellore district in 1999, but Sunder went to the US within a year and did not communicate with Shyamala after that. In 2000, she received summons from Superior Court of California, which subsequently granted Sunder divorce despite her defence statement.
Shyamala moved the family court, which declared the divorce not binding. Sunder challenged it.
HC said Superior Court of California was not a court of competent jurisdiction to decide the matrimonial dispute of the appellant/husband married under Hindu Marriage Act in India.
