New Delhi, Nov 12: The Supreme Court has ruled that if individuals married in India obtain a divorce from a foreign court, such a divorce is not recognized as dissolving the marriage under Indian law. In other words, if a divorce is granted by a foreign court based on grounds not recognized under Indian law (such as the Hindu Marriage Act, etc.), it will not be considered legally valid in India.
The Court has warned that if a person enters into a second marriage—either in India or abroad—relying on a divorce decree from a foreign court, they will face legal action for the offense of bigamy (under Section 494 of the IPC). This is because, under Indian law, their first marriage is still considered to be subsisting.
The bench further clarified that individuals who have acquired foreign citizenship or are residing abroad are not exempt from this rule regarding marriages that were solemnized in India. Invalid under Section 13 of the CPC
A Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Chandrashekhar has observed that, under Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), a judgment from a foreign court cannot be recognized if it is contrary to Indian laws and the Indian legal framework.
A case involving a divorce obtained abroad followed by a second marriage…
In this case, a man residing in Britain—who had married a woman in India according to Hindu rites—obtained a divorce from her abroad and subsequently entered into a second marriage. The divorce abroad was granted on the grounds of the “irretrievable breakdown of marriage.”
The wife had not consented to the divorce. Under Indian law, this ground alone is insufficient for obtaining a divorce. Consequently, the Supreme Court has allowed the application of criminal laws in this matter, ruling that the second marriage took place while the first marriage was still subsisting.