I got divorced here in the US almost three years back when she filed for divorce. We have a 3 year old kid from the marriage. It was a contested divorce and she was awarded 3 years of alimony (marriage length was 7 years), apart from a one-time settlement money, by the US court. According to the divorce settlement, I still have to pay her maintenance till April 2017. Now she relocated to India a few weeks back and filed a new divorce case in India and is asking the Indian court to award her continued maintenance. I was served the papers both in the US and at my Indian address (where my parents live). She is saying that she doesn't work and hence she needs continued maintenance. Since she can not get maintenance here in the US beyond April 2017, she is trying to extract more money from me in India. Now, my job assignment in the US is getting over in December this year and so I will most probably have be go back to my India office at the end of this year. So I am very concerned about my situation when I go back to India. Will I be considered as married in India again ? Will the court ask me to continue to pay her maintenance ? What should I do to foil her tactics of extracting more money from me and make sure she can't trouble me in India.
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1) fresh divorce case filed in India would be dismissed as wife has participated in divorce proceedings abroad and accepted alimony awarded by court
2) your divorce decree granted by US court would be valid in india
3) if wife is unable to maintain herself court may direct you to pay her some maintenance
While in the US both parties, wife filed for divorce from husband and after contest, 3 years of alimony was awarded which was also paid by you and the last payment is due in April 2017. The marriage was also dissolved while both parties resided in the US.
Now after she has relocated she has filed a new divorce case in India, as per law she is estopped from filing such a case as the marriage solemnized between you and her has already been dissolved 2 or 3 years back itself. Therefore the petition filed by her seeking divorce is itself not maintainable. Further in this case she is seeking continued maintenance, which again cannot be granted, as the US court has already adjudicated on this issue also, which is accepted by her and you. Further she has not filed an appeal against that order passed 2 or 3 years back.
After relocating back to India, since you have been duly served by the court, engage an advocate and submit your objections as stated above and get the petition dismissed.
Dear Querist
if the divorce was grant by the US court based on the mutual settlement then she is not entitle to get any maintenance from you as per section 125(4) of Cr.P.C. file your reply against her maintenance petition and the court may dismiss her petition based on the mutual consent divorce.
Divorce petition is also not maintainable if the divorce granted by US court was based on Mutual Consent Settlement.
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1. Well,since she has participated and took divorce and alimony after contest she can not avoid its effect even in india.
2. So file a petition for rejection of plaint in the court where she ahs filed suit for divorce.
3. The amount you have already paid to her would be considered if the court in india decides to proceed with the case and fixes monthly maintenance.
4. Apart from filing fresh divorce suit she can file case u/s 498A IPC which you can contest after taking bail which is easily given.
Thank you all for advices. There's one more thing I probably should have mentioned. I own a small flat in India; it was purchased during the marriage. According to the US divorce laws, any property acquired during the marriage is considered jointly owned by the husband and the wife. But this property was included in the US divorce settlement as follows: "Since the flat is located in India, it will be subject to the jurisdiction of the Indian court." At the time of the divorce the US court didn't give her anything from the flat because they considered it outside their jurisdiction. Now in her new divorce case in India, she is claiming that she doesn't have a place to stay and is asking the Indian court to grant her the entire flat. She has also served me an injunction on the flat. Is there a possibility that she can grab the flat due to the way it has been mentioned in the US divorce settlement ?
Wife ahs no share on the proeprty of husband as per Indian law though wife ahs right of residence in the flat of husband under PWDV Act.
This has no nexus with what has been reached in settlement at USA court.
1) wife has no share in the flat standing in your name
2) she can claim right to stay in said flat
3) court can grant her injunction restraining you from selling the flat
1. In India you are still considered as her husband as per law.
2. You shall not have to pay any amount to her in India as per decree of the USA Court since any decree of foreign court is not valid in India.
3.In India she shall have to obtain a fresh order directing you to pay her maintenance and in that event you can contest her case fittingly.
4. In India highly educated wife capable of earning and maintaining herself is not entitled to any maintenance from her husband.
5. Engage a local lawyer having expertise in this field to defend you.
1. What do you mean by stating "She has also served me an injunction on the flat."? Has she got an order of injunction passed by the Court or her application praying for the said injunction?
2. Please note that as per Indian Law, wife has no claim on the properties of husband during his lifetime.
3. Under no circumstances, she can grab your flat.
4. Engage a local lawyer having expertise in this field as advised in my earlier post.
Foreign court decree of divorce or dissolution of marriage can be valid in India provided such decree is according to the provision of law in India as provided under section 13 of the Civil Procedure Code and Principle of law as laid down by the Indian courts. A foreign court divorce decree may be valid in India ONLY if the spouse had lived in that country and had consented to that country's jurisdiction.
A foreign judgment shall be conclusive as to any matter thereby directly adjudicated upon between the same parties or between parties under whom they or any of them claim litigating under the same title except-
(a) where it has not been pronounced by a Court of competent jurisdiction;
(b) where it has not been given on the merits of the case;
(c) where it appears on the face of the proceedings to be founded on an incorrect view of international law or a refusal to recognise the law of India in cases in which such law is applicable;
(d) where the proceedings in which the judgment was obtained are opposed to natural justice;
(e) where it has been obtained by fraud;
(f) where it sustains a claim founded on a breach of any law in force in India.
So these six conditions are fulfilled by such foreign judgment/decree of divorce then it will be valid for dissolving such Indian marriage as has been held by the Supreme Court of India in several of its judgments.
In your case your wife has accepted the authority of US court, it cannot be open to her to later question the authority of the US court.1. If someone has accepted the authority of a court, it cannot be open to the person to later question the authority of the court. So her new case will not stand.
As per Indian law wife has no right over husbands self acquired property.But she can claim right to stay there .
Find a local lawyer and file your objections properly.
