1. The facts furnished by you are conflicting. You have in the beginning stated that you got divorce in California in Dec 2014, whereas in the later part of your query you have stated that the case is at a stage where the vakalatnama has been filed by your spouse's lawyer to contest. If the vakalatnama has just been filed and the case is still pending then on what basis do you say that the divorce has been granted?

2. If the divorce has been granted by the court in California you do not need to apply to an Indian court to validate the divorce. However, if the divorce granted by the California court has been challenged in an Indian court by your spouse you should contest the case so that the judgment of California court is not derecognized by the concerned Indian court.

3. If the divorce granted in US is set aside by an Indian court it will imply that the marriage is alive and subsisting for all practical reasons.

Hello,

1) If you have obtained a divorce in California you don't need to get the same ratified in an court. The decree of divorce you have obtained in the Court in California is valid despite another proceeding in India.

2) Now that you had moved a divorce petition in Kolkata in Jan 2014, how was it possible for you to obtain a divorce in California in December of the same year? Did you move another application in California while the petition was pending in the Indian Court?

3) If you did, you ought to have withdrawn the petition in the Indian Court before you moved a petition in California.

4) You may present the order passed by the Californian court and this can certainly avoid the lengthy proceedings to follow as the opposite party has just filed vakalatnama. However the question would arise as to why moved the court in California in the interim.

5) Alternately as you have already obtained divorce you have the option to withdraw your case pending in Kolkata.

1. You should then have stated clearly that a case is pending in Kolkata, which you nowhere did. This is what you stated "I submitted a petition back in Jan, 2014. Got the other party to appear through publication. The case is at a point where they just submitted a Vakalatnama for contesting." It nowhere speaks of a case pending in Kolkata.

2. It makes no legal sense to file for divorce in India when the marital tie had already been severed by the court in CA. By seeking validation from an Indian court of the judgment of court in California you have reopened the issue which was dead and buried after the judgment of the court in CA. You should never have done this, more so when your wife was the petitioner in US. Since your wife's lawyer has filed his vakalatnama it is a clear manifestation of her intention to challenge the validity of the judgment of the CA court. A contest would now be set up.

3. The settlement reached at in US would be ignored if the judgment of CA court is not recognized by the Indian court. Your wife can even now file for maintenance and compensation in an Indian court under the Indian law.

4. Since your wife has decided to contest the case pending in Kolkata in which you are the petitioner there is no way you can retreat now. The court would now decide the case on merits after hearing you and her. This being said, uncertainty of result is the hallmark of contested lawsuits. You should prosecute your case in Kolkata.

Hi,

if she filed her appearance by appointing an advocate, you should inform the court that the matter is settled in california and you both are divorced.There can not two divorces , so it is advisable that you withdraw the indian petition as you have got divorce already.

Dear Querist

as per your information she filed a divorce case in California and get the divorce there and you filed a divorce case in India, it will be better to accept the divorce if you are not willing to live with her and also want divorce.

if you are not ready to get divorce from her then you can challenge the divorce decree before Indian court.

1) since your wife has filed petition for divorce in USA and decree has been passed for dissolution of marriage in USA your marriage is dissolved

2) it was no necessary for you to file petition for divorce in india

3) since you wife has got reasonable settlement from court in USA you should not have taken any proceedings in india .

it is in your interest to with draw the petition filed in kolkata court now .

2) you are free to remarry and you dont need any further orders from indian courts

As per the latest Supreme Court judgment which had held that a decree of divorce granted by a foreign court is not valid in India if the ground is not recognized by Indian law.

Settled position in India:

1. Ex-parte decree of Divorce granted by foreign Court will not be recognized by Indian Court.

2. Mutual Consent Divorce amongest NRIs, etc: Generally a mutual consent divorce granted by foreign Court is considered as valid, legal and binding in Indian Courts by virtue of section 13 and 14 of Code of Civil Procedure and also on account of comity of Nations. Such decree of divorce granted by foreign Courts need not to be validated in Indian Courts. However, as a matter of abundant precaution, one can approach to the Indian Court for declaring that divorce is valid and binding. Contested Divorce in foreign Court can be valid and binding depending upon on Matter is contested by both spouses in foreign Court. And Matter is uncontested in foreign Court and one spouse comes back to India

Suggestion:

Who wish to take benefit of Indian laws and legal system to avoid facing up to any foreign judicial system

In your case:

• Your wife filed a divorce case in California and gets the divorce there and you filed a divorce case in India, if you also want a divorce then it will be better to accept the divorce .So it is in your interest to with draw the petition filed in kolkata court now.

• The settlement reached at in California court would be ignored if the judgment of California court is not recognized by the Indian court.

Hi, even though the California court has granted divorce and it is recognized by india and you have already filed a petition in india and simply filing vakalath and they have not contested it is better you can go ahead with the case and get the decree.

1. Divorce in foreign countries on grounds which are treated as acceptable grounds in India for seeking decree of divorce, is valid,

2. Your is a no fault divorce which is not acceptable in India,

3. However, since your wife had filed the said divorce suit in California, she can not contest your divorce case filed in india if you file a divorce petition in India for getting the USA divorce decree vetted in India,