• Second marriage in india on the basis of xparty USA divorce

Hello,

I got married in Dec-2013 in Noida as per hindu law. we both were working in IT in Bangalore and she was originally from Jharkhand.
Then we separated in May-2016 and I moved to USA.
I filed a divorce case in Noida in April-2017, and she NEVER appeared for any hearing till now. Case is still going on and progressing on xparty direction. Delay is mainly due to judge absent, court closed, new amendment ordered from judge, etc.

I lost my patience and filed divorce in USA and got the decree 3 months back. My ex-wife KNOWS about USA divorce. I understand that this might not be valid in India. But i also know that my ex wife will never object it. She just does not want to enter into court.

I am not sure how long this one sided case will go in India and I want to move on. 
So I want to get re-married to an Indian. I just need Indian marriage certificate so that i can get dependent visa for my new spouse from US consulate.

My question is : can i re-marry in India on the basis of US divorce (assuming my first wife will never object it) ?
Please help me. What are my options other options if any?

Note: Due to visa issues I cannot marry to an Indian visitor in USA.
Asked 5 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

3 answers received in 30 minutes.

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14 Answers

You cannot remarry in India until and unless you have a decree of divorce from a court in India.

Uncontested decree of divorce by a foreign Court can in no way be enforced in India.

Only option for you is to take shorter dates in your contested divorce filed in Noida and get an exparte decree of divorce. After that, you can get married after the expiry of the period in which your wife can prefer an appeal.

Siddharth Jain
Advocate, New Delhi
6303 Answers
102 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. Assuming that she will not object to it, you can go ahead and re-marry; but remember that you will land up in a big legal soup in case your assumption proves to be wrong.

2. Best way is to wait for the outcome in the divorce that you have applied in India.

Vibhanshu Srivastava
Advocate, Lucknow
9582 Answers
303 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

your ex parte divorce is not valid in India

2) you cannot remarry on basis of ex parte divorce in India

3) your first wife can file case of bigamy against you under section 494 of IPC

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94515 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

No you cannot remarry in India based on your US divorce as exparte divorce in US is not valid in India further according to Indian law you are still married and in case you marry second marriage is not valid and the wife can file a case of bigamy too.

you have to seek a divorce in India only after decree of divorce you can marry in India and get same registered.

Shubham Jhajharia
Advocate, Ahmedabad
25514 Answers
179 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Dear Concerned,

Under the above circumstances the best way is to file the Certified copy of the Decree obtained in USA in India in the ongoing divorce case........please note that it is important for you to be in India atleast on specific date when the court will be deciding your matter. Presently the Noida family court is is extremely efficient in their work and your matter should sort out soon ... Its just that your lawyer need to represt your matter well, which doesnt seem to be a case here as per the above notes.

you may choose to share more details of the case and the case file so that more details on the matter can be checked in reference to status of the case in court.....

You can marry on the basis of US divorce till the time your ex-wife does not object to it - there are ways out for the same too......

Best of luck

Atulay Nehra
Advocate, Noida
1308 Answers
58 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Hi

1) USA court decrees are generally invalid, if the divorce decree is not in accordance to Hindu marriage act and all the more if the wife is an Ex-parte in the said divorce.

2) Honestly the Ex-parte Divorce decree of US courts is of no help in whatsoever manner Unless and until your wife has been residing in USA and has entered appearance in USA Court through her attorney.

3) Mere awareness of USA Court proceedings will be No help to you as your wife in all probability is conscious of the legal fact that 2 concurrent divorce proceedings are expressly prohibited under any law and in any country(ies) (including USA).

4) Also given that you have already filed a divorce case in Noida, and subsequently you filed a divorce proceeding in USA, it will be considered as Forum Shopping by you and as such the divorce decree of USA court will be NULL and Void.

5) Due to aforementioned reasons, your USA Divorce decree cannot be the ground for your remarriage in India

6) The Only option left to you is accelerate the proceedings in Noida and pray that your wife will be ex-parte in Noida proceedings as well and wait for the appeal period of 90 days to get over before remarrying.

Hope this information is useful.

Rajgopalan Sripathi
Advocate, Hyderabad
2173 Answers
394 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

This is my response to you:

1. You will need to somehow obtain ex-parte divorce in Noida;

2. Since marriage happened in Noida therefore approach the court and ask the court to pass a ex-parte decree;

3. Since you are Hindu more than one wife is punishable offence under IPC;

4. Consult a local lawyer and then speed up the divorce process in Noida.

Gowaal Padavi
Advocate, Mumbai
1920 Answers
5 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Dear,

You can marry but this is not a valid marriage in eye of Indian law.

If your wife anyhow knows this and you got married then she has a right to

take legal action against you.

So you are a criminal after this marriage happen.

So decision is your.

Tarun Agarwal
Advocate, Jaipur
769 Answers
3 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

hello

you married an Indian citizen in India as per the Hindu law. the divorce can only be granted under the Hindu law. a case is pending which you filed in 2017. the process was taking too long that is why you obtained a decree from the US district court. the matter was already sub judice in India. you must have not informed the US court of this. this is illegal. also, you cannot marry an Indian in India while the case is still going on, this is bigamy which is prohibited.

but there is a catch. if your wife accepts the jurisdiction of the US court and you withdraw the petition pending in India, things might improve a bit.

the US decree can be valid if she accepts the jurisdiction of the US decree, that is your only valid point.

but if your wife files a case against you in future, that you obtained the decree by fraud, she may claim maintenance and other compensation. also, your passport could be impounded.

regards

Rahul Mishra
Advocate, Lucknow
14081 Answers
65 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Hi, it is advisable to obtain a divorce decree from Indian court .. Wait for some time as ex-parte will be granted if she further do not appears .. You can also opt for mutual divorce if she agrees for it

Hemant Chaudhary
Advocate, Gurgaon
4630 Answers
67 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

1. USA divorce decree is not valid in India which means that you are still married as per Indian law

2.If you re married in India, then there is a case of bigamy against you.

3.A divorcee decree from indian court can legally remarry.

Mohammed Mujeeb
Advocate, Hyderabad
19299 Answers
32 Consultations

4.7 on 5.0

USA ex Parte divorce is not valid in India have to get it rectified in India and before that if you are getting married this marriage will not be valid in India and a proceeding for bigamy maybe initiated and your wife.

Vimlesh Prasad Mishra
Advocate, Lucknow
6852 Answers
23 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

1) Your Exparte divorce order from USA court is not valid in India.

2) Why don't you try for Mutual Consent Divorce, to get this done you should contact family court counselor. Counselor will get done this very fast and within you can have MCD. Here you have to talk to your ex wife to come once or twice just to talk in front of counselor and sign the papers.

3) If MCD doesn't work than you can marry here in India and don't show here until you had been remarried on paper. Take you second wife to USA on individual Visa and after getting green card holder tag in USA. On your Exparte order base you can remarry in USA. and than get entered your new wife's name on passport.

Ganesh Kadam
Advocate, Pune
12910 Answers
253 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

You can get married in India on the basis of US divorce, however as you know that the exparte divorce decree in US is not legally valid in India, you may have to vigilant on that aspect.

If you are confident about your wife that she will not object to this second marriage nor she will raise a plea that the divorce obtained in US is not valid, then you can move on with abundant caution.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84711 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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