• NRI divorce

Hi,

Myself and my wife have been married for 3.6yrs now and our lives have been rocky quiet from the start itself.Now i have decided to move on but my wife though doesn't want to be in this marriage,she is got so much vengeance in her heart that she neither willing to divorce nor she is willing to move out of my parents place.

We both resided last together in aboard and i'm still working here.But wife is in India at my parents place since 2013 and we have living apart for like 2yrs now.Because of that i don't stay at my parents whenever i visit India and i usually stay at my Sister's place or at any of the hotels and i have got all the hotel receipts with me.

Now i want to file for divorce where i'm working currently and i know that my wife won't contest here.But i want my wife to come here and contest.

If i file a petition stating i will bare all her travel,lodging and other daily expense,will the court consider my request for her to travel aboard and contest.Now this falls inline with natural justice as far as NRI divorce laws are concerned.I'm giving ample time to file her defence and she can't complain that she is financially not capable to coming down here and contest.

Since we don't have kids and she is a housewife currently living at my parents place and she is also healthy,under what grounds she can file a petition stating she wants the divorce proceeding to happen in India.

I have been working here for well over 6yrs now and i can't make frequent trips to India to attend the court proceedings where in my wife can come here and attend the hearings since she isn't working and sitting just idle at home.

Or what points i can use in my petition on the basis of which the Indian court may consider my request or on what grounds i can enforce or execute foreign divorce decree in India.

I went through the NRI divorce laws, and i satisfy some of the prerequisite conditions like we both last lived together in aboard and the foreign court falls under the Indian jurisdiction principles and also i give her sufficient time to counter file her defence as per fair justice and also i'm willing to sponsor her travel,lodging and her other daily expenses for the duration of each hearing in aboard.

Thanks for your replies and suggestions.
Asked 9 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

2 answers received in 1 hour.

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6 Answers

1. In Singapore one can file suit for divorce against the spouse who is residing in India for which you may not have to bear her expenses.

2. if he does not participate in the said proceeding and decree of divorce is passe ex-parte then the same may not be binding upon her.

3. Hence I would advise you to convince her for going to mutual divorce and if she disagree then file such suit in India only.

Devajyoti Barman
Advocate, Kolkata
22779 Answers
484 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

The key rule laid by the Supreme Court is as follows: If a couple is

married under Hindu law, (a) the foreign court that grants divorce must be acceptable

under Hindu law; and (b) the foreign court should grant divorce only on the grounds

which are permissible under Hindu Law. The two conditions make it almost

impossible for a Hindu couple married in India to get a legally valid divorce

from a foreign court since no foreign court is an acceptable one under Hindu

Marriage Act and also because no foreign court is likely to consider the

provisions of Hindu Marriage Act before granting divorce.

In a recent case (March 2012), Sunder and Shyamala tied the knot in Vellore district

in 1999, Sunder went to the USA within a year and did not communicate with

Shyamala after that. In 2000, she received summons from Superior Court of

California, which subsequently granted divorce despite the wife’s defence statement.

Madras High Court held that the Superior Court of California was not a court of

competent jurisdiction to decide the matrimonial dispute in this case.

The exceptions that Supreme Court has permitted to the above rule laid by it are as

follows in a case where husband has filed for divorce in a foreign land:

A) The wife must be domiciled and permanently resident of that foreign land AND

the foreign court should decide the case based on Hindu Marriage Act.

B) The wife voluntarily and effectively attends the court proceedings and

contests the claim on grounds of divorce as permitted under Hindu Marriage

Act.

C) The wife consents to grant of divorce

Exception A seems almost impossible. Exception B is examined in the next section.

Exception C means that the divorce is obtained by mutual consent and therefore the

courts of India do not want to interfere with it.

In general, it can be said that if the partner contesting the divorce actively attends the

divorce proceedings in the foreign court, the chances of his or her being able to later

successfully approach Indian courts against an unfavorable judgment of the foreign

court are very low. Indian courts, or for that matters courts anywhere in the world, do

not wish to encourage court-shopping.

The well-accepted universal principle of law can be stated as – If someone has

accepted the authority of a court, it cannot be open to the person to later

question the authority of the court.

Thus you may petition the court at Singapore for dissolving your marriage with her by a decree of divorce and giving an undertaking to bear the expenses for her travel to Singapore and back may if accepted by the court at Singapore, shall solve the purpose, but such of provision of law is not heard of as per Indian laws.

On further issues you may consult an attorney at Singapore because you want to involve local law of Singapore in this.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84722 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1) you can file for divorce on grounds recognised by hindu marriage act

2) if after service of notice your wife does not participate in divorce proceedings she can file petition in india for stay of divorce proceedings . you cannot force her to contest divorce proceedings abroad

3) even if divorce is granted in singapore she can move court for setting aside divorce decree and for declaration that marriage is subsisting

4) it is better you file for divorce in india only

5) you can give power of attorney to your parents and need not appear in court on each date

6) your presence would be necessary at stage of evidence

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94523 Answers
7486 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. You cannot force your wife to contest even if you undertake to support her travel and lodging and also the fee of her lawyer.

2. If your wife is an Indian citizen then it will be appropriate for you to file divorce in India instead of the country wherein you are residing so as to preempt a future challenge by your wife to the grant of divorce by the Singapore court. While the judgment of the Singapore court would be open to challenge before an Indian court, the judgment of the Indian court will be conclusive.

3. You do not have to make any trip to India in relation to the divorce proceedings as your lawyer alone is required to appear in the court on every hearing.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

It is not easy for getting divorce in India. 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.

Under Section 13(e), Civil Procedure Code, the foreign judgment is open to challenge "where it has been obtained by fraud". May you got a decree from foreign court ,but your wife challenged the same here as alleged it as obtain by only fraud .

If you need a divorce you may file petition in Indian court has jurisdiction under law.

Grounds for Divorce under Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

Section 13. Divorce - (1) Any marriage solemnized, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, may, on a petition presented by either the husband or the wife, be dissolved by a decree of divorce on the ground that the other party:-

i) is living in adultery; or

ii) has ceased to be a Hindu by conversion to another religion; or

iii) has been incurably of unsound mind for a continuous period of not less than three years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition; or

iv) has, for a period of not less than three years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition, been suffering from a virulent and incurable form of leprosy; or

v) had, for a period of not less than three years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition, been suffering from venereal disease in a communicable form; or

vi) has renounced the world by entering any religious order; or

vii) has not been heard of as being alive for a period of seven years or more by those persons who would naturally have heard of it, had that party been alive; or

viii) has not resumed cohabitation for a space of two years or upwards after the passing of a decree for judicial separation against that party; or

ix) has failed to comply with a decree for restitution of conjugal rights for a period of two years or upwards after the passing of the decree.

Ajay N S
Advocate, Ernakulam
4072 Answers
110 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

It is advisable to file your case in india since your marriage was solemnised in india and divorce can be obtained only on the grounds provided in the Hindu Marriage Act and if the divorce is obtained in singapore without your wife's partition, she would have a right to file a case declaring that divorce decree as null and void.

Your prsence would be necessary in the court only when evidence is recorded, for the rest of the proceedings, you can give power of attorney to your parents to appear on your behalf.

Shaveta Sanghi
Advocate, Chandigarh
914 Answers
111 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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