• Married in India, both parties mutually consented for divorce in US. Issues in India?

Respected Attorneys,

I am reposting my original question with all the facts to get an accurate picture as I am getting contradictory answers from different attorneys on here and not sure what should be the way moving forward for me.

I was married in India and we moved to the US soon after. We recently got divorced here in the US. The petition was filed jointly by both of us where my wife was the respondent, Both husband and wife has participated in the divorce proceedings, the case was filed in the court located in area where both husband and wife lived together as couple so the right court had jurisdiction, both parties had legal representation, both parties consented to the divorce by signing all the involved paperwork with notary and the divorce is now finalized, the final divorce decree was issued by the court with the consent of both the parties, neither party contested the divorce and neither it was a contested divorce. I have a few questions pertaining to this:

1) Since this divorce was done mutually by consent of both parties , does this divorce will be valid in India according to the Hindu Marraige act of mutual consent divorce?

2) since both parties have voluntarily submitted themselves to the jurisdiction of the US court and actively participated in the divorce proceedings, does this end the matter here or can it be challenged in the Indian court on the basis of "no fault" divorce not recognized by the HMA? On this forum, few respectable attorneys have indicated that in recent HC judgements, such claims were denied. Does this still hold true?

3) I am seeing responses by the lawyers for questions raised on this forum for NRI couples getting divorced in US, UK etc on basis of mutual consent about their decree being valid in India as well, so how is my case any different? The respondent wife had a lawyer of her own so her legal rights were protected, she actively participated in the divorce proceedings and was present during the issue of the final decree and consented the grant of divorce, doesn't that qualify for mutual consent? If it does not, then what does? How does Indian courts define mutual consent? How else we demonstrate mutual consent?

This marriage is dissolved by the US court, what legal recourse is Available to me in India if it will be challenged on basis of "no fault" not being valid per HMA?

4) Am I still required to instigate any necessary legal steps for validation? Getting her to cooperate for any signatures will be very challenging and no parties are in touch with each other anymore.

My intention here is to not compare answers but make sure I am in the clear for any future issues regarding this, and if not what necessary steps I need to take in India. 

Please help.
Asked 3 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

13 answers received in 1 day.

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15 Answers

1) divorce decree would be valid in India as divorce has been granted on grounds recognised by HMA ie mutual consent divorce 

 

2) it is divorce by mutual consent as wife has participated in divorce proceedings and has received x amount as alimony 

 

3) if it is.challenged by wife take the plea that she participated in divorce proceedings engaged a lawyer to appear on her behalf received x amount as alimony in full and final settlement 

 

4) advisable to get divorce decree validated by Indian courts 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94522 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

General rule is if both the parties voluntarily agreed for the jurisdiction of the court and participated in the proceedings and consented for divorce, such court will be having jurisdiction and such divorce is valid... only issue is the ground on which divorce is granted should be one of the grounds available for grant of divorce in india.

Sricharan Telaprolu
Advocate, Hyderabad
170 Answers
88 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

You can obtain my contact details from website .unable to post it in my reply to your query 

 

 

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94522 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

You seems to be well aware of intricacies of law, you can refer to 100 (2002) DLT 682, I (2003) DMC 139 1991 SCR (2) 821, 1991 SCC (3) 451, you will get your answer.

Ravi Shinde
Advocate, Hyderabad
4041 Answers
42 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. Yes, the divorce is valid in India.

2. Divorce granted by the US Court based on Mutual Consent is valid all over the World, MutualConsent Means "No fault" in the petition of Mutual Consent Divorce, both the parties settled their respective claims with each other and file the case before the court that they have settled the matter and resolved all their issues amicably hence they need a decree of divorce by way of Mutual Consent. so Decree is Valid in India too.

 

3. If there is a settlement between you and your wife and that settlement is the part of your divorce proceedings and pleadings then your divorce comes under the preview of Mutual Consent. 

 You may fight the case based on that settlement and acceptance of the jurisdiction of the USA Court by your wife. this divorce is valid as per section 13 of CPC too.

get the certified copy of the same.

 

4. there is no requirement for validation of that decree, it is valid. if she has any objection she has to file a civil suit for declaration till then wait and watch and sit tight with your decree and if you got any proposal for second marriage then do it without any delay.

No need to worry.

 

Feel Free to Call

Nadeem Qureshi
Advocate, New Delhi
6307 Answers
302 Consultations

4.9 on 5.0

(1) & (2) A decree of divorce granted by a foreign court (whether mutual or contested) needs to be executed in India at a competent court having jurisdiction, whether the decree granted is from a reciprocating country or not. 

(3) & (4) Decree granted by a foreign court of a reciprocating country like (like UK), if it meets certain conditions as specified in the indian laws (CPC), it can be directly executed, whereas the decree granted is from a non-reciprocating country (like the US), a fresh suit has to be instituted at the competent court in India. Here the US decree evidentiary value only. You have to comply with all the requirements of the Indian court.

 

Muraleedharan R
Advocate, Trivandrum
373 Answers
2 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

You need to get the US divorce decree validated in indian court for application and admissibility of the same in India.

If its mutual normally the same will not be challenged by either of the spouses but its mandatory to get it validate in Indian court of competent jurisdiction 

Prashant Nayak
Advocate, Mumbai
31807 Answers
175 Consultations

4.1 on 5.0

Dear Sir,

1) Divorce by mutual consent is valid under HMA.

2) It is mutual consent divorce since both parties subjected themselves to the jurisdiction of the court, if the wife contests the divorcee decree the same can be taken as your defense.

3) You can gat it validated by the Indian courts Under sec 7 of family courts act for declaration, just to be on the safe side.

Thank you

 

Anik Miu
Advocate, Bangalore
8742 Answers
109 Consultations

4.7 on 5.0

1. A clear explanation was already given to your similar query raised by you in a previous thread about this.

If the divorce was decreed on the grounds of mutual consent for incompatibility as reason it is valid in India as per Indian laws. But, if not then it cannot be considered as legally valid divorce in India, even if it was on  a mutual consent grounds.

2. The law prevailing in India ws clearly explained that 'no fault divorce' even if it was on a mutual consent grounds, is not recognised.

 Where the foreign court has granted divorce based on ” ‘irreconcilable difference or irretrievable breakdown of marriage or similar no fault ground’ then court in India will not recognize the foreign divorce because this is not a ground for divorce under Indian divorce law.

3. The divorce decree passed by US court is not recognised as valid as per Indian laws even though it was on a mutual consent divorce.

The divorce can be challenged in India and it can be set aside.

 if the Indian do not recognise your US divorce decree itself mentioning that it is not in accordance with the Indian laws, then you cannot claim to have dissolved your marriage that was solemnized as per Indian laws. 

4. If your USD divorce is not recognised in India then you cannot validate it. 

the decree passed by the foreign court shall be considered as another piece of evidence.

You can file a divorce case on the basis of the said evidence once again in India.

Do not be mislead by reading various answers from this forum or various other online legal forums.

You may first analyze the law involved in it nd proceed legally to initiate all such further steps.

 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84711 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

You can contact the chosen advocate directly instead of posting such information in the open forum like this.

The contact details of the chosen expert lawyer will be available in the forum's lawyer details.

 

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84711 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Hello,

The order passed by the US Court has to be executed over here to make it valid in india.

You can call me to discuss further.

Regards

Swarupananda Neogi
Advocate, Kolkata
2963 Answers
6 Consultations

4.7 on 5.0

1. It will be considered as valid in India provided you get the said foreign decree validated by filing an application before local District Court in India. Ordinarily no foreign decree is accepted by Indian law unless the proceeding resulting in to the said decree conforms to the concerned Act and Rule prescribed in India. Your matter satisfies the basic requirements for awarding MCD in India for which it is liable to be validated by Indian Court.

 

2. No Fault Divorce is not acceptable in India but mutual consent divorce on agreed terms is acceptable by Indian Courts provided the said foreign decree is placed before the Indian District Court and got validated.

 

3. Your case qualifies to be considered as mutual consent divorce passed by the foreign court. You shall have to get it validated by Indian District Court. It is not at all uncommon in India.

 

4. You shall have to get the said foreign decree validated by Indian Court as advised above and till then both of you shall be considered as husband and wife in India for all legal purposes.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27191 Answers
726 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. There has been problems faced by the clients not to route calls to the experts.

 

2. However, you can find the email addresses and phone no.s of almost all actively practicing Advocates in the net.

Krishna Kishore Ganguly
Advocate, Kolkata
27191 Answers
726 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. As per law, 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 CPC and also on account of comity of Nations.

- Since, the said decree is based upon the mutual consent , then it is very much valid in India.

2. No, it cannot be challenged in India by either of the parties 

3. As per law, Mutual Divorce is a legal process of separation, when both the husband and wife want to separate with their own will after marriage, is called at Divorce with Mutual Consent.

-  Further, A foreign divorce verdict is viewed as final under Section 14 of the Civil Procedure Code in the event that it passes the test under Section 13 of the said Code.

Mohammed Shahzad
Advocate, Delhi
13095 Answers
195 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1. A divorce decree passed by a foreign court is valid in India for all legal and practical reasons, more so if both spouses consent to the passing of decree to dissolve the marriage.

2. After the passing of decree there is no scope now to challenge the decree in an Indian court except if it is shown by one spouse that his/her consent to the decree was obtained by force, fraud or misrepresentation.

3. Nothing is required to be done in India now.

Ashish Davessar
Advocate, Jaipur
30763 Answers
972 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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