You cannot remarry in India as your divorce decree is not valid in India
2) you continue to remain married in India as your wife has objected to jurisdiction of UK courts and did not participate in divorce proceedings
Can I marry in UK after UK court passed Decree Final order for my first marriage in India
Hello, I got married in Tirumala (AP) in Feb 2012, and my wife and I lived together only for a week in India. Later I came to UK to continue my job. after couple of months my wife came to UK and joined me and stayed with me for two days. Then She left UK and came back to India. Since then we are living separately. Though I was an NRI holding Indian passport, In 2014 I filed a divorce case in AP. as my wife was living in Bangalore that time, she approached Supreme court to get it transfer to Bangalore court. It took four more years for the divorce case to reach in Bangalore court. As it was taking longer time for this, I decided to withdraw the case in Bangalore and I withdrew the divorce case. Later I got British citizenship in UK, and surrendered my Indian passport. In 2019 I filed a divorce case in UK, and the summoned received by wife in India (via email n post). She didn't contest it but sent several attested docs to the court stating that it's out of jurisdiction. However, UK court ordered based on the reason that we lived together in UK the last time, hence court gave the judgement of both Decree of Divorce first, after 6weeks Court gave the Final Order in Dec 2020 that marriage has been dissolved. There are other 498a n other different cases are still going on in India both in Bangalore n AP. Now my question is, can I get married in UK or India with other Indian woman?? is it legally correct or not? I asked the lawyers here in UK, they said it's absolutely legal. Please answer me with respect to Indian law. Thank you
Asked 4 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu
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10 Answers
You married as per the Indian law ie the Hindu marriage act. Divorce can obtained by you only under the Hindu marriage act in India.
If you file a divorce petition in a foreign country then if both the parties agree to contest and the parties accept the jurisdiction of the foreign court then the decree is valid and enforceable.
In your case the wife didn't accept the jurisdiction of the foreign court.
Therefore the divorce decree is not valid in India and you could be prosecuted for bigamy in India.
Moreover your 2nd marriage would be null and void in India.
As per Indian law foreign court decree is not valid.
You can file mutual consent divorce in UK or India, then you can perform second marriage in India or UK.
But as of now your current status is UK citizenship. You can get marry in UK if you're not planning to come back India.
The divorce decree passed by an UK court was on exparte basis, i.e., he did not contest or participate in the divorce case proceedings before the court in UK.
Hence it is not recognised as legally valid divorce in India for the marriage that was solemnised as per Indian laws.
As per Indian laws, therefore you are still married to her.
If you marry another woman in India then it becomes an act of bigamy besides you cannot register your marriage before the marriage officer in India.
You being a foreign citizen now, have to register your marriage in India under the provisions of special marriage act only and as per this act, you should be a single person or a divorcee or a widower.
Since your divorce granted by an UK court is not legally valid in India, your marital status would be 'married', hence you cannot get your subsequent marriage registered during the subsistence of your earlier marriage
1. If the marriage has been dissolved by the competent court in UK and the decree has not been declared non est and void on a challenge in an Indian court then you are free to remarry either in UK or India.
2. A decree of divorce passed by a foreign court can be challenged in an Indian court which can declare it void if it has not been passed on a ground which is also a ground for divorce in India under the statue which governs the parties. The dissimilarity in grounds for divorce under the Indian and foreign laws makes a foreign decree of divorce very dicey in India in a prospective legal challenge.
If you remarry it is illegal. Your first marriage still subsists and it is legal.
Don't het trapped.
Regards
G.Rajaganapathy
High Court of Madras
You have been granted divorce by a foreign Court. Foreign divorce decree is also an ex parte decree in which your wife did not participate. Yours being a Hind marriage and the marriage being solemnized in India, only an Indian Court could have granted you divorce. As per view of Indian Courts. your second marriage in UK would be considered illegal in India.
Dear Sir,
1. It is legal for you to get married in UK with the other woman as long as you can obtain a valid proof of marriage certificate.
2. Irrespective of the other cases going on in India, since you are a UK citizen and you have a valid divorce certificate, you need not worry about the cases going on India and are free to marry another woman.
Thank you,
- For more assistance, you may book a consultation with me
- As per law of India, if matter is uncontested, one party comes back to India where marriage had taken place and contest proceedings in India, divorce as granted by foreign Court will not be applicable in India.
- Further, Ex-parte decree of Divorce granted by US Court will also not be recognized by Indian Court.- Ex-parte means , One party divorce.
- Hence, that Decree of divorce is not valid in India , and legally she is your wife and you cannot marry with another woman , as your marriage was solemnized in India.
1 The decree of divorce obtained by you from the foreign court is not valid in India and is not likely to be validated in India if you file an application to that effect.
2. You and your wife is considered as married couple in India as per law and she will be entitled to all the amenities and rights a wife in India ordinarily enjoys.
3. In case you marry another woman now without obtaining the decree of divorce from Indian Court, the charge of bigamy u/s494 of IPC can be brought against you punishable with a jail term of a maximum period of 7 years with or without fine.
