What is the validity of a foreign judgement in India

674 votes

Decree of Divorce by a foreign Court is also valid in India if there is no challenge by the other party. If both of you go for mutual consent divorce, then it is recognised and valid in India.

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.

A foreign judgment shall be conclusive as to any matter thereby directly adjudicated upon between the same parties or between parties under whom they or any of them claim litigating under the same title except-

(a) where it has not been pronounced by a Court of competent jurisdiction;
(b) where it has not been given on the merits of the case;
(c) where it appears on the face of the proceedings to be founded on an incorrect view of international law or a refusal to recognise the law of India in cases in which such law is applicable;
(d) where the proceedings in which the judgment was obtained are opposed to natural justice;
(e) where it has been obtained by fraud;
(f) where it sustains a claim founded on a breach of any law in force in India.
So these six conditions are fulfilled by such foreign judgment/decree of divorce then it will be valid for dissolving such Indian marriage as has been held by the Supreme Court of India in several of its judgments.

The foreign judgment is open to challenge where it has been obtained by fraud. 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.

Advocate Ajay NS LawRato

607 votes

The query suggests no legal elements.... .... .

Advocate P Venu LawRato

621 votes

Dear Client,
I think it will be better to obtain a divorce via joint petition, that will be better for both of you. There will be several hurdles in changing the marital status in your passport to "Divorcee", you may cfurnish a copy of the judgement from the Hon'ble Court of Kuwait and file a request before the Indian Consulate in Kuwait, if the marital status is corrected to "Divorcee" then it is ok. So just do this and if the Indian Consulate had not corrected as per the judgement of the Hon'ble Court of Kuwait, you have to obtain divorce as per the community guidelines from a competent Court having jurisdiction to grant you divorce

Advocate Sachindas P LawRato