NEW DELHI: Taking advantage of liberal laws abroad to obtain a divorce for a wedding solemnised in India will not automatically lead to dissolution of the marriage under Indian law, Supreme Court has ruled.Viewing negatively the use in a foreign court of grounds for divorce which are not recognised in India, SC said a person who contracts a second marriage on that basis may face prosecution for bigamy as the first marriage continues to subsist under Indian law, reports Amit Anand Choudhary.With many men approaching a foreign court to get a divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage - despite the wife opposing the plea - and thereafter remarrying, SC said the person has to face proceedings even in a case where he had become a citizen of a foreign country. The top court said legal consequences stemm-ing from the subsisting marriage cannot be overridden by a subsequent change in a spouse's nationality.Irretrievable breakdown of marriage no divorce ground in Indian law: SCThe bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar allowed criminal proceedings for bigamy against…
SC: Indians married here can't get divorced abroad
In short
The judgment allows criminal bigamy proceedings to continue against a man who remarried abroad after securing a foreign divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage, which his first wife opposed. Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar emphasized that this ground is not recognized under Indian statutory law, invalidating the decree under Section 13 of the Civil Procedure Code. The court firmly rejected the defense that foreign citizenship or an overseas second wedding protects an individual from Indian Penal Code provisions. However, the bench quashed the criminal proceedings that had been initiated against the man's parents and his second wife.
Key points
- Foreign divorce decrees granted on grounds unrecognized by Indian law do not legally diss…: Foreign divorce decrees granted on grounds unrecognized by Indian law do not legally dissolve a marriage solemnized in India.
- Individuals who enter second marriages based on invalid foreign divorces remain vulnerabl…: Individuals who enter second marriages based on invalid foreign divorces remain vulnerable to bigamy charges under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code.
- Acquiring foreign citizenship or holding a second wedding outside of India does not shiel…: Acquiring foreign citizenship or holding a second wedding outside of India does not shield a person from bigamy allegations under Indian law.