The Supreme Court has determined that a divorce decree issued by a foreign court, citing irretrievable breakdown of marriage, lacks validity in India. This decision was made public, following a case involving a man accused of bigamy and criminal conspiracy. The bench, consisting of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Shree Chandrashekhar, dismissed the man’s plea to quash the case against him.

Legal Implications of the Divorce Decree

The court articulated that the foreign divorce decree was issued in violation of existing matrimonial laws in India and on grounds that are not recognised under Indian statutes. The bench stated that this situation not only contravenes the legal standards outlined in Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), which governs the enforceability of foreign decrees, but also disregards the criteria established by the Supreme Court for such decrees to be recognised in India.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court emphasised that the integrity of matrimonial status must not be compromised by the principle of an inconvenient forum, known as “forum non conveniens.” The court highlighted that the man, referred to as accused No. 1, was married to his first wife in India according to Hindu customs, thereby asserting that the circumstances surrounding the second marriage in the UK do not diminish the legal implications of bigamy under Indian law.

In its ruling, the bench remarked that the inquiry into the offence of bigamy must consider the ongoing marital relationship, rather than being limited to the location of the second marriage. This perspective reinforces the legal framework governing marriage and divorce in India.

Background of the Case

The man in question married his first wife on April 18, 2003, in Sattenapalli, Andhra Pradesh, adhering to Hindu rites and customs. The couple subsequently resided in Hyderabad, where the man was engaged in postgraduate studies at Osmania Medical College. On February 4, 2005, he moved to the UK to advance his medical career, and his wife later joined him. However, in August 2007, she returned to her parental home in Sattenapalli for childbirth and did not return to the UK despite his repeated requests.

As their relationship deteriorated, the husband initiated divorce and custody proceedings in Narasaraopet, Andhra Pradesh, but these were dismissed. Although he appealed to the high court, he later withdrew the appeal. On February 1, 2013, he was granted UK citizenship, after which he filed for divorce in the Cambridge County Court. This court granted him a divorce in 2014 based on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage, following which he remarried in Norfolk, UK.

Almost two years later, the man’s first wife lodged a complaint at the Sattenapalli police station in Guntur, alleging bigamy and criminal conspiracy. The Supreme Court’s ruling has upheld the validity of this complaint, indicating that the foreign divorce decree does not satisfy the necessary conditions for enforcement in India. However, the court did quash the criminal proceedings against the man’s parents and his second wife.

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