In Sondur Rajini v. Sondur Gopal , the wife filed a petition for judicial separation, custody of minor children, and maintenance  under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) . The NRI husband objected, claiming that both parties were citizens of Sweden and not domiciled in India , and therefore the Mumbai Family Court lacked jurisdiction  under Section 1(2) of the HMA. The wife argued that their domicile of origin was India , which she had never abandoned, and that even if the husband

In Indira Sonti v. Suryanarayan Murty Sonti , the plaintiff wife , married in the United States  to an NRI , was deserted by her husband and returned to India. She filed a maintenance suit under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act . Though the marriage took place in the U.S., the wife contended that part of the cause of action arose in Delhi . She stated that her father-in-law had contacted her father in New Delhi  regarding her marriage, had arranged for her return to De

In Balasubramaniam Guhan v. T. Hemapriya , the Madras High Court  applied Section 13 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC)  to an NRI marriage  scenario. The wife filed a suit seeking to declare a divorce decree passed by a Scottish court  as ultra vires, illegal, unenforceable, and without jurisdiction , and also sought a consequential injunction  restraining her husband from enforcing the decree, including any claims to marry a second wife. The Court held that if a foreign judg

In Anubha v. Vikas Aggarwal , 100 (2002) DLT 682, the Delhi High Court  examined a crucial question: Can a decree of “no-fault divorce”  granted by a court in the United States be enforced in India when the marriage was solemnised under Hindu rites , and the wife neither consented to the divorce nor submitted to the jurisdiction of the foreign court? The case arose when the wife filed a suit  seeking a declaration that she was entitled to live separately from her NRI husband

In Venkat Perumal v. State of Andhra Pradesh , II (1998) DMC 523, the Andhra Pradesh High Court  dealt with a petition filed by an NRI husband  seeking to quash criminal proceedings initiated by his wife under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)  for matrimonial cruelty. The wife had alleged that she faced harassment, humiliation, and torture  during her short stay with her husband both in Madras and in the United States. When she refused to terminate her pregnancy as

In Vikas Aggarwal v. Anubha  (AIR 2002 SC 1796), the Supreme Court of India  dealt with an appeal filed by an NRI husband  whose defence had been struck off in a maintenance suit filed by his wife in the Delhi High Court. Despite repeated directions and multiple opportunities, the husband failed to personally appear before the Court, as ordered. The High Court had specifically required his personal appearance to clarify how a US court granted him a divorce decree  even though

In Harmeeta Singh v. Rajat Taneja , 102 (2003) DLT 822, the Delhi High Court dealt with a case where the wife was deserted by her husband within six months of marriage. She had been compelled to leave the matrimonial home just three months after joining her husband in the United States. The wife subsequently filed a suit for maintenance under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956  in India. During the pendency of the case, the High Court passed an important interim or

In a combined judgment on two appeals filed by the wife against the Family Court’s order dated 31-3-2023, which rejected her plea declaring an Australian divorce decree null and void and seeking restitution of conjugal rights, the Gujarat High Court Division Bench of Justices A.Y. Kogje and N.S. Sanjay Gowda set aside the order. The Court held the husband could not initiate divorce proceedings in Australia if the marriage was solemnised in India, even if both parties had fore