Madras High Court: Foreign Divorce Decree from Scotland Challenged Under Section 13 CPC

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 judgment falls under any of the clauses of Section 13 CPC, it ceases to be conclusive and may be subject to collateral attack on the grounds enumerated in Section 13. In this case, the wife challenged the foreign decree on the basis that it was an ex parte decree, passed without her presence while she was residing in India. The Court concluded that the foreign court lacked jurisdiction, rendering the decree unenforceable in India.

This ruling demonstrates the scope of Section 13 CPC in protecting Indian spouses in NRI marriages and highlights that foreign divorce decrees can be contested in India if they are ex parte or issued without proper jurisdiction.