Supreme Court's Key Observation on Foreign Divorce: Indian Marriages Cannot Be Dissolved Simply Under Foreign Laws

The Supreme Court of India has made an important observation regarding divorces obtained from foreign courts by couples whose marriages were solemnised in India.

A divorce granted by a foreign court under its liberal divorce laws is not automatically recognised as legally valid in India when the marriage was solemnised in India under Indian law.

The Court observed that if a person obtains a divorce from a foreign court and subsequently marries someone else, the first marriage may still be considered legally valid under Indian law.

In such circumstances, the individual could face criminal proceedings for bigamy under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for entering into a second marriage while the first marriage remains legally subsisting.

Foreign Citizenship Does Not Automatically Change the Legal Position

The Supreme Court further observed that even if the person has acquired foreign citizenship, the legal consequences of their first marriage, solemnised in India under Hindu marriage laws, cannot simply be avoided.

This applies even if the second marriage takes place in a foreign country.

Background of the Case

The observations came during the hearing of a case filed by a woman against her husband, who had acquired British citizenship and entered into a second marriage.

The woman accused her husband of bigamy, alleging that he had remarried without legally dissolving their first marriage under Indian law.

The Supreme Court emphasised that obtaining a divorce abroad does not automatically terminate a marriage solemnised in India. Its validity must be examined under the applicable Indian legal provisions.