Foreign court judgment can be challenged in Indian court: HC

RULING COMES ON PETITION OF A KARNAL RESIDENT, WHO HAD CHALLENGED AN ORDER OF FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

: The Punjab and Haryana high court has held that a foreign court judgment on divorce can be challenged in Indian civil court, if obtained with fraud, by concealing facts or in violation of law of natural justice.

The judgment came from the high court bench of justice MMS Bedi on the petition of a Karnal resident, who had challenged November 15, 2016 order of Federal Circuit Court of Australia at Melbourne, terminating the marriage.

The petitioner had argued that ground order of the Australian court was without jurisdiction as having been obtained by fraud and in violation of rules of natural justice and the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

The high court asked the petitioner to approach the civil court. “In case the question of validity of decree arises in the said proceedings, it will be open to the court of competent jurisdiction to adjudicate upon the validity of the foreign judgment in the light of provisions of Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure,” the high court said in its judgment. Section 13 deals with the instances when a foreign court judgment is inconclusive.

As per the petitioner, the respondent woman went to Australia for pursuing a nursing course in February 2013. She came back the same year in September and their marriage was solemnised in Chandigarh with Hindu rites. He joined her in Australia in January 2015 and also applied for visa but their relationship soured and she informed Australian Embassy in September 2015 that they are no longer in spouse relationship. Hence, his visa was rejected.

For studies, tours and other miscellaneous expenses, the petitioner had by then spent Rs 1.5 crore, the court was told adding that he was surprised to get a copy of divorce in January 2017 whereby the Australian court had terminated the marriage.

His counsel SS Nara had argued the woman did not have domicile of Australia, hence the Australian court did not have jurisdiction to decide her plea and the woman should have filed for divorce in India. As per the rules of private international law, the court in Australia should have applied the law by which the parties to the marriage are governed. The marriage was governed by the Hindu Marriage Act, hence could not have been terminated under the Family Law Act, of Australia. The petitioner never was a resident there and also did not get any notice from the Australian court. Hence, the marriage termination order could not have been passed, Nara had argued.