Gujarat High Court: Foreign Divorce Decree Cannot Dissolve Hindu Marriage Solemnised in India

The Gujarat High Court has held that a divorce decree passed by a foreign court cannot dissolve a Hindu marriage solemnised in India under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. 

The bench ruled that only Indian courts have jurisdiction over matrimonial disputes involving Hindu marriages. It set aside the family court’s finding that an Australian court’s divorce decree was valid and conclusive, which had left no cause of action for the wife to approach the Ahmedabad family court.

Allowing the appeals, the High Court affirmed that foreign courts cannot adjudicate such matters.