In a significant ruling, the Calcutta High Court has clarified that foreign courts possess the authority to hear divorce and maintenance proceedings related to a marriage solemnised in India, provided one of the spouses is a resident of that foreign country. This decision came as the court set aside a lower court's injunction that had blocked a UK district court's order favouring a wife.
High Court's Rationale on Jurisdiction
A division bench comprising Justices Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Supratim Bhattacharya delivered this ruling on December 15. The bench interpreted the Hindu Marriage Act, noting that while a petition can be heard by the "district court within the local limits" where the couple last resided together, the term "district court" should not be restrictively viewed.
The judges adopted a liberal perspective, stating that a UK family court can rightfully assume jurisdiction if the wife resides there prima facie and the parties last cohabited as spouses in the UK. "It cannot be said outright that the judgment which might ultimately be passed in the divorce suit of the wife in the UK would be inconclusive in India," the bench observed.
Timeline of the Marital Dispute
The couple in question had tied the knot in Kolkata on December 15, 2018. The legal battle began when the husband initiated divorce proceedings at the Alipore court on September 4, 2024.
Subsequently, the wife approached a UK court for divorce on October 10, 2024, followed by a maintenance application the next day. She asserted that she had been living in the UK since 2015 on student and work visas, making occasional visits to India, and that the couple last resided together as a married couple in the UK.
The UK family court, on May 16, 2025, directed the husband to pay maintenance. However, the Alipore district court intervened on November 1, imposing an injunction on the UK order. The lower court justified its action by citing that the husband's suit was filed first and that the UK court lacked jurisdiction since the wife was not a permanent UK resident. It also deemed the maintenance amount "onerous and oppressive," claiming it exceeded the husband's earnings.
High Court's Rejection of Lower Court Order
Challenging the Alipore court's injunction, the wife moved the Calcutta High Court. The high court scrutinised the facts and found the lower court's reasoning flawed.
It noted that even though the wife's petitions were filed later, the husband had engaged with the UK court proceedings by filing a response and adducing evidence. "Prima facie, it is not credible that the husband is not in a position to contest the wife's divorce proceedings and alimony application in UK," the high court remarked, leading to the setting aside of the injunction.
This ruling underscores a progressive interpretation of legal jurisdiction in transnational marital disputes, ensuring access to justice for non-resident spouses married under Indian law.
