Foreign courts can’t annul marriages solemnised under Hindu Marriage Act, rules Gujarat HC

In a landmark judgment, Gujarat High Court held that marriages performed under the Hindu Marriage Act in India cannot be annulled by foreign courts, even if the couple resides abroad or holds foreign citizenship.

The division bench of Justice A Y Kogje and Justice N S Sanjay Gowda clarified that marital disputes between two Hindus married in India must be adjudicated solely under the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act. Foreign family laws cannot override the Act, regardless of the couple’s residence or nationality.

The judgment came while hearing an appeal filed by a wife challenging a Family Court order that had dismissed her plea to declare as invalid a divorce granted by the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. The High Court set aside the Family Court’s decision and directed it to reconsider the wife’s petitions.

The bench observed that if both husband and wife reside in India — even if one holds an OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card — initiating divorce proceedings in a foreign court without mutual consent raises serious legal concerns.

It reiterated that Hindu marriages conducted in India, as per Hindu rites and customs, are governed exclusively by the Hindu Marriage Act, irrespective of where the couple later resides or what citizenship they acquire.

The High Court also referred to the Supreme Court’s judgment in Y Narasimha Rao’s case, reaffirming that marriages solemnised in India can only be dissolved under the law applicable at the time of marriage.