Neerja Saraph v. Jayant V. Saraph

In a pathbreaking human rights and matrimonial judgment authored by Justice R.M. Sahai, the Supreme Court addressed the widespread exploitation of Indian women by Non-Resident Indian (NRI) husbands. The Court held that an ex parte divorce decree obtained by an NRI husband from a foreign court without the wife submitting to foreign jurisdiction is null, void, and unenforceable in India under Section 13 CPC. The Court issued comprehensive national guidelines and suggested legislative reforms to mandate registration of NRI marriages, safeguard wives' maintenance rights, and awarded heavy damages against an NRI husband and father-in-law for destroying an educated Indian woman's life.

• Invalidity of Foreign Ex Parte Divorce Decrees: Declared that NRI husbands cannot discard Indian wives by securing swift ex parte decrees from foreign jurisdictions.
• Jurisdiction of Indian Courts Upheld: Reaffirmed that marriages solemnized in India under Indian personal laws can only be dissolved by Indian courts.
• Guidelines for NRI Marriages: Proposed mandatory statutory provisions for asset declarations, bank guarantees, and reciprocal maintenance enforcement.
• Exemplary Damages for Fraudulent Desertion: Awarded Rs. 3,00,000/- as exemplary compensation against the NRI husband and his father for ruining the wife's career and life.
• Protection of Women's Fundamental Dignity: Invoked constitutional values under Article 21 to shield vulnerable women from transnational marital fraud.

The petitioner, an educated school teacher in Bombay, was married in August 1989 according to Hindu rites to the respondent, a computer engineer employed in the United States.

The respondent husband left for the US shortly after the wedding, promising to sponsor the petitioner's visa. Instead of arranging her travel, the husband severed communication, deserted her, and filed for divorce in a circuit court in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania court granted an ex parte decree of divorce to the husband without the wife being served or submitting to jurisdiction.

The wife filed a suit for damages in India for breach of contract, deceit, and loss of life opportunities against the husband and father-in-law. The civil court decreed damages, but execution was obstructed. The matter was brought before the Supreme Court under Article 136.

The problem of NRI marriages is assuming alarming proportions. Educated and uneducated Indian women are frequently lured into marriages with overseas Indians, only to be abandoned within months in India or stranded abroad. The husbands then obtain swift ex parte decrees of divorce from foreign courts where the wife has neither the financial resources nor the legal access to defend herself. Under Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, a foreign judgment is not conclusive where it has not been pronounced by a court of competent jurisdiction, or where it has not been given on the merits of the case, or where it has been obtained by fraud, or where it sustains a claim founded on a breach of any law in force in India. A foreign court has no jurisdiction to dissolve a Hindu marriage solemnized in India between parties domiciled in India according to Hindu law, unless both parties voluntarily submit to the jurisdiction of the foreign court. An ex parte foreign divorce decree obtained behind the back of the wife is completely non est, null, and void in India. To prevent such gross injustice, legislation must be enacted incorporating the following safeguards: 1. No marriage between an NRI and an Indian woman which has taken place in India may be annulled by a foreign court; 2. Provision may be made for adequate maintenance to the wife from the property of the husband, both in India and abroad; 3. The marriage should be registered in the country where the husband resides and the Indian Embassy informed; 4. The husband must declare his assets and provide adequate security for the wife before leaving India. The conduct of the respondents in inducing the petitioner into marriage and abandoning her resulted in irreparable ruin of her career and personal life. The decree for damages was upheld and enhanced.

• Y. Narasimha Rao v. Y. Venkata Lakshmi (1991) 3 SCC 451: Foundational coordinate precedent on foreign matrimonial judgments applied in Neerja Saraph.
• Harmeeta Singh v. Rajat Taneja (2003) SCC OnLine Del 60: Followed Neerja Saraph to grant anti-suit injunction against foreign divorce.
• Jasmeet Kaur v. Navtej Singh (2018) SCC OnLine Del 7253: Reaffirmed that foreign ex parte divorces cannot defeat Indian custody/maintenance claims.