Supreme Court: A Foreign Divorce on Grounds Not Recognised in India Cannot Shield a Spouse From Bigamy
The Supreme Court ruled that a divorce granted by a foreign court, on a ground that Indian law does not recognise, does not end a marriage held in India under Indian law.
The case: a man married in India under Hindu rites later became a British citizen. A UK court gave him a divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of marriage (the marriage has broken down so badly that it cannot be repaired), even though his wife opposed it. He then married again in the UK.
The Court said irretrievable breakdown is not a ground for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. So the foreign decree failed the test of Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), which every foreign judgment must pass to be valid in India.
Since his first marriage still exists in the eyes of Indian law, the Court allowed criminal proceedings for bigamy (marrying again while a spouse is alive) under Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to continue against him.
The Court rejected his argument that, as a British citizen who remarried abroad, he was outside Indian law. It said a later change of nationality cannot cancel the legal effects of a marriage that still exists. The proceedings against his parents and second wife were quashed (cancelled).
The bench was made up of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Sree Chandrashekhar. It relied on an earlier 2026 ruling, Kishorekumar Mohan Kale v. Kashmira Kale, which also held that a foreign divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown is not binding in India.
Section 13 of CPC: Recognition of Foreign Judgments
Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC) decides when a judgment given by a court of another country will be accepted in India. The basic rule is simple: a foreign judgment is treated as final and binding (the law calls this "conclusive") in India, except in six situations. If any one of these six problems exists, Indian courts can ignore the foreign judgment. This section is the gatekeeper for every foreign decision, from a money dispute to a divorce.
The UK divorce was based on irretrievable breakdown, which is not a ground under the Hindu Marriage Act. The wife had opposed it, so none of the Narasimha Rao exceptions applied. The decree therefore failed Section 13 CPC, and the man's first marriage still exists in Indian law.
Bigamy under Indian Law: Section 494 IPC and Section 82 BNS
Bigamy means marrying a second person while your first husband or wife is still alive and your first marriage has not legally ended. In India, for most people, bigamy is both a void marriage (the second marriage has no legal value) and a crime. The crime was in Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860. Since 1 July 2024, it is in Section 82 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which replaced the IPC.
Because the UK divorce did not end the first marriage under Indian law, the man's second marriage counts as bigamy under Section 494 IPC (now Section 82 BNS). The Supreme Court also held that being a British citizen and marrying abroad does not protect him, since the first marriage was held in India under Hindu rites.
- Bench: Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Sree Chandrashekhar (ruling of November 2026)
- Irretrievable breakdown of marriage: not a ground for divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
- Foreign judgments are tested under Section 13 of the CPC, 1908 (six exceptions)
- Bigamy: Section 494 IPC (now Section 82 BNS); up to 7 years in jail
- Change of nationality does not cancel the effects of a marriage that still exists under Indian law
- Related ruling: Kishorekumar Mohan Kale v. Kashmira Kale (2026)
- Supreme Court can grant divorce on irretrievable breakdown under Article 142 (Shilpa Sailesh, 2023)