NRI Marriage: Indian Hindu Marriage Customs & Problem of Domicile

Indian Hindus are typically governed by the marriage customs and Hindu traditions that evolved as part of Hindu marriage law. For the same reason, most young non-resident Indian couples prefer to tie the knot in India so as to conduct it in consonance with the marriage customs that are a part of the Hindu tradition.  Interestingly, a judgment about Indian Hindu marriage customs is reported on March 5, 2010 that has broad legal implications for Hindu NRIs.

Does the Hindu Marriage Act apply for Hindu NRIs domiciled in a foreign country?

The Bombay High Court held that the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) may not be applicable to these NRI Indians if they have the domicile of a foreign country. It was further held that the HMA does not apply to an estranged couple who were domiciled in the US.  An order of the Pune family court was thus squashed by the Bombay High Court. The Pune family court had stated that Indian courts would have the jurisdiction to hear a divorce case even if the estranged couple had resided for a single day in the city when they were in India.

Can Hindu marriage law and customs endow jurisdiction to Indian courts  for estranged NRI couples?

A petition was filed by Smita Muley who had got a divorce from a US court but her husband Suhas Muley returned to India and filed another divorce petition in a Pune court. The Bombay High Court held that her husband cannot "confer jurisdiction on the court of Pune" as the couple never stayed together for any length of time in their own Indian matrimonial home and they had their matrimonial home in the US.

Can an Indian Driving License or Voter ID card Establish Intention to Reside in India?

Although Suhas had produced documents to prove that he was domiciled in India, the High Court of Bombay was not convinced. He had produced a copy of his ration card that had been issued in 2001, his driving licence that had been obtained in 1999, a 1995 voter identity card and passport that has validity till the year 2019.  None of this convinced the Bombay High Court as Justice Roshan Dalvithe observed,  “None of these documents shows his intention to reside in India permanently; his Green Card shows he intends to stay in the US. "  Then, Justice Roshan Dalvithe pointed out, "It is easy to see that both the parties have had the intention of making the US their permanent home even prior to their marriage." He stated they had married in consonance with Hindu rituals and marriage customs as their parents reside in India.

Justice Roshan Dalvithe further stated that the HMA itself does not apply to the NRI Hindu couple as the rights between the parties have already been settled by a conclusive judgment of a US court, consequent upon their domicile in the US.   The court said Suhas could challenge the US court’s divorce order in the US and not in India.