Legal Question in Family Law in India

can my husband get a divorce without my presence ?

This is going to be long because i want to give all details. my husband and i got married in Dec 07 in Bangalore. we were both previously married and been divorced with a child each. he has a son and i have a daughter. he is an american citizen of indian descent. two months after the marriage, he left to America and then sent me an email asking for a divorce. i refused and asked him to come to india and do it here. he has not come but his mother has come 3-4 times and created scenes here asking me to leave his house etc. he had sent me papers from the Dallas court asking for the divorce and i had sent an affidavit from here asking that the court not grant the divorce but that the indian court of law have jurisdiction over this. he has now sent me a letter from a lawyer from the US saying that the final trial date has been set by the court in dallas and it is set for oct 31, 2008 and that if i do not appear it will constitute default on my part. what should i do now? how do i deal with this? he has stranded me here with absolutely no funds or a place to stay and in a city where i have no one. is he not responsible to give me some maintainance? i am not working. can i contact the court there and if yes, how do i do it? thanks.


Asked on 9/05/08, 5:10 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Sudershan Goel India Law Offices of Sudershan Goel - Advocate

Re: can my husband get a divorce without my presence ?

Last question first : Yes, you can contact the court in Dallas; first of all confirm from the net about truthfulness of the court summons you received earlier; then write to the Court where the case is supposedly fixe for Oct 31 about lack of jurisdiction and also about the maintenance; inform the court that you are entitled to be govered by the provisions of Hindu Marriage Act.

You should also immediately file a complaint with local police under section 498-A IPC and also start action under DVA. Both these cases should be immediately filed in India and after the cases are registered, a copy of these proceedings should be sent to the court in Dallas, TX, USA.

You should also inform his lawyer in USA that you are not governed by US laws and that he should rather ask his client to send maintenance amount immediately and return all your dowry/baggage etc.

You should act fast; time is essence of your situation.

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Answered on 9/05/08, 5:53 am
Aniruddha Pawse Aniruddha.P.Pawse Advocates

Re: can my husband get a divorce without my presence ?

The divorce granted will be void ab initio.i.e. null and void. As from the facts you never went with him and never last resided in dallas and marriage was performed in India the court of dallas has no jurisdiction .you can on the contrary file DVA asking for maintainence in the local court. Contact the Dallas court thru a letter that fraud is being played on the court.

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Answered on 9/09/08, 2:04 am


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