Hence, the jurisdiction to file a divorce petition lies before the family court where the marriage ceremony took place and not where the wedding reception happened, the Court said.
The Bombay High Court recently made a notable statement regarding wedding receptions, asserting that they shouldn’t be considered indispensable elements of marriage customs. Consequently, the court clarified that the proper venue for filing a divorce petition lies with the family court where the marriage ceremony itself occurred, rather than where the reception was hosted.
Justice Rajesh Patil, serving as a single judge, overturned an April 2022 ruling from a family court in Mumbai. This ruling had previously claimed jurisdiction over a divorce petition initiated by a husband, citing the location of the wedding reception in Mumbai, despite the actual marriage ceremony, conducted according to Hindu Vedic traditions, taking place in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
“In my view, there can’t be any doubt that a wedding reception can’t be called as a part of marriage ritual,” Justice Patil noted in his order of April 15.
The High Court noted that the couple primarily resided in the USA, with only a brief stay of 10 days in Mumbai following their wedding. Consequently, the High Court determined that the family court in Mumbai lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the divorce petition.
“The Family Court in Mumbai will have no jurisdiction, under section 19 (iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, to entertain the Divorce Petition in Mumbai. The impugned order is quashed and set aside,” decreed the Court.
In 2015, the couple solemnized their marriage in accordance with Hindu Vedic customs in Jodhpur. They subsequently held a reception in Mumbai four days later before briefly residing at the husband’s parents’ residence in Mumbai prior to relocating to the USA.
By October 2019, due to marital discord, they began residing separately in the USA. The husband initiated divorce proceedings under the Hindu Marriage Act in August 2020, citing cruelty. Four months later, the wife filed for divorce in a US court, a case still awaiting a hearing.
In addition, she lodged an application in the family court in Mumbai questioning the jurisdiction of her husband’s divorce petition. Upon the family court’s rejection of her application, she appealed to the High Court, which subsequently overturned the family court’s decision.
