You can register your marriage in UK with Indian consulate under provisions of foreign marriage act
2) of your marriage is not registered in UK with Indian consulate nor registered in India then Indian courts will not have jurisdiction
Married in the UK but husband doesn’t want to marry in India
I have entered into a court marriage with a British citizen in the UK, and we have not registered the marriage in India. We both reside in the United Kingdom. My husband is reluctant to register our marriage in India, concerned that it might invalidate our prenuptial agreement. As a Hindu, I'm keen to understand whether our marriage is acknowledged under Hindu law even if we don’t register in India? Should matters lead to a divorce, am I safeguarded by legal rights in this scenario?
Asked 4 months ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu
12 answers received from multiple lawyers
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12 Answers
1. If you and your husband are Hindus, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, then you can get the marriage registered in India under the Hindu Marriage Act.
2. In case your husband is not a Hindu, Sikh, Jain or Buddhist, then also you can register the marriage under the Special Marriage Act. Even if the couple belongs to Hindus, they can get married under Special Marriage Act.
3. Since you have entered into a Court marriage in UK, it's recognised in India, even if the marriage is not registered in India and if it leads to divorce, your legal rights will be safeguarded.
Not Hindu marriage act but foreign marriage act and relief under special marriage act.
Unless the religion of your husband the process of marriage is known, it is difficult to advise on validity of your marriage or requirement ot make further registration in India.
No your marriage will not acknowledge here in India unless and until you register the marriage in the India under the Foreign Marriage Act.
Your marriage with the citizen of UK was solemnised as per that country law.
This marriage cannot give you rights or protection towards matrimonial rights in India unless you have your marriage registered under foreign or special marriage act in India or before Indian consulate in UK
- Since, you both are residing in UK , then you can register your marriage under the Foreign Marriage Act even there before the consulate of India.
- Further, if the marriage is not solemnized as per Hindu Marriage Act, then you will have no right over husband , and hence you should try to register the marriage even in UK under the Foreign Marriage Act.
Dear Client,
In any case, your court marriage in the UK is valid under the Hindu law even if not registered in India but the marriage must have been solemnized according to the Hindu customs. The failure to include this may lead to some complications with your legal ability especially when planning to undergo a divorce. The Indian law on divorce is based on Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 and you can have the marriage dissolved whether or not it was celebrated in India. This marriage should not make prenuptial agreement an unenforceable agreement, though there might be such legal problem in India. Of course, you could have rights as a spouse pending maintenance and property division claim, although such rights may not be expressly as certain as when one registers. These matters should therefore be handled by a family law attorney knowledgeable in both the UK and the Indian law systems.
Hope you find this answer beneficial for resolving the dispute.
Thank you, while I am Hindu he is Christian born in the UK. Just to confirm, even though my alimony/maintenance is waved in the UK via the prenup, if worst case we did end our marriage, will I still be able to receive it by filing for divorce in India? Or will the Indian courts throw it out and make us handle it in the UK? I pray we never divorce I just want to be prepared just in case.
Asked 4 months ago
Dear Client,
In the event of divorce, Indian courts, even though your prenuptial agreement waives alimony or maintenance in the UK, are not bound to respect such agreements under Indian law. Prenuptial agreements are not specifically recognized under India as defined in any relevant laws and cannot be enforced in the way they have been derogated from their statutory rights of a spouse. Even in India, you may file for divorce, but you can still claim alimony or maintenance under Section 25 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, or Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, irrespective of the terms of the prenuptial agreement. Indian courts would evaluate the matter concerning fairness and justice and would take all points relating to financial dependency and contributions into account.
However, if divorce proceedings are initiated within the UK territory and the court has jurisdiction over the couple also, Indian courts may even hold up for the UK proceedings. In the end, it would depend upon such law prevailing in the jurisdiction where the divorce is filed as to how that should be dealt with.
Thank you.Hope this answers your query.
Your marriage is registered in UK and not in india
Indian courts have no jurisdiction
you will not be eligible for any alimony / maintenance in india
Without registering your marriage in India or in the Indian consulate as per Foreign marriage act or special marriage act, you may not be eligible for any matrimonial rights in India, in that case your maintenance case may not be entertained by Indian courts.
- You can file a petition for divorce in India.
- As per law, only a mutual consent divorce decree issued by the UK court is valid in INDA,
- If he files a divorce petition in UK , and you not appeared before the Court for contesting the case , then the decree of divorce granted in your absence is not valid in INDIA.