A Q&A Guide for NRIs, their Spouses, and Families

Every year, Indian spouses living or working abroad obtain divorce decrees from foreign courts and remarry — believing the foreign decree has validly ended their first marriage. The Supreme Court of India, in N. Sridhar Reddy v. The State of A.P. & Ors. (2026 INSC 1191, decided 03.11.2026), has once again clarified when such a foreign divorce will — and will not — be recognised in India, and when the second marriage can attract criminal prosecution for bigamy under Section 494 IPC. Below, we answer the questions we are most frequently asked on this subject.

1. My husband/wife obtained a divorce decree from a court abroad (UK, USA, Canada, etc.). Does that automatically end our marriage under Indian law?

Ans. Not automatically. If you were married in India under a personal law — for instance, under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 — then under Sections 13 and 14 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, a foreign divorce decree is recognised in India only if the foreign court’s jurisdiction and the ground on which divorce was granted are consistent with the matrimonial law under which you were married, or if you voluntarily and effectively submitted to that foreign court’s jurisdiction on a recognised ground. If the foreign decree is based on a ground that Indian matrimonial law does not recognise — such as ‘irretrievable breakdown of marriage’, which is not a statutory ground under the Hindu Marriage Act — Indian courts are not bound to treat the marriage as dissolved.

1. My spouse became a foreign citizen before getting divorced and remarrying abroad. Does that change anything?

Ans. No. The Supreme Court has made it clear that a subsequent change in nationality does not erase the legal consequences of a marriage that was validly solemnised in India under Indian personal law. Even if the second marriage takes place outside India after the person has acquired foreign citizenship, the offence of bigamy under Section 494 IPC is not diluted merely because of where the second marriage happened or what passport the person now holds.

1. If my spouse remarries while our first marriage (under Hindu law) is still legally subsisting in India, is that bigamy?

Ans. Yes, provided the first marriage has not been validly dissolved under Indian law. If a foreign court grants a divorce on a ground not recognised by the Hindu Marriage Act, that decree does not dissolve the marriage in the eyes of Indian law. A subsequent marriage by either spouse, while the first marriage is still legally subsisting, amounts to an offence under Section 494 IPC (bigamy), punishable with imprisonment of up to seven years.

1. I contested the jurisdiction of the foreign court but still appeared to put forward my objections. Will that be treated as me ‘submitting’ to its jurisdiction?

Ans. No. Filing objections to a foreign court’s jurisdiction, or contesting the case specifically to challenge that jurisdiction, is not the same as voluntarily and unconditionally submitting to it. Courts distinguish between a party who genuinely accepts a foreign forum’s authority and one who appears only to record a protest against it — the latter does not validate the foreign decree.

1. There was a delay of a couple of years before I filed my bigamy complaint. Can the case be dismissed only on that ground?

Ans. Delay alone is unlikely to be fatal to your complaint. Bigamy is treated as a continuing offence — the unlawful second marriage, and the legal relationship it creates, continues from the date it is solemnised. Courts have held that proceedings cannot be quashed merely because the complaint was filed some years after the second marriage, so long as the complaint is otherwise maintainable.

1. Can my in-laws (my spouse’s parents) also be prosecuted for the bigamy, if they knew about the second marriage?

Ans. Mere knowledge of the second marriage, by itself, is not enough to prosecute family members for criminal conspiracy. The law requires some positive, overt act on their part — active participation in, facilitation of, or encouragement toward the commission of bigamy — and not simply awareness that it was happening. Where the chargesheet discloses no such overt act, courts have quashed proceedings against parents and other relatives even while allowing the case against the spouse who remarried to continue.

1. What about the second spouse — can they be prosecuted too, if they say they didn’t know about the first marriage?

Ans. This is assessed separately for each accused. If there is no material to show that the second spouse had actual or conscious knowledge of the subsisting first marriage, and nothing beyond the fact of the second marriage/cohabitation itself, courts have been willing to quash proceedings against them, since continuing a prosecution without credible material would amount to an abuse of the legal process.

1. What should I do if I suspect my spouse is planning — or has already obtained — a foreign divorce and remarried?

Ans. Preserve all documentation of your Indian marriage (marriage certificate, wedding photographs/videos, any prior matrimonial litigation) and gather whatever evidence you can of the foreign decree and the subsequent marriage (dates, place, any available court records). Consult an advocate promptly to assess whether the foreign decree meets the requirements of Section 13 CPC, and whether a criminal complaint under Section 494/120B IPC, along with appropriate civil remedies, should be initiated. Acting early helps preserve evidence and strengthens the case.

1. I am an NRI planning to remarry after a foreign divorce. How do I make sure I am not exposed to a bigamy case in India?

Ans. Before remarrying, have the validity of your foreign divorce decree independently assessed against Indian matrimonial law — specifically, whether the ground of divorce is one recognised under the law applicable to your first marriage, and whether your former spouse genuinely and voluntarily participated in those foreign proceedings. Where there is any doubt, it is advisable to also obtain a decree of divorce from a competent court in India, or at minimum to have the foreign decree’s validity confirmed, before solemnising a second marriage.

Need advice on a similar matter?

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. If you are facing a matrimonial dispute involving a foreign divorce, bigamy allegations, or related criminal/civil proceedings, reach out to Diwas Kumar & Associates for a confidential consultation.