CHENNAI: Declaring an ex parte divorce decree issued by a US court to an Indian couple void as the court lacked jurisdiction since the marriage took place in India, the Madras High Court has ordered a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the woman, who fled the US due to alleged torture by her husband, who is employed with the World Bank.
Justice G Chandrasekharan passed the orders recently on a petition filed by the woman, Maheshwari, who is a doctor by profession. The judge held the divorce order and decree not valid as the circuit court of Virginia has no jurisdiction to grant a divorce to the couple whose marriage was solemnised in India.
“... the final decree of divorce granted by the circuit court for the city of Alexandria, Virginia, against the first plaintiff (wife) and in favour of the first defendant (husband) is not binding on her and cannot be enforced,” he ordered.
The court also directed the husband, Ramesh Ramiah, to pay Rs 25 lakh to her as damages for causing ‘mental stress, agony and annoyance’ to her and her family.Maheshwari had filed the civil suit praying a compensation of Rs 2 crore by Ramesh for having caused loss of reputation and status of her family and mental agony, besides declaring ab initio void the divorce decree and returning her jewellery.
According to her, the marriage was solemnised on June 21, 2004, in Thanjavur and the groom and his parents had allegedly made a ruckus as her parents could manage to give her 110 sovereigns of gold jewellery against an agreed 300 sovereigns.
A car that was agreed upon was also not given.Both left for the US on July 3, 2004, where she was allegedly ill-treated by the man and his relatives. Unable to bear the torture, she returned to India on April 10, 2005. After a round of litigations in the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court and the Supreme Court, she moved the present civil suit.
Justice Chandrasekharan rejected Maheshwari’s plea for returning her jewellery and other valuables as she failed to prove the valuables were with her husband.He also trashed the counterclaim of Ramesh for awarding Rs 1 crore damages to him on the ground that the prayer is not maintainable as a criminal case against him is still pending.