NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has held that a foreign court judgment that goes against Indian law is not binding on Indian courts.
The bench was hearing a challenge against an order of the Gujarat High Court, which dismissed the petitioner’s habeas corpus writ seeking repatriation of his minor daughters on the basis of an order from a US court. The case involved a custody dispute. The top court dismissed the petition for temporary custody of two girls currently living with their mother in India.
“A foreign judgment violative of Indian law is not conclusive between the parties and thus, Indian courts are not bound to follow it,” the bench said, clarifying that no attempts to affect the status of the minors or their mother shall be made by the Indian courts in compliance to a Minnesota court order.
Habeas Corpus
A Minnesota court had granted the custody of two minor girls to their father, while the girls lived with their mother. The father filed a habeas corpus for repatriation of his daughters.