NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has dismissed the Special Leave Petition filed by R Sridharan, husband of film actress R Sukanya on Thursday.
A Bench comprising Justice P Sathasivam and Justice B S Chauhan said: “We do not find any valid ground to interfere with the impugned decision of the High Court. Accordingly, the Special Leave Petition is dismissed. However, we leave the question of law open to be decided in an appropriate case. If the appellant has any other grievance including his personal appearance etc, it is for him to approach the Family Court at Chennai.”
“Since the petition for divorce is pending from 2004, we direct the Family Court to dispose of the same in accordance with law within a period of four months from the date of receipt of copy of this order,” the Bench added.
Advocate K K Mani, argued at length citing different judgments of the apex court to buttress his point that a family court in India does not have jurisdiction to try a matrimonial case involving two Hindus governed by the Hindu Marriage Act where one of the parties is a foreign national, but the Bench was not convinced.
Just before passing the order, Justice Sathasivam told Mani that facts were against him. Turning to advocate Geeta Ramaseshan who appeared for actress Sukanya, Justice Sathasivam said, “We are approving the order of the High Court. Facts are against him and in your favour.”
Sukanya married Sridharan in New Jersey in the United States in 2002. She returned to India in January 2003 and never returned to the US.
She filed a petition for divorce in a Chennai Family Court on the ground of cruelty. The court passed an ex-parte order of divorce in July 2004.
Sridharan who was not aware of the proceedings filed a counter and the ex-parte order was set aside. Then he filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court challenging the matrimonial proceedings averring that he being a foreign citizen, could not be subjected to Indian laws.
He also sought a writ of prohibition averring that Family Court in Chennai has no jurisdiction to entertain the divorce petition against a person who is not a domicile as he was a US citizen.
However, both the single judge of the Madras High Court and on appeal, the Division Bench ruled that Sukanya can file the petition at the place of her residence.
Sridharan moved the apex court challenging this verdict of the High Court.