SMT. NEERAJA SARAPHversusSH. JAYANT V. SARAPH AND ANR.

                       SMT. NEERAJA SARAPH                                     A
                                     v.
                 SH. JAYANT V. SARAPH AND ANR.

                            OCTOBER 6, 1994

                  [R.M. SAHA! AND N.P. SINGH, JJ.]                             B

      Private International Law :

      Non-Resident Inmans marrying girls in lndit>-DeseJted by the non-resi-
dent Inmans on decree of annulment obtained from foreign co~eed for C
protection of rights and interest of such women-Legislation-Suggested-In
one such case interim orders of High Coult staying the decree and ordering
deposit of ceJtain sum-momfied enhancing deposit to be made in the name
of victim-Permission to withdraw a palt of it without furnishing security--
Granted.
                                                                               D
      The appellant, a Teacher was married to Respondent No.1, a Doctor
in Computer Hardware and employed in the United States at the behest
of his father through a common family friend. The marriage was per-
formed on 6th August, 1989 and Respondent No.I returned to America on
24th August, 1989. In September and November, 1989 he wrote letters to         E
the appellant persuading her to give ap the job and suggesting various
avenues for her carrer in America. Appellant tried for visa and resigned
her job in November 1989. Bat from December 1989 things started getting
cold. When the father of the appellant wrote a letter in January 1990, there
was no response from Respondent No. 1. In Jane 1990, the appellant's
brother came to Delhi and handed over two envelopes, one petition for          F
annulment of the marriage in USA Coar! and another, containing a letter
expressing his feelings at his son's decision.

      Thereafter the appellant filed a sait forma pauperis for damages
against the husband and father-in-law for raining her life. The sait was       G
decreed exparte for Rs. 22 lakhs and add. The sait was decreed exparte.

      On appeal the High Coart stayed the operation of the decree subject
to depositing Rs. 1,00,000 within one month. The appellant was permitted
to withdraw 50% of the amount so deposited. Against this order, the
appellant preferred the present appeals.                                  H
                                    289
    290                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1994] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A         Disposing of the appeals, this Court

          HELD : 1. The order of the High Court is modified by directing that
    the execntion of the decree shall remain stayed if the respondents deposit
    a sum of Rs. 3,00,000 including Rs. 1,00,000 directed by the High Court
    within a period of two months from today, with the Registrar of the High
B
    Court. The appellant shall be entitled to withdraw Rs. 1,00,000 withont any
    security. The remaining Rs. 2,00,000 shall be deposited in a nationalised
    bank in fixed deposit. The interest accruing on it shall be paid to the
    appellant every month. If the proceedings are not decided within
    reasonable time, it shall be open to the appellant to move an application
C   for withdrawal of further amount. [293-D, El

          2. With change in social structure and rise of marriages with NRI
    the Union of India may consider enacting a law like the Foreign Judgments
    (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act, 1933 enacted by the British Parliament
D   under Section (1) in pursuance of which the Government of United
    Kingdom issued Reciprocal Enforcement of Jndgments (India) Order,
    1958. Apart from it there are other enactments such as Indian and Coloni·
    cal Divorce Jurisdiction Act, 1940 which safeguard the interest so far
    United Kingdom is concerned. But the role of domicile replacing the
E   nationality role in most of the countries for assumption of jurisdiction and
    granting relief in matrimvnial matters has resulted in conRict of laws.
    What this domicile role is not necessary to be gone into. But feasibility of
    a legislation safeguarding interest of women may be examined by incor·
    porating such provisions as :- (293-G, H, 294·A)

F         (i)    no marriage between a NRI and an Indian woman which has
                 taken place in India may be annulled by a foreign court;
                                                                      [294-B)
          (ii)   provision may be made for adequate alimony to the wife in the
                 property of the husband both in India and abroad. [294-C]
G
          (iii) the decree granted by Indian courts may be made executable
                 in foreign courts both on principle of comity and by entering
                 into reciprocal agreement like Section 44A of the Civil Proce·
                 dure Code which makes a foreign decree executable as it would
H                have been a decree passed by that court. [294-D)
               N. SARAPH v. J.V. SARAPH [R.M. SAIW, J.]                291

      CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal Nos. 6584--85 A
of 1994.

      From the Judgment and Order dated 27.5.94 of the Delhi High Court
in C.M. No. 427 of 1994.

        Ashok H. Desai, Mukul Mudgal and C.K. Sucharita for the Appel-        B
!ant.

        Vikram B. Trivedi and Bharat Sangal for the Respondents.

        The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
                                                                              c
        R.M. SARAI, J. These appeals directed against the interim order
passed by the High Court in an appeal filed by respondent no.2 against
rejection of an application for setting aside of an ex-palte decree, raises
important issue as how to protect the right and interest of women who are
deserted by non-resident Indians on decree of annulment obtained from
foreign courts.                                                               D
      Plight of women and their exploitation both inside and outside the
house socially and economically is ancient. Mass of literature has been
written to elevate their status. But a new social evil is surfacing. Any
materimonial column of any newspaper or magazine would carry a column         E
that a NRI seeks Indian bride without any demand. The attraction of
getting a groom and that too serving or earning abroad without dowry, lures
many specially from middle class. Even otherwise parental insistence for
Indian bride in the hope that his son is not list for ever is not uncommon.
Result, at times, is matrimonial alliance by a reluctant husband to assuage
the sentiments of his parent. Victim is the helpless, poor, educated gir~     F
normally, of a middle class family with dreams of foreign land.

       To what extent such misfortune may befall on any innocent girl is
vividly transparent by this unfortunate case. The appellant M.A., B.Ed.
daughter of a senior Air Force Officer serving as a teacher and drawing G
salary of Rs. 3000 was married to the respondent No.1, a Doctor in
Computer Hardware and employed in United States, at the behest of her
father-in-law approached through a common family friend. How the
respondent no. 1 met the appellant at Delhi on his own request then picked
her from her aunt's place at Bombay before marriage is not necessary to
be stated nor it is necessary to narrate that the marriage was performed H
    292                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1994] SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A with gusto befitting to the status of both the families. The marriage was
    performed on 6th August, 1989 and the appellant was taken for honeymoon
    to Goa for few days. Respondent No. 1 returned to America on 24th
    August, 1989, wrote letters to appellant on 15th September, 20th October
    and 14th November, 1989 persuading her to give up her job and suggesting
    the various avenues for her career in America. Appellant believing all that
B
    tried for visa and ultimately resigned her job in November, 1989. But from
    December things started getting cold. And when father of appellant wrote
    a letter in January, 1990 to the respondent-husband about the sufferings of
    her daughter, it did not bring forth any favourable response and in June,
    1990 the respondent's brother came to Delhi handed over two envelopes,
c   one petition for annulment of marriage in a USA Court and another a
    letter from her father-in-law which reads as under :-

             "!have no words to express my feelings at Jayant's decision which
             is very unfortunate. I was hoping against hope. I have to accept
             the moral responsibility for Jayant'·s decision and appolize Baba
D            and your Mausa, they can squarely blame me for not knowing my
             son.

                This is agonizing experience for you in your life. I cannot say
             any more.
E
                 Please bear in my mind that we share your grief. I earnestly
             request you to see us when you come here in Bombay and keep
             friendly relations. God bless you.

                                                            Yours affectionately,
F
                                                                   Nana. 11

        For the father-in-law it was an unfortunate experiment, an effort,
  'hoping against hope' forgetting that failure of it would be ruination of the
  other. For the son it was a pleasure trip. But for the daughter-in-Jaw it was
G loss of everything, her maidenhood, status, service, dignity and peace. Her
  dreams stood shattered and she is reduced to nothing. 'Accepting moral
  responsibility', 'not knowing the son', 'sharing the grief' by the father-in-law
  are of little avail to the appellant. There is no whisper in the Jetter that he
  was willing to compensate for the wrong done to the appellant due to error
H in his assessment of his own son. It is not the soothing words alone which
              N. SARAPH v. J.V. SARAPH [R.M. SARAI, J.]                293

 were needed but some practical solution to the disaster brought by him. In A
 these desperate circumstances, the wife having been forsaken by her hus-
 band and having lost the job had no alternative except to file a suit for
 damages against the husband and father-in-law for ruining her life informa
pauperis. And the father-in-law who has words of sympathy for the appel-
 lant contested her claim to sue in forma pauperis vehemently, though B
 without any success. This suit was decreed ex-parte for Rs. 22 lakhs and
 odd. In an appeal filed by the respondent no. 2 the High Court stayed the
operation of the decree subject to the appellant, who is respondent no. 2
in this Court, depositing a sum of Rs. 1,00,000 within one month from the
date the order was passed. It permitted the appellant to withdraw 50% of·
it. Various submissions have been advanced on behalf of the father-in-law C
to support the order of the High Court including his helplessness financial-
ly. Is it a case of any sympathy for the father-in-law at this stage? In our
opinion not. True the decree is ex-parte. Yet it is a money decree. How-
ever, no opinion is expressed on this aspect as the appeal is pending in the
High Court. But the order of the High Court is modified by directing that D
the execution of the decree shall remain stayed if the respondents deposit
a sum of Rs. 3,00,000 including Rs. 1,00,000 directed by the High Court
within a period of two months from today, with the Registrar of the High
Court. The appellant shall be entitled to withdraw Rs. 1,00,0000 without
any security. The remaining Rs. 2,00,000 shall be deposited in a
nationalised bank in fixed deposit. The interest accruing on it shall be paid E
to the appellant every month. If the proceedings are not decided within
reasonable time, it shall be open to the appellant to move an application
for withdrawal of further amount.

        Why the facts of this case have been narrated in brief with little F
background is to impress upon the need and necessity for appropriate steps
to be taken in this direction to safeguard the interest of women. Although
it is a problem of private International Law and is not easy to be resolved,
but with change in social structure and rise of marriage with NRI the Union
of India may consider enacting a law like the Foreign Judgments (Recipro- G
cal Enforcement) Act, 1933 enacted by the British Parliament under Sec-
tion (1) in pursuance of which the Government of United Kingdom issued
Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments (India) Order, 1958. Apart from it
there are other enactments such as Indiaii and Colonical Divorce Jurisdic-
tion Act, 1940 which safeguard the interest so far United Kingdom is
concerned. But the rule of domicile replacing the nationality rule in most H
    294                   SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1994) SUPP. 4 S.C.R.

A of the countries for assumption of jurisdiction and granting relief in
    matrimonial matters has resulted in conflict of laws. What this domicile
    rule is not necessary to be gone into. But feasibility of a legislation
    safeguarding interest of women may be examined by incorporating such
    provisions as -

B          (1) no marriage between a NRI and an Indian woman which has
               taken place in India may be annulled by a foreign court;

           (2) provision may be made for adequate alimony to the wife in the
               property of the husband both in India and abroad;

c          (3) the decree granted by Indian courts may be made executable in
               foreign courts both on principle of comity and by entering into
               reciprocal agreements like Section 44A of the Civil Procedure
               Code which makes a foreign decree executable as it would haye
               been a decree passed by that court.
D        Tbe appeals are disposed of accordingly. Any observation made sball
    not be taken as expressing of any opinion when the case is decided on
    merits.

    G.N.                                                 Appeals disposed of.