Mumbai: Wedding reception cannot be considered a part of “marriage rituals”. Hence, the divorce petition would have to be filed at a family court which has jurisdiction on the venue where the marriage took place and not the reception, the Bombay High Court said. It made the observation while hearing a plea filed by a non-resident Indian woman, challenging the city's family court order.
Passed in April 2022, the verdict said that the lower court can hear the man's divorce plea as the marriage reception took place in its jurisdiction. “In my view, there can’t be any doubt that a wedding reception can’t be called as a part of the marriage ritual,” Justice Rajesh Patil said on April 15.
The couple married as per Hindu Vedic rites in Jodhpur in Rajasthan in 2015 and held a reception in Mumbai. The couple resided at the man’s parents house for a few days in Mumbai before leaving for the US. Following matrimonial issues, the couple started residing separately in the US since October 2019.
The husband came to Mumbai and filed a divorce petition before the family court in August 2020 under the Hindu Marriage Act, citing cruelty. The woman filed divorce proceedings before a US court in December 2020, which is still pending hearing.
