Contested Divorce

Question

► My sister got married 14 years ago and almost 2 years back her husband got PR for Australia and moved there . They have a kid who is 11 years old . After moving to Australia the character of her husband changed completely . He left them in cochin and have started ignoring kid and wife . Not even providing them with any support for living . initially in the 1st 1 year after leaving to Australia for the house which they where staying in cochin which was on mortgage he was paying and providing reasonable expenses for kids education and wife to live her life but for last 1 year everything stopped . 1 fine day he send a divorce notice for separation and claims he doesnt want this relation and + he doesnt want to pay any financial assistance . Now in this case my sister approached the family and asked for assistance . As you know court has been sending intimation to his family but they have not been accepting the same and even letter send to Australia has not been accepted . court as per process has been continuously giving dates which is with a gap of every 4 months and now its almost 7 months no light .. in this scenario sister and kid is struggling to pay bank loan and education fees + meet their day to day need . I am her brother married with 2 kids and now i am taking her of all this financial support along with 2 old parents of mine . How can this be solved with my sister getting a divorce + financial aid from her husband for kid & herself + housing loan support as she doesnt have a home . Her husband seems very arrogant stating i will not pay anything as if he has a good lawyer and see what she can do .He is arrogant since he is in australia and seems law cant do anything to him and my sister is struggling . How can this be resolved fast as our laywer seems not acting in the right format .. Pls support

Answer 1

Dear Mam, as per your query,

File a Maintenance Petition under Sec 125 CrPC in Cochin Family Court / Magistrate Court.
(Even if divorce is ongoing, this can run parallel.)

File a Domestic Violence complaint seeking residence order, maintenance, and relief for child’s education.

Write to the Indian Consulate in Australia through the lawyer or directly to facilitate sending of legal notices, etc.

For further clarification and details, feel free to contact our OLQ Team for a detailed discussion.

Answer 2

Dear Sir,

If he sent a foreign divorce notice, your sister should:

Not accept any foreign divorce unless it is obtained from an Indian court or in accordance with Indian law (especially Hindu Marriage Act).

A divorce granted by an Australian court without her participation will not be valid in India (as per Y. Narasimha Rao v. Y. Venkata Lakshmi, Supreme Court, 1991).

She can file her own divorce petition in India under:

Section 13(1)(ia) (cruelty) or 13(1)(ib) (desertion) of the Hindu Marriage Act.

Mention in her petition that he abandoned her and child, stopped financial support, and issued threats.

She can also seek maintenance pendente lite (interim maintenance during case) under Section 24 of the Hindu Marriage Act.

Even if he lives abroad, the court can:

Serve him via email, WhatsApp, Indian Embassy, or newspaper publication.

Proceed ex parte if he refuses to appear.

Answer 3

Sir,

Please get connected to me and we can file cases of maintenance, alimony, financial support and assistance on behalf of your sister and sisters child.

Your divorce case is not being dealt properly as well. Please do get in touch with all papers and documents as because the divorce needs to be dealt with meticulously.

There is law to aid the litigant. You just need to get in touch with the right advocate.

Choose wisely.

For further assistance you can get in touch with me through OLQ.

Contested Divorce

3 Answers