New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has said
courts in India have no jurisdiction to adjudicate family
dispute of India-born foreign nationals.
Justice S N Dhingra quashed the order of a lower court
which had allowed an Indian-American wife to get custody of
her child when she had come to India to meet her parents.
"I consider that the District Judge exceeded his
jurisdiction when he entertained the application made by
respondent (mother) for custody of child and appointment of
guardian," the court said.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by the
father challenging the jurisdiction of court to hear a
petition of his wife on the ground that both of them had taken
US citizenship five years back and their son was also born
American.
In this case, Sanjeev and Ruchi got married in Delhi
in 1996 and then migrated to the US and took its citizenship
in 2004. Their son was born in 2001.
Due to differences between them, Ruchi refused to get
back to the US after they had come to India to meet their
parents. She also filed a case in a court here seeking legal
custody of his son who was living with her.
The court passed the order in her favour taking into
consideration welfare of the child. Aggrieved by the order,
the husband approached High Court which set aside the order
and said Indian courts have no jurisdiction to decide the
case.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 09, 2010, 19:15