A person who has obtained a decree from a court in a foreign country can approach an Indian court for enforcement of the said decree under the Civil Procedure Code, the Supreme Court has ruled. Section 44a of the code enables a foreign decree holder to execute a foreign decree in this country, a division bench comprising Justice S B Majmudar and Justice Umesh C Banerjee said dismissing an appeal of merchant vessel A L Quamar against an Andhra Pradesh high court order. The High Court had held that it was competent to issue attachment orders against the merchant vessel on the basis of a decree against it issued by the High Court of Justice Queen's bench division admiralty court in an action by Tsavliris Salvage (International) Ltd. Relying on decision by a New Zealand Supreme Court and an Australian judgement, Justice Banerjee, writing the judgement for the bench, said a foreign decree holder could invoke the jurisdiction of an Indian Court under section 44a of the code. Justice Banerjee said one can conclude that whereas the domestic law, execution scheme is available under sections 37, 38, 39, 41 and 42, section 44a depicts an altogether different scheme for enforcement of foreign judgements through Indian courts.
Bureau Report