Young people are increasingly marrying foreign nationals as careers take them abroad. This results in multinational families, but can lead to conflict of laws issues during divorce proceedings. For example, one parent may take a child to another country. Parties then file lawsuits in different jurisdictions with varying rules. The document discusses a specific Indian Supreme Court case where an Indian woman married an Indian man in the US. They had a child but later separated, with the husband filing for divorce and custody in the US. The Supreme Court ruled that despite the foreign custody order, the best interests of the child were to remain in India with his mother who had been his primary caregiver.

1. PRESENTED TO: MR. VIJAY SHEKHAR PRESENTED BY: SWASTI CHATURVEDI
PROGRAM: B.B.A. LL.B. VIII SEM
SECTION: ‘B’
SUBJECT: CONFLICT OF LAW

2. Young people are marrying people from foreign
countries as foreign business and career prospects
develop. Children are also born in those countries,
resulting in people from many countries living in the
same family. Then, when the parties have a
matrimonial quarrel, a conflict of laws arises for
several causes. In certain circumstances, one parent
takes the child out of the matrimonial home and
relocates him or her to another jurisdiction. Parties
file lawsuits in a variety of jurisdictions, each with
its own set of rules.

3. ◦ In this case, the Respondent, Mr. Madhav Unde married the
Appellant (who was then in U.S.A.) on 11-6-1982 at
Omaha, State of Nebraska in the U.S.A.
◦ On 19-6-1982, a separate marriage ceremony as per Hindu
rituals was performed.
◦ The Respondent had earlier married Bhagyawanti at Nagpur
on 20-4-1967.

4. ◦ The Respondent later left for U.S.A. and obtained an
ex-parte divorce order against Bhagyawanti in the Trial
Court at Oakland in the State of Michigan on 25-10-
1977 allegedly by way of misrepresentation.
◦ Later, Bhagyawanti moved that Court for vacation of
that order.
◦ Bhagyawanti also filed Petition No. 101 of 1981 in the
District Court, Nagpur and claimed that, the decree
obtained by the respondent in U.S.A. was void and based
on misrepresentation of facts and she claimed for
Divorce, Maintenance and other reliefs.

5. ◦ She succeeded in that case and a fresh divorce decree was
passed by the Nagpur Court on 11-6-1984 relying upon (Satya
v. Teja Singh)1, 1975(1) S.C.C. 120.
◦ The Appellant lived with the Respondent in U.S.A. for 10
months after her marriage on 11-6-1982.
◦ On 15-3-1983, a male child was born to them in U.S.A. and
was named Abhijeet.
◦ Due to certain compelling circumstances, the mother (appellant)
and the child left the respondent on 20-4-1983 when the child
was 35 days' old.
◦ The respondent-husband filed a divorce case in USA against
the appellant and also sought custody of the child.

6. WHO SHALL
HAVE THE
CUSTODY OF
THE CHILD?

7. While deciding on the custody of the child, the
Supreme Court held that, even though the
husband may have obtained an order of
custody from the Foreign Court, yet the best
interest of the child lays in granting his
custody to his mother and he was allowed to
continue to stay in India with her who had
brought her child up single handedly subject
to visitation rights of the father.

8. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/672255/
https://hi.vikaspedia.in/social-welfare/women-and-child-development/women-
development-1/meera-didi-se-poocho/marriages-with-non-resident-indians
https://www.the-
laws.com/Encyclopedia/Browse/Case?CaseId=007991863100&CaseId=007991863100
https://www.lawyerservices.in/Dhanwanti-Joshi-Versus-Madhav-Unde-1997-11-04