Hi, I am an NRI working in the USA and I am seperated from my wife who is currently in India. I dont want to reconcile because of her abusive behaviour. But she and her family wants me to take her back. I have filed for divorce in US and She has filed Crpc 125 in India. She did not contest the US divorce. I may get default judgement in a while. She is highly educated but is not working in India. 

I want divorce and I am ready to settle with one time alimony but she does not want divorce and just wants to prolong the issue by keeping me trapped. 

I am not planning to contest Crpc 125 and not planning to visit India and would be settling down in the US. Vising India could attract more case and screw my career and also not paying them maintenance is my only tool to make them agree for divorce with one time settlement. Passport cancellation due unpaid maintenance is not an issue as I Perm. Resident would get US passport in sometime. 

My parents are in India and own some assets. I do not own any assets in India in my name. 

1. If she gets ex-parte judgement on Crpc 125 and has unpaid maintenance, can she attach the properties that are in my father's or mother's name after execution of 125, recovery, arrest warrant, etc ? If yes, how can I safeguard my parents' hard earned assets - 

If they disown me legally, would it safeguard their assets ?

2. Can I remarry in US with a valid US divorce decree(summons properly served through Hague convention) and settle in US without having to face extradition to India for bigamy ?

First you should legally contest the 125 case in India otherwise it will be a stone on your neck and there are many methods to enforce it.

Laws in US are more stringent so better remarry from India only.

get divorce where you got married...

divorce granted by us courts is not recognised under indian law and if you remarry get ready for another round of litigation in case you dont respond to the summons of indian courts your passport can be revoked better be careful

Dear Querist,

Maintaining the wife is a personal obligation which fastens to the husband, and the same cannot be extended to the parents of the husband. Hence, the same can be made a charge against the self acquired properties of only the husband and not the parents-in-law. Do contest the maintenance case in India. You need not appear personally. The presence of your attorney shall suffice.

As regards getting a divorce in US, be informed that a foreign decree of divorce obtained ex parte may in all likelihood not be accepted by the Indian courts as a valid decree if your wife impeaches the same. Therefore, remarriage in US with an ex parte decree of divorce may result in multiplicity of legal proceedings against you in India.

Regards,

Ashish Davessar

Advocate

hi nrimale,

get divorce in USA and find a way to get a US passport asap. Unfortunately Indian passport is a curse if you are embroiled in cases. Matrimonial disputes cannot affect you in any way in USA. The US government will not allow you to be either deported to India or let the Indian govt bully you in any way using archaic family gender biased laws. Since you dont want to give her maintenance and are ready for one time alimony there is no use fighting the maintenance case. Did your wife live with you in USA?

rest assured your parents properties cannot be attached in 125 case or any case. Try to get your parents out too as if the opposite party files 498a and other cases they might be harassed a lot. Its better to start a new life for yourself in USA. all the best..

Thanks Everyone. I do agree that contesting is the right thing to do - but there are other complexities involved in it. The court could order interim maintenance anyway and as long as my wife gets maintenance she is not going to agree for divorce. Getting maintenance from me would be winning over me as per their terms. Also she might intentionally sit at home if I pay maintenance rather than looking for a job. I am not against maintenance but I would like to settle once and get divorced rather than draggin it for years in Indian courts. Also I have the risk of facing further false cases if I visit India durng the Crpc 125 trial time. Their intention is to smoke me out of US and screw my career. 

The only leverage I have is they atleast want money from me as they know for sure I am not going to take her back. So withholding money is the only way to push them to agree for divorce. I do not see them waiting for more than 2-3 years as she is not going to keep getting younger as time passes by. But I want to move on with my life in US by remarrying after I get the US divorce. 

I do understand from the above replies that my parents' properties cannot be attached for unpaid maintenance which is consoling. 

@Manish - yes, she lived with me in the US for about a year. 

My second question still stands unanswered. Do I face extradition for Bigamy from US to India if I remarry in US after a valid divorce decree ? 

If your wife is highly educated as you say, she is quite capable of maintaining herself, so where is the question of paying maintenance?

Another point, leaving aside the question of extradition, if there is a warrant issued against you, you may not be able to visit your family in India, whichever passport you may hold.

Also, why get married again, when live-in relationships are quite permissible in the US? Have'nt you learnt your lesson?

indian laws unlike US stinks and highly in favour of women...

maintenance alimony 498a dv cases etc... all curse for husband... and misused by greedy girl families...

after your got married your career is gone for a toss...

claim damages from her and her parents for loss of earnings... fixing their immovable assets...

this will bring her back to negotiation table...

try to compromise and file for divorce...

@ Author your wife has no rights on your father or mothers property. You are absolutely right that if she lands in U.S. you might face serious consequences if you are not willing to continue this relationship then law cannot force you to stay with her although you definately owe her alimony/maintenance whatever she agrees to you will have to give her. Marrying second time without resolving case in india would not be a good idea you are fine until you stay in U.S. but once you or your second wife arrive india both of you might face serious consequences. In short if your marrigage happened according to Hindu Marriage Act then you are suppose to follow indian laws as far as matrimonial life is concerned. Think wise and then make a decision........