A single-judge bench comprising of Hon’ble Justice G.S. Kulkarni of Bombay High Court at Goa in the case of Delfina Gonsalves vs Felix Gonslaves upheld the divorce decree passed by the Family Court sitting at the Court and Tribunal Service Centre in England in an application under Article 1101 of the Portuguese Code of Civil Procedure, 1939 (for short, “the PCCP”) read with Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (for short, “the CPC”).
Brief Facts
The Petitioner had filed a present application under Article 1101 of the PCCP read with Section 13 of the CPC, praying for confirmation of the judgment and decree dated 15 December 2021 (Decree Absolute) of the Family Court sitting at the Court and Tribunal Service Centre in England. In the said order, the Family Court of England had cancelled a marriage between Petitioner and the Respondent.
The case of the Petitioner was that their marriage was registered with the office of the Civil Registrar of Ponda under entry no. 478/2004, had broken down irretrievably. Consequently, the Petitioner and the respondent stayed separately from 2 February 2015. After that, the Petitioner approached the Family Court in England, where they migrated after marriage, praying for divorce. In the said proceedings, the husband submitted an affidavit in the Family Court that he did not intend to defend. He further agreed that the Courts of England have jurisdiction to grant a divorce decree.
Contentions of the Petitioner:
The learned Counsel for the Petitioner argued that prior decisions of this Court in applying Section 13 of the CPC had allowed similar proceedings. He placed his reliance on Dr. Roy Andre Sales de Andrade & Another vs. State of Goa 1995 SCC Online BOM 66 and other similar Judgements. In such decisions, the Court also believed that Section 13 of the CPC would become applicable when reliefs of the present nature are prayed.
Observation of the Court
The Court concurred with the submissions of the petitioners. After perusing the grounds on which the decree was passed in a foreign Court, the Court found out that such grounds are also recognised and accepted under the laws in India, including the PCCP. In this regard, the Court had noted that “other essentials under Article 1101 of PCCP to confirm the judgment of the Family Court sitting at the Court and Tribunal Service Centre in England are present and stand justified. The presumption under Section 41 of the Evidence Act read with Sections 13 and 14 of the CPC is also available to the petitioner”. The Court had relied on various cases such as Saturnino Epifanio Ralph Barros Vs. Tina Noronha Barros & Another 1997 (2) Goa L.T.343 and Maria Antoneta Fernandes Vs. Mr. Valerian Sebastian Rodrigues MCAM No. 645/2016 dt. 08.06.2017 to uphold the decree passed by the Court in England.
The decision of the Court:
The Bombay High Court at Goa allowed a petition, confirmed the Decree Absolute dated 15/12/2021 and directed to delete the names of the Petitioner and respondent from the marriage registrar.
Case Title: Delfina Gonsalves vs Felix Gonslaves
Coram: Hon’ble Justice G.S. Kulkarni
Case no.: MISC. CIVIL APPLICATION (MAIN) NO. 4 OF 2022
Advocate for the Petitoner: Mr. Aniroodh Sardesai
Advocate for the Respondent: None
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