SAYANTEE BHATTACHARYYA Vs. SUBRATA BHATTACHARYYA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A piquant situation arose in the instant appeal upon rejection of an application under Sec. 28 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (hereinafter referred to as "the said Act") that since both the parties to the said application have acquired citizenship of Australia, they are not entitled to seek divorce under the aforesaid Act in view of the provisions contained under Sec. 1(2) of the said Act. The learned Judge in the Court below relied upon Sec. 7B of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and construed the aforesaid provision as an embargo in the applicability of the provisions contained under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

(2.) The substratum of the core issue is that since the parties to the proceeding have acquired the citizenship of a foreign country and no longer the citizen of India, cannot seek any remedy under the provisions of the said Act.

(3.) Before we proceed to test the findings made by the Trial Court in this regard, it would be apposite and profitable to quote Sec. 1 of the said Act, which runs thus: