One of my clients recently had a case which I am explaining below and if you are stuck in such similar situation, here is what to do.
Note: Due to attorney-client privilege, I cannot disclose complete case details or identify the actual parties involved. However, I am sharing the essential facts and legal approach so that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you can understand the available solutions and legal remedies.
TL;DR: A dowry harassment case does not stall because the husband has moved abroad. An FIR can be registered here, the accused can be summoned through diplomatic channels if he does not appear, and a court can go ahead with the divorce and the protection proceedings even if he refuses to join. Recovery of streedhan and financial accountability, however, depend heavily on what you can prove with documents rather than what you were told.
The instruction came on the morning Rohit Deshpande flew out to Melbourne. Ananya should pack a bag and shift to her parents' flat in Pune, he said. Not a request. They had married in November 2023 after three years of dating, and she had spent most of that marriage working from home and quietly paying for groceries, kitchen equipment, and later EMIs that had nothing to do with her.
What came out afterwards was worse. Rohit had lost his job roughly two months into the marriage and never mentioned it. For close to nine months she believed he was on night shifts, working to Melbourne hours from the next room. The truth surfaced when he started her partner visa sponsorship and the papers did not match what her family had been told before the wedding. The job, the flat, the loans, the car. The property documents she had been shown during their courtship did not appear to be his.
She complained to the women's cell of the local police and sat through seven mediation rounds. Rohit joined one by video call from Australia. Three months later the file was still a mediation file. That is when Ananya approached the Chamber of Advocate Sudhir Rao. The complaint was re-drafted, the bills and transfers were indexed into a working set, and the matter moved from a settlement folder to a registered FIR, with a parallel application under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. Advocate Sudhir Rao's experience in matrimonial and criminal matters is what converted a stalled complaint into a registered case and a properly framed protection petition. Her streedhan is still sitting in that Pune flat.
Key Facts of the Case
- Marriage in November 2023; the husband left for Australia about eleven months later and told her the same day to move to her parents' home.
- She has lived at her parents' house since, with her jewellery and belongings still at the matrimonial home.
- Allegations of dowry demands, humiliation, and repeated pressure to fund household expenses from her own income.
- The husband's job loss was allegedly concealed for months, and documents shown before marriage allegedly misrepresented his property and employment.
- A complaint was filed with the women's cell; seven mediation rounds followed, with the husband attending once by video call from abroad.
- The matter was later registered as an FIR; a separate DV Act application is pending alongside.
- The husband has not returned to India and has not appeared in person before any court.
The Direct Legal Answer
Can the case continue if he is living in Australia?
Yes. Territorial jurisdiction for a matrimonial offence lies where it was committed, and if the matrimonial home or the last place of cohabitation is in Pune, the Pune police and the Pune courts have jurisdiction. His residence abroad does not defeat the case; it only slows down service of summons.
Will the court grant a divorce if he never appears?
It can. If summons is served and he still does not appear, the court may proceed ex parte. Where personal service abroad fails, the court can permit substituted service. This takes time, but it does not require his consent.
Do his admissions during mediation help me?
Be careful here. Statements made in a court-referred mediation are generally confidential and cannot simply be produced as evidence later. What was said and recorded before the police, in a DV Act proceeding, or in writing is on a different footing. This is exactly the kind of distinction a lawyer who handles these matters regularly will spot early.
Can I recover my streedhan and the money spent?
Partly, and only with proof. Streedhan can be claimed in the matrimonial proceedings, and monetary relief can be sought under the DV Act. Money spent on the wedding or on household expenses is much harder to recover unless there is a document tying it to a specific promise or liability.
Advice in Such Cases
Consult with Lawyer: The very basic and important step to start is talk to Lawyer / advocate. You should not hesitate in paying his consultation fee i.e. might be in range of Rs. 10,000 to 50,000 depends case to case. He is helping you in this situation to come out. He is expert in the domain and can help you explain the procedure which you might have never explored. A good lawyer can get the issues resolved much faster than you think.
- Stop attending mediation rounds without your own counsel present or at least advising you. Every round you attend alone is a round where allegations get diluted.
- Do not chase the settlement yourself over WhatsApp or email. Anything you write can be read out in court later.
- Keep one clean file: bank statements, wedding bills, transfer records, the visa sponsorship papers, and a dated note of what you were told before marriage.
- Matters like this need advocates with domain-specific experience. Foreign service of process, DV Act reliefs, and streedhan claims involve procedural and evidentiary points that general practitioners often miss, and that usually costs the client time.
Applicable Sections of Law
The criminal side of this kind of matter is governed by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
- Section 85 BNS (cruelty by husband or his relatives), read with Section 86 BNS, which defines cruelty for this purpose.
- Section 316 BNS (c
Facing a similar matter? Speak to a criminal lawyer in Delhi — Advocate Sudhir Rao appears in bail, trial and appellate matters before the Delhi District Courts, the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India.