Calcutta HC slaps contempt notice on green card holder

Her lawyer Biswajit Basu claimed before the court that since the parties were governed by Indian laws and an Indian court having jurisdiction over the matter passed an order on the custody of the child, the husband by obtaining orders from a US court has committed contempt of the Indian court.

Basu submitted that as the couple was married in India and were citizens of India during the marriage, it was the Indian law which had jurisdiction over the case.

Debasish, originally a resident of South Kolkata, and now working as a computer engineer at Delaware in Pennsylvania, married Adrija under the Special Marriage Act here in 2001.

They went to Delaware after the marriage and had a child in January 2006. However, differences cropped up and following prolonged disputes, Adrija returned to her father’s home here with her child.

Adrija filed a case under section 498A (marital torture) and also a matrimonial suit seeking divorce at Alipore district court in Kolkata.

In the suit she prayed that Debasish be not allowed to take the away the child as she was the natural guardian, which the court rejected. Adrija then moved the high court.

Hearing the matter ex parte, Justice Banerjee passed an interim injunction on July nine restraining the husband from taking away the child. Basu said that a copy of the order was mailed to the husband in the US and that it had been received.

He said that following this, Debasish had reportedly initiated proceedings against his wife in the district court in Delaware and had also claimed that she had violated orders in this regard.

Adrija then initiated contempt proceedings against Debasish for trying bypass the Indian judicial process and also attached copies of the proceedings at the Delaware court that the husband had sent to Adrija.

Hearing her counsel, Justice Banerjee on July 11 issued contempt notice against the husband and directed him to reply within four weeks.