Why a Bhutan decree needs a fresh Indian suit, not direct execution
Section 44A of India's Code of Civil Procedure allows judgments from a defined list of gazette-
notified “reciprocating territories” to be executed directly in Indian courts, without a
fresh lawsuit. This platform cross-checked a legal-commentary source listing the commonly-cited
reciprocating territories -- the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, Trinidad
and Tobago, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Trust Territories of Western Samoa, Papua New Guinea,
Fiji, Aden, and the UAE (added 2020) -- and Bhutan is not among them, despite the closeness of the
India-Bhutan bilateral relationship. This platform did not independently verify this list against a live
e-Gazette notification, so readers should treat it as high-confidence but subject to a current-
notification check.
The practical route: Section 13 CPC, not Section 44A
Because Bhutan is not a reciprocating territory, a Bhutan-issued divorce, custody, or maintenance
decree cannot be directly executed in an Indian court through Section 44A's summary procedure. Instead,
the person seeking to rely on it needs to file a fresh civil suit in an Indian court under Section 13 of
the Code of Civil Procedure, using the Bhutan decree as evidence. Section 13 separately tests the
foreign judgment against its own listed exceptions (for example, whether the foreign court had proper
jurisdiction, whether the proceedings were conducted fairly, and whether the decision was obtained
through fraud) -- readers facing this situation should consult a family-law practitioner promptly rather
than assuming the close bilateral relationship simplifies enforcement.
The bilateral relationship's real effect is on entry and movement, not judgment recognition
As this platform's Immigration guide for Bhutan discusses, Indian nationals benefit from a
distinctive entry-permit regime for crossing into Bhutan rather than the visa required of other
nationalities. This platform found no evidence that this closeness extends to the recognition of Bhutan-
issued family-court judgments in India -- the Section 44A/Section 13 analysis above applies regardless
of the entry-permit concession or the broader bilateral relationship.
Common mistakes people connected to Bhutan make with family-law questions:
- Assuming a Bhutan divorce decree can be directly enforced in India via Section 44A -- it cannot;
Bhutan is not a notified reciprocating territory.
- Assuming the close India-Bhutan bilateral relationship has any bearing on cross-border
family-law enforcement -- it does not; judgment recognition is governed separately by the Code of
Civil Procedure.
- Delaying a Section 13 suit rather than consulting a family-law practitioner promptly once a
Bhutan decree needs to be relied on in India.
