Your matter is argued in India by advocates enrolled with the Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana, while you follow it from wherever you live. You are not asked to fly in for routine hearings.
Not automatically. Under Section 13 of the Civil Procedure Code a foreign judgment is conclusive only if it meets certain conditions, and in Y. Narasimha Rao v. Y. Venkata Lakshmi the Supreme Court held that a decree from a foreign court is generally recognised in India only where that court had jurisdiction under the law the parties were married under, and the decree was granted on a ground available under that law, with the other spouse having had proper notice and opportunity. Decrees obtained on grounds like irretrievable breakdown, where the other spouse did not submit to that jurisdiction, are frequently held not binding here. Have the decree assessed before you remarry or transfer property.
Proceedings can continue in your absence and can escalate — summons, warrants, and in some cases a look-out circular affecting your travel. It is far better to engage counsel immediately than to wait until you next land in India. Depending on the stage we move for anticipatory bail, seek exemption from personal appearance, or file for quashing where the complaint does not disclose an offence.
Often, yes, though it depends on the court. Section 13B requires two motions with a statutory interval, and courts have increasingly allowed appearance by video conferencing and representation through a Power of Attorney, with the Supreme Court also willing in appropriate cases to waive the waiting period. We ask the court for those permissions at the outset rather than assuming them, and tell you honestly which appearances are likely to be insisted upon.
Broadly, the court where the marriage was solemnised, where the couple last resided together, or where the respondent resides. For a great many NRI couples from this region the marriage was solemnised in Punjab or Haryana and the parties last resided together here, which founds jurisdiction in the Family Courts of the Tricity or the home district even though both of you now live abroad.
This is a well-recognised category of case in Punjab and Haryana and there is a real remedy. You can claim maintenance, seek restitution or divorce, and pursue criminal proceedings where an offence is disclosed; passport and visa consequences can also follow for a spouse who ignores court process. Punjab maintains dedicated NRI police wings for complaints of this kind, and matters are pursued through the Family Courts here even though the husband is overseas.
Tell us about your matter and an enrolled advocate will review it and come back to you with a written view — we work around your time zone, not ours.