JUDGMENT :

1. The Court:-A piquant situation arose in the instant appeal upon rejection of an application under Section 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 Section 1(2) of the said Act. The learned Judge in the Court below relied upon Section 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 Section 1 of the said Act, which runs thus:

“1. Short title, extent and commencement – (1) This Act may be called the Special Marriage Act, 1954.

(2) It extends to the whole of India and applies