artemis-xlsx/nyay-guide

Nyay Guide: Indian Family Law & Audited NRI Matrimonial Case Law Repository

Structured legal repository and benchmark evaluation datasets for Indian family law remedies (divorce, maintenance, domestic violence relief, child support) and transnational NRI maintenance scenario planning.

Legal Status & Disclaimer: Nyay Guide is a legal research and scenario-planning framework grounded in published judgments of the Supreme Court of India and High Courts. It is designed to assist advocates and litigants in modeling maintenance parameters and cross-border enforcement strategies. It does not provide legal advice or predict judicial outcomes. All numerical formulas (such as overseas living deductions and net surplus percentages) are discretionary judicial heuristics applied on specific facts, not mandatory statutory entitlements.

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Repository Files & Formats

The repository provides the case law database and benchmark evaluation datasets in four standard open formats:

File Name	Format	Description
nri_case_law_16_fields.xlsx	Excel Spreadsheet	Primary practitioner format: 145 audited judgments with styled headers, auto-filters, wrap text, and full 22-column schema (16 canonical fields + 6 audit fields). Open directly in Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, or LibreOffice.
nri_case_law_16_fields.csv	CSV (UTF-8)	Comma-separated table for direct import into SQL, pandas, or custom analytical pipelines.
nri_case_law_16_fields.parquet	Apache Parquet	High-performance, columnar binary storage with Snappy compression for machine learning, dataframes, and SLM fine-tuning.
nri_case_law_16_fields.jsonl	JSON Lines	Line-delimited JSON objects for streaming ingestion, prompt engineering, and LLM context injection.
exemplars.parquet / .csv / .jsonl	Parquet / CSV / JSONL	Canonical Indian family law diagnostic exemplars covering HMA, DV Act, CrPC/BNSS, SMA, and Muslim personal law.
intake_cases.parquet / .jsonl	Parquet / JSONL	Semi-structured natural-language intake narratives paired with extracted procedural facts and legal strategies.
scenarios.parquet / .jsonl	Parquet / JSONL	Complex synthetic and historical NRI cross-border litigation scenarios for stress-testing rule-based and neural engines.

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Audited 22-Column Schema

Each case in nri_case_law_16_fields.* is structured strictly according to the canonical 16-field legal schema, augmented by 6 practitioner verification fields:

Canonical 16 Fields:

1. Index: Unique record identifier.
2. Court: Official adjudicating court (e.g. Supreme Court of India, Delhi High Court, Punjab & Haryana High Court, Kerala High Court, Bombay High Court).
3. Case Title: Litigant names (Satya v. Teja Singh, Rajnesh v. Neha, Kalyan Dey Chowdhury, Baiju v. Hema, etc.).
4. Case Number: Verified court registry / appeal reference (e.g. Criminal Appeal No. 187 of 1970, Civil Appeal No. 5369 of 2017).
5. Judgment Date: Date of decision (YYYY-MM-DD).
6. Judges: Coram and bench composition.
7. Acts Cited: Governing statutory acts (CrPC 1973, BNSS 2023, HMA 1955, DV Act 2005, CPC 1908, Passports Act 1967, Evidence Act 1872, BSA 2023).
8. Sections Cited: Specific statutory provisions (e.g. Section 125 CrPC / Section 144 BNSS, Section 24 & 25 HMA, Section 13 CPC, Section 10(3)(h) Passports Act).
9. Legal Topics: Subject-matter classifications (Foreign Divorce Decree Validity, Purchasing Power Parity, Concealment of Foreign Income, Inter-Country Child Custody, Adverse Inference).
10. Outcome: Final court order (Allowed / Dismissed / Modified / Directions Issued).
11. Fact/Petitioner: Specific material facts and grievances of the claimant.
12. Fact/Respondent: Defense contentions, employment status, and financial pleas of the respondent.
13. Issues: Precise questions of law and jurisdiction framed by the court.
14. Petitioner Argument: Substantive legal arguments advanced by claimant's counsel.
15. Respondent Argument: Opposing contentions and defenses advanced by respondent's counsel.
16. Factors to be Considered: Judicial determinants evaluated by the bench.
17. Decision: Final ratio decidendi and operative order.

Practitioner Verification & Audit Metadata (Fields 18–22):

18. Verification Status: Advocate Verified & Primary Source Checked (for landmark Supreme Court and guideline precedents) or Primary Source Verified (for High Court decisions).
19. Exact Holding: Precise legal ratio established by the bench.
20. Negative Limitations: Critical practitioner boundaries specifying what the precedent does not establish (e.g. does not establish a mandatory 50% deduction rule, does not create an automatic 25% statutory cap, does not permit arbitrary salary imputation).
21. Calculator Dependency: The specific algorithmic rule or scenario module supported by the precedent.
22. Primary Source Link: Canonical judgment link on Indian Kanoon or Supreme Court of India registry archives.
23. Reviewed By & Date: Audit team stamp (Legal Audit Team, 27 October 2026).

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Landmark Precedents & Legal Principles

The repository incorporates definitive primary judgments governing transnational Indian family law:

Precedent	Citation & Registry	Bench	Key Holding & Ratio Decidendi	Negative Limitations
Satya v. Teja Singh	(1975) 1 SCC 120 Crl. App. 187/1970	H.R. Khanna, Y.V. Chandrachud, JJ.	Foreign ex-parte divorce obtained through fleeting residency (6 weeks stay in Nevada) is a fraud on jurisdiction under Section 13(e) CPC; marriage subsists and wife's maintenance is enforceable under Indian law.	Does NOT establish that all foreign divorces are automatically invalid. A decree complying with Section 13 CPC (genuine domicile, proper law, or voluntary submission) can be valid.
Y. Narasimha Rao v. Y. Venkata Lakshmi	(1991) 3 SCC 451 Crl. App. 473/1989	P.B. Sawant, B.C. Ray, JJ.	Foreign divorce granted on grounds unrecognized by Indian matrimonial law (e.g. Missouri irretrievable breakdown) without voluntary submission by respondent is void under Section 13 CPC; bigamy prosecution under Section 494 IPC upheld.	Does NOT bar recognition where foreign court applies Indian personal law or where respondent voluntarily submits without protest.
Rajnesh v. Neha	(2021) 2 SCC 324 Crl. App. 730/2020	Indu Malhotra, R. Subhash Reddy, JJ.	Nationwide binding guidelines: mandatory sworn Affidavit of Assets and Liabilities; maintenance payable from date of application; mandatory adjustment of overlapping maintenance awards.	Does NOT prescribe fixed percentage quotas; trial courts retain full discretion to weigh living standards and individual needs.
Kalyan Dey Chowdhury v. Rita Dey Chowdhury	(2017) 14 SCC 200 Civ. App. 5369/2017	R. Banumathi, M.M. Shantanagoudar, JJ.	Following Dr. Kulbhushan Kumar, 25% of husband's net salary awarded as permanent alimony under Section 25 HMA on facts of the case.	Does NOT establish a rigid universal statutory cap of 25%. It is an indicative judicial benchmark.
Dr. Kulbhushan Kumar v. Raj Kumari	(1970) 3 SCC 129 Civ. App. 1762/1967	J.C. Shah, K.S. Hegde, A.N. Grover, JJ.	Net income is determined after subtracting compulsory statutory taxes; voluntary savings or loan repayments cannot be deducted to depress maintenance. One-fourth (25%) adopted as fair standard.	Does NOT establish a rigid ceiling; allows trial courts to calibrate based on child custody and independent assets.
Devika Jain v. Rajesh Jain	2015 SCC OnLine Del 13245 MAT.APP.(F.C.) 34/2014	P. Nandrajog, Mukta Gupta, JJ.	Where husband earns abroad (UK), courts cannot convert gross salary to INR at spot rates without deducting local foreign taxes, rent, and purchasing power parity.	Does NOT create a universal 50% statutory deduction. Deductions must be substantiated with evidence of host-country costs.
Shikha v. Avaneesh Mahodaya	2024 SCC OnLine MP 5791 Crl. Rev. 2701/2023	Prem Narayan Singh, J.	Essential foreign living expenses and mandatory US taxes must be subtracted from US dollar salary to establish true disposable income for Section 125 CrPC maintenance.	Does NOT allow artificial deductions of voluntary investments or inflated luxury spending.
Baiju v. Hema	2020 SCC OnLine Ker 12784 Mat. App. 259/2018	A.M. Mustaque, C.S. Dias, JJ.	When an NRI spouse suppresses foreign income within exclusive knowledge (Section 106 Evidence Act / Section 109 BSA), adverse inference must be drawn under Section 114(g) Evidence Act / Section 119(g) BSA.	Does NOT permit courts to pluck arbitrary astronomical figures out of thin air; estimation must reflect qualifications, career tier, and lifestyle.
Kulwinder Kumar v. Seema	2017 SCC OnLine P&H 5218 CRR(F)-125-2016	Ramendra Jain, J.	An able-bodied husband working in Italy cannot plead unemployment or overseas difficulties to deny interim sustenance maintenance to his destitute wife in India.	Does NOT establish a mandatory nationwide floor of ₹20,000–₹35,000. Awards remain case-specific.
Suresh Nanda v. CBI	(2008) 3 SCC 674 Crl. App. 179/2008	P.P. Naolekar, M. Katju, JJ.	Courts and police do NOT have statutory power to impound passports directly under Section 104 CrPC. Impounding is the exclusive prerogative of the Passport Authority under Section 10(3)(h) Passports Act.	Does NOT bar courts from issuing orders directing the Passport Authority to initiate impoundment under Section 10(3)(h) against defaulting absconders.

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Statutory Transition: BNSS 2023 & BSA 2023

For proceedings initiated on or after 1 July 2024, India's criminal and evidentiary codes have transitioned to modern statutes:

Old Provision	New Provision	Procedural Scope & Transition Note
Section 125 CrPC	Section 144 BNSS	Order for monthly maintenance of wives, children, and parents.
Section 127 CrPC	Section 146 BNSS	Alteration in maintenance allowance upon change in circumstances.
Section 128 CrPC	Section 147 BNSS	Enforcement of order of maintenance and execution against property.
Section 114(g) Evidence Act	Section 119(g) BSA	Presumption of adverse inference when material evidence is suppressed.
Section 106 Evidence Act	Section 109 BSA	Burden of proving facts especially within knowledge of the NRI spouse.
Section 65B Evidence Act	Section 63 BSA	Admissibility of electronic records (WhatsApp chats, foreign pay stubs, email notices).
Savings Provision	Section 531(2)(a) BNSS Section 170 BSA	Critical Savings Rule: Any application, proceeding, or inquiry pending immediately before 1 July 2024 shall be disposed of in accordance with CrPC 1973 and Evidence Act 1872.

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Cross-Border Enforcement Framework

1. Section 44A CPC Execution Boundaries

• Reciprocating Territories: Direct execution of certified foreign money decrees in Indian District Courts is permitted only for gazetted reciprocating territories under Section 44A CPC:
  • United Kingdom
  • United Arab Emirates (UAE) — Notified via S.O. 261(E) dated 17.01.2020
  • Singapore
  • New Zealand, Fiji, Hong Kong, Malaysia
• Non-Reciprocating Territories (USA, Canada, Australia): Direct execution under Section 44A CPC is strictly barred. The decree-holder must file a fresh civil suit in India founded on the foreign judgment under Article 101 of the Limitation Act 1963 within 3 years of the decree.

2. Coercive Remedies & Safeguards

• Passport Impoundment: Under Suresh Nanda v. CBI (2008) 3 SCC 674, criminal courts and Family Courts cannot directly impound passports under Section 104 CrPC. The court must issue a judicial direction to the Regional Passport Officer (RPO) / MEA to invoke Section 10(3)(h) of the Passports Act 1967.
• Look Out Circulars (LOC): Issued pursuant to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Consolidated Guidelines OM dated 22.02.2021. LOCs are not automatic; they require an active non-bailable warrant (NBW) or specific judicial requisition to detain or prevent departure of the defaulting spouse at Indian immigration checkpoints.
• Extradition Inapplicability: Pure maintenance defaults under Section 125 CrPC / Section 144 BNSS are civil/quasi-criminal and do not qualify for international extradition, which strictly requires dual-criminality penal offenses carrying severe imprisonment.

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Citation & Legal Inquiries

@dataset{nyay_guide_audited_2026,
  title = {Nyay Guide: Indian Family Law & Audited NRI Matrimonial Case Law Repository},
  author = {Nyay Guide Legal Research Team},
  year = {2026},
  publisher = {Hugging Face Datasets},
  url = {https://huggingface.co/datasets/artemis-xlsx/nyay-guide}
}