Choosing where to fight the case
Where a contract does not fix a forum, or where the choice is being made for a family dispute rather than a commercial one, the decision usually turns on where the defendant or the assets are located, where the relevant evidence and witnesses are, and where an eventual judgment or decree can actually be enforced. A judgment obtained in a court with no real connection to the dispute, or against a defendant with no assets there, can end up being an expensive formality rather than a practical remedy, so enforceability is worth weighing from the outset rather than as an afterthought.
Getting notice to a party abroad
Serving a party who is outside India is governed by Order V of the Code of Civil Procedure, supplemented, where the country in question is a party to it, by the Hague Service Convention, which sets out an agreed channel for transmitting documents between countries for service. Where the Convention does not apply, service can proceed through diplomatic or consular channels, or by any other method the court permits. Getting service right matters a great deal, since defective service is one of the most common grounds on which a later decree is challenged.
Restraining a foreign proceeding
An Indian court can, in appropriate circumstances, grant an anti-suit injunction restraining a party from pursuing or continuing proceedings in a foreign court, typically where the foreign proceeding is oppressive, vexatious, or brought in breach of an agreement to litigate elsewhere. This is not a routine remedy and courts apply it cautiously, out of respect for the foreign court's own jurisdiction, but it is a genuine option where a party is using a foreign forum tactically rather than for any real connection to the dispute.
Evidence abroad and protecting assets in the meantime
Where a witness or document is located outside India, the court can direct that evidence be taken on commission, through a commissioner appointed for the purpose or, increasingly, by video conferencing, rather than requiring the witness to travel to India. Separately, while a dispute is pending, interim relief such as an injunction or an order attaching assets before judgment can be sought to stop a party from dissipating or moving assets out of reach before the case is decided, which is often the difference between a judgment that means something and one that does not.
