All India Bar Examination (AIBE) 4-IV Previous Year Question Papers with Answers

The correct option is A: In a civil court only.

This is because the validity of a foreign judgment can be challenged only in a civil court under Section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (CPC), which lays down the conditions under which a foreign judgment is conclusive or not. According to Section 13, a foreign judgment shall be conclusive as to any matter thereby directly adjudicated upon between the same parties or between parties under whom they or any of them claim litigating under the same title except:

- where it has not been pronounced by a court of competent jurisdiction;
- where it has not been given on the merits of the case;
- where it appears on the face of the proceedings to be founded on an incorrect view of international law or a refusal to recognise the law of India in cases in which such law is applicable;
- where the proceedings in which the judgment was obtained are opposed to natural justice;
- where it has been obtained by fraud;
- where it sustains a claim founded on a breach of any law in force in India.

Therefore, if any of these exceptions apply, the foreign judgment can be challenged and resisted in a civil court by filing a suit on such foreign judgment or by raising it as a defence in a suit based on such foreign judgment.

Option B is incorrect as a criminal court has no jurisdiction to entertain or decide the validity of a foreign judgment, which is a civil matter.

Option C is incorrect as it implies that both civil and criminal courts can challenge the validity of a foreign judgment, which is not true.

Option D is incorrect as it implies that neither civil nor criminal courts can challenge the validity of a foreign judgment, which is also not true.