Mumbai: The marital discord between Pakistani singer Adnan Sami and his second wife Sabah may set a precedent for cases regarding matrimonial disputes between foreigners married and living in India.

Sabah, a United Arab Emirates national, has initiated divorce proceedings against Adnan alleging cruelty. The Bombay High Court is currently hearing an application filed by her seeking an order to restrain Adnan from entering the flats she claims to own in Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri (West).

The couple got married in April 2007 and registered the marriage in Mumbai. Sabah has claimed that the five inter-connected flats in the Oberoi Sky building, in which she resides, were gifted to her by Adnan and thus belong to her.

She has sought a restraining order against Adnan and his family members from entering the five flats.

Hearing the application on Monday, Justice AV Nirgude asked whether the HC had the jurisdiction to entertain Sabah's application. The family court would be the proper forum, it said.

Sabah's lawyer SU Kamdar argued that the family court did not have jurisdiction over cases involving foreigner couples.

Adnan's lawyer Ravi Kadam maintained that his client's marriage was an "Indian marriage" as the nikaah was solemnised in Mumbai. Kadam maintained that the relief sought by Sabah arose out of a matrimonial dispute and she should thus move the family court. The court has asked both the sides to present their arguments on the issue on February 16.

Dressed in a dapper black suit, Adnan sat through the court hearing patiently. "Sabah's fight is not about money," he said. "She belongs to the Galadhari family, which owns the Khaleej Times (a Dubai newspaper). This stems from spite. She even wants my dog (a Labrador named Rock)," he told reporters.

He said that the timing of the case is bad as his father is currently suffering from pancreatic cancer.