New Delhi, May 30: In a first of a move, the Indian government has revoked passports of five Non-Resident Indians who abandoned their wives shortly after marrying them. The decision is an aftermath of the proposal given by the Union Women and Child Development Ministry to take stringent action in NRI matrimonial dispute cases. The proposal was sent to the Ministry of External Affairs which has been agreed upon by them.

The law ministry also accepted a proposal by the WCD ministry asking to issue summons through the MEA website in such cases. “This is a crucial step the government has taken to curb this fast-growing menace as we are abandoned with complaints where brides are dumped by NRI grooms post weddings,” a senior WCD ministry official has said.

With the passports revoked, the NRI grooms will compulsorily have to come back to India and face trial. They had been evading arrests as they did not respond to the summons with non-bailable warrants issued against them according to the officer. In all these cases, the look-out circulars were already issued last month, a part of the standard operating procedure. There has been a rise in the complaints of frauds, frauds, abandonment, domestic violence, extra-marital relationships, ex-parte divorce, being duped of money after promising marriage, forceful or illegal retention of children’s custody, non-payment of maintenance among many other issues. These cases remain pending as the perpetrator is unavailable to be presented in the court, thus affecting the future of the women and the child as well.

 

An Integrated Nodal Agency was constituted to work on the issues related to NRI Matrimonial Dispute under the chairpersonship of secretary, WCD ministry. They have proposed measures like attaching the property of the person who deserted his family with the families in India so as to discourage such practices. A survey carried out by some independent NGOs revealed that there are more than thousands of women in the states like Punjab, Gujarat, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala who have been deserted by their husbands. In many cases, a large dowry was taken from these women before they were left behind by the husbands.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 30, 2018 07:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).