The Bombay high court has refused to interfere with notices issued to a Canadian citizen, who was married to a Bhopal resident, to surrender her Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card following their divorce.
A bench of justices Nitin Jamdar and Milind Jadhav said there was nothing wrong with the notices sent to Lee Anne and cannot be called illegal. It added the Union home ministry cannot be restrained from issuing them as per the citizenship law.
Anne married Arunoday Singh in 2016 and was issued an OCI card. She received the first notice instructing her to surrender her card after the divorce last year.
Anne moved the high court as she has filed an appeal against a family court that granted the divorce. She pleaded she has also separately sought restitution of conjugal rights, and both the matters were pending.
The high court noted the OCI card issued in her case is liable to be cancelled upon dissolution of marriage.
It noted that the decree of divorce by the Bhopal family court was neither stayed nor suspended. The high court referred to the proceedings at a court in Mumbai’s Bandra and said it related only to a flat in Mumbai and is inconsequential as such.
{{/usCountry}}It noted that the decree of divorce by the Bhopal family court was neither stayed nor suspended. The high court referred to the proceedings at a court in Mumbai’s Bandra and said it related only to a flat in Mumbai and is inconsequential as such.
{{/usCountry}}OCI cardholders enjoy benefits like multiple entry visas, exemption from foreigners’ registrations, etc.