E-Paper
SC notice to Centre on guidelines against runaway NRI grooms
A petition stated that no help is forthcoming from embassies for Indian brides who are duped or abandoned by NRI grooms in foreign countries.
Moved by the plight of women abandoned by runaway non-resident Indian (NRI) grooms in the country as well as abroad, the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider a fresh plea for issuing guidelines to police, immigration authorities and Indian embassies to ensure speedy justice to such victims.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde, and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian directed the Centre to file its reply by July this year on the guidelines needed to protect the brides who are abandoned, abused or divorced by NRI grooms against whom neither any court proceedings are maintainable nor criminal proceedings can be initiated as their location is not known.
The petition was filed in the year 2019 by NGO Pravasi Legal Cell along with two victims fighting a legal battle against their truant grooms settled abroad. The Court directed this petition to be taken up along with a pending petition filed by one Smita Kudaisya where the same issue is already under consideration.
The petition by Pravasi Legal Cell filed through advocate Jose Abraham pointed out that in cases where NRI grooms abandon or dupe gullible women in India, police refuse to register a first information report against the husband due to the absence of his overseas address. Even courts cannot proceed with the case as service of summons or warrants to the husbands who are settled abroad becomes difficult.
One of the co-petitioners married an NRI settled in Germany and faced severe brutality and harassment there for want of dowry. She managed to reach India and filed a domestic violence case. After much difficulty, she located the new address of her husband to serve him summons through the embassy.
The other co-petitioner has not been so lucky. After being married to a Dubai-based NRI, the husband filed for divorce in a local Delhi court. When the wife moved a petition seeking maintenance, the husband fled the country and remains untraced to date. Further maintenance proceedings have been halted as notice cannot be served to the husband.
The petition further stated that no help is forthcoming from embassies for Indian brides who are duped or abandoned by NRI grooms in foreign countries. “The embassies do not even bother to respond to the cries of distress of Indian citizens. When the women contact the police of the foreign country directly they are informed by the police that privacy laws do not permit the police to give away the location of their husbands,” the petition stated.
The population of Indians settled overseas is quite significant. A report prepared by the United Nations recently pegs the population of the Indian diaspora across the world at 18 million.
“Looking at this figure, it becomes imperative on part of the government to immediately frame necessary guideline to be followed by the police, the immigration department and embassies throughout the world for professional and speedy justice to be provided to the women abandoned by their husbands,” the petition added.
