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NRI's in ‘holiday’ marriage fraud to lose passports
In a first of its kind initiative in the country, the passport office in Jalandhar on Friday announced it would impound passports (make them invalid) of NRIs accused of deserting their wives after ‘holiday’ marriages.
In a first of its kind initiative in the country, the passport office in Jalandhar on Friday announced it would impound passports (make them invalid) of NRIs accused of deserting their wives after ‘holiday’ marriages.
The move is an attempt to crack down on non-resident Indian ‘holiday’ marriage fraud, a deceitful act in which a man deserts his wife after marrying her during his visit in Jalandhar.
Passport officer Parneet Singh said they would impound an offender’s passport after serving a show-cause notice on him based on the complaint of his wife. The passport office would also write to Indian embassies for action against such offenders.
Quoting a report of the union ministry of women and child development, Singh said half of an estimated 30,000 NRI marriage fraud victims in India were from Doaba region of Punjab.
Singh said this move would force an offender to resolve his matrimonial dispute in order to have a valid passport.
