New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian government is considering stringent preventive measures to ensure that girls married to NRIs are not harassed by their husbands in a different country. The measures include cancellation of passports of NRIs found guilty in any marital dispute case or are charged with harassing their wives.
A high-level committee constituted by the Ministry of External Affairs of India has also recommended strong measures to facilitate the extradition of NRI husbands to India for trial.
"The recommendations are with the union government for consideration but strict measures including cancellation of passports if needed are surely part of the recommendations," Bhupinder Singh, Media Officer of Delhi Commission for Women told Sputnik.
The recommendations were based on the findings of a study on the plight of wives deserted by NRI husbands in the northern state of Punjab. The state has a huge NRI population and has the distinction of having an NRI commission for the registration of all NRI marriages.
The high-level committee was constituted by the government on the recommendation of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj who said she was flooded with complaints of NRIs harassing and often deserting their wives in a foreign country.
Sources say that the committee has also directed mandatory registration of NRI marriages, with vital details like social security number, workplace and home address of the NRI spouse included in the marriage registration certificate to help track the husband in cases of abuse. The Committee has also recommended increasing the financial aid provided by NRI husbands to deserted wives.
According to a report published by the National Commission for Women in 2009, two out of 10 NRI marriages result in the wife being abandoned after the honeymoon period. The number of Indian women abandoned by NRI husbands was 13,000 in Gujarat and 25,000 in Punjab, as per 2007 statistics of the commission.
