Marital Discord: India Revokes Passport of 25 NRI Men

In its stern action yet on NRI men abandoning their wives in India, the Indian government has revoked the passports of 25 NRI men.

Of the passports revoked, eight were recommended by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) while the rest involved cases where the state police sought action, news agency IANS reported quoting WCD officials.

This comes right after the Ministry received complaints from the victim and their family members.

“We keep receiving such complaints where Non-Resident Indians have been held accountable for abandoning their wives. The action taken depends on priority,” the news agency quoted WCD official as saying.

Earlier, a high-level committee had made a recommendation to the center that Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) who are found harassing or deserting their wives could face impoundment or cancellation of passport, reported the Hindustan Times.

Besides revoking passports, in some cases the police can also issue Look-Out-Circulars (LoC) for errant NRI husbands, the news agency said.

In criminal matters involving NRI husbands, the LoC can be issued by the investigating agency in cognizable offenses when the husband from overseas is deliberately evading arrest, the news agency reported adding that it could also be that he is not appearing in the trial court despite non-bailable warrants and other coercive measures or that there is likelihood that he will leave the country to evade trial or arrest.

An inter-ministerial body dealing with matrimonial disputes headed by WCD Secretary Rakesh Srivastava with members from Home Ministry and the External affairs takes the decision of issuing the LoC after the case is scrutinized by the National Commission for Women (NCW), the news agency added.