Government takes measures to curb abuses by NRI husbands
The Centre on Monday asked all the states to share with it the data of registered marriages, so as to hold accountable the non-residential Indian (NRI) husbands who harass or desert their wives. The states will have to link updated data to the website of women and child development (WCD) at the end of every month, union minister Maneka Gandhi told Hindustan Times.
346 complaints were registered against NRI husbands in 2014
With relevant data available for ready reference, the WCD ministry would be better equipped to address the issues faced by NRI wives. It would also serve as the nodal agency responsible for monitoring NRI marriages and related complaints. Notably, the National Commission for Women, an independent body under the ministry, registered 346 complaints against NRI husbands in 2014.
Law may soon protect deserted, harassed NRI wives
WCD minister Maneka Gandhi, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, her subordinate minister VK Singh and law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday decided to formulate a legal framework to address the issue. They also discussed implementing the recommendations of the Goel Panel, which calls for confiscating/cancelling the passports of abusive NRI husbands, and including domestic violence in the scope of India's extradition treaties.
Goel Panel was constituted by external affairs ministry in May
The Goel Panel was constituted by External Affairs Ministry in May'17 to address the challenges in the extradition of NRI spouses to India for trial. Chaired by retired judge Arvind Kumar Goel, an ex-chairman of Punjab's NRI state commission, it submitted its report in September.
