Bill empowers authorities to impound or revoke passport or travel documents of NRIs.
New Delhi: A Parliamentary Standing Committee has approved a Bill which calls for compulsory registration of marriages with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) within 30 days.
The standing committee on External Affairs approved the Registration of Marriage of Non-Resident Indian Bill, 2019 with inclusions of recommendations made by its members, according to a report tabled in Parliament recently. The Bill empowers passport authorities to impound or revoke passport or travel documents of NRIs who fail to register within 30 days after getting married.
The Bill, introduced in the Rajya Sabha by former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj last year, aims at creating more accountability and offering more protection against exploitation of Indian citizens, mostly women by their NRI spouses. The Bill, besides proposing compulsory registration, also seeks to amend the Passport Act, 1967 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
The Bill is an outcome of a joint initiative of the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Law and Justice. Introduction of the Bill was necessitated by the MEA due to numerous complaints received from Indian nationals, mostly women, deserted or harassed by their NRI spouses.
This is to be noted that as many as 5,298 complaints were received related to NRI marital grievances between January 2016 and October 2019. Once the Bill is passed, marriages performed by NRIs would be registered in India or Indian Missions & Posts abroad.
MEA sources said that serving judicial summons for court proceedings in India is a major problem, which would be taken care of by this Bill by amending the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. “Thus, the Bill would offer great protection to Indian citizens married to NRIs and serve as a deterrent to NRIs against harassment of their spouses. This Bill would benefit Indian women married to NRIs worldwide,” said an official.
However, the parliamentary committee called for amending the proforma for registration of NRI marriage to make exhaustive, incorporating all the details related to the passport, visa or permanent resident card and address in the foreign country with proof. The committee has recommended that the efforts must be intensified to establish better coordination with the member countries of Hague Convention and to take up the issues of NRI marital disputes during bilateral meetings and consular dialogue with foreign countries.
The proposed amendment of the Passport Act, 1967 empowers the passport authority to impound or cause to be impounded or revoke a passport or travel document of an NRI, if it is brought to his notice that the NRI has not registered his marriage within a period of 30 days from the date of marriage.
The proposed amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, would also empower the courts for issuance of summons, warrants through the specifically designated website of the Ministry of External Affairs. It further provides for attachment of the properties, both movable and immovable, belonging to a proclaimed offender.