NRI Marriages, whether safe?
There was a time when the parents of girl wished their son in law to be somebody overseas earning lot of money and having bright career to give their daughter a life full of comfort and happiness.
The trend of NRI marriages became
popular mainly in Punjab,
Numerous brides still wait
for call from abroad but purpose is never solved. NRI grooms get married in
Problems in marriage can arise, if there is a clash on viewpoints. Sometimes, person is not able to adjust and live up to his/her partner’s expectations. Thus, it leads to financial, sexual or other kind of problems. Problems after marriage include harassment for dowry, concealment of pre-existing marriage, non consummation of marriages. As the marriage is no longer governed by Indian laws, woman’s recourse to justice abroad becomes greatly complicated.
These circumstances can be avoided if people verify
the credentials of prospective husbands, including checking their passports,
residency status and financial details, voter registration card, social
security number, employment record, tax returns and other relevant information
pertaining to the three preceding years. Another extremely important thing is
to get marriage registered. It should be accompanied with affidavit stating his
marital status. Without proper documentation it is very difficult to prove the
marriage in courts abroad and this is the reason that many Indian women are
forced to live like domestic helps. A major loophole is the non availability of
mechanism to serve summons outside
Police and law enforcing agencies in India need to be more sympathetic in dealing with them and FIR reporting should be made possible for the victims ruling out any influence from groom’s family. Private international law should be embraced to deal with disputes in which one of the parties resided outside the country. There should be a comprehensive regulation to ensure that all the protection to Indian women with regard to -marriage, divorce, maintenance, inheritance and custody of children are applicable to victims of fraudulent NRI marriages as well.
Alertness and awareness is the need of the hour. Lives of thousands of brides to be can be saved by strict legislation, amending laws and supporting those who need our help.
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