NRI husbands lose passports for wife harassment
Wednesday, 7/10/2011
http://truthdive.com/2011/10/06/nri-husbands-lose-passports-for-wife-harassment.html
New Delhi, Oct 6 (TruthDive): The Regional Passport offices across the country have constituted a women complaint cell for Non Resident Indians (NRI) . Based on a complaint from the spouse the office will confiscate the husband’s passport. The highest number of complaint was recorded in Jallandhar.
We have so far received 198 complains and seized passports of 59 people in these cases. We are working on other cases and will take action on them soon,” Parmeet Singh Regional Passport Officer said. She said such cells would help provide justice to women being harassed by their husbands living abroad.
National Commission for Women has a NRI cell. The NRI Cell was formally inaugurated on the 24th of September, 2009. NRI Cell deals with complaints received from India and abroad resulting due to cross country marriages wherein there is any deprivation of women’s rights or any issue involving grave injustice to women. Since its inception around 350 cases have been registered.
The issue of feasibility of dual passport to women who marry NRIs/PIOs was taken up with Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Law and Justice. However under existing Passport Act, 1967 the same is not feasible, the MEA has assured the following: if a wife is harassed and deserted and is without her passport and if the original passport is valid and the husband has that in his custody, she can make an application to the Passport Office and a new passport will be given after verifying passport
particulars from original Passport issuing authority, in case she does not have any record or photocopy of her old passport.
