CJI Altamas Kabir cautions against runaway NRI grooms

Monday, 17/12/2012

http://punjabnewsline.com/news/CJI-Altamas-Kabir-cautions-against-ruaway-NRI-grooms.html

HOSHIARPUR: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Altamas Kabir has cautioned parents against marrying off their daughters to NRI grooms without verifying their antecedents.

Speaking at a seminar on “Illegal Immigration and NRI abandoned brides” organized by Punjab Legal Services Authority (PLSA) in association with Punjab State Commission for NRIs at Panjab university regional center at Bajwara-5 kilometers from here on Sunday, he said that precautions could remove the problem to a large extent.

The CJI said that the dream of a better life abroad led many unsuspecting girls and their parents to fall in the trap of fraudulent marriages.

He said that there were laws to protect the interests of the abandoned brides but the best way out was precaution. It was not only the parents who forced their daughter to marry NRI grooms, in many cases girls also willingly took the plunge, he added.

He said since the problem was more prevalent in rural side, panches and sarpanches should make people aware of the consequences of holiday marriages. He said that in many cases the grooms were already married and they remarried for dowry. He suggested that parents must double check the financial and marital status of prospective NRI grooms before sending their daughters abroad, so that the marriages do not turn into misery for the hapless girls.

Speaking about illegal immigration, the CJI said that migrating to foreign shores just for the sake of it was nothing but “madness”. There was no dearth of opportunities in India he added, informing that he himself had turned down the offer to study abroad as he wanted to stay in his own country.

He said the problem of illegal immigration was not confined to North India but was also prevalent in South where people would pay any cost to go to the Gulf countries. Over-staying by the Indians had caused a resentment in the local population of the respective countries, he added. Going abroad through the right channel was not bad but the immigrants who do not do their homework, find themselves trapped in the alien country and find it difficult to return, said Justice Kabir.

“There are numerous problems faced by illegal immigrants. They may end up in worst conditions than they were in their own country. They must not go without valid work permit”, he advised. He said that online advertisements had added to the fascination of foreign countries.

The CJI said that the Legal Services Authority network was spreading awareness among the public about various social issues.

“The aim to setup these institutions at all levels was make justice accessible to all and they are working in this very direction”, he added. He said that para legal volunteers should reach out to the people in a big way and sensitize them about social and legal issues and suggested that more female volunteers should be engaged from the community.

Later talking to the media Justice Kabir said that the judiciary was doing its bit within the legal framework to bring justice to the brides of runaway grooms. He said that many legal remedies were available to brides in distress. Responding to a query, he said that if the government formulated law to tackle eve teasing, courts would implement it earnestly. He said that the male mindset should also be changed.