NRI fraud marriages still a knotty affair
Wednesday, 08/01/2014
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140107/punjab.htm#1
Chandigarh : Getting runaway NRI grooms back to Punjab for any settlement with victim brides continues to be the biggest unfinished agenda for the Punjab State Commission for NRIs more than two years after it started functioning in November 2011.
Justice Arvind Kumar, commission chairman, told The Tribune that since the bridegrooms who ran away after their marriage had been declared proclaimed offenders, they feared arrest on their return. More than 98 per cent of the cases that had come to light pertained to grooms having gone abroad post-marriage and becoming incommunicado, he said.
"A case gets registered against husband and in-laws and the matter rests at that. In routine, the in-laws secure bail and the husband is declared a proclaimed offender. We have sent all such cases to the Ministry of Overseas Affairs, which has taken up the matter with the Indian embassies concerned. Discussions at the highest level are nearing some conclusion and we expect solution at least for boys who want to return for a compromise, or at least those who respond," said Justice Kumar.
Underlining the fact that the commission was yet to settle down fully in terms of functioning, public awareness and coordination with various departments, Justice Kumar said “not even a single complaint had been filed against any officer for dereliction of duty even in cases where the official response had not been up to the mark”. For the first more than three months, the commission did not receive even a single complaint. But now, they were getting three to four cases daily, he said.
Of the around 700 cases received so far, over 350 pertained to land disputes, more than 150 to broken marriages and about 100 were of youth having been duped by travel agents. Around 60 per cent of the cases had been settled so far, he said.
Justice Kumar said, “The biggest problem faced by NRIs, as is evident from the number of complaints, pertains to property matters. In half of such cases, property is sold off fraudulently by the complainant’s family members.”
About the commission
Justice Arvind Kumar The commission started working in November 2011
It is a four-member quasi-judicial body under the chairmanship of a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court
It also comprises an ADGP-level police officer, a principal secretary-level officer, besides one more member
Currently, it only has three members
The panel can summon anyone for inquiry from the police and the civil administration
Staff crunch
At present, the commission has 18 of the sanctioned 36 staff members
In the absence of independent teams to probe matters, it mostly relies on the police or departmental probe reports
Jurisdiction questioned
NRI commission itself has come under criticism from a section of the state government, accusing it of overstepping its limits. "The commission has been ordering inquiries even into those matters which are out of its jurisdiction. After all, it is only a recommendatory body," said an official associated with NRI affairs.
Regarding the allegation that the commission had been overstepping its limits, Justice Kumar said, "There have been certain objections but we have reiterated our powers and functions under Section 12 of the NRI Act."
On the allegation that the commission had assumed the functions of a court, the chairman said though their job was that of recommending cases, it had to play its role of telling the departments about action that needed to be taken in specific cases. This does not infringe on the territory of the departments, he said.
