Runaway NRI grooms now risk losing their passports

All those NRI grooms who have deserted their brides and fled from the country can escape no more,as a foolproof system under Passport Act,1967,has been set in place by Jalandhar Passport Office.

3 min readJalandharFeb 5, 2011 11:04 PM IST First published on: Feb 5, 2011 at 11:04 PM IST

All those NRI grooms who have deserted their brides and fled from the country can escape no more,as a foolproof system under Passport Act,1967,has been set in place by Jalandhar Passport Office. It is the first system of its kind in the country and will go a long way in helping women who marry NRIs but end up being deserted.

According to National Commission for Women and Ministry of Women and Child Development,of the 30,000 women deserted by NRI husbands,15,000 are from Punjab’s Doaba region.

Jalandhar Passport Office started a Women’s Grievance section (WGS) on Friday. In this section,complaints would be received from the girls,who could not catch hold of their NRI grooms in foreign countries after being deserted,and the passport authority will ‘impound’ the passport of the offender in accordance with the provision laid down in section 10 (3) of Passport Act,1967 after issuing showcause notice to the offender.

“Deserting of girls by NRI grooms is a big social menace in Punjab particularly,and the matter was raised at various forums for the past over a decade but there was no fool-proof system to nab the accused grooms,as the other channels of redressal of such grievances take some time and don’t work outside the country. But impounding of passport is action which works inside as well as outside the country quickly and effectively,” said Jalandhar Passport Officer Parneet Singh while adding that the affected girls or their families need to contact the office on a helpline number and the accused cannot escape from being caught anywhere in the world.

Talking to mediapersons here today,the passport officer said a person whose passport is impounded will not be able to go abroad as his passport will be seized at the airport. If somehow he reaches abroad,he will be caught at the Indian Embassy or mission if he applies for some service and will be deported.

“Also,if the person in question comes to India,he will not be able to go back till the time the matrimonial dispute is resolved.” This will not only help the victim get justice but also act as a deterrent in general.

In addition,the passport office will also write to Indian embassies abroad by appending copies of the complaint to take requisite action against offender.

To make this system more effective,the passport officer,is going to take up the matter with the Punjab government by suggesting that while registering a marriage,a passport copy of the groom,his social secuirity number,permanent address in foreign country,contact number and affidavit regarding matrimonial status should be sought and a copy of the passport should be sent to the passport office.