HYDERABAD: The National Commission for Women (NCW) and Telangana Women's Commission have recommended to the Union government to enter into bilateral pacts with different countries to bring to book non-resident Indian (NRI) men who cheat Indian women after marriage.
A number of NRI men have been found to evade Indian laws by appealing in courts in the country where they are living, said Telangana State Commission for Women chairperson T Venkata Ratnam.
A consultation was held here recently with stakeholders on women being cheated by NRI men after marriage, she said.
"If the marriage is performed as per the Hindu Marriage Act (1955), then foreign courts do not have the power to grant a divorce. If the man goes to foreign courts, they are taking up that case as per domestic laws there and they are simply giving divorce decrees," she noted.
"Even if the woman is in Hyderabad or elsewhere, they are sending divorce decrees by post also," she said, adding that such decrees are not valid as per the Supreme Court’s judgments.
"Because, if the marriage is performed as per the Hindu Marriage Act, then the divorce should also be as per that only... But, foreign courts are not at all bothering about our laws. So, bilateral agreements should be made," she added.
The bilateral agreement should maintain that foreign countries must respect Indian laws, said Ratnam. "Because, both the boy and girl will be having Indian passports. They are not foreign citizens. When both are Indian citizens, when both got married as per marriage laws of this country, foreign courts are not supposed to give, pass divorce decrees," she said.
Replying to a query, she said local laws cannot apply to marriage because the wife and husband live in a foreign country are foreigners.
The NCW and the Telangana Women's Commission together have made the suggestion to the Union Government and its response is awaited, she said.
She also said at least 50-60 cases involving NRI marriages are generally reported to her panel every year.
Other recommendations made to the government include a 'pre-nuptial agreement' for the couple with all particulars of the groom, and Indian men have to provide details of change in address and employment to the Indian embassies in concerned foreign countries, she added.