The Indian government has revoked the passports of five Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) involved in matrimonial disputes and incidents of domestic violence after lookout circulars were issued against them.
"The MEA has revoked the passports of five persons out of six cases of NRI matrimonial disputes, in which LoCs were issued by the INA," the PTI news agency quoted a ministry official as saying.
The Integrated Nodal Agency, headed by the secretary of the Women and Child Development Ministry had, earlier this month, issued a lookout circular against an NRI and also recommended that the passport of the person may be revoked as per the provisions of the Indian Passport Act.
Last month, the agency issued five look-out notices examining the complaints received regarding matrimonial disputes involving non-resident Indians.
The agency says it issues lookout circulars when an accused is deemed to be deliberately evading arrest or not appearing before a court despite court warrants against them. The notice is also issued to prevent them from leaving the country to evade arrest or an appearance in the court.
Before a lookout circular (LoC) is issued, the case is scrutinised by the National Commission for Women.
Though the issue of matrimonial disputes between NRI husbands and their wives has been in the news for many years, India's Ministry of Women and Child Development has wrested the initiative to deal with it during the recent months.
According to media reports, tens of thousands of Indian women married to NRIs have been abandoned by their husbands soon after marriage. In most cases the husbands don’t return to India to face the law.
India’s Women and Child Development ministry recently proposed confiscating the property of NRI husbands who failed to honour court summons. The proposal was shot down by India’s law ministry citing legal complexities.
