The Hindu : National : Draft 'convention' on NRI marriages

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Monday, Sep 20, 2004

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National

Draft 'convention' on NRI marriages

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 19. The National Commission for Women (NCW) has submitted a draft `convention' to the Government on Non-Resident Indian (NRI) marriages. This could be signed with other countries to eliminate the legal hurdles faced by women in getting custody of their children or maintenance in case of separation.

The draft convention has been submitted to the Ministries of External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs.

Objective

The objective is to make foreign divorce decrees admissible in Indian courts that would enable divorced women to claim custody of their children, maintenance and even marital property.

The convention has been drafted due to the increasing number of cases of desertion of women by their NRI husbands.

It recommends that the agreement be signed with the countries where there is a large Indian population. Though India has bilateral understanding on mutual legal assistance in civil matters with some countries, making divorces permitted by courts in other countries admissible in courts here, in most other cases a suit has to be filed in an Indian court for recognising the divorce.

If adopted, the draft convention would come as a great relief to women from poor families in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala who are married to Arab nationals and often deserted, as it would be applicable to foreign spouses also.

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