“Law on Matrimonial Issues Relating to Non-Resident Indians (NRI) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI)” report submitted | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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    “Law on Matrimonial Issues Relating to Non-Resident Indians (NRI) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI)” report submitted

    Posted 17 Feb 2024

    Updated 22 Mar 2024

    2 min read

    • Report was submitted by the Law Commission of India (LCI). 
       
    • Key issues highlighted 
      • Lack of regulation 
        • There exist no law governing marriages with NRIs.
        • There is no central legislation prescribing compulsory registration of marriages. 
      • Rising trend of fraudulent matrimony 
        • Such marriages between NRIs and Indians leave Indian spouses, particularly women, vulnerable to domestic violence, abandonment, ex-parte divorce, etc.
          • Ex-parte divorce is initiated in a foreign court without the knowledge/consent of Indian spouse.
      • Difficulty in legal assistance:  Inter-country nature of marriages makes it difficult for Indian spouses to seek legal recourse. 
         
    • Key recommendations: 
      • Enact comprehensive lawBroaden NRI Bill, 2019:
        • to cover divorce, maintenance, and child support, and 
        • make it applicable to OCIs, and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) apart from the NRIs. 
      • Compulsory registration in India
        • Registration should contain information of social security number, passport particulars, ID card etc., to build a proper identification and tracking system.
        • Failure to register such a marriage should attract fines or imprisonment. 
        • Law will be given an overriding effect on all other laws
           

    About OCIs, PIOs and NRIs

    • NRIs are Indian citizens living abroad, OCIs and PIOs are foreign citizens whose Indian origin is legally recognised, and by which certain privileges are extended to them.
    • PIO and OCI Card Scheme were merged in 2015. 
    • Therefore, the Government of India has decided to discontinue the issuance of any new PIO card.
    • Tags :
    • OCI
    • NRI
    • NRI BILL, 2019
    • fraudulent matrimony
    • PIO
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