The Union Cabinet has approved the introduction of the Registration of Marriage of Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Bill, 2019 in order to create more accountability to Indian citizens living abroad. This was mainly undertaken to guarantee more protection against the exploitation of Indian citizens (mostly Indian women) by their NRI spouses. This path-breaking bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by Minister for External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, during the Zero Hour.

What is the aim of the bill? The bill aims to offer more protection against the exploitation of Indian citizens, mainly Indian women by their NRI partners, and it is an outcome of the joint initiative undertaken by the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Ministry of Law and Justice. Provisions of the bill The main provisions of the bill include the following points: •Amendment of the legal framework to act as a deterrent to erring NRI spouses in order to create more accountability and offer protection against exploitation of Indian Citizens, especially women who are married to non-resident Indians. •Under this bill, a marriage between an NRI and an Indian citizen needs to be registered in India or Indian missions and posts abroad within a month from the date of marriage, and in case this procedure is not followed and the marriage is not registered, the passport of the NRI will be revoked or impounded. •Section 86A: Once the Bill is passed, all necessary changes would be carried out in the Passports Act, 1967 and Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 by insertion of Section 86A. The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. This would solve a major problem of serving judicial summons for court proceedings in India. The bill has been introduced with the hope of restricting NRI husbands from using marriage as a tool of exploitation and money-making and to provide better enforcement of rights for the woman or spouse under the family laws. The bill’s introduction was necessary due to a number of complaints received from Indian nationals (mostly women), who were abandoned or harassed or subjected to numerous crimes by their Non-Resident Indian Spouses. Since these marriages take place outside India, there are no records or legal documents for further procedures to be initiated against the offender, who goes free. This bill would provide a much-needed relief and guarantee of marriage to numerous citizens who are married to non-resident Indians.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushma_Swaraj

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