NCW suggests making passport details part of marriage records

The National Commission for Women has recommended including the employment status, social security number and passport details of couples in marriage registration records in a bid to deter NRI men from fraudulently marrying Indian women.

It has also proposed to make registration of marriages mandatory.

In view of the increasing incidents of NRIs deserting their Indian wives, the Ministry of Women and Child Development had last year set up an inter-ministerial committee to examine the issue.

The committee drafted a standard operating procedure (SOP) for dealing with such issues and sought the opinion of the commission on the same.

The NCW today discussed the issue with stakeholders in NRI matrimonial disputes and finalised the set of recommendations which will now be put before the ministry for its approval.

Once approved, the suggestions will be incorporated in the final SOPs to be issued by the ministry.
The NCW suggested that if either of the spouses is settled abroad, his/her social security number should be made part of marriage registration records.

In fact, Gujarat and Punjab have implemented this recommendation at the state level, it said.

In matrimonial disputes, the agencies should utilise more tech savvy means for issuing summons or warrants such as e- mails and record statements through video conferencing, it said.