Telangana stands second in NRI divorces after Punjab

Telangana stands second in the country pertaining to NRIs divorcing their wives in the US and the UK where the Hindu Marriage Act is not considered valid. Chairperson of Telangana State Commission for Women, Dr Tripurana Venkataratnam said, "These men marry in India but divorce their wives in countries where Indian law is not considered. This is very unfair for the women who are left in the lurch in the foreign country.”

She further added that the ministry of women and child development had designed standard operating procedures, which would provide the affected women legal recourse. Venkataratnam said that the ministry did not have a database of such incidents and is collating such instances so that a solution could be worked out.

She rued that often the male respondents were not available at their addresses because of the change in address, email id and other points of contact. The department wanted that a look-out circular be issued for men. 

In a case in 2013, the Delhi High Court had come to the rescue of a woman who was allegedly deserted by her husband who had filed for a dicorce in the US. Justice Mukta Gupta restrained the husband from doing so because the duo had tied the knot in India and teh woman did not have a valid visa to travel to the US and contest the divorce plea. 

The woman's counsel said that the man married the woman in India and took her to the US immediately after marriage. The man and his parents immediately started abusing the woman and demanded for dowry. They sent the woman back to India for a vacation with a return ticket to US. Meanwhile, the husband obtained a green card in the US and did not apply for his wife's green card. Eventually, her spouse visa got expired and she was left stranded in India. 

• telangana
• nri
• divorce