measures

New Delhi, May 4 (UNI) Amid increasing reports of Indian girls being cheated in marriage by overseas Indians, especially in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, the Centre has begun an exercise to revisit the existing bilateral agreements with foreign countries and the penal provisions in the laws here to put in place more safeguards to protect the victims.

As part of the effort, a high-level committee headed by Overseas Indian Affairs Secretary Nirmal Singh was today constituted at an inter-ministerial meeting attended by OIA Minister Vayalar Ravi and Women and Child Welfare Minister Renuka Chowdhury, The Committee, which has been asked to submit its report within two months, would have representatives from the Ministries of External Affairs, Home Affairs, Law and state governments of Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.

Mr Ravi told mediapersons that the committee would go deep into different aspects of fraudulent NRI and Overseas marriages, besides the harassment of servant maids in foreign countries, especially in West Asia and the Gulf.

The increasing number of overseas Indians, most of them are not citizens of India, entering into fraudulent marriages in India and later deserting their wives was reported from countries like the USA, UK, Canada and Australia.

He said there was a proposal to discuss with those foreign countries which had predominant overseas Indian (OI) population to incorporate necessary provisions in the Agreements for Mutual Legal Assistance to the effect that when a divorce order is passed by a court in a contracting state in respect of NRIs/OIs, that order needs to be endorsed by a court in India as well before it becomes effective.

In this context, Mr Ravi pointed out that though the present agreements with foreign countries cover matrimonial crimes, they did not cover the main issue of fraudulent marriages like desertion, abandonment, ex-parte divorce.

"They get an advantage even when judgement given by a foreign court is not enforceable in India because they are considered as divorced in that country and are free to marry while the Indian girl remains married on paper.

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