’75 pc complaints received by NCW’s NRI Cell yet to be resolved’

According to a Parliamentary Committee report, a total of 2,056 complaints were received from women by NCW's NRI Cell from 2019 to 2022 and out of them, closure for 1554 complaints are pending

New Delhi: Nearly 75 per cent of complaints received by the NRI Cell of National Commission for Women (NCW) from 2019 to 2022 are yet to be resolved, according to a parliamentary panel report.

The Parliamentary Committee on Empowerment of Women’s report on ‘Working of NCW and state commissions for women’ was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

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According to the report, a total of 2,056 complaints were received from women by NCW’s NRI Cell from 2019 to 2022 and out of them, closure for 1554 complaints are pending.

The parliamentary committee recommended that the NCW should find ways and means for expeditiously resolving the cases and provide relief to the women, who have been harassed, duped and deserted by NRI husbands, in coordination with local police, Indian missions abroad, Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs.

A database on such harassment/duping cases be prepared and disseminated through print/electronic media for the awareness of the public, the committee said in its report.

While elaborating on the various difficulties faced by it in dealing with NRI cases, the NCW told the committee that the Indian government has entered into Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLAT) /Agreements in criminal matters with 43 countries.

The commission summed up the various challenges faced due to limited scope of extant guidelines under the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF).

The NCW said legal/financial assistance offered is inadequate as the cases have long timeline and therefore the maximum limit of $4000 is reached at the very initial processing, leaving the complainant unable to pursue the case to its logical conclusion, where neither she is able to withdraw, nor persuade the case, but liable to make huge payments.

It further said that financial support to the distressed Indian women to be able to live abroad, visa issues, accommodation issues etc. is not covered by the extant guidelines.

“According to a Mission’s empanelled lawyers, most of the cases are for divorce petition and immigration help which are time consuming, involving high expenditure on living and legal fees. No sufficient funding due to which the Mission cannot fully support such women in most of the cases to provide dedicated lawyers,” the parliamentary panel was told.

The NCW further raised that no legal aid available in Immigration related cases which makes most of the cases ineligible for legal aid as these women are on spousal visa and upon cancellation of the visa by the spouse, the woman has a few options left including returning to India in which case, the husband goes scot free.

When the Committee enquired whether NCW has brought the issue of limited scope of the extant guidelines for legal/financial assistance under ICWF, the women’s body said that it has raised the issue in its agenda before the Integrated Nodal Agency and other Inter-Ministerial meetings from time to time.

The Committee was also informed that the NCW had launched a WhatsApp number 7217735372 for reporting domestic violence cases during the lockdown.

The parliamentary committee recommended that the NCW revisit the existing helpline numbers and seriously consider to make them more simple and easy to remember to enable the users make full use of the same.

The Committee also recommended that both the Ministry of Women & Child Development and NCW should look into the procedures being adopted for resolving complaints lodged with the latter and should take appropriate measures to resolve complaints within a definite period of time.