As per Government of India statistics, an estimate of over 3.4 Million non-resident Indians have registered as Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) to acquire lifelong visafree entry to India. Their actual numbers may be more than 30 million. These global Indians have inhabited, settled and thrived in almost 200 countries across the globe. Undoubtedly, these international Indians are a unique nationality by themselves. They propel a dire need for a global law to govern their conflicts. The link and retention of their ties with their extended families in India and abroad has found expression in issues relating to nationality, citizenship, marriage, divorce, spousal maintenance, alimony, inter-parental child removal, custody and guardianship of children. Besides this, it is in the division of matrimonial property, inter-country adoptions, succession and inheritance of Indian property and last but not the least in surrogacy arrangements, the link prevails. Domestic violence in abusive marriages of international couples has created a new jurisprudence. Foreign Courts and overseas law practitioners are at sea attempting to resolve these problems for lack of any updated or amended Indian laws or reasoned interpretation of law on these subjects. Conflict of laws galore. Parallel and simultaneous adjudications in different jurisdictions create anomalous situations which compound legal dilemmas relating to human relationships.
Applicability of foreign laws, validity of judgments pronounced overseas and verdicts of Indian Courts which need exposition are consequential issues requiring interpretation and expert opinion. Indian Courts perform a herculean task in carving individual solutions in complex litigations under outdated Indian legislations.
This commentary on private international law in the exclusive Indian context attempts to provide comprehensive answers to the problems of the Indian diaspora and the global transnational Indian which may not find a solution in conventional statutory laws. The publication aims to be a comprehensive commentary for Courts abroad, an aggrieved spouse, a foreign litigant, an overseas practitioner, or any lay person who simply wants to know where they stand. A compilation of case law, enunciated by the vibrant Indian judiciary rendering a yeoman service, has been quoted for reliance. Unique case references fill in the statutory void in this ocean of ails.
The spectrum of reading is widespread. It ranges from nationality&citizenship issues to family and marital settlements, surrogacy agreements, child custody conflicts, secular adoptions, limping marriages, succession issues, conflict of jurisdictions besides the need for revamping family law for non-resident Indians. Law of spousal maintenance in India from a global perspective has been delved into. Child laws and global adoptions in the international jurisdiction as fast emerging jurisprudence in Indian law, has been examined at length from different perspectives. Issues relating to dual nationality, passports and citizenship are also looked into. Emerging predicaments and practices arising out of surrogacy with the law in flux have been focused on in the book in detail. A dedicated chapter looks at NRI property problems, wills, succession and their possible solutions.
This unique readerfriendly, concise and crisp presentation in 7 individual Parts as expositions pose the problems and attempt to provide their answers. The authors with their years of expertise have aimed to project these problems as they have experienced them professionally. References to case law wherever necessary have been provided for the professional reader who wants an accurate and expeditious run down on Indian law on the subject of custom, marriage, divorce, spousal maintenance, domestic and inter-country adoptions, child abduction, surrogacy, child rights, matrimonial settlements, successionand inheritance, besides issues of nationality and citizenship.
A reading in totality of the matters in the overseas family law jurisdiction gives an indication that in such affairs, it is the judicial precedents which provide the much available guidance and judicial legislation on the subject. With the large number of non-resident Indians now permanently living in overseas jurisdictions, it has now become important that some composite legislation is enacted to deal with the problems of non-resident Indians to avoid them from importing judgments from foreign Courts to India for implementation of their rights. The answer therefore lies in giving them law applicable to them as Indians rather than letting them invade the Indian system with judgments of foreign jurisdictions which do not find applicability in the Indian system. Hence, it is the Indian legislature which now seriously needs to review this issue and come out with a composite legislation for non-resident Indians in family law matters. Till this is done, foreign Court judgments in domestic matters will keep cropping up and Courts in India will continue with their salutary efforts in interpreting them in harmony with the Indian laws and doing substantial justice to parties in the most fair and equitable way. However, in this process, the Indian judiciary has made one thing very clear i.e. the Indian Courts would not simply mechanically enforce judgments and decrees of foreign Courts in family matters. The Indian Courts have now started looking into the merits of the matters and deciding them on the considerations of Indian law and the best interest of the parties rather than simply implementing the orders without examining them. Fortunately, we can hail the Indian judiciary for these laudable efforts and till such time when the Indian Legislature comes to rescue with appropriate legislation, we seek solace with our unimpeachable and unstinted faith in the Indian Judiciary which is rendering a yeoman service. A law in unison is needed to rein in the wrangles.
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