Foreigners married to Indians can’t experience OCI standing after divorce, Centre tells HC

Foreigners registered as OCI cardholders as a result of their marriage to Indian nationals can’t proceed to experience that standing after their divorce, the Centre has instructed the Delhi Prime Courtroom.

The submission has been made by way of the Ministry of House Affairs (MHA) whilst protecting the verdict of the Indian Embassy in Brussels, Belgium asking a Belgian girl to give up her OCI card after the dissolution of her marriage with an Indian nationwide.

The lady has challenged within the prime courtroom a provision of the Citizenship Act – segment 7D(f) – beneath which a international partner of an Indian nationwide would lose Out of the country Electorate of India (OCI) standing on divorce.

Protecting the availability, the MHA in a sworn statement has mentioned that the segment beneath problem makes a transparent classification in line with the intelligible differentia because it applies to foreigners who have been registered as OCI cardholders at the power in their partner being a citizen of India or an OCI cardholder, and whose marriage has been due to this fact dissolved.

“The supply has the thing of cancellation of registration as an OCI cardholder of such foreigners as they’re not more eligible beneath the Citizenship Act, 1955,” the MHA has mentioned in its affidavit filed thru central executive status suggest Ajay Digpaul.

The ministry has mentioned that the lady used to be issued a Individual of Indian Foundation (PIO) card by way of the Embassy of India, Brussels, Belgium on August 21, 2006 at the foundation of her marriage with an Indian nationwide.

She had legally divorced her husband in October 2011, and due to this fact the PIO card issued to her at the power of the wedding must were cancelled, nevertheless it used to be no longer accomplished at the moment, the ministry has mentioned.

It has additional mentioned that an OCI card used to be inadvertently issued to her in 2017 even if she used to be no longer married to an Indian citizen or an OCI card holder at the moment.

The ministry has additionally claimed that the lady’s OCI standing has no longer been cancelled but and she or he used to be handiest asked to give up the cardboard.

It has mentioned {that a} cheap alternative might be given to her to give an explanation for her stand sooner than taking any motion to cancel her registration as OCI cardholder.

The ministry has mentioned that foreigners just like the petitioners would possibly observe for a visa beneath the existing regulations and laws to legally keep in India.

The lady has contended that asking her to give up her OCI card has no foundation in regulation and “additionally violates the dual doctrines of legit expectation and promissory estoppel for the easy reason why that she used to be already divorced when she won her OCI card on February 15, 2017.

She has mentioned in her petition that she won the OCI card when the Indian executive merged the Individual of Indian Foundation (POI) and OCI schemes.

“Therefore, the involved provisions of the Citizenship Act by means of which a international nationwide married to an Indian citizen loses her proper to carry an OCI card in case of divorce don’t have any software to her in anyway,” she has claimed in her plea.

She had won her POI card in 2006 and it used to be legitimate until August 2021, the petition has mentioned and added that she had divorced her husband in 2011 which used to be communicated to the Indian embassy in Belgium in 2016.

She has additionally mentioned that she has a daughter, who holds an OCI card, along with her ex-husband and because right through the existing pandemic vacationer go back and forth to India isn’t imaginable, their handiest hope of coming right here to fulfill family used to be the OCI card.

“There may be the very actual probability that if the daughter of the petitioner travels to India and is stranded as a result of some unexpected go back and forth restrictions that could be imposed, the petitioner would possibly finally end up getting separated from her on a medium-term foundation,” the petition has mentioned.