Government response highlights registration and consular assistance, but no new nationwide marriage rule has been enacted
NEW DELHI, July 24, 2026 — The problem of Indian spouses allegedly being abandoned in marriages involving non-resident Indians has again been raised in Parliament, renewing discussion about marriage registration, legal accountability and assistance for affected families.
Rajya Sabha member Rajinder Gupta asked the Ministry of External Affairs about cases involving husbands living abroad who allegedly abandoned their spouses. The question also referred to findings suggesting that a substantial proportion of NRI-linked marriages in Punjab remained unregistered.
In its response dated July 23, the government discussed the importance of registering marriages, which can create an official record and help establish a spouse’s legal status when matrimonial disputes cross international borders.
Marriage registration may assist women when seeking maintenance, serving legal notices, pursuing criminal complaints or establishing the existence of a marriage before Indian and foreign authorities. However, registration alone cannot prevent abandonment or guarantee enforcement in another country.
Importantly, the parliamentary response did not enact a new national law requiring every NRI marriage to be registered under a newly announced system. Any suggestion under consideration should not be presented as an operative legal requirement unless it is formally enacted and notified.
Earlier government data, presented separately in March 2025, showed that Indian missions and posts abroad had received 1,617 complaints over five years from NRI women alleging abandonment by spouses. That figure concerned women abandoned abroad and was not a Punjab-specific count.
Indian missions can offer consular guidance, provide information about local lawyers and welfare organizations, and facilitate communication with authorities. Matrimonial and criminal proceedings, however, remain subject to the laws and courts of the relevant jurisdictions.
