Mumbai, December-1, 2009 : Mumbai courts have seen a steady stream of dowry or marital torture cases in which abusive NRI husbands have victimised their gullible Indian sourced wives.
 
One family court lawyer says Indians have a fascination for NRI grooms, who demand huge dowries and when the bride moves abroad she is victimised and often treated like a bonded servant, with little alternative but to run back to India.
 
Many of the abused wives are now returning to ask the Indian courts for help.  They can now file a case against the husband and in-laws since the Supreme Court held that the incident of cruelty should have taken place where the woman resides, normally, her matrimonial home.
 
As a consequence Indian police can take cognisance of these complaints even if the cruelty took place abroad, a ruling that brings it own set of problems such as gathering evidence to make the NRI spouse face criminal action in India.
 
Oftentimes the Courts have used the help of the High Commissions of the UK, US and Australia to execute orders passed by local courts, and in extreme cases, Interpol red corner notices have been issued to bring the abusive NRI to book.
 
In one particularly bad case a woman who moved to join her husband in Edinburgh, Scotland was subjected to neglect, physical and mental cruelty at the hands of her husband and his family.  She was eventually driven out of the house and put on a plane back to India.
 
The Courts have now instructed her lawyers to include the Union Ministry of External Affairs as a party in the case as it has wide powers and can initiate action, including revoking the offending NRI's passport.