New Delhi, June 13: In order to create a stronger deterrent for NRIs who have abandon their wives in India, the Ministry of External Affairs will now display the summons to such men on their official website, an official said on Wednesday.

The decision was taken among other legal solutions for redressing the issues faced by women in NRI marriages at a meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM), under the chairmanship of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, and attended by officials from the External Affairs, Law and Justice and Women and Child Development Ministry. 

"We (Women and Child Development Ministry) are grateful to Rajnath Singh, (External Affairs Minister) Sushma Swaraj and (Law and Justice Minister) Ravi Shankar Prasad for enumerating fine details on ways to resolve the issue of NRI marriages," said the Women and Child Development Ministry in a tweet.

"We are working towards putting in place an efficient mechanism that will provide immediate relief to women in troubled NRI marriages," it added.

However, according to sources, the Law Ministry previously did not approve of displaying the summons of NRI marriages on the MEA website and also clashed with the Women and Child Development Ministry over impounding passports and confiscation of the property of those NRI husbands who have been found guilty of deserting their wives and failed to appear in the court.

Last month, the External Affairs Ministry has revoked passports of five NRIs against whom Look-out-Circulars (LoC) were issued by Integrated Nodal Agency (INA) - an inter-ministerial body headed by Women and Child Development Secretary Rakesh Srivastava, formed to deal with matrimonial disputes.

The Women and Child Development Ministry had earlier said that it has received 40 cases related to matrimonial disputes relating to NRIs, of which six were found to be serious and LoC issued.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi also pitched for issuing orders for registering NRI marriages with 48 hours else the visa or passport of the husbands will not be issued.

According to the ministry, in criminal matters involving NRIs, the LoC can be issued by the investigating agency in cognisable offences when the overseas husband is deliberately evading arrest or not appearing in the trial court despite non-bailable warrants and other coercive measures, or there is a likelihood that he will leave the country to evade trial or arrest.

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Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) on Thursday cancelled the registration of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's former principal Sandip Ghosh, an official said.

Ghosh, who is in CBI custody, has been removed from the list of registered medical practitioners maintained by the WBMC, he said.

His licence was cancelled under various provisions of the Bengal Medical Act of 1914, the official said.

He is an orthopaedic surgeon and without the licence, he cannot practice.

Ghosh was arrested by the CBI on September 2 for his alleged involvement in the financial irregularities at the hospital amid the protests over the rape and murder of the on-duty trainee doctor. He was later accused of evidence tampering in the rape-murder case.

Aniket Mahato, one of the leading faces of the junior doctors who have been agitating over the death of their colleague, described it as a "victory".

"This is a victory for our deceased sister. The cancellation of Ghosh's medical registration should have been done the very next day of his arrest. We are happy that the West Bengal Medical Council has finally taken this step," he said.

The West Bengal Doctors' Forum (WBDF), however, described the decision to cancel Ghosh's medical licence as an "eyewash" and an "attempt to save him".

"Registration of Sandip Ghosh has been cancelled as per rules 25 a (2) of the Bengal Medical Act 1914. As per these rules, two-thirds of the council members must vote in favour of the decision to cancel the registration of any medical practitioner. In the case of Ghosh, no such meeting was conducted. Also, at present, a quorum is not possible due to the resignation of a few members and the death of one member. So this order is legally not tenable and just an eye wash," Dr Rajiv Pandey of the WBDF told PTI.

Claiming that the registrar of the council cancelled the licence on verbal communication of WBMC president Sudipta Roy, Pandey said it "was not acceptable".

Ghosh was appointed the principal of the RG Kar Medical College in February 2021. Amid the protests, he resigned from the post.

The notice regarding the cancellation of Ghosh's registration was sent to his Beliaghata and New Town residences.