Many NRI men ask how to fight cases filed by their wife back in India? Whether they will get arrested on arrival? Whether they will be able to get back to their job abroad or will get restrictions on their travel?
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There are no readymade answers for any of the above. However, following is an inspiring story of a man Anindya Chatterjee who came back from US to fight false 498a and 406 cases, and was able to get the trial done within 6 months. The interview doesn’t mention him to be an NRI but for practical purposes it will be of use to all NRIs since they usually face same issues.
The whole interview above is worth reading. Specific excerpt below about how he fought the 498a and 406 cases:
In Jan 2012, she filed 498A. In March 2012, I immediately returned to India to cooperate with police investigation. Police issued LOC to harass me so that I cannot leave India. Even court put travel restrictions on me. Due to this I lost my job position in USA. Meantime, myself and father had to travel once every week to the police station where in the name of investigation we were simply told to sit and waste time. Entire investigation was a FARCE. Till Feb 2013, I repeatedly pleaded the High Court to allow me to resume my job abroad, but I was denied total 3 times. Eventually in Feb 2013, all my bail conditions were waived off and I was allowed to go abroad. I had to again take the pain of finding a position in US from scratch and eventually in May 2013 I was able to find a US job position and travelled back. In May 2014, I became determined to face the criminal trial and unmask the falsity of the entire case. I again returned back to India to initiate the trial process. The only silver lining in my case was that the trial court appreciated my effort to face trial, and accepted our plea for speedy trial. My trial lasted 6 months, where I had to travel back and forth between US and India 3 times. Eventually on 17.11.14 my parents and I were all acquitted from the charges of IPC 498A/406 honorably. Not only the prosecution was not able to prove a single allegation, the court observed the complaint to be an ‘after thought’.
Note that the court found the complaint to be an ‘after thought’, not false or malafide. That’s just one of the code words which Indian courts use for the maxim “wife can’t be punished for telling outright lies”.
Rajesh says
October 18, 2018 at 1:02 pmHi I need urgent help to get my British passport back as i am British national and my passport was taken as bail condition on the fake and false case of 498a and i lost my work and i am about to lose my home i am stuck in India from last 3 months now. Lower court taken 2 months and refused my passport application now passport application is in sessions court judge is taking time to listen to me. Asked high court lawyers until i get a clear reply from sessions court cant go to high court for a passport.
Also got Stay in police investigation from the high court for quashing application of fake 498a. married for 16 years and lived almost 16 years in uk with wife with 2 kids.
Can someone recommend what is the best way to get my passport back and i can travel to uk to start my work as i will be bankrupt in next 2 months if i cant start my work.
videv says
October 21, 2018 at 9:13 pmDifficult to say how to get passport back quickly. Best course would have been not to surrender it at all as a bail condition.
>>best way to get my passport back and i can travel to uk to start my work as i will be bankrupt in next 2 months
Maybe approach HC to direct sessions court to dispose quickly.
Sam says
February 21, 2018 at 1:10 amI am an NRI staying abroad and facing RCR case from wife who is in India. It’s not simple RCR case but that petition added all the masala to file all those 498A, maintenance case etc.
Now the case has come to a stage where the judge demands that I should be present in person for RCR case, even when lawyer is appointed. i can visit India, but what if they file LOC, cancel passport etc? What options do I have if I dont want to attend in person due to work obligations?
is Section 205 petition an appropriate option for me?
Avinash kumar says
June 2, 2017 at 6:28 amMy cousin is facing a very interesting situation. He is been living in Australia from last 8 years. He went to India to find a nice girl in 2014 & he found one & got engaged & did a court marriage. He applied his PR (in 2016) & added his wife as a secondary dependent & she got PR because of him.
Last year, they got married with Hindu rituals. No dowry was taken by him. His wife lived after the marriage only for 10 days with the parents &there were no issues with in Laws even she misbehaved in many way but my uncle & aunt ignored those because they thought she is only here for short time. She arrived in AUS in Oct & after 2 days she started asking his husband, we should move to Queensland (Cairns) because her relatives are living there. She started annoying him on daily bases he said I will check that option. He said it’s a small town he cannot get a job as an IT person there. She knew this from the starting. Her relative visited them & they said they are thinking of moving to Brisbane why you want to move to cairns. You husband have a good job.
After that incident she started saying I want to move back to India, they did all the counselling with family, friends but she was stubborn. He suggested her I can get an admission in a college to do study but after attending 5 to 6 weeks she stopped going & said I will die but won’t go to college. She demanded on that night I want to go back to India right now (2am) he said we will talk in the morning. He asked her if you are feeling home sick then you can go for 1 month & come back. She said I want to move back to IND permanently.
They mutually agreed that they want to get separated. She signed the home lease papers to take out her name from the house lease. She booked the tickets to visit her relatives in Cairns before she leaves to India. Her relatives paid for that ticket. He dropped her at the Airport. She signed the Stat Declaration (Stamp paper) in front of AUS Police officer stating they are getting separated from today because she doesn’t want to live in AUS. He tried to change her mind but she said it won’t work. After few days she started saying she wants to come back but also started harassing my cousin’s family. She said you will have to work my way or else you will have to come to India for divorce. He started ignoring her calls & messages then she started calling his friends, family & started harassing them.
Now her parents have filled report against my uncle & aunt (in laws) saying they have forced their son to through her out of the house and they are demanding $100,000 because she got PR on the bases of my cousin. They have also mentioned “she didn’t know what she was signing” (which is laughable because she signed in-front of the police), although the reality is AUS police always ask what you are signing you understand and you have written before witnessing. Police have called & threatened my uncle & aunt saying they will cancel his passport if he will not accept her.
Australian police is saying she can do whatever she wants but if she annoying you then get an intervention order (which we have already got) & of course what she has signed for is true, she cannot say she didn’t know or she didn’t sign those papers. She can charged her mind but that doesn’t prove that they are not separated because of her and she wanted divorce from him. Police have already spoke with mu cousin over the phone has has explained what happened but police officer was saying you should compromise and let her in the house but he replied I cannot because she wants divorce every 2nd day so sorry. We have asked the police why we don’t talk about the allegation they have put against us. They have asked the police if we demanded money then why she did not reported to Australian police when she went in for signing the paperwork because this is a Women harassment and she can report that and it’s not that she doesn’t know the law because her 5 relatives are living here and she is an educated girl and understand the women rights in Australia? We also questioned why would you complain in India when she is living in Australia? What we didn’t tell the Indian police is that she was calling a guy near their house 18 times a day he use to study with her in India. We looked at her phone bills. We tried to ask her mother if she know anyone in this little town and she said and they don’t have any relatives either but after 10 days she claimed they have relatives living their. We fear they have well planned this got the PR and now they want money from my cousins family. What can we do in this case?
videv says
June 8, 2017 at 9:09 pmSome of the points are not clear. If you don’t want her back in house then filing divorce may be only option, because otherwise it seems australian police is suggesting that she has right to come back and change her mind etc. That is not illogical either. To prevent her from coming back, possibility of further drama and false allegations you may have to file divorce etc.
If she got the PR because of you, how does it entitle her for compensation for losing it? Is that PR her right as part of marriage? And the 100,000 is her severance pay/pension plan?
Now the interesting part is if she wants to stay in australia then she probably can’t come back to India to file the cases which will take few years to run if you decide to fight. If that’s their true situation then you can call their bluff and ask them to file whatever they can in India. Most probably they won’t but keep doing drama to australian police, and to tackle that you may need a legal document to suggest that you are formally separated or going for divorce in future.
Akash says
September 25, 2016 at 1:52 amDear Sir,
Please give some guidance regarding the following situation.
I have a Muslim friend who is divorced since 5 years, the situation is:-
1. My friend’s lawyer has disclosed the court (may be on false intention) that his family income is rs.20000/- which is false, he is just the owner of a paan shop. (how can a paan shop owner earn rs. 20000/- when his shop runs for a max of 5-6 hours. logically! )
2. On that basis, the court ordered him to pay Rs. 6000/- pm to his wife as maintenance, which he is paying.
3. His in-law family repeatedly blackmailing him and his family of filing false cases and collecting huge sums as additional, however that is without the court’s knowledge.
Now sir, he has left his lawyer but unable to get out of the situation. I have heard that interim maintenance is given to women only when they are in-capable of earning, but let me tell u sir, that the girl’s family owns a beauty parlour + the girl has also purcased a scooty with his money. She is clearly enjoying the maintenance money for her lavish life, not for survival. Moreover I believe tat maintenance should be paid to wife from a husband’s own income, not from the income of the other members.
Sir, please help with the situation by giving ideas. Now he is lawyer-less and almost out of money. He cannot trust any one as his former lawyer seems either a novice or a acquittance of his opponent. On this portal, I am writing on his behalf, as he is very lowly educated. I am ready to provide further information u require to counsell us. We live in remote assam, so no MRAs here.
What the greatest fact that surprised me, that He is a MUSLIM, both of them. Then according to me, their case should be treated according to sharyat law, not as per Hindu marriage Act. But the court is not following the rules. What should he do now?
PS. Apologies for my poor english, but still awaiting ur reply.
videv says
September 25, 2016 at 2:45 pm>>We live in remote assam, so no MRAs here.
Common sense will work too. Submit proofs to court of her beauty parlour or whatever sources of income, and stop depending blindly on lawyer. Maintenance can always be changed based on changed circumstances.
>>their case should be treated according to sharyat law, not as per Hindu marriage Act.
CrPC 125 and DV Act apply to all Indians irrespective of personal law.
Rahim says
May 25, 2018 at 4:28 pmDear sir,
I have to ask one question.
Myself and my brother r working in Dubai, my brother wife file false 498a, asking my brother to be separated from our family. My name is a accuse no.3. when police call my father and gave notice and requesting to call son back to India, because he is husband.
My brother got worried and didn’t went back to India. Police told till accuse No.1 my brother will not back to India they can not process chart sheet.
My question is that my vacation is next month, if I went back to India , can Police will take my passport and not allow me to go back to Dubai.
Please advise, i want to spend some time with my wife & children’s . I really miss them.
videv says
May 25, 2018 at 9:58 pmMain thing to check is if CrPC 41 notice sent by police, and if yes how much delay since then because A1 (your brother) has not responded. Same logic should apply to A3 i.e. you.
It’s not that straightforward to keep someone in India, or impound passport etc, but given the general lack of knowledge of law and esp about everyone’s fundamental right to liberty and pursue one’s work/profession (subject to cooperation with investigation); and bad advice by lawyer-boys, many people get scared by police or actions taken by OP, e.g. their request to court to not allow accused to travel etc. Since you are A3, it should not be that serious. But if you also didn’t reply to CrPC 41 notice, then it could create problems, because police can legally tell court that you may abscond.
Sree says
July 9, 2016 at 2:18 amHi,
I would like to know how to handle the situation below
She is leaving the house in the middle of the night outside on to the road in USA and i told her parents it is dangerous to go out at that time and there was very little response from her parents and after that she started aggravating more doing such things like that and keeping me in dilemma always and i took her to India where her parents argued i abused her and hence she went which is abrupt lie.
Now her uncle is a lawyer where he is trying to threaten when asked to show her to
a psychiatrist which was advised by a private counselor in India.Instead of telling her on her wrong doings they are trying to cover up and putting blame on me and i strongly believe she will never know if no one tells her mistakes.
I came to know recently she never had any friends or near ones except her mom and dad talking to her.
Please advise
Thanks,
SR
videv says
July 9, 2016 at 8:35 am>>Now her uncle is a lawyer
It doesn’t matter whether her uncle or anyone else is a lawyer or even SC judge… such cases happen even otherwise.
>>I came to know recently she never had any friends or near ones except her mom and dad talking to her.
This sounds more like plot of a horror movie 🙂
Join the groups, see top right green button.
A sufferer says
May 8, 2019 at 3:10 amSir, This is more common than you might like to believe. I’m in the same situation here in US and after hinting about my situation to some of my friends, 3 more of them (husbands) came through and shared their plight. We are all stuck and scared (exact scenarios)
videv says
May 8, 2019 at 11:31 am2 lakh such cases are filed every year, and that the common patterns are explained on this site, so fundamentally there is nothing new under the sun, even though each person may have some unique incidents to report.
That anyone is stuck or scared will only get one sympathy (from the few other stuck and scared folks), but our group and methods are about fighting back, and the advise is shared in closed facebook/whatsapp groups.
Ram Sankar says
July 8, 2016 at 5:13 pmHi Videv,
I’m the petitioner of the divorce case and currently it has been solved in the process of mediation and am yet to get the divorce decree.It might take a while to get the same. I do not have any criminal/DV/maintanence case against me.
When I recently renewed my passport,I was truthful about my marital status and had put it as “Separated” and faced a lot of legal hassles to get it renewed(They denied twice because I had a case, didn’t bother to check if its civil/criminal and finally got it 3rd time). I am just worried that spilling out my marital status in my passport renewal application, can the immigration officers seated at the airport prevent me from flying abroad sighting for the reason that I have not got the divorce decree yet..?
After a long struggle, I have received an onsite opportunity.
Request your expert inputs.
Thank you,
Ram Sankar
videv says
July 9, 2016 at 8:33 amfriend, from your expressed fears it doesn’t seem you have much confidence wife wants MCD, it’s more like you are hoping that she agrees. And it’s anyone guess how many lakhs you are throwing to ‘solve’ this problem. As far as MRAs are concerned, people like you add to the problem, because they can’t or won’t fight injustice for various reasons, BUT at the same time expect fighters like me to help them make their life smooth and trouble-free!
>>can the immigration officers seated at the airport prevent me from flying abroad sighting for the reason that I have not got the divorce decree yet..?
since you already got the passport renewed on separated status, what business does immigration have to confirm whether you got divorced or not? Are they running a marriage breakup bureau there?
when you are fearful about a situation as to what may happen, it’s easy to get confused from what multiple people say. I doubt my reply will be able to clear the confusion. So just do what you have to do and stop fearing.
Sam says
June 14, 2016 at 2:59 amI am working in NZ on job search visa.
I had an extra marital affair and did a got married in temple by just exchanching garlands.
My first wife has now have come to know and filed a compliant in india against me of cheating her and wants me to come to india. But only my father is veen approached by the police/women cell as I am not available.
I dont want to go back and have been asking her to come to NZ and settle down here. My questions are as below:
What are the actions she can take?
Can she make me deported from NZ?
Is there any way to make an appeal or anticipitory bail?
What are the consequences and solutions for the matter?
Is my second wife would also be liable for anything since she was aware of that i am married.
PS: she has the photo of me and my second wife getting married in temple.given by her.
I want to give her (first wife)divorce.
Please help
Thanks
AJ
videv says
June 14, 2016 at 9:29 amwe are not here to advice on how to get out of legal issues because of breaking law. It was your decision to do second ‘marriage’, so might as well spend money on lawyers now.
>>I want to give her (first wife)divorce.
actually, it’s she who is entitled to divorce, based on your adultery with second ‘wife’
Anindya says
February 8, 2016 at 2:44 amThanks for sharing my story…..here’s an article you may wish to share with your blog followers….and let them know about the grp I moderate…Justice2NRI.org
http://m.indiatoday.in/story/long-road-home-for-nris-facing-498a-advised-not-to-enter-india-to-prevent-arrest/1/589699.html
krishnamurthy says
February 2, 2016 at 6:04 pmI am booked in a false 498A case which was filed after 2 months of my RCR petition wen i was return to india from australia. For granting bail court asked me to sumbit the passport. So i did with in one week. The dowry case is at the stage of evidence of complainant and other witnesses before JMFC court. My RCR petition are pending before family court. Now iam in very crucial situation if m not going bak to work in Australia i will loose my job and also i ll get black mark on my PR visa. I requested in lower court for relaxation of bail condition and release my passport but the court rejected bcose of the investigation is still going on and chargesheet not yet filed. My complete family is depend on my income and my parents also suffering from diabeties. Bcose of my foolishness i came here and stuck on these false dowry case. So pls help me out on this case, i dont wont to compromise wit her but i have to go bak to work (Australia ) and fight. � Kindly advise me what shall i do to get my passport back and go abroad without any conditions. Will i get my passport back? If my inlaws will oppose , judge will consider? filing charge sheet is must before getting passport released ? Plz advice me its my life matter. Please answer these questions
videv says
February 3, 2016 at 10:11 amKeeping RCR open after wife filed 498A is also not very wise…
>>i do to get my passport back and go abroad without any conditions. Will i get my passport back? If my inlaws will oppose , judge will consider?
Nobody knows. You have to argue right to work and livelihood, and maybe if your lawyer is any good, it’s life and liberty too under the constitution. Whether our judges will appreciate those noble principles or not is another question though. In that case, request through HC to finish trial within 6 months or time limited manner. Courts can’t hold a person from working because they can’t finish the trials!
Mohan says
December 28, 2015 at 12:09 amI am working in a MNC bank in Bangalore.My wife have filed 498 a and 406 after 2 years of separation. I saw the copy of FIR and all false allegation was filed.
However when police presented me and my mother in front of court.We were sent to
judicial custody.However got the bail from district court after 50 hours of stay.
Wanted to know whether this will impact when i will go for a job change.
Do i need to mentions these details even if the case is solved.
I was initially living in Jodhpur city on rent.And my mother is retired Govt servant and living in different city(hometown). However my land lord is tellng whole lie that i used to drink and beat my wife. Which i never did.However
i went to my hometown along with my wife and we were together for 1 year there.
Then she left.And its been more than 2 years now.Police also went to my hometown
and there every neighbor told that they have not seen anything.And every thing was
fine.
I just want to know what preparation should i do. Since all my elders say that nothing happens in these types of cases and worst has already happened.
Now she has also filed case for maintenance on me.
How can avoid that.Is settlement is the resolution or should i fight it out.
some people say that even if you do the settlement, 498 a doesn’t ends.
i have not told in my company that i was under judicial custody for 50 hours.
will it impact my present or future job change.
videv says
December 28, 2015 at 9:05 amIt may or may not impact during job change, if 498A could make people lose jobs, IT attrition rates may be higher by few percentage points automatically.
Better join our groups than speculating. I wouldn’t place blind trust in all of elders’ advice though, most of the time they think based on experience of the past than how things are evolving today. Also, they are the ones who always suggest simplistic things to bring wife back, or have a kid etc; all the things which only lead to bigger problems in future because the root cause has not been addressed.
Rahul Choudhary says
December 1, 2015 at 4:04 amHi
I live abroad. Me and wife married in February this year. After lot of adjustments problems me and my wife separated in october. She.She was working here for three months and the salary was coming into our joint bank account but in separate account called salary and we did not spend a single penny from the account. When we separated we both signed and closed her account only.All the money was in that account was taken by her I did not object and was happy her to take all the money. Now since both of us signed that document and I counted the money but gave it to her I don’t have any proof that she has all that money.
I cancelled her sponsorship and later booked her a ticket as she wanted me to book a ticket to India. Now she has some stuff and educational documents here which she wants by courier. Now I am in dilemma how to make sure that after receiving the goods and documents she wont file any case that we kept her stuff?
In the emails she gives me the description of her bags and she says bags has the clothes, shoes and home decoration stuff that’s it. I have also acknowledge the no of bags and documents. She also wants me to come to India as soon as possible for divorce.
I do want to send her stuff but in a way where she accepts that she has received all her stuff and nothing left here.
Rahul
videv says
December 1, 2015 at 8:31 amSend by courier or something… if she denies she received, then anyway you have bigger cases waiting for you, this one will be a small allegation.
People can join our groups, no further replies will be given to comments.
VJ says
October 29, 2015 at 3:17 pmHi, I am facing 498a, DV etc. My parents back in India facing trial and got bail. However I live in NZ and I never put myself forward for case. Now my passport has been expired, unluckily my wife’s family has some political link and they managed to push (MEA minister is from her city) High commission to find out about me. Now High commission is calling me on my cell phone and asking me to return to India and face the case. I believe why should I ruined my career and loose my visa for nothing. Also High commission is not ready to renew my passport due to my case. I have a expired passport, however my I am a Permanent resident here so they can’t deport me but I still need my passport. Now High commission asking me to meet them and put my side. when I said I can send them my side of story they said it would be better if you come and talk in person. I am not sure what they upto.
My questions are –
Should I go back to fight my case?
Should I at least apply for bail while living in NZ?
or shouldn’t worry about anything and just stay here and do nothing.
Does High Commission has any power to arrest me?
Can I use h’ble Suprem courts’s online portal for my case?
Any other suggestion would be really helpful.
Many thanks in Advance. VJ
videv says
October 29, 2015 at 7:50 pmJust go to high commission and say what you have to. By running away, you are only raising suspicions everywhere.
Biplab Kumar Saha says
March 23, 2016 at 2:22 pmCan u contact me. I am in auckland. My number is 0064212391241
Siddarth says
August 30, 2015 at 12:39 amHi,
My wife is a MCA graduate(I’ve no document proof for the same), her parents may have some agricultural land and residence at her native place & she is not working, me an B.Tech graduate, no kids, married 3 years back, after the marriage we spent 6 months together & i was fed up with the cruel/psycho behavior, she always used to threaten me with 498a,dv..etc cases. And it had became a daily slogan for her. I’m not elaborating whole story here becaz my question is specific.
After 6 months of marriage i managed to escape from her and working here in UAE for last 2 years(never contacted her after that), Now she has registered 498a, dv, maintenance..etc on 7 members of my family including me.
SO now my strategy is, instead of panicking about the 498a, lets 1st tackle the maintenance case, What court can ask(UAE bank statement/salary certificate from my UAE company?). or i can just claim that i am drawing x amount of money with out any document proof ? If i disclose my real salary i am sure the court will give 1/3 to 1/5 of my salary, so i want to reduce this maintenance amount as low as possible.
So please give some ideas to tackle this in court.
Thanks in advance.
videv says
August 30, 2015 at 1:49 pmNo one can be sure of anything about amount of maintenance, and there is no formula, but without fighting higher maintenance is routine; and esp for NRIs.
Court may or may not ask for salary documents from foreign employer, but the middle-east NRI label itself can do some damage.
>>So please give some ideas to tackle this in court.
You can read the site or maintenance book. Many people have been slapped with high maintenance, because they keep searching for tips and ideas, but not taking a basic stand against false allegations, producing all evidence about wife etc. Many can’t manage own lawyer, and without doing that all great ideas are practically useless.
Sks_Nair says
July 17, 2015 at 1:34 pmJust for the general info, i am from kerala and working in bangalore and i have been facing the 498a case since Aug 2010. Till date case was posted in the court in kerala for more than 20 times. The wife did not appear in most of the postings. To be precise she appeared only on 3 occasions, during which she avoided cross examination by claimming to be sick. I have clear evidences in favour of me, but since the prime witness is absent the case is getting dragged. It will complete 5 yrs within two months. I am planning to approach the highcourt for quashing the case, or the worst case a speedy trial. I am collecting all types of past judgments to support my application, this appears to be a very appropriate one. But i would need more details, such as the case/judgement number, which court etc.
It would be a great help if this info could be provided. thanks.
Sks_Nair says
July 17, 2015 at 1:23 pmGreat information. But not useful unless we get the complete judgement copy. Or the case number and other details. Would appreciate if these details could be provided. Thanks.
George says
March 11, 2015 at 1:43 amvidev , I was on H1 and in similar situation and lost my job and visa . I would really appreciate it if you could share your email so I can ask you a few questions .
Thanks
videv says
March 11, 2015 at 10:50 amOur Facebook closed group (content not visible to others even if FB friends) is online with more than 130 members now, with few NRI too, so you can join there:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MenRightsIndia
I anyway don’t have time to handle individual calls/emails. But I give my comments on all posted queries in above group.
Anand Chatterjee says
January 20, 2015 at 2:58 pmSuperb… Can you share more details..it would be helpful
videv says
January 21, 2015 at 10:33 amIf you want details like an exact flow chart with steps on how did he hire a lawyer, what to file when, template of the petitions/revisions etc, exact content of his applications etc; then sorry we don’t have those kind of details available. I just shared something I found inspiring. It’s up to individuals to connect with others, create basic trust, and find out the details.