The Bombay High Court on Monday granted interim protection against deportation to a Russian woman who was denied an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Card despite being married to an Indian and having an infant child with him, as reported by Swati Deshpande. The court requested the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to find a balance between the law and the facts of the case in order to prevent the separation of the family. The 38-year-old Russian woman, along with her Indian husband and infant, filed a petition with the High Court to obtain the OCI card.
The High Court bench argued that the MHA does not have the authority to interfere in personal relationships and cannot order a separation, even temporarily, between a mother and her family. The government, however, refused to provide relief to the Russian woman, stating that there were no “special circumstances” to grant her the OCI card, despite her marriage to an Indian and the presence of an infant child. The MHA counsel, Rui Rodrigues, explained that the rules require a marriage to be at least two years long.
According to the petition, the Russian woman married her current husband in November after divorcing her previous Indian husband three years earlier. She also had a minor son before arriving in India in 2013. The Citizenship Act allows for a waiver of the time period in “special circumstances,” and the High Court had previously directed the MHA to consider her plea.
The rejection order from the MHA stated that the mother must leave the country and be separated from her husband and minor daughter. The High Court expressed outrage at this order, pointing out that the husband and child are Indian citizens. Justice Patel criticized the government for treating its own citizens in such a way and vowed to protect the family from separation. The MHA was given time to respond, and the interim protection against deportation was continued until the matter is finally disposed of on August 21.
