AHMEDABAD: Upon the Gujarat high court’s query on a Tajik woman’s petition for visa extension, the central government on Tuesday informed the court that the woman’s husband was not ready to give consent for his foreigner wife’s visa extension but has agreed to sign documents to facilitate their daughter’s visa extension.
In January, the high court asked the central government to file its reply on a petition filed by the 35-year-old woman from Tajikistan and her two children after the woman’s Indian husband refused to vouch for them before the immigration authorities.
Appearing for the immigration authority, advocate Kshitij Amin submitted that the authority had called the man and inquired with him.
He gave an undertaking that he would give his consent for visa extension of his 13-year-old daughter, but not for his wife. Their 8-year-old son is an Indian citizen. The man has even undertaken to look after the studies of both the children.
With the husband’s consent not coming forth and her visa expiring on December 16, 2022, the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) had shot a mail to the Tajik woman last month saying that the exit permit for her is ready and that she only has to produce an air ticket to leave the country.
The woman’s advocate submitted that the FRRO has been vested with powers to extend the visa in such cases, and if her visa gets extended, she will find a way out by then. It was also submitted that her application for visa extension was pending before the authority since December 14. To this, the authority conveyed that the application was under consideration.
On hearing this, Justice Biren Vaishnav remarked that the man appears to be harassing the woman. The HC has adjourned the hearing for a week.
The couple in this case got married first in Tajikistan and again in India in 2008 according to Hindu rituals.
The woman has been living in India since then. However, marital disputes began in 2013 and they began living separately in Ahmedabad. There have been police complaints filed on various occasions following their disputes.
source: timesofindia.indiatimes
