Pravasi Legal Cell

The Judicial Magistrate Court, Gurgaon has issued summon notice to M/s Job Mantra Recruiters in Delhi on a case filed by Mr.  Boby Thomas on the matter of cheating.  Mr. Thomas, a nurse working in Delhi, had registered with the recruitment agency, seeking job opportunities in Singapore, after verifying various recruitment schemes of the agency, and made an initial payment of rupees twenty thousand. On realizing that no progress has been made in the matter for long and after getting repeated excuses, Mr. Thomas applied for a refund of the registration fee. After repeated visits and follow-ups with the agency, a cheque was issued for the amount. But on presenting to the bank for encashment, the cheque got dishonoured. Since the agency did not respond to a legal notice sent in this regard, Mr. Thomas was forced to file a criminal case. The court has now issued summons notice to the agency and the case is listed for hearing on 4th January. Cheating and harassmen...

Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Government of NCT of Delhi has granted relief to a Keralite retired government employee in a case of deficiency of service against the New Kerala Roadways, a home packing service provider. The complainant who is a retired central government employee had paid the service providers to transfer his household items from Delhi to Palakkad in Kerala. On delivery, it was found that a packet containing costly items was missing and many of the items, including a 21 inch TV which was broken in the middle, were damaged beyond repair. The consumer, though had made additional payments for insurance, did not receive any compensation from the service provider in this regard. The complainant then approached the Consumer Forum through Pravasi Legal Cell and the Forum held the packers and movers company guilty of deficiency in services and ordered it to make a compensation payment of Rs. 50,000/- to the complainant for the material damage and the mental...

The Delhi High Court has asked the Centre to assist two women who lost their family members in separate accidents in Saudi Arabia, in ascertaining and obtaining appropriate monetary relief in that country. The order came on two petitions filed by Stily George, who lost her husband George Antony in a tyre blast incident in 2014, and Dharohara Devi, whose son Dhirendra Kumar Singh died in another accident in Saudi Arabia. The petitioners have not received any compensation for the demise of their relatives, the pleas filed through advocate Jose Abraham said. "However, as far as their quest for assistance to obtain compensation/employment benefits of their deceased relatives is concerned, this Court is of the view that the respondent (government) should extend all possible assistance through diplomatic channels or otherwise to ascertain as to whether they are entitled to any relief and, if so, further assist them to secure the same," observed the Delhi HC. This would im...

Pravasi Legal cell has invited applications for the K.Padmanabhan Memorial National Award for the RTI activists. The award is instituted in the memory of K.Padmanabhan, an RTI activist and the first Vice President of Pravasi Legal Cell. The award is constituted to encourage and appreciate emerging RTI activists of the country. The award will be given to activists who have been working to make social changes using the Right to Information Act. The application will be scrutinized by an expert committee and the award will be given away in the month of October 2017. Further details and the application form can be downloaded from the Pravasi legal cell website www.pravasilegalcell.org/ . The last date for receiving the applications is 30th September 2017.

The Tamil Nadu Chapter of Pravasi Legal Cell was inaugurated on 27th August 2017. The inauguration of the chapter was done by Adv. Jose Abraham, the President of Pravasi Legal Cell.  This chapter will be headed by Adv. Martin Kennedy and will coordinate the functioning of Pravasi Legal Cell in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Pravasi Legal Cell filed a PIL in the High Court of Delhi challenging Air India’s decision to enforce a rule that mandates 48-hour prior notice to the airport health officer about the arrival of dead bodies or ashes.  The 63-year-old rule, when implemented can cause much trouble to the families of the dead. It was further claimed that if this rule subsists then it would be a denial of rights to both the deceased and his family as it is unnecessarily delaying the repatriation of the dead body by another 48 hours. This issue was taken up by the Pravasi Legal Cell as the existing rule of the aircraft creates hardships to the NRI’s and to their families in India as the right to proper and dignified burial is vitiated since the burial gets delayed. The Division Bench of Hon’ble acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Hon’ble Mr. Justice C. Hari Shankar of The High Court of Delhi heard the matter and vide order dated 31 st July 2017 issued notice to the Ministries of Healt...

The office bearers of Pravasi legal cell met Ms. Swati Maliwal, Chairperson, Delhi Commission for Women, Government of Delhi and submitted a representation covering issues regarding marriages of Indians overseas. Pravasi Legal Cell has been receiving requests for help from persons affected with issues rising from marriages overseas. As the government sought views and suggestions from the public, the public on problems related to marriages abroad, Pravasi Legal Cell in it meeting held on 16th July decided to make a representation to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India and the Delhi Government's Department of Women & Child Development. On 27th July 2017, the President and Vice-President along with a Member of Pravasi Legal Cell met Ms. Maliwal and submitted a representation. It was well received and the Society was asked to make a detailed presentation on the same at a later stage.

The Pravasi Legal Cell had filed a writ petitions before the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi on behalf of Noushaba Bano whose husband died in Saudi Arabia in March 2015. Naushaba Bano had received information from co-workers of her husband that he was brutally murdered by his sponsor in Saudi Arabia on requesting vacation for visiting home in India. The sponsor allegedly video graphed the murder and showed it to other workers threatening them with same fate on wanting to go back to India. Medical records from Saudi Arabia showed hanging as the cause of death. That despite completion of more than nine months from the date of death, the mortal remains of the deceased had not been repatriated, the widow approached Delhi High Court and the Court directed Union of India to bring back the mortal remains within a month. Even after waiting for 3 months from the date of the said order, the dead body was not brought back, and then she filed a contempt petition before the Delhi High Court,...