Govt framing norms to check fraud on matrimony sites

The Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry has started the process of framing guidelines to check fraudulent users on matrimonial websites. This comes after an inter-ministerial meeting in November, which was called to check harassment of women on these portals promising marriage – considered sacred in Indian society.

Millennium Post has been reporting about harassment of women on sites since August this year. 

The meeting held on November 17, 2015, focused on cases of harassment against women on these websites, wherein it was decided that the government would frame strict guidelines to check such incidents. It was also decided that the government would take stringent action against these websites, if they violate any norm.

During this meeting, officials from the WCD ministry, Ministry of Information Technology and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) took up the issue with online matrimony service providers. The guidelines that are being formulated will be notified under the IT Act, the existing rules of which cover cyber cafes only.

Measures to curtail the menace will include setting up a dedicated helpline by matrimony site owners for redressal of complaints and filing periodic returns.

The Ministry has set up an inter-ministerial panel (with representatives from WCD Ministry, Ministry of Information Technology and MHA) to frame the guidelines. 

Quoting a WCD official, Millennium Post had on November 21, 2015, published that the committee, constituted under Vandana Gupta, Joint Secretary in the WCD Ministry, has officials from ministries of WCD, Home and IT and also stakeholders from matrimonial sites. They will focus on cases involving fraudulent users registered on these websites, based on which the guidelines would be framed.

The newspaper has also reported on how there has been a rapid rise in cases of harassment against women on these websites, promising marriage. 

On August 12, 2015, Millennium Post had carried case studies highlighting the issue. WCD Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi had told us: “We have had really bizarre cases being reported to us. In fact in one of them, a woman has written to us from Bhopal, saying that her profile on one of these web portals was hacked and she was described as HIV positive. This incident has tarnished her reputation in Bhopal and she has been constantly asking for redressal. There is another instance, wherein a 40-year-old woman, who is a widow, had created a profile on one of these websites and the only requests she got was from 20-21-year-old boys. These websites are meant for serious marriage proposals and such incidents prove otherwise.”

She had further said: “In another case, a young woman was duped by a former defence personnel, currently working in Pune, who had been sexually exploiting her and also other women after meeting them online through these matrimonial websites. When these women filed a complaint with the police, it turned out that he had already filed a case against them for stalking him.”

 “This is a very serious issue and severe action should be taken against these people (matrimonial websites) because they need to address the concerns of the people who are being harassed through their websites,” the Minister had said.