A Perth woman has filed a police report in India against her husband, accusing him of defrauding her of thousands of dollars and marrying another woman in India despite already being married. Her husband claims the pair were together only for an immigration outcome and never had a genuine relationship.
50-year-old Juliana Maria Morris says her 30-year-old husband Mukesh Kumar who is now living in India has left her a “pauper” and usurped thousands of dollars by disposing of jointly owned assets.
Mr Kumar had to leave Australia in 2016 after his spouse visa application was refused. Ms Morris, an Indian migrant herself, says Mr Kumar continued the relationship until his second spouse visa application was refused in August last year.
Mr Kumar told the Indian police that his marriage with Ms Morris in 2014 was a contract marriage for permanent residency in Australia. He said his lawyer had advised him to do so. He also told the police that he decided to move on in life after his spouse visa application was refused last year for the second time, and married a woman of her parents’ choice.
He denied the allegations of defrauding Ms Morris.
However, Ms Morris claims she had a genuine relationship with him and continued to fight his immigration case even after he was deported.
“If it wasn’t a genuine relationship, why would I spend $2,000, the only savings I was left with, to fight his visa refusal?
“I spent every cent I had on fighting his visa case. And he has now left me in this condition,” Ms Morris told SBS Punjabi.
Ms Morris and Mr Kumar met in 2013 while working in an Indian restaurant in Perth. Mr Kumar at that time was overstaying his student visa in Australia and only became a lawful bridging visa holder after his marriage to Ms Morris.
Mr Kumar, while he was an unlawful non-citizen, committed several traffic offences and had court convictions recorded against him. His spouse visa was refused on the grounds that he failed the character test.
Though bigamy is a punishable offence under the Indian law and carries a sentence of up to seven years, the Indian police advised Ms Morris that it was a “non-cognizable offence and that she should file a complaint in the court.
Ms Morris says she has hired a lawyer and will file a court complaint in Kaithal District court soon.
