JUDGMENT :

REKHA PALLI, J.

1. The present writ petition has been filed by an Iranian citizen, who is married to an Indian citizen and is aggrieved by the respondent’s refusal to consider her application for grant of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card.

2. The petitioner’s marriage to one Mr. Paul Fel-El-Dingo D’Silva, an Indian citizen, was solemnised in Dubai, UAE on 13.05.2009, after he had converted to Islam on 30.11.2008. The marriage certificate issued to the couple was translated by an Authorised Translator and certified by the Consulate General of India at Dubai, UAE. However, the petitioner claims that disputes arose between Mr. Paul and her, shortly after they consummated the marriage, which led to her initial return to Iran and her subsequent relocation to Bengaluru at his insistence. It is the petitioner’s case that Mr. Paul claimed to have financial difficulties which motivated her to pursue her Postgraduate degree in Biotechnology in Bengaluru and her Doctorate from Mysore University to contribute to the family income. However, in the meanwhile, the relationship soured between the petitioner and Mr. Paul and he left her in Bengaluru, to reside with his family in Goa.