Saturday, April 26, 2008

SHRC orders compensation to police harassment victim

News item from Indian Express :
SHRC orders compensation to police harassment victim

CHENNAI: The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has recommended to the State government to pay Rs 1.50 lakh compensation to a city-based advocate whose parents had committed suicide following alleged police harassment.

SHRC member S Sambandam, who made the recommendation on a complaint from T Vignesh, asked the State Home Secretary to recover the amount from the erring police personnel - J Baskaran, then Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Salem City, K Perumal, then sub-inspector, Shevapet police station, Salem and Mayavathi, then Inspector, All Women Police Station, Sooramangalam, Salem.

The complainant had married one Sangeetha in November 2001 in Salem. But the marriage life was not peaceful and personal problems cropped up. Subsequently, Sangeetha's brothers asked Vignesh to live with his wife separately leaving out his parents.

At one stage, his brothers-in-law asked him to transfer his family property in Sangeetha's name. When he refused to oblige, the brothers-in-law assaulted him and instigated Sangeetha to file a ``false'' dowry harassment case against Vignesh and his parents, the complainant alleged.

Vignesh was forced to move the court with an anticipatory bail petition. Despite a court stay, the police came to his house and abused him in the presence of his neighbours.

In October 2003, things went out of hands and Vignesh's mother and father, a former assistant public prosecutor, unable to bear the mental agony, committed suicide.

They had also left a suicide note saying that Sangeetha's family was responsble for their death, Vignesh said adding that the police did not any proper action and had acted hand in glove with his brother-in-laws.

Vignesh wanted the SHRC to intervene and render justice. The SHRC held that it could only intervene in so far as the alleged violation of human rights by the said police officials was concerned and ordered the compensation. The rest of the allegations should only be dealt with by the trial court, the SHRC said.

``Lodging dowry harassment cases is a very convenient weapon in the hands of some unscrupulous elements. Police and investigating officers are pre-trial judges and they must weigh the evidence of both sides before coming to a conclusion,'' the Commission observed.

``The complainant's father was serving as an assistant public prosecutor where his work was to prosecute the cases of police and defend their actions, but the police went to an extent of harassing him which drove him and his wife to suicide. That being so, we can't imagine what would be the fate of innocent and ordinary public,'' the SHRC said.

Source URL
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IET20040913140811&Page=T&Title=Southern+News+-+Tamil+Nadu&Topic=0

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regards, vinayak

My post above is Subject to
----------------------------
1. My idea of *self help* which is very essential : http://tinyurl.com/pxcfz
2. Standard disclaimers as in http://tinyurl.com/947u9
3. A short preamble : http://tinyurl.com/hatew

Dowry Law Misuse : http://tinyurl.com/tdkx6 , http://tinyurl.com/v5vp8

Blogs :
More die due to exam failure than due to Dowry !!!
Majority of dowry cases are false: SP
No maintenance for wife who can't prove cruelty: HC
Unmarried Female on pill, delivers a baby in toilet
Triple Talaq is a Legally valid form of Divorce - Madras HC
A failed marriage is not a crime however...
torture allegations are approx 6 times dowry DEATH FIRs !
Marriage cannot be dissolved at the drop of a hat: HC: Mubai
.... and some case laws ...
Ramakrishna v. Priya Ganesan - Custody of Minor child
Irretrievable break down of marriage
vast difference between "could have been", "must have been" and "has been".

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False complaint: Woman pays 5 lakh

False complaint: Woman pays 5 lakh
30 Apr 2007, 0256 hrs IST

TNN

AMBALA: A dowry complaint by a woman in collusion with her husband to get back a part of property her husband was disinherited from, cost the woman Rs 5 lakh as penalty to be paid to her in-laws. It is a landmark decision by a court against misuse of the provisions of dowry and torture against a woman.

Yamunanagar judicial magistrate (first class) Madhu Khanna on April 20 directed the complainant to compensate her in-laws who were falsely implicated in the case.The in-laws were made to suffer on account of unfounded, baseless and malicious allegations.

Judge in her orders said that the objective of Section 498-A IPC is to prevent dowry menace, but many instances have come to light where complaints are not bonafide and have been filed with oblique motive.

As per complaint case titled as Kawaljeet Kaur vs Davinder Pal Singh under Section 498-A, 406, 120B IPC under police station in Yamunanager, the complainant Kanwaljeet Kaur was married to Navneet Singh on April 14, 1992. Gurcharan Kaur, mother in-law of complainant disinherited her son Navneet Singh and daughter in-law Kanwaljeet Kaur in the properties through a public notice in newspaper on September 9, 1995 and disputes regarding property were pending between Navneet Singh- husband of the complainant and accused in courts at Saharanpur. No complaint was ever made by complainant prior to issuance of public notice by her in laws. Interestingly, the complaint levelled no allegation against her husband.

The magistrate observed that dispute is with regard to property and that the complaint was a cooked up story by her son and his wife in order to settle property dispute. The judge dismissed the complaint and acquitted the accused and termed this case as a classic example of misuse of beneficial provision of Section 498-A and directed the complainant for compensating the members of her in-laws family for malicious prosecution.

Source URL:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1977240.cms

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Husband says she had an affair, wife claims dowry harassment !!

Husband says she had an affair, wife claims dowry harassment !!

http://www.deccanherald.com/archives/feb92007/district212321200728.asp

Deccan Herald » District » Detailed Story

Women's police station, but gender-insensitive

From Shruti I L DH News Service Mysore:

Sunaina was summoned to the police station on infidelity charges. Not only was she made to wait for six hours, but also not given an opportunity to defend herself.

Sunaina was summoned to the police station on infidelity charges. Not only was she made to wait for six hours, but also not given an opportunity to defend herself.

Sunaina's husband had filed a case against her for allegedly having an affair with her brother-in-law. Recalling her travails, she said, "I was asked to divorce my husband and let him off the hook." This came from none other than a lady SI at the Lashkar Mohalla Women's Police Station a few years ago.

Sunaina wanted to lodge a complaint of dowry harassment against her husband. "But I was abused and treated like a criminal and booked under a false case."

When she approached the Police Commissioner, he only said, "Have faith in the system."

However, Devamma, the incharge SI, said, "We never ask people to adjust in serious offences. When we feel things can be settled through counselling, we say so. If the victim wants to book a case, we do it."

She, however, said officers need to be patient. "As cases which come here involve families, a lot of people come here. Sometimes, third parties create confusion.Only at such times do we raise our voice."

Devamma said since she took over, she has ensured no favours are shown. "I have directed there should be no delay in attending to complaints."

Prabha's case was no different. The case turned against her due to pressure from higher officials in the police department who were in support of her husband.

Going by these reports, one can't help wonder whether women's police stations are serving the purpose for which they were set up. Such stations were expected to encourage women to come out and file complaints against atrocities meted out on them.

It isn't enough to just have a separate police station for women. What is important is to make the police officers gender sensitive.

"Most of the time, it seems once they (women officers) don the uniform, they are no different from their male counterparts," says Rati Rao, an activist of Samatha Vedike, a women's organisation. "They should be made aware of laws related to women, she felt.

Warning

According to Police Commissioner Praveen Sood, it is not just women who are asked to adjust. "A lot of women who come here do not want criminal action to be initiated as offenders are their relatives. They usually want us to warn them.

Given this, we try to make them arrive at a compromise. But in cases of physical abuse or dowry cases, we book cases. There is no question of counselling."

NGOs can be involved as they understand people's problems better, says Sumana, an advocate. While Sood feels this is possible, he also stressed the need for NGOs to have a balanced view while dealing with such cases.

Meera Nayak, another Vedike activist, said the police station must be strengthened by appointing a regular officer. "It (police station) should be provided with a better support system, including vehicles and a separate office. They should also operate at the taluk and hobli levels."

Equipping women's police station with better facilities is the need of the hour. "Making certain laws more flexible will also help," feels Sumana. "Laws related to non-cognisable offences can be relaxed. Once a case is filed under it, strict action, including arrest, is initiated. Thus, there is a delay in registering such cases at times," she says.

The government's responsibility to reduce incidents of violence against women does not end with the setting up of women's police stations. It should support the victims by strengthening laws protecting women and by providing them with shelter.

Whether the women's police station will emerge as a stepping stone to empowerment of women or go down as just another example of paying lip-sympathy to women's issues is for the state to decide.

(All names have been changed to protect their identities).

=========== end of news item ==========

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My whole life for the past 12 years has been dominated by my wife's false charges of dowry harassment

" .... My whole life for the past 12 years has been dominated by my wife's false charges of dowry harassment against me," said Gujarat engineer Ashok Patel, whose case has just been settled...."

India burns midnight oil for justice

Amrit Dhillon, Delhi

March 17, 2007

SPECIAL night courts have been set up in India's western state of Gujarat to help clear some of the up-to 30 million cases currently choking the country's legal system.

The Indian judicial system is notorious for its delays, with most civil and criminal cases taking up to 15-20 years to be settled. Divorced women go grey while waiting for maintenance. Children grow into adults while their divorced parents await a verdict on who will get custody. And people whose loved ones have been murdered age and die without the murderer being convicted.

The night court hearings are an experiment that began last November. The 44 night courts go on throughout the evening to clear the huge backlog of cases. Since November, 39,000 cases have been disposed of. The total number of pending cases in Gujarat is 3.2 million.

The Chief Justice of India, K. G. Balakrishnan, has said that if it proves successful, it will be replicated throughout India.

For millions of Indians, whose lives are traumatised by endless hearings and adjournments and huge lawyers' bills stretched over more than a decade, the relief will be immense.

"My whole life for the past 12 years has been dominated by my wife's false charges of dowry harassment against me," said Gujarat engineer Ashok Patel, whose case has just been settled.

"Until December, only three of the seven witnesses had been examined. It could go on for another 12 or 15 years."

For poor Indians, the mental burden, time and cost of fighting a case can make them think twice about seeking justice. The biggest advantage of the night courts is that litigants need not take time off work and lose income. Court employees, including judges, are being paid 25 per cent of their salaries as extra pay for working at night.

The monumental delays in civil cases are caused primarily by technical snags and lawyers' endless delaying tactics.

In criminal cases, it is more complicated. Often the police are tardy in their investigations and late in submitting charges to the courts. Nor are they usually trained to gather evidence scientifically.

It is common for forensic evidence to be wrapped in newspaper, bound by jute thread and then produced in court. . Matters are made worse by the fact that there are only about 12 judges per million Indians. The impact of these delays is massive, not just on private lives but on public life too. Criminals, knowing that justice can be almost infinitely delayed, no longer fear the law.

"One reason why India hasn't been able to tackle corruption is that the corrupt know they can use their wealth to hire a good lawyer and then quibble and cavil for years and go on living normally," said Nirmal Vittal who, as the Government's former Central Vigilance Commissioner, was entrusted with fighting corruption in public life.

For many ordinary Indians craving justice for the murder of someone they loved, the evening court idea — even if it is replicated all over the nation — has come too late.

These are people such as Sudha Tiwari, 72, who alleges that her 27-year-old married daughter, Jyoti, was set on fire by her husband Anil in 1982 over dowry. Twenty-five years later, Mrs Tiwari, now arthritic and diabetic, still cries when she talks of her beloved "flower" and "angel".

For 25 years, she has been fighting to see Anil tried and punished. Throughout endless hearings and adjournments, Mrs Tiwari has turned up in court religiously. But last year, the energy in her died and she decided to attend no longer.

Source URL:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/india-burns-midnight-oil-for-justice/2007/03/16/1173722749151.html

============ end of news item =============

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Wife kills three kids, files false dowry case, threatens to wipe out the husband and his family, before husband gets divorce !!

Wife kills three kids, files false dowry case, threatens to wipe out the husband and his family, before husband gets divorce !!

Abuse, threat by wife ground for divorce: SC

22 Feb 2007, 0047 hrs IST,Dhananjay Mahapatra,TNN

NEW DELHI: In probably the first case of its kind, a husband sought divorce from his wife on the ground of mental cruelty.

The latter was convicted by the trial court for murdering their three children, threatening to lodge false cases against her husband and even going to the extent of threatening to kill him.

On the day of her conviction by the trial court in Rajasthan, she threatened her husband with dire consequences. As she was pregnant at that time, she was granted bail and while on bail, she filed dowry harassment cases against her husband, which the police after investigation certified as false.

These are enough grounds for the husband to seek divorce and the civil court as well as the Jodhpur Bench of Rajasthan High Court rightly granted him a divorce decree, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday dismissing her appeal challenging the HC order.

Narrating the agonisingly excruciating experience of living with the woman after marriage in 1993, the man said she used to keep up the children with ropes and even attempted to throw them down from the rooftop while threatening him that she would wipe out his entire family.

On April 5, 2002, she left home with the three children to visit her parental home in the same village. After a search, the bodies of the children were recovered from the village well and the woman was also brought out from it.

The physical and mental torture, the threat on the day of her conviction and the false cases filed against her husband while on bail were the grounds that weighed on the mind of the court in granting divorce to him.

Laying down a general guideline for courts dealing with petitions seeking divorce on the ground of cruelty, an apex court Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and Dalveer Bhandari said it must be something more serious than "ordinary wear and tear of married life".

"To constitute cruelty, the conduct complained of should be grave and weighty so as to come to the conclusion that the petitioner spouse cannot be reasonably expected to live with the other spouse," said Justice Pasayat, writing for the Bench.

Petty quibbles, trifling differences should not be exaggerated and magnified to destroy what is said to have been made in heaven, the Bench said and advised the courts dealing with divorce petitions to weigh the accusations among spouses on this scale.

However, it warned them not to a hyper-sensitive view of such matters as it would be counter-productive to the institution of marriage.

Source URL
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1653928.cms

=========== end of news item ===============

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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Restore anticipatory bail in UP

Printed from	The Times of India -Breaking news, views. reviews, cricket from across India

'Restore anticipatory bail in UP'
31 Jan 2008, 0246 hrs IST

TNN

NEW DELHI: A Supreme Court judge has forcefully recommended restoration of the anticipatory bail provision in Uttar Pradesh on the ground that its absence was causing hardship to innocent persons, who have to first go to jail and then move for bail even when booked in a frivolous or false case.

Justice Markandey Katju gave this suo motu recommendation even though there was no matter pertaining to Uttar Pradesh pending before him.

Surprisingly, this recommendation was made in a case pertaining to a Bangalore-based BPO chief, who was seeking quashing of a complaint against him.

After agreeing with senior judge in the Bench — Justice Sema — not to give relief to the BPO chief, Justice Katju out of the blue lamented the deletion of the anticipatory bail provision from the Criminal Procedure Code for UP though such relief could be granted to accused in all other states, including those affected by terrorism.

Incidentally, Justice Katju is a great votary of judicial restraint on the part of judges who should never direct the legislature or the executive to take or not to take a particular decision. Whether this recommendatory judgment fits into his scheme of "judicial restraint" is the question that is sure to generate a debate.

He said as the sessions courts in UP had no power to grant anticipatory bail, "thousands of petitions under Section 482 of CrPC are filed every year in the Allahabad High Court for stay of arrest or for quashing the FIR", clogging the wheels of justice.

In its absence, many innocent persons were not being able to get advance bail despite being booked in a frivolous or false case, Justice Katju said.

"Even if such persons get regular bail under section 439 of CrPC, before that they will have to go to jail and thus their reputation in society may be irreparably tarnished," he said and quoted from the epic 'Mahabharat' that "for a self-respecting man, death is preferable to dishonour".

Experience had shown that the absence of the provision for anticipatory bail was causing great injustice and hardship to the citizens of UP, he said and gave the example of misuse of anti-dowry provisions where the police arrest the aged parents and unmarried sisters of the husband merely on the basis of the complaint of the wife, even if it was frivolous.

Souce URL
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2744801,prtpage-1.cms

From The Hindu Online - Restore the provision of anticipatory bail, SC to UP govt.

"Restore the provision of anticipatory bail" J. Venkatesan

Supreme Court tells U.P. Govt. to issue an Ordinance

The U.P. Government had amended the Cr PC in 1976 to withdraw this provision
Appeal against a Karnataka High Court judgment dismissed

NEW DELHI: Justice Markandey Katju of the Supreme Court has recommended to the Uttar Pradesh Government to issue an Ordinance to restore the provision for anticipatory bail to an accused. The Uttar Pradesh Government had amended the Cr PC in 1976 to withdraw this provision in the State.

Mr. Justice Katju, sitting in a Bench with Justice H. K. Sema, made this recommendation while dismissing an appeal from Som Mittal, Managing Director of a company, against a Karnataka High Court judgment refusing to quash criminal proceedings initiated against him under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act for the alleged murder of a woman employee while she was returning home from her workplace.

Mr. Justice Sema said the High Court could not exercise its inherent power under Section 482 Cr PC (to quash a criminal proceeding) in a routine manner. The power under this section must be exercised sparingly with circumspection and in the rarest of rare cases.

Mr. Justice Katju agreed with Mr. Justice Sema's conclusions but cited the situation prevalent in Uttar Pradesh where courts were flooded with petitions under Section 482 seeking to quash criminal proceedings since there was no anticipatory bail provision in that State.

Mr. Justice Katju said it was necessary to restore the provision for anticipatory bail to empower the Allahabad High Court as well as the Sessions courts in UP to grant anticipatory bail. He said that an individual's arrest on frivolous grounds violated his fundamental right and the absence of the provision was causing hardship as scores of false dowry harassment cases were being filed against innocent people.

"Often grandmothers, uncles, aunts, unmarried sisters and others are implicated in such cases even though they may have nothing to do with the offence," he said.

Mr. Justice Katju said "no doubt the recommendation of a court is not binding on the State government/State legislature but still it should be seriously considered, and not simply ignored. The court usually makes a recommendation when it feels that the public is facing some hardship. Such recommendation should, therefore, be given respect and serious consideration."

source URL

http://www.hindu.com/2008/02/01/stories/2008020159070400.htm

The Original Malimath committee recommendation... is still not implemented...

Dowry cases: panel for amending IPC section

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE NOV. 16. Reconciliation in a dowry harassment case is apparently a difficult task. A woman complainant, even if she has a change of mind, will have to watch the law take its course as the offence is non-bailable and non-compoundable.

All this can change, if a suggestion of the Committee on Reforms in the Criminal Justice System (CRCJS) to bring in the conciliatory provision is accepted by the Government.

When a wife files a complaint of harassment, the police initiate action for the offence under Section 498-A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code. This lands the husband and his family behind bars, and consequently the husband may lose his job.

As the offence is non-bailable the chance of securing bail is slim.

The husband and members of his family have to undergo imprisonment, which may extend up to three years accompanied by fine, as it is also non-compoundable. There is no room for the couples to conciliate in the interest of the family.

This was seen in a trial of a case in Hubli. The wife, when the criminal proceedings were pending, conciliated with her husband. As she could not withdraw her complaint, she had to turn "hostile" in the criminal trial, by which the husband was acquitted by the Sessions Judge.

The committee has suggested amending Section 498-A making the offence bailable and compoundable.

According to Justice V.S. Malimath, the Chairman of the committee and former Chief Justice of Karnataka and Kerala High Courts, such a "pro-women" amendment will "unite a family".

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Justice Malimath said: "Imprisonment of the husband and his family for any short term will strain the relations, and this puts the wife and children at the crossroads devoid of any support. In a conservative society like ours, it is a tough task for a woman to run the family on her own. This (amendment) saves the process of adducing false evidence before the court, which is now being adopted for the purpose."

The committee in its report containing 158 recommendations, which was submitted to the Government recently, has suggested a leeway by which such conciliation will be a possibility.

source URL :
http://www.hindu.com/2003/11/17/stories/2003111703400500.htm

'Gypsy' rape story nailed

'Gypsy' rape story nailed
4 Jul 2004, 0042 hrs IST,TNN

CHANDIGARH: Nothing is sacrosanct anymore. If it helps to settle scores, fix up your pet hate with a million false cases. Frame-up dowry, rape cases will do just fine.

Even getting your sister to feign rape isn't too scandalous for vengeful souls.

But such gypsy fibbers don't always succeed; the police have extra alert ears for cooked-up stories.

Sukhbir, a resident of Ram Darbar, planned a deadly revenge saga: he tried to frame up his wife's family in a kidnapping and rape case to escape from a dowry case filed by his wife a few days back. Sukhbir, his brother Ajay and their mother Navrangi were arrested and then bailed out in this dowry case sometime back.

On Thursday night Sukhbir's brother Ajay submitted a complaint to the Sector 31 police station that four malefactors have kidnapped his sister Rekha from near Ram Darbar.

Ajay told the police that he belongs to a gypsy family and they had been staying in Chandigarh for some time.

More chilly-hot details followed: Ajay told the police that these kidnappers threw chillies in his eyes and sped away.

Source URL :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/764431.cms

Lawyers knew of Misuse since 2003 !!

Bitterness of wives leads to abuse of India's anti-dowry laws

Women's rights groups in India are concerned that vendettas by some estranged wives could bring India's vital and hard-won anti-dowry laws into disrepute

By Amrhit Dhillon
THE OBSERVER, NEW DELHI
Monday, Jul 07, 2003, Page 9

The entire Sharma family is stuck inside New Delhi's Tihar Jail -- from the grandparents down to the youngest child, aged three. This is not due to some rampant criminal gene but because a daughter-in-law has filed charges against them alleging harassment to extract dowry payments.

Roop Sharma says their son's marriage to Nisha went badly wrong.

"When divorce seemed on the cards, Nisha's parents began claiming we were torturing Nisha and that we were trying to get a car and gold jewellery out of them. But they just wanted to take their anger out on us and the easiest way was to get us thrown into jail on cooked up dowry charges," she said.

Such cases have prompted some Indian lawyers to question whether India's hard-won anti-dowry laws have now played into the hands of embittered wives seeking revenge on their husbands and their husbands' families.

Hostages

After the traditional arranged marriage, Indian brides go to live with the husband's family. Quite often she is then mistreated and forced to try to extract more dowry -- motorbikes, cars, household goods -- from her parents, even though the husband's family have probably already received something at the time of the marriage. The wife is a hostage, liable to a thrashing unless her parents produce the goods.

The anti-dowry laws were drafted to help women in this position. If things got really bad, she could report her in-laws to the police.

But a New Delhi high court judge, Sadhana Ramachandran, is seeking a review of the laws. She said they are being abused by wives conducting marital vendettas. They fling false accusations at innocent men and their families, to get even or to inflict pain.

"Such women incriminate everyone, not just the husband but the husband's sister or brother and parents. In the Sharma's case, the three-year-old girl ended up in jail too because, with the entire family inside, there was no one to look after her at home," Ramachandran said.

Ramachandran knows of 85-year-old grandparents in jail, awaiting bail or trial on dowry charges.

"It saddens me to say this, because in my career I have focused on the injustice women suffer in a male-dominated society but some women are misusing these laws out of pure viciousness," she said.

In one recent case Rajiv Sethi, 26, came back to India from South Africa to marry the bride his mother had chosen. The marriage collapsed and during the painful denouement, his wife Nandita, accused him and her mother-in-law of "mental cruelty" over dowry.

Lack of proof

"I don't even believe in dowry," exclaims the mother-in-law, Radhika Sethi. "I accepted the fact that their marriage wasn't working out but she accused me of starving her, of locking her up and beating her. None of it is true. My son is devastated at having to run around police stations and the courts. He's lost 27kg. She's ruined his life with a lie. But how can we prove that we were loving?"

There are fears that abuse of anti-dowry laws could lead to increasing scepticism about the numerous genuine cases of women being mistreated or murdered by husbands and in-laws. That would be a tragedy as some 7,000 women were killed over dowry demands in 2001.

In New Delhi alone, a woman is killed -- usually doused with kerosene and set on fire -- every day.

Radhika Sethi approves of the judge's call for a review and feels that a proper inquiry should take place before anyone is arrested to separate genuine from fabricated cases. Some lawyers also believe that automatic bail should be given in dowry cases (something that does not happen in all parts of India) so that innocent families can at least be spared the ordeal of jail.

But women's groups have reacted to the judge's call with dismay. The All-India Democratic Women's Federation (AIDWA) has written to the chief justice of India urging him to deny a review.

"It's taken decades for women to pluck up the courage to use these laws and now they want to dilute them," said Brinda Karat, AIDWA president.

"There may well be a few cases of abuse. But dowry-related violence is so horrific that these laws are life-savers for women and it would be disastrous to dilute them. Dowry-hungry men will think they can get away with murder, literally," Karat said.

Too docile

As it is, she said, Indian women are so culturally conditioned to be docile that very few actually invoke them. AIDWA says only 40,000 cases were registered last year -- "not even a drop in the ocean" -- compared with the violence it says women experience over demands for more dowry.

Lawyer Rani Jethmalani, who specializes in dowry cases, also believes that the number of false cases are miniscule. Marriage is sacrosanct in India, she says, and women will go to any lengths to save theirs.

"I know women who have gone back to their husband and in-laws even after they tried to murder them. Given this attitude, how many will falsely accuse their husband, knowing it means the certain end of the marriage?" Jethmalani said.

If the chief justice agrees to a review, AIDWA, the National Commission for Women and other groups plan nation-wide protests.

"We fought long and hard for these laws," Brinda Karat said. "We're not going to give them up easily."

source URL :
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2003/07/07/2003058417

Husband falsely accused in dowry case commits suicide

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?section=subcontinent&xfile=data/subcontinent/2008/february/subcontinent_february242.xml

Man facing law in dowry case commits suicide
By Anand S. Raj (Our correspondent)

9 February 2008

LUCKNOW — A man facing legal action in a dowry-related case, committed suicide, accusing his wife and in-laws for creating circumstances that forced him to take the extreme step.

The man hanged himself at his Vikas Nagar house here in the wee hours of Wednesday. A suicide note, addressed to the high court, stated that harassment by his wife and in-laws was the main reason behind his decision to end life.

Shishupal Singh informed the Vikas Nagar police that his wife's brother Pushkar Singh (35) had committed suicide. The police reached the spot to find Pushkar's body hanging from the ceiling in a room. Singh told the police that a case of dowry harassment was pending in the court against Pushkar and the latter was jailed for four months. They told the police that Pushkar had retired to his room around 10pm on Tuesday. In the morning his body was found hanging.

Shishupal Singh said though Pushkar was released on bail, the court case constantly haunted him. "A few days ago, he received a notice from the court. Since then he stopped stepping out of the house." he said.

The police found the four page suicide note. Pushkar claimed in the note that the case of dowry harassment against him was fabricated by his wife Vineeta.

Singh's note states: "I was sent to jail after a false dowry case was lodged against me by Vineeta and her family. They had demanded Rs1.4 million as compensation. Neither my father nor had I seen such a big amount in our life. We even sold our house to fight the case." He was unable to earn for his family. If he was ending his life, his wife, her father Yashwant Singh Sajwad and other relatives were responsible, Pushkar claimed in the note. Senior Superintendent of Police Akhil Kumar said they would seek legal opinion if the victim's in-laws were liable to face action under Section 306 of IPC (abetment to suicide).

No maintenance for wife who can't prove cruelty: HC

THE TIMES OF INDIA

No maintenance for wife who can't prove cruelty: HC

12 Apr 2008, 0202 hrs IST, Kartikeya, TNN

MUMBAI: Justice V R Kingaonkar of the Bombay High Court ruled this week that a husband did not have to pay maintenance to a wife who left her matrimonial house alleging cruelty and harassment but could not prove the same before a magistrate.

The order came after the court heard the plea of Sanjay Bhosale (35), a ward boy at Pune's Yerawada Mental Hospital whose wife, Khristina, left him within five months of their wedding in May 1998, alleging that Bhosale was a drunkard who often beat her up and demanded gifts. Khristina had even said that she "apprehended danger to her life" at his house and therefore could not live with him any longer.

Khristina had filed for a separate monthly maintenance allowance of Rs 1,500 under Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Her plea was first turned down by a magistrate, but a sessions court awarded her a monthly allowance of Rs 700.

Bhosale took the matter to the high court, saying that he had not treated Khristina cruelly and that she had left him of her own will.

Justice Kingaonkar, who heard Bhosale's plea, observed that Khristina had not produced any documents or examined any witnesses in court to support her claims that she had lodged a police complaint against Bhosale and written to her father about the cruel treatment she was suffering at his hands.

On the other hand Bhosale brought the two neighbours — Shubhangi and Bashid — to court as defence witnesses. The neighbours testified that he was "not addicted to any vice" and that they had never him quarrel with Khristina.

Bhosale also told the high court that he had been granted restitution of conjugal rights by a family court in 2003 which noted that Khristina had "withdrawn from the society without any reasonable excuse".

Justice Kingaonkar, after going through all the evidence, considered that Khristina could have left Bhosale "under the burden of domestic chores" and the family court had also said she was "guilty of deserting Bhosale without any reasonable excuse".

Judgment Link-

bombayhighcourt.nic.in/data/aurjudgements/2008/CRREVN22602.pdf

Monday, April 21, 2008

India: Rot In The prisons

India: Rot In The prisons

By Colin Gonsalves

18 April, 2008
Combat Law

The level of barbarism in respect of a nation's treatment of its prisoners is perhaps more uniform than we Indians expect. Developed and developing countries alike treat their convicts with a kind of depravity, which speaks volumes for the nature of contemporary civilisation and their attitudes towards the human person.

Applying even the most retrogressive standards, Indian prisoners are the pits — a level of perversity matched only by our pious, moralistic and sanctimonious preachings abroad. In the land of Gandhi and non-violence, prisons remain depraved and brutish. Internally the prisoners rot.

Rape, buggery, torture, custody without legal sanction, bars and fetters, detention far in excess of the sentence, solitary confinement, lunacy, the brutalising of children, women and casuals, drug trafficking and prostitution rackets run by the superintendents are but the daily routine of prison life. Pulling out eyes as in the Bhagalpur blinding case or the pushing of batons up the anus of prisoners as in Batra's case is perhaps Sunday's schedule.

If the complete absence of human rights moorings in India has escaped notice, it is only because the State has through law and lathi shrouded the prison system with an iron curtain through which only those may pass who have no hope of returning. And while the press, the public and social activists are debarred, the Courts turn a blind eye. While crores of rupees are spent in esoteric research of dubious standards with manuscripts thrown into the dustbin after the degrees are awarded, not a thing is done about prison research. As a consequence, the criminalisation of the prison administration proceeds apace and is the main factor contributing to the hardening of the offender and to the inmates' physical and psychological breakdown.

Apart from the human rights issue, the Indian State has so little intelligence that it cannot comprehend that in purely bourgeois terms it is neither economically feasible nor practical to have such a large part of the population fettered and decapacitated.

Judicial reforms have been slow - too slow. In the 1980's it merged with the forenso-personal history of one man whom all associated with the struggle for civil liberties and human rights must stand up and applaud - Krishna Iyer, a former Justice of the Supreme Court who even after retirement championed the cause with renewed fervour. His decisions describe his struggle against the tide of foul precedent, colonial prison regulations and a defiant lower judiciary not only unwilling to accept his views but also uniformly subservient to the prison administration and the police. In the Seventies and early Eighties he transformed Indian prison jurisprudence and a few other judges inspired by him contributed to this change. By the time of his retirement in the mid eighties, he had led India through a decade of forensic change. But he left a sad man noticing in powerless retirement the flouting of his decisions by the decision of the criminals in uniform. The passage of time settles all things and India returned to its normal state - the eccentric has passed on.

The ebb tide set in. Whereas in the cases of Hussainara Khatoon and Motiram, the Court had spoken against high bail amounts for poverty stricken accused and had recommended their enlargement on bail on personal bond and even without sureties, today millions of people are jailed pending trial because they are either too illiterate to apply for bail or too poor to furnish the bail amount. Notwithstanding Hoskot's case legal aid remains on paper with more money spent on committees, reports and seminars than on legal aid itself. Sheela Barse's case likewise indicates the flagging interest in public interest matters. Now the right of the press to interview prisoners has been couched in a language as vague as to practically operate against the press. Despite Khan's case, prisoners are often denied access to newspapers and books. Despite Walcott's case the awarding of prison punishments is like the emperor's fiat. Despite Mallik's case children are brutalised on par with adults. The International Year of the Child saw seminars organised and films made but no children released.

All the recommendations laid down in Batra's case and Kaushik's case are ignored. Overcrowding has increased many times over. The Board of Visitors is a bloody farce. The Prison Manual and other regulations are kept top secret and even defending advocates find it impossible to lay their hands on one. Liberal visits by family members depend on bribe money.

The level of barbarism in respect of a nation's treatment of its prisoners is perhaps more uniform than we Indians expect

The ombudsmanic task of policing the police that Krishna Iyer advocated is now an impossibility. The standard minimum rules for treatment of prisoners are not only not followed but the rules cannot be found, Section 235(2) 248(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code in respect of more humane sentences is overlooked despite Giasuddin's case and Santa Singh's case. Despite Varghese's case poverty stricken, indigent debtors are jailed. Notwithstanding the Prison reforms enhancement of wages case convicts perform slave labour on notional or illusory wages.

If, as in Nandini Satpathy's case, the methods, manners and morals of the police force were a measure of a government's real refinement, ours would be a tyranny. Censorship of correspondence contrary to the directions in Madhukar Jambhale's case, the solitary confinement contrary to the directions in Sunil Batra's case thrive. Likewise, bar fetters are commonly used. And the accused are tied together like cattle and paraded to Court through the streets in defiance of the decision in Shukla's case. The little Hitler found lingering around Tihar Jail in Batra's case is now fully grown and well fed. Despite Sah's and Hongray's case compensation is rarely awarded. In the face of Veena Sethi's case, mentally disturbed persons are maltreated and rendered insane. The 'hope and trust' placed in the prison administration and the police by the Supreme Court have turned out to be a joke. Even after Barse's case women's rights are not implemented. Despite Nabachandra's case remand is done as a matter of rote. Nothing changes in India - ever.

As we age, Krishna Iyer's passions recede in the memory of bench and bar. A new conservatism has taken over. Once again judicial apathy and unconcern fuel prison sadness.
His decisions are largely, therefore, of academic interest, perhaps the only merit of the decisions being, as Justice Hughes once said, that they are, "an appeal to the brooding spirit of the law (and) to the intelligence of a future day."

They display overall certain common trends and characteristics. Firstly, that judicial standards in human rights are uniformly pathetic and secondly that judges in India are universally unwilling to punish prison officials and policemen even in the face of cast iron evidence of major offences committed by them.

Judicial reluctance, administrative callousness and the absence of any State recognition of white collar crime, takes India rapidly towards the precipice where the working class find themselves brutalised and isolated and the justice system is seen by all - as it essentially is - as a class weapon perpetually perpetrating injustice.

As this happens the story foretold by Krishna Iyer in Veena Sethi's case may well come true; "One day the cry and despair of large number of people would shake the very foundation of our society and imperil the entire democratic structure. When that happens we shall have only ourselves to blame.

Source URL
http://www.countercurrents.org/gonsalves180408.htm

Sunday, April 20, 2008

RTI Act has not helped much: Chief Justice

http://www.hindu.com/2007/04/01/stories/2007040106031000.htm

RTI Act has not helped much: Chief Justice

Special Correspondent

Though it is expected to help root out corruption, it is being misused

Information continues to be inaccessible

Not bringing common man into the agenda can cause widespread protests

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan has said that though the Right To Information (RTI) Act is expected to help root out corruption, it is being misused like most other Acts.

"We thought it would help to root out corruption, but only a negligible portion of the Right To Information Act has helped," Mr. Balakrishnan said while inaugurating a national seminar on `Indian Economy: Historical Roots and Contemporary Development Experience,' organised by the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) here on Saturday. Information continues to be inaccessible despite the RTI Act, the Chief Justice added.

Mr. Balakrishnan said massive inequality created skepticism about the ability of globalisation to solve the country's problems. He cited Nandigram as the best example. Pointing out that "ours is a world of dreadful poverty and appalling deprivation," he said that unless the common man was brought into the agenda, it would lead to widespread protests as had been seen in Seattle, Quebec, Singapore and elsewhere where global trade talks took place. "We have to initiate an enlightening enquiry into what needs to be done ... raising serious questions about globalisation can raise serious thinking about the scepticism," he added.

He regretted the country's failure to wipe out child labour despite the guarantees for compulsory education at the primary level and pointed out that though the situation in Kerala was better, the drop out rate at the national level was 40 to 50 per cent overall and 60 to 65 per cent in the case of girls. "Unless we enforce compulsory education, we will not be able to wipe out child labour," he said.

Kaushik Basu, Professor of Economics at the University of Cornell, delivering the Seventh Joan Robinson Lecture and fielding questions thereafter, cautioned that despite the robust growth rates being seen over the last few years, the country could be in for serious trouble if the question of poverty is not addressed with due seriousness because even by conservative estimates some 230 million people are feeling left out of the economic progress. Since India has entered the league of high saving nations, it would continue to grow, but if poverty persists and inequalities between the rich and the poor accentuate, there could be a political turmoil that can destabilise such growth. The Government, he said, must focus on better distribution of income and better management of poverty.

Prof. Basu said part of the poverty seen in the country was a concomitant of globalisation. There was a need for international coordination to deal with poverty. While on the theme of `jobless growth' he said that though the first decade of economic reforms till 1999 witnessed "jobless growth," there was an improvement later. The story of India's economic growth was interesting because the country moved from primary sector to the service sector to fuel its growth and bypassed the manufacturing sector. But India was going to see a revival of the manufacturing sector in the next 10 to 15 years and the Government must pay much more attention to this than was the case today. Simultaneously, there would also be a shrinking of the wage bills and people were going to depend more and more on their shares and intellectual property rights to compensate them for their labour, he said.

Drawing a thumbnail sketch of India's economic history, Prof. Basu said that nobody would agree with Milton Freidman, who had taken the position that India's woes had to do with the practice of socialism in the country. In reality, it was a case of the country indulging in a lot of rhetoric of socialism and practicing capitalism.

The Chief Justice released a collection of essays in honour of K.N. Raj brought out by Oxford University Press, at the function. A. Vaidyanathan and K.L. Krishna, editors of the book, spoke. Centre for Development Studies governing council chairman N.R. Madhava Menon chaired the meeting. The Centre's director, K. Narayanan Nair, welcomed the gathering. Among those present was Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac.

Re: Red corner notice?

Dear Victim

First : There is just a complaint against you ? right ? or have the police proceeded further on the complaint ?

- Has a FIR been registered ? well...that is the next step... BEFORE YOU EVEN THINK OF RED CORNER NOTICE

- IF the FIR has been registered and IF your parents or others in India are accused, immediately apply for an anticipatory bail for those who are living in India and accused in the dowry case

- Has a Charge sheet been filed ? well...that is the second next step...BEFORE YOU / Police EVEN THINK OF RED CORNER NOTICE ....

- Have you been summoned to the Court after filing of a charge sheet ? well...that is the next step...BEFORE...

- Have you skipped / NOT ATTENDED the dates ??? ...that is the next step .. BEFORE RED CORNER ...

So there are multiple steps to complete before a Red corner notice is issued against ANY accused / convict

Now some questions before you proceed further
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Do you have a copy of your wife's complaint / Police FIR (if a FIR is filed by police)

- Tell your parents to ask the police for a copy of the complaint / FIR (if FIR is filed). The accused have rights to get a copy of the complaint / FIR. The police generally refuse to give a copy, but let your parents or your local lawyer understand and tell the police that the accused are entitled to a copy of the complaint. If the police still fail to give a copy you may apply to the court to get a copy

- Take the e.g. of the Punjab Police rules :

http://www.fixindia.org/fir.php?PHPSESSID=e4e55a4a1d5c67019d4171229f1b4f1b#1

According to para 24.5 Punjab Police Rules, the register shall be a printed book consisting of 200 pages and shall be completely filled in before a new one is started. Cases shall bear annual serial number in such Police Station for each calendar year. Every four pages of the register shall be numbered with the same number and shall be written at the same time by carbon copying process. The original copy shall be a permanent record of Police Station. The other three copies shall be submitted to (a) Superintendent of Police or Deputy Commisioner of Police or other Gazetted Officer nominated by him (b) to the Metropolitan Magistrate empowered to take cognizance of the offence as is required by Sec. 157 Criminal Procedure Code. (c) one to the complainant. The seal of the Police Station shall be put on every copy and original.

- The above is purely as an e.g. Any state police will have to give the accused a copy of the FIR

- Once you get a copy of the FIR apply for Anticipatory bail

- If you have already crossed the above stages please revert here

regards, vinayak

My post above is Subject to
----------------------------
1. My idea of *self help* which is very essential : http://tinyurl.com/pxcfz
2. Standard disclaimers as in http://tinyurl.com/947u9
3. A short preamble : http://tinyurl.com/hatew

Dowry Law Misuse : http://tinyurl.com/tdkx6 , http://tinyurl.com/v5vp8

--- In saveindianfamily@yahoogroups.com, ".....victim...... wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I am currently working in ______(abroad) and my wife has put a complaint
> against me in _____(city) CAW cell. They are calling up my parents in
> _____ and saying that they will get me deported to India and get me
> arrested in the airport.
>
> As far as I understand this can only happen if there is a red corner
> notice against me. Does anybody here know how to get a red corner
> notice? I mean, what grounds do my in laws need to get a red corner
> notice against me? Or, is there some other way they can get me
> deported? Or perhaps they are plain bluffing?
>
> Any help.
>

More die due to exam failure than due to Dowry !!!

Less than 3% of suicides due to Dowry !!

More die due to exam failure than due to Dowry !!!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lucknow/Failure_in_exams_tops_2007_list_of_suicides/articleshow/2958038.cms

Lucknow

Failure in exams tops 2007 list of suicides

17 Apr 2008, 0508 hrs IST,TNN

The police department on Tuesday released the official figures of suicide in 2007. While a total of 226 suicides were reported in 2007, the maximum number after the 97 persons who committed suicide for reasons unknown were those who died because of failure in examinations, the number being 32.

The other categories in which the suicides were committed were - 17 who were mentally disturbed, 15 each because of poverty and love relationships, 10 committed suicide because of family problems, eight because of cancer.

Those who committed suicide in the categories such as impotency, illicit relationships and dowry were six each, while AIDS was the reason for five persons to end their lives last year. Unwanted pregnancy was the reason behind four women ending their lives while three persons committed suicide because of consuming drugs. The minimum number, one each, was because of divorce and business problems.

More couples seeking divorce on 'silly' grounds

http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14652782

More couples seeking divorce on 'silly' grounds

Sunday, 20 April , 2008, 14:29

New Delhi: The ground beneath Rajni Sinha's feet slipped away when her husband said he wanted to end their three-year-old relationship because — guess what — she did not dress well! And this after having a "love marriage" — unlike most Indian marriages that are arranged by the families.

The divorce petition filed by husband Sanjay Sinha said, "Despite my several requests, my wife does not wear modern lifestyle clothes. I just can't bear the comments from my friends that my wife is not stylish."

Rajni told IANS: "I was shocked when I received the notice from the court. It was unbelievable. We had a small fight a few days ago and after that I came to my maternal home. But it was a small quarrel and could have been solved easily."

She said the ground was baseless because she had every right to wear the kind of clothes she wanted to.

"It's my fundamental right to wear clothes, be it traditional or modern. Nobody has the right to force his/her wish on me. If he wants to divorce me on this ground then I think he doesn't deserve my love, dedication and sincerity," Rajni said.

The matter came up for hearing early this month at the matrimonial court in Tis Hazari. The court also found the ground amusing and suggested that the couple give it a second thought.

For more Political news click here >> | For more news, analysis click here>>

Rajni's case is not an exception these days for people seeking divorce.

"Marriages end in divorce because people rarely discuss their expectations in detail prior to tying the knot and are less willing to work on their marriages afterwards," a judicial officer said.

"They look for quick solutions rather than resolving issues. People have divorced their spouses for trivial reasons like snoring!"

Kamal Singh Pundhir, a lawyer who deals with matrimonial cases in the capital, said: "Earlier, the common reason for divorce was mental or physical torture but now it has more to do with incompatibility, adjustment problems, temperamental differences and intolerance."

He said growing levels of impatience in relationships were making couples opt for divorce.

According to an estimate by the judiciary, nearly 1,36,000 weddings are registered here every year. Conversely, nearly 10,000 divorce cases are filed in Delhi every year and 10 cases on an average are filed in one court in the capital every day. Around 12,000 divorces were cleared last year.

Last year, a man dragged his wife to the Delhi High Court after the session's court rejected his divorce petition calling the reason invalid. The man had filed for divorce because of what he called his wife's arrogance. She had refused to serve tea to his friend and a quarrel ensued.

The high court too rejected the petition and directed the couple to live together and solve the dispute.

According to lawyers, some other "inconsequential" reasons cited in divorce petitions in India these days include refusal to stay with in-laws, no desire to experiment with lovemaking or unwillingness to do household chores.

Husbands often allege that spouses do not have table manners or do not interact with colleagues or refuse to drink at parties.

"These reasons may be silly and minor, but once the couple is intent on quitting the relationship then not even the judiciary can help much," said Manisha Jha, a lawyer who deals with marital disputes.

Jha recalls that a wife who once filed for divorce from her husband after six months of marriage alleged that he neglected her and spent more time in office.

"I advised her to join some hobby classes or start working, but she refused. She was firm on getting a divorce. So I filed the case and it was sent to the mediation cell for consideration," Manisha said.

Lack of communication also leads to divorces.

"You can't have an effective relationship if either of the partners doesn't discuss his/her feelings, can't talk about mutual or personal issues, keeps resentments simmering and expects the mate to guess what the problem is all about," Jha said.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

“They could not stand the training as they must sleep on mats, no television, no radio, must learn Sanskrit and be vegetarian,” he added.

"They could not stand the training as they must sleep on mats, no television, no radio, must learn Sanskrit and be vegetarian," he added.

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/NewsBreak/20080416161315/Article/index_html

2008/04/16

Visa renewal for Hindu priests, temple musicians welcomed

By : Suganthi Suparmaniam

KUALA LUMPUR:

The government's decision to renew the visas of Hindu priests and temple musicians and artisans from India has been welcomed by the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.

Its president Datuk A. Vaithilingam said the Hindu Sangam take up the issue with the Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam two weeks ago.

"This is our stand since December last year. We had appealed to the Home Ministry then and also after the general election. We were told that it was a decision made by the cabinet," said Vaithilingam who is also the Malaysia Hindu Sangam president.

He said there was a need to bring in foreigners as locals are not interested in becoming temple priests, musicians or artisans such as sculptors.

"It is also not viable to engage locals as they are only paid between RM500 and RM600 a month. A person working as a clerk earns much more," he said. He said there are 180 priests, less than 50 temple musicians and some 100 to 200 artisans from India working in Malaysia.

He said most of the priests in some 17,000 temples nationwide are locals.

"Some big temples in Malaysia only use Brahmin priest, and there are not many local Brahmin priests," he said.

Vaithilingam said most of the locals who had gone to India to be trained ended up coming back before finishing their training.

"They could not stand the training as they must sleep on mats, no television, no radio, must learn Sanskrit and be vegetarian," he added.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Tamil Nadu led charge on reservations

"...GO 613 ordered that 44 per cent jobs were reserved for non-brahmins, 16 per cent for brahmins, 16 per cent for Muslims, 16 per cent for anglo-Indians and Christians and eight per cent for Scheduled Castes...."

http://howrah.org/india_news/9262.html

Tamil Nadu led charge on reservations

By R. Bhagwan Singh

Chennai: If the anti-reservation lobby called the shots north of the Vindhyas, the Dravidian rulers down south have taken pride in being the champions of reservation for the backward classes. While screaming protesters burnt his effigies on the streets of Gujarat and the hoary corridors of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University to force him out of office for implementing the Mandal report, V.P. Singh was crowned as the messiah of the backwards by the DMK government of M. Karunanidhi at a grand felicitation on the Marina sands in 1990.

And now on April 11, it was the turn of Mr Karunanidhi to bask in the Mandal glory as the Tamil Nadu Assembly commended his efforts to make the 27 per cent quota for OBCs in Central institutions of higher learning a reality. "The struggle for social justice is not yet over. There are still many issues remaining and we must join hands to accomplish them," the CM said. One of those issues, of course, is the exclusion of "creamy layer" and he had referred to that in his letter to Union HRD minister Arjun Singh that morning to celebrate the Supreme Court order upholding the OBC reservation.

"I am happy that you are already seized of the creamy layer issue. I am very confident that you will solve this also quite successfully," Mr Karunanidhi told Mr Singh in that letter.

The backwards' fight for jobs in government offices and seats in educational institutions is almost a century old in Tamil Nadu. The Madras Presidency, comprising present-day Tamil Nadu and some parts of Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, was the first presidency in British India to use reservation as an instrument of affirmative state action to ensure justice to the deprived. The first standing order on reservation (No. 128-2) was passed in Madras Presidency by the British government in 1854, telling the collectors to divide subordinate jobs in their districts among the principal castes. However, that order could not be implemented due to protests from the public.

The South Indian Liberal Federation (SILF), better known as the Justice Party after the English newspaper Justice it published, came to power in 1920 and passed an order (GO 613) the following year, reserving government jobs for various caste-based social outfits. This SILF subsequently gave birth to the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) and the present ruling party, the DMK, spawned out of the DK. In fact, the SILF ride to power was based on two main poll promises — ensuring admission for Shudras and Scheduled Castes in schools and to start a newspaper. It was quite a struggle to implement the promises. GO 613 ordered that 44 per cent jobs were reserved for non-brahmins, 16 per cent for brahmins, 16 per cent for Muslims, 16 per cent for anglo-Indians and Christians and eight per cent for Scheduled Castes.

The SILF government in 1923 issued a notification warning schools that funds would be cut if SCs were not admitted. Also, it changed the admission procedure in the medical colleges, doing away with the rule that knowledge of Sanskrit was necessary as that helped only brahmins those days. In the government headed by P. Subbarayan, grandfather of Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, a GO was issued by minister Muthiah Mudaliar, which came to be called the "Communal GO", paving the way for reservation of jobs in government, first in the registry department and later extended to the other wings as well.

Immigrant spouse must be provided for despite divorce,

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/04/immigrant_spouse_support_ends.html

Immigrant spouse must be provided for despite divorce, court rules

by Tom Hester/The Star-Ledger

Monday April 14, 2008, 1:35 PM

A state appeals court ruled today that a person who signs a federal form promising to financially support an immigrant spouse, must continue to provide for the spouse at 25 percent above the federal poverty level even after they divorce.

The decision stems from a divorce case involving Urvi Naik, and her ex-husband Sumeru Naik, both of Elmwood Park. After meeting for the first time at their arranged marriage in India in 2003, Sumeru Naik returned to New Jersey and signed a federal immigration affidavit promising to support his wife. Urvi Naik immigrated to New Jersey in 2005. The marriage was troubled from the beginning and Urvi Naik eventually moved out.

At a divorce hearing in state Superior Court in Hackensack, the judge found the marriage was brief, that there were no children and since Urvi Naik has a college-education and is a mechanical engineer who speaks three languages, Sumeru Naik did not have to pay alimony. The judge awarded her $15,300 in property value.

Urvi Naik appealed, arguing Sumeru Naik signed the federal pledge of support and was obligated to support her. The three-judge appeals panel disagreed.

"... After setting spousal and child support and equitable distribution, the court should only consider (the federal pledge) support if the sponsored immigrant's sources of support fall below 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the family unit size,'' the judges held. "In that case the sponsor is required to pay the deficiency only. If the sponsored immigrant's sources of support exceed this level, then no support is mandated by the Immigration and Naturalization Administration.''

============== end of news item ================

regards, vinayak

My post above is Subject to
----------------------------
1. My idea of *self help* which is very essential : http://tinyurl.com/pxcfz
2. Standard disclaimers as in http://tinyurl.com/947u9
3. A short preamble : http://tinyurl.com/hatew

Dowry Law Misuse : http://tinyurl.com/tdkx6 , http://tinyurl.com/v5vp8

Blogs :
http://tinyurl.com/3arv2w
http://bareact.blogspot.com/2006/12/divorce-why-now.html
http://tinyurl.com/2tb3s7
http://tinyurl.com/2dkub4
http://tinyurl.com/23xppp

http://vinayak.jconserv.net/index.php

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/eVinayak
http://bareact.blogspot.com/
http://my2cw.blogspot.com/

Seek advise : All India contact Nos : http://tinyurl.com/vntjz
alternate URL
http://www.blurty.com/users/vinayak/day/2006/12/10

between 0000-00-00 and 9999-99-99

Immigrant spouse must be provided for despite divorce,

Friday, April 11, 2008

A Compilation Of Police Interrogation Tactics

I pulled this from various sites on the net. The most common tactics of interrogation, used by the Indian police, is to beat a confession out of a suspect or into intimidating him into signing a confession.

My family was subjected to this tactic and have experienced this first hand. Among the many indignities heaped upon them, they were made to watch a suspect subjected to third degree treatment in their presence.

The Lakshmana Kailas story is a prime example of the interrogation techniques used by the ham handed Indian police.

Here is another, involving the murder of a young woman.

Here is a list of the most common interrogation techniques:

Exaggerating the strength of their case: They tell you that they have recordings, fingerprints, documents, eyewitnesses, etc. All of this may true or all may be false but you simply don't know because you are isolated. They try and get to you as soon as possible to play on your fears and work that confused state of mind to their advantage.
Good cop, bad cop. Working in teams: one will come on strong with all the dire consequences that will happen if you don't cooperate. Then he will be pulled off by another who will speak softly and tell you we just want to get to the "truth."
Comparison: They will convince you that they think you are the least to blame for what happened and that, therefore, you will not suffer as severe a sentence. It's the other guys they are really after and if you cooperate, they will put a good word in for you.
Small talk/Chit chatting: What is critical to getting the ultimate admission is to get you talking in the first place - about anything - usually in a "friendly" manner. They will try and find something that you have in common and just have a regular conversation. Then, when you feel comfortable just talking, they will move into the area of the crime. It's the old story about the frog - try and place him in the boiling pot and he will jump out immediately. But put him in a cold pot and then slowly turn up the heat, he will die before he knows what happened to him.
Threats And Intimidation: These are usually subtle. They mention the maximum penalties for the crime and imply that unless you roll over, you will get everyday of it. Also, they usually throw in that cooperation is looked at very favorably by a judge and your refusal will result in additional penalties.
Promises: They will cut a "deal" with you or "put a good word in" for you. Don't be fooled. They have no power whatsoever to make deals - only prosecutors can do that and, even then, the judge is never bound by any bargain.
Furniture And Spatial Psychology: When in the interview room look out for use of furniture. The power of persuasion is greater when the interviewer removes the barrier of the desk that creates a division of "their" space and "your" space. It is common for the interviewers to touch the suspect in a gesture of support and friendship. If the interviewer is on the opposite side of the table, such a gesture is limited. You best defence is to SHOW NO EMOTION. The whole atmosphere inside a police station is geared towards creating an environment of stress so as to break down the suspects morale. It is easy to accept the hand of friendship in such a situation, DON'T. You, as the suspect, will have your back to the door. This is done to make you feel apprehensive each time someone comes into the room. In addition, the seat for the solicitor will be out of your eye line. The interviewer will often fall silent, putting pressure on you to fill in these "pregnant pauses" - again DON'T.
Expressions Of Approval: Look out for expressions of approval, both verbal and non verbal. Verbal: "That's good", "Yes, go on" and "I like that approach"…. ad nauseam. Non verbal: smiling, nodding, looking at a fellow interviewer as if to say "She's/he's right you know." These are all indications of the frame of mind of the interviewer. If you have experienced any of them in the past and been taken in by them then you will now see why it is vitally important to remain SILENT and not give them the opportunity to play games with you. You may be offered compliments e.g. "You're no fool", etc. Non verbal compliments such as a little shake of the head as if to say tat I admire you for saying that. The principle behind all this is to make the suspect feel good and to encourage further dialogue.

CHRI has brought out a flier about police interrogation. Here it is: CHRI Police Interrogation

Have your lawyer with you at all times and maintain your silence. The right against self incrimination is a fundamental right.

The police cannot torture you or extract a confession out of you either. This is illegal and if they do so, they are in contempt of court.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Man assaulted by in-laws for refusing to convert

*Man assaulted by in-laws for refusing to convert*

Kapil Datta, Hindustan Times

Noida, April 10, 2008

www.hindustantimes.com/redir.aspx?ID=77a330cd-9349-4329-8c79-d58b71bcba93

A man was reportedly thrashed by his in-laws
in the Sector 18 market on Tuesday night for
refusing to change his religion, the victim
claimed. He has been admitted at Vinayak
Hospital.

Speaking to HT from the hospital, businessman
NK Gupta said his in-laws assaulted him and hit
his head with a rod and a sword when he was
getting into his car with his friend Pankaj.

"I married Ruhi, daughter of Imran five years
ago. It was a love marriage. Her family did not
object then, as I had enough money. Later, they
told me to convert to their religion bur I
refused," said Gupta.

"In 2007, I was implicated in a false case and
came out on bail on March 29. When I went to my
house at Indirapuram Niti Khand, I was told my
in-laws had taken my wife and the goods. A few
days later, my wife called and asked me to save
her. Her aunt told me that they have sold my
wife to a Kashmiri," he added.

Gupta's friend Pankaj Nangia was injured in
the assault. He told HT from his hospital bed,
"When I tried to intervene and save Gupta, I
also suffered injury in my hand. They were bent
on killing him."

Station Officer G Shrotriy of the Sector 20
police s said, "We received a complaint has
been received and investigations are on. Gupta
has named his in-laws as accused."

A doctor at Vinayak Hospital said, "Gupta's
condition is stable but he is still in ICU for
observation."

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Police drag 92-yr-old to court, rapped

Rampant Elder abuse by Daughter in law

Police drag 92-yr-old to court, rapped

The Times of India

BHADRAK (ORISSA): The 92-year-old widow could barely stand when she faced the judge after being accused in a dowry harassment case. But one look at the frail woman was enough for the sub-divisional judicial magistrate of Bhadrak to take the police to task for high-handed behaviour.

Sources said the officer in-charge of Bainsada police station had arrested Badan Devi (92), a widow, and her 40-year-old daughter Minatee of Ichhapur village on Saturday. The police action followed an FIR lodged by the woman's daughter-in-law, Santilata. Police did not even bother to make special arrangements for the old woman. They virtually dragged the tottering "accused" to court along with other criminals.

But the judge, Rekha Prasad, did not take kindly to this and promptly granted bail to the woman. Hailing the judge's decision, the widow's lawyer, Dillip Mohapatra, said: "Many thieves, dacoits and murderers are roaming freely and police fail to do anything. But the same police have no compassion for a nonagenarian and virtually invalid widow."

According to police, Santilata (35) lodged the FIR against her husband Bisikesana, a businessman, mother-in-law Badan Devi and nine others in July 2007. She told police that her husband and in-laws regularly tortured her for dowry and Badan Devi even tried to set her on fire once.

Police said the Bhadrak police ordered a probe based on Santilata's complaint. A circle inspector, who conducted the investigation, found the 92-year-old widow guilty. She was then arrested. But the events at the court has left the police red-faced. Bhadrak SP R N Patra said, "I will personally investigate the case."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Police_drag_92-yr-old_to_court_rapped/articleshow/2679345.cms

Monday, April 07, 2008

Girl who gave supari for lover arrested

Girl who gave supari for lover arrested

7 Apr 2008, 0436 hrs IST,TNN

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/Girl_who_gave_supari_for_lover_arrested/articleshow/2931527.cms

MUMBAI: Gwendolyn Noronha, the 19-year-old who allegedly hired two youths to throw acid on her boyfriend and later attempted suicide by slashing her left wrist in a bid to evade her arrest, was arrested by the crime branch on Sunday evening.

A second-year BCom student at Bandra's St Andrew's College, Noronha was on Sunday produced before a holiday court and remanded to police custody till April 8. According to the crime branch, Noronha is accused of having issued a supari to disfigure her boyfriend, Vivek Patel, after his parents disapproved of their relationship.

On Thursday, the crime branch arrested two youths—Saby Abraham and Kayur Parmar—both 19, who told the police that the supari (contract) to throw acid on Patel was given to them by Noronha. Learning that the police had arrested the duo and were looking for her, Noronha got an interim relief of one day from a sessions courts on Thursday. However, on Friday, when her lawyer informed her that her arrest was inevitable, Noronha allegedly tried to commit suicide by cutting her wrist. As the injury was minor, she was discharged late on Sunday, after which the police picked her up.

Noronha, who is originally from Gujarat's Valsad, fell in love with schoolmate Patel three years ago. Now a first-year student of Bachelor in Management Studies at Hinduja College, Patel had told her that his parents disapproved of their relationship and this apparently enraged Noronha. "On March 28, the two boys threw acid on Patel while he was on his way home along with friend Jitesh Gorasia (18)."

Sunday, April 06, 2008

92-yr-old beaten, thrown out of home

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai_92-yr-old_thrown_out_of_home/articleshow/2929770.cms

92-yr-old beaten, thrown out of home

6 Apr 2008, 0451 hrs IST,Mansi Choksi,TNN

MUMBAI: A traumatized 92-year-old Laxmibai Laxmidas Paleja whispers in Gujarati: "Mane saroo thai javano shrap nai aap (Don't curse me by wishing me health). When I close my eyes to sleep I pray they may never open again." Her wrinkled face and back are battered with bruises, the wound on her hand is bleeding and her swollen eyes bloodshot.

Paleja, who has been admitted to Harkisondas Hospital, was bundled into a taxi and dumped in her daughter's home at Opera House on April 1.

"My grandson kicked me on my face and my daughter-in-law abused me. It was after my son died that they started ill-treating me. They would call me useless and force me to do work even though I can barely walk because of my age. Finally, they just threw me out of the house, saying I had nothing to do with them," says Paleja. Paleja's son Narendra, who worked at the office of a chemical firm at Worli, died of a paralytic attack in December. She lived with her 29-year-old grandson Vinay and her daughter-in-law Darshana in Mulund (east).

Paleja said she was abused because her family was fed up of taking care of her. "I can't even go to the bathroom without assistance," she said in a quavering voice.

She said that after her son's death, Darshana saw no reason to keep her in the house. "They took away all our ancestral wealth, be it land in Vejapur taluka near Aurangabad or 450 gm gold that I had saved up. I have not been able to give my daughters a penny, how can I go and live with them now?" she said.

When contacted, Vinay and Darshana Paleja said the nonagenarian had inflicted injuries on herself to harass them. "This is not the first time that she has done it. She has a long history of hitting herself to get sympathy. My mother and I have not touched her. My aunts are behind this to get their hands on the property, which is not even with us," said Vinay.

Darshana said she had taken care of her mother-in-law despite economic problems in the household. "She cannot walk to the bathroom. It was me who had to clean up for her." A teary-eyed Paleja said she had been ill-treated even by her son. "God is watching. A day after Narendra abused me and raised his hand on me, he got the paralytic attack," said Paleja.

When Paleja's daughters went to the police station to register an FIR at the Mhada colony police station in Mulund, the police only registered a non-cognisable complaint.

Inspector Shirke from the Mulund police station said he had registered a non-cognisable complaint. But legal experts said it ought to be registered as a criminal offence. "Parents cannot be evicted without the due process of law, if they have been staying there from before. There are three enactments which can be applied. Firstly, under Section of 125 CrPC a magistrate can order the child to maintain his old parents. Secondly, Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, says an aged parent can demand maintenance from the same way a wife can demand from her husband. Also, the Domestic Violence Act provides parents with the right to seek relief," said advocate Y P Singh.

Sheilu Srinivasan from the Dignity foundation said even though there were laws to protect senior citizens' rights, the fight for justice involved much more than laws.

"Who is going to fight for her and who is going to pay for it? By the time the judgment comes, she will be no more," said Shrinivasan, adding that there was a pressing need for more old age homes in the city.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Woman who killed other elderly women

Life for Mexico's Old Lady Killer

Mexican serial killing suspect Juana Barraza, next to a police mock-up (file picture 2006)

Juana Barraza was arrested in 2006

One of Mexico's most prolific serial killers, a former female wrestler, has received multiple life sentences for the murders of at least 11 women.

Juana Barraza, nicknamed the Little Old Lady Killer or Mataviejitas, was sentenced to 759 years in jail for the killings of mostly elderly women.

It is thought she may have actually been responsible for up to 40 deaths.

Juana Barraza, 50, said she had been motivated by a lingering resentment against her mother.

Under Mexican law, she is likely to spend a maximum of 50 years in prison as multiple sentences are generally served concurrently.

The killings began in Mexico City in the late 1990s.

Transvestites questioned

After reports that a woman had carried them out, police suspected a man in woman's clothes. It meant months were spent detaining and questioning transvestites.

But police said the broad-shouldered Barraza, who as a professional wrestler was known as the Silent Lady, resembled composite profiles of the suspect.

She was arrested in 2006 after she was seen leaving the house of one of her victims who had been strangled with a stethoscope.

She was found in possession of social benefits papers and a social worker's identification card, which she used to gain entry to victims' homes by pretending to be a government employee who could sign them up to welfare programmes.

source URL

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7323821.stm

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Extradition : From the CBI website

From the CBI website

http://www.cbi.gov.in/interpol/extradition.php

Extradition

Extradition may be briefly described as the surrender of an alleged or convicted criminal by one State to another. More precisely, extradition may be defined as the process by which one State upon the request of another surrenders to the latter a person found within its jurisdiction for trial and punishment or, if he has been already convicted, only for punishment, on account of a crime punishable by the laws of the requesting State and committed outside the territory of the requested State.

Extradition plays an important role in the international battle against crime. It owes its existence to the so-called principle of territoriality of criminal law, according to which a State will not apply its penal statutes to acts committed outside its own boundaries except where the protection of special national interests is at stake. In view of the solidarity of nations in the repression of criminality, however, a State, though refusing to impose direct penal sanctions to offences committed abroad, is usually willing to cooperate otherwise in bringing the perpetrator to justice lest he goes unpunished.

ICPO-Interpol has been a forerunner in international efforts to improve and accelerate existing procedure of extradition. Apart from attempts by academic bodies such as the Harvard Research Draft Convention on Extradition, the ICPO-Interpol was the first international organization to recommend to member countries a Draft General Agreement for the Extradition of Offenders, which unfortunately has remained a dead letter since it was adopted by the General Assembly of the Organization (then known as the International Criminal Police Commission) in 1948.

Interpol's interest in finding ways of improving the extradition process did not end with the failure of the Draft General Agreement. Since the early fifties, the General Secretariat of the ICPO-Interpol has undertaken on behalf of the member countries two new activities intended to facilitate international police co-operation in matters relating to extradition.

The first of these initiatives concerns the publication of a series of circulars on a country basis, setting out the provisional measures that the police in each country may take when complying with a request from the police of another member country for quick action with a view to identification and arrest of a person wanted on a warrant of arrest. The second initiative taken by the ICPO-Interpol consists in the dissemination of national extradition laws. This activity is based on a resolution of the General Assembly passed in 1967 in Tokyo (Japan) inviting member countries to forward the texts of their extradition laws to the General Secretariat so that the latter may send them to other member countries for their information. The pre-extradition circulars and the texts of extradition laws of the member countries received from the General Secretariat are being maintained in the Interpol Wing.

Position In India

In India the extradition of a fugitive from India to a foreign country or vice-versa is governed by the provisions of Indian Extradition Act, 1962. The basis of extradition could be a treaty between India and a foreign country. Under section 3 of this Act, a notification could be issued by the Government of India extending the provisions of the Act to the country/countries notified.

Information regarding the fugitive criminals wanted in foreign countries is received directly from the concerned country or through the General Secretariat of the ICPO-Interpol in the form of red notices. The Interpol Wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation immediately passes it on to the concerned police organizations. The red notices received from the General Secretariat are circulated to all the State Police authorities and immigration authorities.

The question arises that what action, if any, can be taken by the Police on receipt of an information regarding a fugitive criminal wanted in a foreign country. In this connection the following provisions of law are relevant:

- Action can be taken under the Indian Extradition Act Article No. 34 (b) of 1962. This act provides procedure for the arrest and extradition of fugitive criminals under certain conditions which includes receipt of the request through diplomatic channels ONLY and under the warrant issued by a Magistrate having a competent jurisdiction.

- Action can also be taken under the provisions of Section 41 (1) (g) of the Cr.P.C., 1973 which authorizes the police to arrest a fugitive criminal without a warrant, however, they must immediately refer the matter to Interpol Wing for onward transmission to the Government of India for taking a decision on extradition or otherwise.

In case the fugitive criminal is an Indian national, action can also be taken under Section 188 Cr.P.C., 1973 as if the offence has been committed at any place in India at which he may be found. The trial of such a fugitive criminal can only take place with the previous sanction of the Central Government.

Extradition Treaties

India has signed Extradition Treaties, which are in force as on 2003-2007

1.	Belgium (1958)
2.	Bhutan(1997)
3.	Canada(1987)
4.	Hong Kong (1997)
5.	Nepal (old Treaty) (1963)
6.	Netherlands(1989)
7.	Russia(2000)
8.	Switzerland(1996)
9.	UAE(2000)
10.	U.K.(1993)
11.	USA(1999)
12.	Uzbekistan(2002)
13.	Spain(2003)
14.	Mongolia(2004)
15.	Turkey(2003)
16.	Germany(2004)
17.	Tunisia(2004)
18.	Oman(2005)
19.	France(2005)
20.	Poland(2005)
21.	Korea (ROK) (2004)
22.	Bahrain(2005)
23.	Bulgaria(2006)
24.	Ukraine(2006)
25.	South Africa(2005)

Extradition Arrangements

India has Extradition arrangements with following countries.

Australia (1971)
Fiji (1979)
Itlay (2003)
Papua New Guinea (1978)
Singapore (1972)
Sri Lanka (1978)
Sweden (1963)
Tanzania (1966)
Thailand (1982)
Portugal (2002)

MEA Guidelines

Extradition request for an accused/ fugitive can be initiated after chargesheet has been filed before an appropriate Court and said court having taken cognizance of the case has issued orders/directions justifying accused/fugitive's committal for trial on the basis of evidence made available in the charge sheet and has sought presence of the accused/fugitive to face trial in the case.

All extradition requests should be supported by documents and information enumerated below.

Note: If an extradition treaty exists between India and the requested country, the extradition request and documents connected therewith should be prepared on the basis of provisions of Extradition Treaty.

1. It should be in spiral bound and contain an index with page numbers.

2. The request should be supported by a self-contained affidavit executed by the Court by whom the fugitive is wanted or by a Senior Officer in charge of the case (not below the rank of Superintendent of Police of the concerned investigating agency) sworn before a judicial Magistrate (of the court by which the fugitive is wanted for prosecution). The affidavit should contain brief facts and history of the case, referring at the appropriate places the statements of witnesses and other documentary evidences. Criminal's description establishing his identity; provision of the law invoked etc. so that a prima facie case is made out against the fugitive criminal.

3. Paragraph 1 of the affidavit should indicate the basis/capacity in which the affidavit is executed.

4. The affidavit should indicate that the offences for which the accused is charged in India.

5. The affidavit should also indicate that the law in question was in force at the time of Commission of offences and it is still in force, including the penalty provisions.

6. The evidence made available should be admissible under Indian laws. Accordingly, the affidavit should indicate whether the statements of witness are admissible as evidence in India in a criminal trial/prosecution. Statements of witnesses should be sworn before the Court.

7. The affidavit should also indicate that if the accused were extradited to India, he would be tried in India only for those offences for which his/her extradition is sought.

8. Copy of First Information Report (FIR), duly countersigned by the competent judicial authority, should be enclosed with the request.

9. Comeptent authority should countersign copy of charge sheet, which is enclosed with the documents.

10. A letter/order from the concerned court justifying accused person's committal for trial on the basis of evidence made available in the Charge sheet, with a direction seeking accused person's presence in court to stand trial in said court from the country of present stay.

11. Warrant of arrest should be in original and open dated indicating clearly only those offences for which the accused is charged and Court has taken cognizance with relevant sections thereof.

12. Nationality, identity and address of the accused including his photograph should be made available with the request.

13. Copy of the relevant provisions under which the accused is charged along with the provisions of the relevant laws indicating that the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence for which the accused is charged or convicted.

14. The extradition request is to be made in quadruplet (four copies). All original and copies should be attested /authenticated by the concerned court.

15. All the documents should be very clear, legible and in presentable form as they are to be presented to the soverign Governments of Foreign Countries.

16. Original documents in national languages should be sent along with certified English translation of each such document from authorized translators.

17. Extradition requests/documents to the country where English is not first language should be submitted along with duly translated copy in host country's local language. The Court issuing warrant should certify such translated copy.

After completion of necessary formalities, the request for extradition should contain a letter/note from a Senior Official (not below the rank of Joint Secretary) or the concerned State Government indicating the correctness of the case/material with a request to the Central Executive to forward it to the Government of the concerned foreign country.

N.B.: If the concerned court is requesting for extradition of a person, the request in the form of an affidavit should be in first person, i.e. by the Hon'ble Magistrate/ Judge himself/herself. (Such requests are usually received from Court Masters or other court officials writing in third person on behalf of the Court. Requested States object to it)

NOTE: The request for extradition and the documents thereof should be prepared as per the requirements of the extradition treaty between India and the country concerned from which the fugitive is to be extradited to India.

============== end of post from CBI Website =============

regards, vinayak

My post above is Subject to
----------------------------
1. My idea of *self help* which is very essential : http://tinyurl.com/pxcfz
2. Standard disclaimers as in http://tinyurl.com/947u9
3. A short preamble : http://tinyurl.com/hatew

Dowry Law Misuse : http://tinyurl.com/tdkx6 , http://tinyurl.com/v5vp8

Blogs :
http://tinyurl.com/3arv2w
http://bareact.blogspot.com/2006/12/divorce-why-now.html
http://tinyurl.com/2tb3s7
http://tinyurl.com/2dkub4
http://tinyurl.com/23xppp

http://vinayak.jconserv.net/index.php

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/eVinayak
http://bareact.blogspot.com/
http://my2cw.blogspot.com/

Seek advise : All India contact Nos : http://tinyurl.com/vntjz
alternate URL
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You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.

Marriage cannot be dissolved at the drop of a hat: HC: Mubai:

Marriage cannot be dissolved at the drop of a hat: HC: Mubai:

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Marriage-cannot-be-dissolved-at-the-drop-of-a-hat-HC/291112/

Mumbai, April 1: Couples seeking divorce will not be able to untie the knot quickly with a court ruling in Mumbai that the one-year mandatory period cannot be shortened under any circumstance.

The Bombay High Court gave the ruling while dismissing a petition of a city-based couple, who challenged the Constitutional validity of Section 13 (B) of the Hindu Marriage Act, pleading for legal separation within six months of their marriage.

Section 13(B) states that divorce through mutual consent require a window period of one year before it is considered.

"In the age of IT, tendency to take impulsive decisions are on the rise but the ability to act faster in a modernised age must not result in instant decisions relating to delicate human relationships," a Division Bench of Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice J P Deodhar said in their recent judgment.

Dismissing the petition, the court observed, "The period of one year is sin qua non. It is meant to be a healing time, to ponder over mutual differences."

Lawyer Uday Warunjikar, who argued for the petitioners, said the requirement of one year for separation was unreasonable, and it bore no relation with the objective behind the scheme of divorce by mutual consent.

However, the court said, "If petitioners' argument is to be accepted, then divorce petitions would be filed just a few days after the marriage. There would be no attempt to even fairly understand each other and resolve minor differences which may appear as teething problems of married life."

STOP police from arresting innocents, elders and women !!

Comment :

If the police is so bad with under trials how can they be allowed inside homes to handle MATRIMONIAL DISPUTES ??????

Stop police from entering homes and arresting women and elders. Stop legal terrorism.

========== news item ===================

Undertrial says she was stripped, beaten, clicked in Tihar jail

Naziya Alvi, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, April 01, 2008

First Published: 00:56 IST(1/4/2008)

Last Updated: 01:35 IST(1/4/2008)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?id=b9acdfad-7bbb-4198-baf8-8ae59ea3ec5c&&Headline=Undertrial+stripped%2c+beaten%2c+clicked

A 30-year-old woman undertrial was allegedly dragged to an isolated cell, stripped, beaten, photographed and videographed by officials in Tihar jail, allegedly as `punishment' after she was caught with a letter in which she had complained against prison staff.

A city court on Monday ordered a probe into the matter after the woman broke down before the judge narrating the incident. The woman, who is facing trial in a murder case, was produced before the court for a routine hearing. She has submitted the names of four people who witnessed her humiliation.

In a detailed complaint before Additional Session Judge V.K. Bansal, the woman alleged that the jail staff also passed "obscene remarks" about her. She said she was humiliated enough to attempt suicide after the incident. The court immediately sent her to AIIMS for a medical examination.

Bansal also directed a metropolitan magistrate to take "immediate legal steps to look into the allegations", who then directed the police to register an FIR. The Delhi Police have confirmed receiving the court's orders.

Tihar Jail's legal officer Sunil Gupta, however, denied the allegations. He said, "No such incident has taken place in Tihar."

According to the woman's complaint to the court, on March 26, three wardens — Sanjay, Paramjeet and Jhumman Singh — along with a photographer and a few female superintendents, dragged her from her cell in jail number six to a "high risk" area. "There, I was beaten up and stripped by them. They then clicked my photographs and videographed me," she said.

She went on to say that when she tried to commit suicide, they took her to the psychiatry department where the doctors laughed at her saying, "Beta, pyar se high-risk cell mein kyon nahin chali jaati?" (Kid, why don't you cooperate and go to the high-risk cell with them?)

The highly emotional woman told the court she was not in a proper mental state, and should be sent either to a hospital for treatment or be just allowed to die, but she should not be sent back to Tihar jail.

=================== end of news item =======================

regards, vinayak

My post above is Subject to
----------------------------
1. My idea of *self help* which is very essential : http://tinyurl.com/pxcfz
2. Standard disclaimers as in http://tinyurl.com/947u9
3. A short preamble : http://tinyurl.com/hatew

Dowry Law Misuse : http://tinyurl.com/tdkx6 , http://tinyurl.com/v5vp8

Blogs :
http://tinyurl.com/3arv2w
http://bareact.blogspot.com/2006/12/divorce-why-now.html
http://tinyurl.com/2tb3s7
http://tinyurl.com/2dkub4
http://tinyurl.com/23xppp

http://vinayak.jconserv.net/index.php

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/eVinayak
http://bareact.blogspot.com/
http://my2cw.blogspot.com/

Seek advise : All India contact Nos : http://tinyurl.com/vntjz
alternate URL http://www.blurty.com/users/vinayak/day/2006/12/10

Saturday, April 26, 2008

India burns midnight oil for justice

Amrit Dhillon, Delhi

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Monday, April 21, 2008

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Friday, April 11, 2008

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Monday, April 07, 2008

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Life for Mexico's Old Lady Killer

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

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