Category Archives: News

Sex Selective Abortion Rampant Amongst the Rich

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While it’s well known that female foeticide is widely practised in India, the general perception is that the practice prevails due to poverty and the lack to education.

There have been a number of studies in recent years which have disproved this. In fact, they’ve shown that some of the most lopsided sex ratios in India exist in some of the richest neighbourhoods such as GK in New Delhi and in states such as Punjab which are certainly not amongst the poorest states in the country.

A new study by the Harvard School of Public Health lead by S V Subramanian reported by the Statesman on December 15, 2008 confirms this. It found that the odds of having a boy is higher in a rich family than in a poor one, in an educated family than in an uneducated

one, and in an urban family than in a rural one.

The study clearly shows that the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 is a failure, and that the intensity of the preference for sons together with the ease with which sex determination tests could be performed are factors which make the sex ratio so lopsided among the rich.

Saying that dowry and inheritance practices could be what causes families to want sons, the study raises the rather worrying possibility that as strong a preference for sons may simply be dormant among the poor. It goes on to say that their reduced access to technology may be what is preventing them from participating as actively in foetal sex determination followed by selective abortion.

Usually, education and awareness are touted as solutions to the problems of female infanticide and foeticide in India. Clearly, they are not solutions. It isn’t clear what would solve the problem though.

Public Displays of Affection

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There’ve been a number of instances of late in urban areas about morality and the law. One which was widely discussed was the Mangalore incident where persons with political affiliations seem to have assaulted women who were drinking in a pub. Apparently, they were acting as the moral police although it isn’t clear why drinking was considered immoral or how they could possibly be policing anything or anyone since drinking per se is not ordinarily illegal.

Nonetheless, there were people who spoke of vigilantes taking (non-existent) law(s) into their own hands. The story was covered by every newspaper, TV channel and almost every blog. And everyone against women drinking spoke long and loud about its being against Indian Culture.

Soon after, there was another report of a PDA which came from Delhi. This one didn’t have anything to do with alcohol but spoke of policemen having charged a young, married couple with obscenity for kissing each other under a metro pillar in Dwarka, Delhi. The couple said that they weren’t kissing each other – they were taking pictures of themselves with a cell phone – and that the policemen (and their lawyer) were trying to extort money from them. Ultimately, they approached the Delhi High Court to have the FIR filed against them quashed. Among other things, they said that while they were being interrogated, the husband’s ATM card was used to unburden him of 20,000 INR.

The High Court while saying that the FIR was difficult to believe since there were no passers-by or witnesses whose statements were attached to it. Indian law does not define obscenity: it is left entirely to the judiciary to interpret what is and is not obscene.  The couple had been accused of having violated sections 294 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Under section 294, whoever, to the annoyance of others does any obscene act in any public place, or sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place is to be punished with either simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine, or with both. Section 34, however, deals with acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention. Under the Section, when a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all, each of such persons is liable for that act in the same manner as if it were done by him alone.

One problem with accusing the couple with obscenity was the lack of witnesses: the law requires the obscene act to annoy others. If it’s an act which no one has seen, it does not fall within the parameters of the Section 294 of Indian Penal Code.

The Court also said that even if the couple were in fact kissing, there could be nothing wrong in their doing so, and it expressed surprise that the police chose to ignore the fact that the couple were married. Justice Muralidhar said: “The FIR doesn’t make a case for offence under Section 294 (obscenity) read with 34 IPC. It is inconceivable how, even if one were to take what is stated in the FIR to be true, an expression of love by a young married couple would attract the offence of obscenity and trigger the coercive process of law.”

While it’s certainly something that the High Court did in fact step in to protect the couple, what was striking was the emphasis on the couple being married. Does that mean that if the couple was not married, their having done exactly the same thing would have been considered obscene?

Reference: Times of India, February 3, 2009

Reciprocal Common Transport Agreement

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The Governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh published a transport agreement for the unrestricted movement of contract carriages in the National Capital Region on December 11, 2008
to facilitate development in the region.

The agreement which was entered into on October 14, 2008 could not be published earlier because of the restrictions imposed by the election code of conduct. It is restricted to contract carriages which run on clean fuel. It lays down provisions regarding the issue of permits and connected matters. It is valid for a period of ten years although it may be reviewed after five years.

Permits for Autorickshaws, Taxis and Motor Cabs

These non-temporary permits are to enable autorickshaws, motor cabs and taxis which are registered in the NCR to move unrestricted within the region. Permit charges are to be paid only in the State of
registration.

The vehicles are to be given a colour code and logos so that they are easily recognised. Their exact number is to be dependant on the demand/potential and on the relaxation of the ceiling number of autos by the Supreme Court.

Permits for Other Vehicles

Contract carriage permits can also be obtained for other vehicles such as the buses of educational institutes used only to transport students and staff. These too must be registered in the NCR. They will have colour codes and logos, and be subject to speed controlled devices.

Temporary Permits

The Transport Authority of any State can issue a Temporary Permit without the concurrence of other States according to the need of commuters or passengers. The permits must mention the route and the passengers of the vehicles concerned, and the vehicles themselves are subject to speed controlled devices.

Taxation

Although the agreement speaks of a tax regime, it provides no details further than saying that single point (passenger) and uniform tax applies to all vehicles with contract carriage permits.

Compensation Awarded to Pay for Cosmetic Surgery

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Arun Kumar Arya, a Presiding Officer of a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal reportedly awarded compensation of 60,000 INR to a 23-year-old woman who was involved in a motor accident. There was no fracture but the accident left a scar on her left foot.

The argument was that a scar can harm a woman’s marriage prospects, and the insurance company, United India Insurance, was therefore directed to pay the victim to enable her to get plastic surgery done to remove the scar.

While it would be impossible to argue that the victims of accidents should not be compensated, the logic in this case seems less than palatable.

The Motor Vehicles Act contains a provisions which speak of the quantum of compensation which should be paid to victims of accidents taking a variety of factors including the age of the victim and the severity of the injury into consideration. The amounts of money are not especially high and if one were to compare them with the 60,000 INR directed to be paid to enable a victim to undergo a cosmetic procedure, the only conclusion one can draw is that a scar such as this is considered a serious injury.

The Tribunal may have been absolutely correct in its assessment of the scar and its effects. And if the Tribunal was correct, it hardly reflects well on Indian society. What the case comes across as
conveying is that women are judged by society not so much by what they’re like as individuals but by how flawless their bodies are. That a scar which presumably isn’t even noticeable at first glance is
capable of diminishing a woman’s worth.

Victims can get Bail Revoked

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Bail granted to those accused of perpetrating crimes can be cancelled.Section 437(5) of the CrPc says that any court which has released a person on bail (for a non-bailable offence) may, if it considers it necessary to do so, direct that such person be arrested and commit him to custody.Special powers are reposed in the High Court and Court of sessions under sec 439(2) whereby either court may direct that any person who has been released on bail be arrested and committed to custody.Usually, bail is cancelled because of the accused having misused bail.

In Public Prosecutor v. George Williams (1951 Mad 1042) the Madras High Court pointed out five grounds on which a bail could be cancelled:

(a)Where the person on bail, during the period of the bail, commits the very same offence for which is being tried or has been convicted, and thereby proves his utter unfitness to be on bail;

(b)If he hampers the investigation as will be the case if he, when on bail; forcibly prevents the search of place under his control for the corpus delicti or other incriminating things;

(c)If he tampers with the evidence, as by intimidating the prosecution witness, interfering with scene of the offence in order to remove traces or proofs of crime, etc.

(d)If he runs away to a foreign country, or goes underground, or beyond the control of his sureties; and

(e)If he commits acts of violence, in revenge, against the police and the prosecution witnessed & those who have booked him or are trying to book him

However, in what appears to be a landmark judgment, a bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Tarun Chatterjee and V S Sirpurkar have ruled that bail can be revoked if the accused is facing charges of having committed a crime such as murder and the victim of the crime raises valid objections to the grant of bail.

Observing that ‘the complainant can always question the merits of the order granting bail’, the Supreme Court came to this conclusion in the case of Brij Nandan Jaiswal v Munna @ Munna Jaiswal & Anr. The Bench categorically stated that ‘it is not as if once a bail as granted be any court, the only way to get it cancelled is on account of its misuse’.

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

RIAA’s Suing Spree Stops

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In what could be good news for internet users, the Recording Industry Association of America has said that it will stop suing random internet users who download music without a licence (or who steal it, if one were to use the lingo of popular anti-’piracy’ campaigns).

What the RIAA — which, incidentally, has sued some 35,000 people for copyright infringement over the last five years — now plans to do is to adopt some form of ‘three strike programme’ to curb copyright infringement. It plans to work with — or possibly through — internet service providers to get the job done. It isn’t clear which service providers have agreed to do this.

The Association says that ISPs will send warnings to persons who illegally download music asking them to stop doing so. If the warnings are heeded, well and good. If not, action which could ultimately be the cancellation of the internet connection could be taken against the users concerned.

While the good thing about this is that the suing campaign which was distinctly distasteful should now be over, the bad part is that one can’t help but get the feeling that the recording industry is getting internet service providers to do its dirty work for it in much the same way its been trying to do in Europe. Also, this new strategy does come with a disclaimer: the RIAA has reserved the right to sue internet users, and it has no intention of not pursuing pending law suits.

Served on Facebook

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The law must change with changing times. And so, while the need to serve notices to people involved in litigation remains unchanged, the means with which it can be done has been wildly expanded.

 

Gone are the days when notices had to be served in person or by registered post. The Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court gave permission for a couple to be notified on Facebook that they had lost their home for defaulting on a loan repayment. It’s another matter that by the time, Mark McCormack, the lawyer who obtained the permission tried to do so, the couple’s Facebook Profiles had disappeared.

 

While this kind of issue hasn’t been raised in Indian courts yet, there are areas in the law where the ‘modernisation’ process has begun e.g. with regard to service of summons an amendment to the CPC in 2002 which was aimed at making litigation more speedy and effective, enabled use of information technology (fax, e-mail) and pre-approved private courier services for the purpose of issuing summons. Considering that most delays in procedure occur at the pre-trial stage, the need to modify the procedure on issuing summons was pressing.

 

It is clear that keeping step with the times is necessary for efficiency in the judicial process. Would Indian courts be willing to ‘scrap’ a summons anytime soon?