43-year-old man arrested for blackmailing wife over dowry demands

43-year-old man arrested for blackmailing wife over dowry demands


A businessman was held here for blackmailing his wife and demanding dowry from her family after threatening to release her nude photographs on the internet, police said Tuesday.
Accused Gagandeep, 43, a resident of DLF Phase-1, was arrested on Monday night for shooting nude photographs of his wife, 40, and threatening to upload the pictures on the internet, police said.
"We are investigating the case," Surender Phogat, chief of DLF Phase-1 police station, told IANS. 


The two got married more than a decade ago and have two children, police said.
The businessman was Tuesday presented in a Gurgaon court which sent him to one day police custody for questioning. 

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/43yearold-man-arrested-for-blackmailing-wife-over-dowry-demands/415911-3-240.html

UP accounts for over 80% of illegal arrests in India

UP accounts for over 80% of illegal arrests in India

NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh's high-handedness is not just reflected in the arbitrary transfer of officers such as Durga Sakthi Nagpal and slapping of bogus cases against dissenters (as in the case of Dalit scholar Kanwal Bharti), it can also be seen in the massive number of illegal arrests made by the UP police.

According to National Human Rights Commission data, UP records an overwhelming majority of illegal arrests in the country, accounting for more than 80% of all such cases. In fact, it tips its nearest competitor, Delhi, by over 3,000% almost year after year.

In the past three years (April 2010 to July 2013), UP accounted for 3,397 illegal arrests out of 3,950 such cases recorded across India by NHRC. The count for the rest of the 27 states and seven union territories put together was just 553.

"What do you expect from a state where many politicians themselves are criminals? How do you expect them to have any respect for law and order or human rights?" says Colin Gonsalves of Human Rights Law Network.

From April 2012 to March 2013, NHRC recorded 703 cases of illegal arrests in all. As many as 589 of these were against the UP police. UP accounts for 161 of 192 illegal arrests in '13

Its closest rivals in this dubious distinction, Uttarakhand and Delhi, were way behind with 14 cases each. Data for this period shows only two other states where the number of illegal arrests had crossed double figures — Karnataka (12) and Andhra Pradesh (10).

In 2013 too (April 1 to July 20), UP accounted for 161 such cases of the total of 192 recorded by NHRC in the entire country. Its closest rival, Delhi, was again was behind with only five cases.

Year 2011 was the worse for UP, with the state police being at the wrong end of the law 1,101 times of the total of 1,249 cases registered by NHRC. Delhi again took the second spot with 38 cases. In 2010 too UP recorded 1,546 such cases of the total of 1,716. These are cases that were brought to NHRC's notice. The real figures for both UP and other states are bound to be higher as many complainants go to state human rights commissions instead of knocking at NHRC's doors.

Conversely, sources say, UP being closer to Delhi, more people may tend to approach NHRC in the capital. But if that was true, neighbouring Haryana would also show a high number of illegal arrests. However,Haryana's figures for many years have remained in single digits.  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/UP-accounts-for-over-80-of-illegal-arrests-in-India/articleshow/21853340.cms 

98% marriage laws False / abused

498a misuse - 5

divorce law - marriage breaker

498a misuse - 4

woman reservation bill will result in gender war :AIMWA

why no punishment for dowry givers

Dowry is a shield, not an assassin's weapon : court

Woman commits suicide on blackmail by sister-in-law

Woman commits suicide on blackmail by sister-in-law

A 20-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide after being threatened by her sister-in-law of implicating her in a case of dowry harassment, police said here today.

Aarti hanged herself in her room yesterday, police said.

A suicide note has been recovered in which she has blamed her sister-in-law Shweta and her relatives for her suicide, police said.

The note alleged that Shweta didn't want to do household work and used to threaten Aarti and other family members that she would implicate them in a dowry harassment case if they asked her to do that, police said.

No arrest has been made so far and family members are being questioned, police said.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/woman-commits-suicide-on-blackmail-by-sister-in-law-113081300461_1.html 

Men can get harassed anywhere anytime....

Men can get harassed anywhere anytime....

furniture or luggage given by bride's parents in marriage is not Dowry

High court alert on 498A

High court alert on 498A 

The high court on Thursday observed that some women were abusing IPC Section 498A to harass those the clause aims to protect them from — husbands and in-laws.

Justice K.S. Ahluwalia made the observation while quashing criminal charges against Mita Bhaduri and her husband Tapan, who were fearing arrest in connection with a case under section 498A (cruelty by husband or relatives of husband) lodged by her sister-in-law Maumita Maitra.

“The proceedings against the petitioners (Mita and Tapan) will be an abuse of the process of law. The FIR, along with all proceedings against the petitioners, is quashed,” Justice Ahluwalia said in his three-page order.

Quoting a Supreme Court ruling, Justice Ahluwalia said: “The ultimate object of justice is to find out the truth and punish the guilty and protect the innocent. The tendency of implicating all immediate relations is also not uncommon. The courts have to be extremely careful and cautious while dealing with these complaints and must take pragmatic matrimonial cases.”

Legal experts in the city welcomed Justice Ahluwalia’s view, which they said had highlighted the tendency of a section of women and their family members to misuse article 498A and lodge false complaints against in-laws.

“If a woman lodges a complaint of torture against her husband or any of her in-laws within seven years of marriage, police will have to arrest the accused first. No investigation is needed to arrest the accused or family members. Many women misuse the law to falsely implicate their husbands and in-laws,” said lawyer and former mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya.

Maumita, a resident of Khardah, on the northern fringes of the city, had married Atanu in December 2002. The couple, who had been living at Atanu’s house in Sodepur, have two daughters — Arunima, 7, and Archisha, 5.

In December 2012, Maumita had lodged a complaint of torture against her husband, sister-in-law Mita and her husband Tapan.

Mita and Tapan — the couple got married in 1983 — live at Sinthee, around 12km from Atanu’s house. They moved a petition in the high court, seeking quashing of the proceedings against them.

The couple’s lawyer Debabrata Chatterjee submitted: “Maumita had complained that she had been regularly subjected to mental and physical torture by my clients. Is it possible? Mita and her husband have their own family. Why will they go to Sodepur regularly and torture Maumita?”

The judge observed: “It’s a fact that Mita and Tapan lived far way from the complainant’s house. The sister, who got married 19 years before her brother’s wedding, had nothing to do with the brother’s matrimonial affairs.”

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130126/jsp/calcutta/story_16485664.jsp#.Uffp-m0uxRA 

Now, a helpline for harassed men

Now, a helpline for harassed men

KOZHIKODE: A legal aid centre formed by victims of dowry law (IPC498A) and other anti-men laws is launching a helpline for clients. The JanamithramJanakeeyaNeethiVedi, launched three years ago, promises that the service will be available round the clock from August 11.

The facility, offering legal aid and steps to tackle fabricated cases, will be launched in Malayalam in the first phase. The helpline numbers will be 9387469083 and 9142930682.

Vedi president M A Ibrahim Ravuthar said the increasing instances of misuse of laws, anti-men directives of family courts and the new amendment to Hindu Marriage Act had forced the 5,000-member-strong organization to launch the helpline. "The number of educated women misusing IPC section 498A to harass their husbands and other relatives is on the rise. We are looking to help such people," he said.

The genuineness of cases will be verified with the help of organization members in the respective districts. Legal aid to face fabricated cases will be provided to only those whose claims are found to be genuine in the verification process.

"The organization will also seek to work like mediators for the speedy disposal of cases. We have already contacted similar organisations in other states to work together. The helpline can benefit even those who don't know whom to approach for help,'' Ravuthur said.

"We will also provide legal aid with the help of police and state legal services authority,'' he added. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Now-a-helpline-for-harassed-men/articleshow/21290465.cms?fb_action_ids=185487584954514&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%22185487584954514%22%3A282026641937032}&action_type_map={%22185487584954514%22%3A%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map=[] 

Mistress of Spice: Renuka Chowdhury

Mistress of Spice: Renuka Chowdhury

Renuka Chowdhury likes to be in the news. This week, however, the women and child development minister hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Her advice to women to trust condoms more than men received flak not only from men but also from women’s organisations. In the midst of this, she also provided enough ‘masala’ to news channels to rake up a fresh controversy.
The 52-year-old minister from Andhra Pradesh is not left deterred, though. “I will rather deal with controversies than die compromising. I will always knock at the door of truth,” was her reaction to opinions against her on television. “People should understand the context (of the statement) — that most women get HIV/AIDS from their husbands. I just wanted to caution them,” she said.
But critics like Poornima Advani, former chairperson of National Commission for Women, would prefer more subtle ways of cautioning. “Telling (women) that men cannot be trusted is demeaning your brothers and creating a rift in families,” said Advani.
Others questioned Chowdhury’s wisdom in asking women to purchase condoms themselves, saying they would be branded as sex workers. They feel that propagating such views can cause more harm to women than do any good.
All for a cause?
A housewife-turned-politician, Chowdhury, however, describes such views as mindset problems. And strong statements such as the one she made, she says, are needed to change the popular mindset. So, don’t be amazed if Chowdhury has more astonishing words of advice for women in the future.
She believes women cannot be empowered without strong rhetoric from the top level in the government and actually takes credit for initiating a national debate on issues relating to women’s right with her statement.
Chowdhury would have you believe that she has taken over the task of championing the cause of women’s empowerment. “I have seen traumatised women in the worst possible inhuman conditions. I am here to bring a change in their lives,” she has said.
Her eloquence on mandatory registration of pregnancies last week had several women organisations up in arms, terming the proposal as a move to infringe a woman’s privacy. Bur Chowdhury disagrees: “What privacy are you talking about? They (women) live with 10 members in a room and don’t have a bathroom. They cannot even decide when to bear a child. Registration (of pregnancy) will help give a woman good and healthy life.”
Heated history
The fresh row in the aftermath of Chowdhury’s statement may dissipate with time as it has happened in past, but Chowdhury’s political career, which started in 1984, has seen a long list of controversies. She hogged the limelight when she stood on top of a jeep to protest the ouster of the Andhra Pradesh government, and won the election against Congress leader P. Janardhan Reddy.
Then there was a time when she created a storm by joining the Congress after quitting the Telugu Desam Party and was subsequently made a minister of state for health and family welfare.
Her stint at the helm of the women and child development ministry has not been any less controversial. Her strong advocacy of the Domestic Violence Act earned her the dubious distinction of being one of the most hated Indian politicians on blogs and websites.
Blogs like the Unquiet Mind described her as ‘men hater’ and ‘creator of gender bias in the Indian laws’. Chowdhury’s office has received large amounts of hate mail but her officers perceive it as a signal of the good work being done. The domestic violence law even received flak from the Supreme Court, when it  observed that it was a “badly framed law”.
Mixed bag of results
Chowdhury’s critics like Ranjana Kumari of Women Power Connect point out that mere sensational comments on women and child issues will not work. Many of Chowdhury’s ideas —  like orphanages for girl children, which were highlighted in media with fanfare — have just not taken off, points out Ranjana Kumari. She adds that there is a need to bring seriousness in the government’s thinking on women and children issues.
Chowdhury’s retort is sharp: “We are here to restore rights of women as enshrined in the Constitution and give them a dignified way of living, which has not happened in 60 years of Independence.”
But the minister’s overdrive and admission of the faults within her ministry has won her accolades from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
For the first time, a law to protect the rights of children, a law against sexual harassment and a Child Protection Scheme are in the pipeline. Chowdhury admits that the world’s biggest child nutrition plan — the Integrated Child Development Scheme — was flawed, and has asked for restructuring of the scheme.
On the latest issue, Chowdhury claims she has got calls congratulating her for her views on HIV/AIDS and registration of pregnancies. And in making these statements, she says, she had taken the advice of a friend, who told her: “You should speak your heart out.” Well, the advice sure has brought into national focus the once low-profile ministry that she heads.
www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/India/Mistress-of-Spice-Renuka-Chowdhury/Article1-237774.aspx 

Daughter-in-law withdraws dowry case against Shankar Rao

Daughter-in-law withdraws dowry case against Shankar Rao

Hyderabad: Vamsi Priya, daughter-in-law of former minister Dr P. Shankar Rao, on Wednesday withdrew the dowry harassment cases that she filed against her husband and in-laws.
Vamsi Priya also filed a petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court stating that she was withdrawing the cases.
It may be mentioned that the Cantonment MLA was arrested by the Central Crime Station officials of City Police in connection with the same dowry harassment case filed against him. Later, he was shifted to a hospital after he fell ill where he is still undergoing treatment.
 

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130717/news-politics/article/daughter-law-withdraws-dowry-case-against-shankar-rao 

Husband arrested for sexually starving wife for dowry

Husband arrested for sexually starving wife for dowry

The all women police here have arrested a man for sexually starving (refusing to cohabit) his wife even a year after their marriage, demanding that she first fulfill his demand for dowry.
Priya (22) who was unable to bear the mental agony of her husband Ramesh (23) for more than 16 months finally approached the police.
Police said she got married in March last year and her nightmare began the same day as her husband demanded immediate handing over of seven sovereigns of gold ornaments and Rs five lakh cash, saying he would not have any physical contact with her till such time.
Her parents had agreed to give 20 sovereigns of gold to Ramesh, who works in a goldsmith outlet, but could give only 13 sovereigns on day of the marriage, they said.
Based on the complaint, Ramesh was arrested and a hunt is on for his parents who were part of the torture, police said.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/husband-arrested-for-sexually-starving-wife-for-dowry/1143641/ 

Married or not, domestic violence act binding, says Kerala HC

Married or not, domestic violence act binding, says Kerala HC


Kochi: In a significant ruling, the Kerala High Court has held that a woman is entitled to get protection under the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act even if she was in a live-in relationship. 'What was intended under Sect 2(a) of the Act was a relationship of the same nature as marriage and nothing more', Justice K Harilal said in his order on Tuesday while dismissing a petition filed by a man hailing from Cherthala in Alapuzha district against a complaint from his live-in partner seeking protection from domestic violence and compensation.
According to Justice Harilal, "The couple must have lived together akin to spouses. That alone is sufficient. The legislature intent of the Act itself is to give protection to the women who were living with the husband in the nature of a marriage without a legal marriage."
The petitioner's contention was that the complainant was not a wife as per Sect 2(f) of the act and there was no domestic relationship them.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/married-or-not-domestic-violence-act-binding-says-kerala-hc/407277-62-126.html

IT employee jumps to death from office building

IT employee jumps to death from office building

CHENNAI: In the fourth incident in a month, an engineering graduate employed with an IT firm committed suicide by jumping from the terrace of a building at Kanthanchavadi on Rajiv Gandhi Salai (Old Mahabalipuram Road) on Sunday.

A Naveen Kumar, 28, of Vellore district jumped to death at 12.02pm from the terrace of Prince Info City building on OMR, allegedly after a tiff with his girlfriend.

Police said Naveen had gone to the 11th floor of the building with a co-worker. He told his co-worker he needed to make a call and went up to the terrace. He left his mobile on the terrace and then jumped to death. A security guard, who heard a loud thud, rushed to the parking area and found Naveen lying in a pool of blood.

After checking call details, police found that he had called his girlfriend at least four times on Sunday. "He was not in good terms with his girlfriend for the past one week as they had a tiff over their wedding," said an investigating officer.

Though the gate to the terrace was shut and the security guard at the main gate keeps the key, some employees had managed to break the lock to smoke on the terrace," said a security guard.

A colleague of Naveen said the latter had been depressed since morning. Though his shift was over at 11.30am, he did not leave the office. Naveen was employed on a sub-contract basis with Maersk for the past four months. He stayed at Kannagi Nagar.  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/IT-employee-jumps-to-death-from-office-building/articleshow/21075515.cms 

Ex-army man seeks amendments to dowry act

Ex-army man seeks amendments to dowry act

JAMSHEDPUR: Retired army man Ramnath Das, who had in January submitted a petition to President Pranab Mukherjee, seeking approval for mercy-killing after he and his family members were allegedly implicated in a false anti-dowry case, has filed a fresh petition to the President but this time for a public cause.

Das (57), who was employed with the mechanical wing of the Electronic Mechanical Engineering Corp of Army, submitted a petition to the Rashtrapati Bhavan through East Singhbhum deputy commissioner's office on Saturday, seeking amendments to Section 498A of the IPC (anti dowry act).

"In this petition I have sought effective cooperation from the President in amending the 498A," said Das.

He said hundreds of innocent families in the country have fallen prey to the (IPC 498A) Act that unjustifiably favours women.

"The Act favours women unreasonably resulting in its gross misuse. It's high time the Act should be amended in the larger interest of those languishing in prison or facing potential threat from 498A," said Das.

A resident of Gadra under Pursudih police station area, Das claims he and his family of seven are victims of the loopholes that exist in the anti dowry Act.

"Inept handling of the anti dowry cases by the law enforcing agencies and time-consuming justice delivery mechanism has further aggravated the sensitive issue," said Das, who retired from Army in October 1989 following his last posting in Pune.

Apparently, annoyed over slow pace of the justice delivery system, Das had appealed to the President on January 29 this year to ensure early justice to him in the case or permit him to end life, willingly.

"Since my petition for mercy-killing is lying with the Rashtrapati Bhavan I am not going to re-approach for the same. In fact, now I want to dedicate my life fighting for the innocent lives jailed under IPC 498a," said Das.

Das's son Praveen, who is employed with Navy Mumbai based JSW Ispat Ltd, was married to Vibha of Kasidih on November 23, 2010 but following marital discord the matter reached police and eventually to the court.

Das, his wife Sunita and son Praveen, are out on bail at present. They were arrested under various sections of Anti dowry Act about sixteen months ago.
 

 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Ex-army-man-seeks-amendments-to-dowry-act/articleshow/21065017.cms