Magistrate held for 'rape' gets bail, to join duty
COIMBATORE: Judicial magistrate S Thangaraj, who was arrested on Saturday on charges of raping a female sub-inspector, got bail from the Tirupur district and principal sessions judge's court on Monday. The bail order was served to the Coimbatore Central Prison and the magistrate was released on Monday evening. "He will take charge on Tuesday at the fast track court in Coonoor," his lawyer, Bhavani B Mohan said.
Thangaraj was arrested from ThattanKuttai near Kumarapalayam in Namakkal district on Saturday and sent to judicial custody after a female sub-inspector lodged a complaint with the Palladam all women police station, alleging that he had a physical relationship with her for more than a year after promising to marry her. The Palladam
all women police station registered a case against the magistrate under
Sections 376 (rape), 417 (cheating) and 506 (i) (criminal intimidation)
of the IPC.
Thangaraj filed a bail
petition before the Tirupur district and principal sessions judge's
court, which came up for hearing on Monday before judge K Ganeshan.
Public prosecutor KN Subramaniam argued that police had followed the
rules and regulations of the Supreme Court and Madras high court in
registering the case and, hence, the accused should not be allowed to
enter the Nilgiris and Tirupur districts till the police investigation
was completed.
Senior advocate Bhavani B Mohan, appearing on
behalf of Thangaraj, argued that the woman SI had lodged a complaint
with the Palladam all women police station on June 21 and that the case
was registered on June 29. Police arrested the magistrate on Saturday
and slapped rape charges on him. The charge does not apply in this case
as they were in a relationship with mutual consent. The magistrate was
not even told about the grounds of arrest. Mohan termed the incident as
an assault on the judiciary and pleaded to the court to release
Thangaraj.
Judge Ganeshan granted bail after the arguments
concluded. Thangaraj, 31, of Oonjapalayam in Erode district is judicial
magistrate at the fast track court at Coonoor in the Nilgiris district.
He had allegedly been in a relationship with the woman sub-inspector
attached to Palladam police station. However, he married another woman
on June 20. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Magistrate-held-for-rape-gets-bail-to-join-duty/articleshow/20867226.cms
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
SC strikes gender equality note in grant of divorce
SC strikes gender equality note in grant of divorce
NEW
DELHI: Irretrievable breakdown of marriage, coupled with promise of
large amount of money as permanent alimony, has been cited by rich and
powerful men to seek divorce from their wives when all was not well in the marital relationship.
Striking a gender equality note, the Supreme Court on Monday turned the tables and asked whether it would have granted divorce to a woman from her husband, who on developing some mental disorder had become completely dependent on her, if she promised a huge sum as permanent alimony.
The case related to Darshan Gupta and Radhika Gupta, who married when they were barely out of their teens in 1997. Radhika's first pregnancy was terminated due to medical reasons. The second pregnancy was again a very complicated one and the child had to be delivered through Caesarian section. She remained unconscious for a long time and developed serious mental disorder. The child died eight days after birth.
Though she was treated in reputed hospitals, she allegedly remained mentally ill. The husband claimed separation from her since 2002, breakdown of marriage and offered a large sum of money as permanent alimony to seek termination of marriage.
A bench of Justices P Sathasivam and J S Khehar rejected the husband's plea and wondered whether a similar request by a woman would have been entertained by the apex court for grant of divorce from a husband who developed some mental disorder.
"In the context of doing justice, it was suggested that the appellant (husband) would be ready and willing to pay the respondent (wife) whatever was considered appropriate by the Supreme Court. We are informed that the appellant is financially well to do," the bench said.
"We would, in our endeavour to determine the issue in hand, examine the matter by reversing the roles of the parties. We will examine the matter as if the wife had approached the family court seeking divorce, on the ground that her husband had suffered brain damage leading to cognitive deficiencies. Yet, despite the said deficiencies, his working memory had returned to 'near normal' after treatment. And his mental condition was such that it would not have any effect on his matrimonial obligations," the bench added.
"And the wife's family is agreeable to pay an amount to be determined by this court (just as the husband Darshan Gupta has offered), so as to enable their daughter to break away and find a more suitable match. Should she have been granted freedom from her matrimonial ties, in the given facts, in order to do complete justice to the parties? We would ask ourselves whether the husband would have accepted such a plea, in the facts denoted above," it further said.
"In such a situation, if this court had, in exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, granted compensation to the husband, and had dissolved his marriage on the pretext of doing complete justice between the parties, would the same be acceptable to the husband? We have no doubt in our mind that on a reversal of roles, the husband, without any fault of his own, would have never accepted as just the dissolution of his matrimonial ties, even if the couple had been separated for a duration, as is the case in hand," Justice Khehar, while authoring the judgment for the bench, said.
Striking a gender equality note, the Supreme Court on Monday turned the tables and asked whether it would have granted divorce to a woman from her husband, who on developing some mental disorder had become completely dependent on her, if she promised a huge sum as permanent alimony.
The case related to Darshan Gupta and Radhika Gupta, who married when they were barely out of their teens in 1997. Radhika's first pregnancy was terminated due to medical reasons. The second pregnancy was again a very complicated one and the child had to be delivered through Caesarian section. She remained unconscious for a long time and developed serious mental disorder. The child died eight days after birth.
Though she was treated in reputed hospitals, she allegedly remained mentally ill. The husband claimed separation from her since 2002, breakdown of marriage and offered a large sum of money as permanent alimony to seek termination of marriage.
A bench of Justices P Sathasivam and J S Khehar rejected the husband's plea and wondered whether a similar request by a woman would have been entertained by the apex court for grant of divorce from a husband who developed some mental disorder.
"In the context of doing justice, it was suggested that the appellant (husband) would be ready and willing to pay the respondent (wife) whatever was considered appropriate by the Supreme Court. We are informed that the appellant is financially well to do," the bench said.
"We would, in our endeavour to determine the issue in hand, examine the matter by reversing the roles of the parties. We will examine the matter as if the wife had approached the family court seeking divorce, on the ground that her husband had suffered brain damage leading to cognitive deficiencies. Yet, despite the said deficiencies, his working memory had returned to 'near normal' after treatment. And his mental condition was such that it would not have any effect on his matrimonial obligations," the bench added.
"And the wife's family is agreeable to pay an amount to be determined by this court (just as the husband Darshan Gupta has offered), so as to enable their daughter to break away and find a more suitable match. Should she have been granted freedom from her matrimonial ties, in the given facts, in order to do complete justice to the parties? We would ask ourselves whether the husband would have accepted such a plea, in the facts denoted above," it further said.
"In such a situation, if this court had, in exercise of its jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, granted compensation to the husband, and had dissolved his marriage on the pretext of doing complete justice between the parties, would the same be acceptable to the husband? We have no doubt in our mind that on a reversal of roles, the husband, without any fault of his own, would have never accepted as just the dissolution of his matrimonial ties, even if the couple had been separated for a duration, as is the case in hand," Justice Khehar, while authoring the judgment for the bench, said.
Techie's death: ‘girlfriend' arrested
Techie's death: ‘girlfriend' arrested
The Mahadevapura police on Friday arrested a
23-year-old woman in connection with the death of software engineer S.
Sreerag (25), whose body was found in his car in AECS Layout, off
Whitefield, Tuesday morning.
The police said the
arrested woman was Gayathri alias Jennifer, a K.R. Puram resident and a
team leader with a telemarketing firm in Indiranagar.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) T.G. Krishna Bhat said she has been charged with impersonation.
Wrong picture
The
police suspect that HP employee Sreerag, a native of Kozhikode in
Kerala, committed suicide after his marriage proposal was turned down by
Gayathri, whom he had met on a social network website in January. She
had introduced herself as Jennifer and had emailed her friend's
photograph to him, claiming that it was her. A smitten Sreerag started
texting and chatting with her without ever seeing her.
When
he proposed marriage a few days ago, she turned him down saying she was
engaged to a London resident. A dejected Sreerag, police suspect, ended
his life. He was found on the rear seat of his car near a park in AECS
Layout where he had rented a house. His face was covered with four
plastic covers and sealed with several layers of duct tape. A teddy
bear, purportedly a gift for Jennifer, was found in the car.
Depressed, young film editor ends life
Depressed, young film editor ends life
MUMBAI:
Under pressure to withdraw rape charges against her ex-boyfriend who
called off their wedding, a 22-year-old film editor hailing from Delhi
allegedly committed suicide at her rented residence at suburban
Jogeshwari here, police said on Monday.
According to Oshiwara police, the incident took place last night in 471/Adarsh nagar chawl.
The deceased, Pallavi Jha, was found hanging from the ceiling. During panchnama, the police did not find any suicide note. The body was sent to Cooper hospital for an autopsy, after which a case was registered on Monday afternoon.
Her former boyfriend, against whom she had filed a rape case in Delhi last year, has been booked for abetting her suicide, police said.
During investigation, the police found that Jha had come to Mumbai two years ago to pursue a career in film industry. She had been working as a film editor and had shared her room with another film editor who is also a Delhite.
"Jha, who was also an aspiring model, was in a relationship with one Shailendra Sharma from Delhi for about five years in the past. She was set to marry Sharma but he called off the wedding as her family could not meet his dowry demand. Sharma demanded Rs 35 lakh in cash as dowry," said senior police inspector Naseer Pathan.
"Then Jha had filed a rape case against Sharma at a police station in Delhi last year alleging that he had maintained a sexual relationship with her on the pretext of marrying her. Later, Sharma started threatening her to withdraw the rape charges against him, which had depressed her a lot," the officer said.
Sharma has been booked for abetting her suicide after the victim's mother Vandana's complaint. The accused would be arrested from Delhi soon, Pathan added.
According to Oshiwara police, the incident took place last night in 471/Adarsh nagar chawl.
The deceased, Pallavi Jha, was found hanging from the ceiling. During panchnama, the police did not find any suicide note. The body was sent to Cooper hospital for an autopsy, after which a case was registered on Monday afternoon.
Her former boyfriend, against whom she had filed a rape case in Delhi last year, has been booked for abetting her suicide, police said.
During investigation, the police found that Jha had come to Mumbai two years ago to pursue a career in film industry. She had been working as a film editor and had shared her room with another film editor who is also a Delhite.
"Jha, who was also an aspiring model, was in a relationship with one Shailendra Sharma from Delhi for about five years in the past. She was set to marry Sharma but he called off the wedding as her family could not meet his dowry demand. Sharma demanded Rs 35 lakh in cash as dowry," said senior police inspector Naseer Pathan.
"Then Jha had filed a rape case against Sharma at a police station in Delhi last year alleging that he had maintained a sexual relationship with her on the pretext of marrying her. Later, Sharma started threatening her to withdraw the rape charges against him, which had depressed her a lot," the officer said.
Sharma has been booked for abetting her suicide after the victim's mother Vandana's complaint. The accused would be arrested from Delhi soon, Pathan added.
Monday, 1 July 2013
Crime, she wrote
Crime, she wrote
The femme fatale is a popular figure in crime fiction. Dashiell Hammett’s voluptuous blondes with beautiful faces and stone cold hearts ready to commit murder with panache and equal ruthlessness; Philip Marlowe’s redheads with revolvers and the hot-blooded murderesses of George Simenon’s works lend a dark glamour to the female criminal. In reality, however, the truth may be more mundane and gory; devoid of the sheen of good fiction. The deceptive gentleness of Kerala—the state of friendly people and emerald fields—is suddenly Ground Zero for the femme fatale with a yen for blood and con. The number of crimes recently exposed in the state where women have emerged as linchpins has shot up to such an extent that it has given birth to an altogether new saying: there is a woman behind every successful crime. She cooks up a storm full of murder, sex, blackmail and intrigue.
Saritha S Nair, Kerala’s new Betty the Blackmailer is the scandalous seductress—in concert with her allegedly murderous beau Biju Radhakrishnan—who has put the political establishment in a bind. The divorced Saritha was a college dropout who grew up in a dysfunctional family.
The taste for the good life brought her a like-minded partner in the form of Biju. Together they wove a net of fraud and blackmail, trapping starlets, politicians and prominent businessmen in their net. Her call details to Chief Minister Oomen Chandy’s aides (Chandy would speak to people only through those cell phones) leaked by a TV channel almost threatened to bring the government down. If it was not for the close relationship with some senior luminaries in the Communist Party that led the previous government—an important ex-minister was her “uncle”—Chandy would’ve been cornered into complete humiliation and despair.
Saritha’s allure over all those she dealt was most over Biju. Saritha’s is a cheap dime novel story—she married a Dubai-based businessman, whom she divorced in 2006 to live with Biju. Biju’s wife Reshmi complained to the cops that Saritha wrecked her marriage and her husband abandoned her for Saritha’s sake. Later, Reshmi was found dead in her bathroom. When Biju was arrested from a Coimbatore hotel two weeks ago, he was charged with murdering his wife through poison. Kerala’s Crippen alleged that Saritha was in a relationship with former UDF minister, K B Ganesh Kumar, and shared hotel rooms in Coimbatore where Ganesh had gone for an official function. Earlier, Ganesh’s wife had complained of his philandering accusing Chandy of shielding her. The chief minister finds himself in the unenviable position of being cornered in this scandal, which has provided much grist for Kerala’s rumour mills.
Another woman, the actor and dancer Shalu Menon, is under the scanner after reports pointing at her role in Saritha’s fraudulent schemes. Police suspect that it was Shalu who helped Biju to leave Kerala the day Saritha was arrested. Shalu and her mother were reportedly in the room next to the one in which Biju was staying as well. Police sources reveal that Saritha was a honey trap for the big wheels in politics and business; blackmailing them after photographing them in compromising positions with her. More revelations involving the state’s power elite are expected to fall out of Saritha’s and Biju’s closets as the police continue their investigations of how she defrauded many using their jointly owned company Team Solar as a front.
A survey of the inmates of Viyyur Women Prison showed that 100 per cent of the female prisoners in the prison are from Kerala. Fifteen out of 32 are convicted for murder and three are on trial for murder. Two hundred and seven women are incarcerated in different jails in the state, with 56 convicted criminals and 151 facing trial. Earlier, women caught by the police were found to be only involved in minor crimes like bootlegging and selling a few grams of marijuana.
Some, like their universal sisters, were just prostitutes—more bathos than blood. The marquee of mayhem is the new show in town—now women criminals in the state are being arrested for serious offences, ranging from brutal murders to multi-crore scams. Incidentally, Kerala tops India’s crime list with 455.8 cases for every 1,00,000 persons according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Ironically, along with Bihar and Chhattisgarh, Kerala tops the states with the highest percentage of women legislators with criminal records. A PRS Legislative Research study shows that 83 per cent of women legislators have criminal records in Kerala.
The modus operandi of women criminals in the state is a cocktail of politics, sex, cinema and crime; in some cases the la belle dames sans merci even marry hardcore criminals if it helps them to successfully execute their plans.
However, 54-year-old medical doctor Omana Edadan was flying solo; she is one of the most memorable of women criminals, perhaps the first one to capture public imagination in recent times. Omana is wanted in the murder of her lover Muralidharan in 1996. The middle-aged Lucretia Borgia of Kerala had poisoned Muralidharan. With surgical precision, she went on to dismember him, cut up his bones into little convenient pieces at her home in Payannur, where she lived alone. At her macabre best, she carefully packed her unfortunate paramour’s flesh and bones separately in plastic packets. The internal organs, she cut into very small pieces and flushed down the toilet. The police calculate it took her a mere three hours to accomplish the ghastly operation. Thereafter, she calmly placed packets in the boot of her car, and drove to the salubrious Tamil Nadu hill station Ooty where she checked into a hotel after parking the car at the railway station.
Thereafter, she made an attempt to dump the various parts of Muralidharan into a ravine. She then hired a taxi to go to nearby hill retreat Kodaikanal, which she thought provided a better option to dispose of the remains. However, the taxi driver got suspicious and informed the police. Omana was arrested. The deadly doctor spent a few months in Madras Central Jail. Soon, she managed to get out on bail. However, she jumped bail and has been in the wind since 2001.
“With better education and the increasing social exposure it entails, women have grown increasingly confident of doing anything that men are capable of. This is reflected in crime as well and they exploit the opportunities as well as men do. In fact, women are in a better position to exploit the weaknesses of prospective victims,” says James Vadakkancherry, a reputed criminologist.
According to James, women are capable of formulating a better modus operandi by virtue of their looks, approach and communication skills. He cited the more recent example of Shobha John, the only woman who holds the dubious honour of being in the Kerala Police’s ‘goonda’ list, to make his point.
Shobha made headlines in 2006 when she blackmailed and then kidnapped the former Thanthri (head priest) of Sabarimala, Kandaru Mohanaru. He was abducted and taken to a flat in Kochi and photographed with a woman in a compromising position. It’s not just blackmail and honey traps Shobha was an expert at. She also ran a successful prostitution racket. She figured prominently in the shocking Varappuzha sex scandal where a minor girl was bought from her mother and then pimped out to several high profile clients. She was caught and booked. But that wasn’t all. Next, one of her gang members who were also arrested by the police sang like a canary on their boss’s crimes. He accused Shobha of murdering one of her gang members. Sent to jail, the blackmailing belle became a source of dangerous embarrassment to the reputation of many of the high and mighty in the state. Out on bail, her reputation as an expert blackmailer had the political and bureaucratic class nervous. In fact, in her bail petition, which she filed in Kerala High Court in the second week of June, where it is pending since, Shobha claimed that the police were implicating her in one case after another. The reason she gave was that her revelations would expose many top politicians.
“There are many reasons why women like Shobha end up as criminals. Many of them have grown up in troubled families or have witnessed crimes in their childhood. The submissive personality of women may also induce them to commit a crime for their partners’ sake in some cases,” says A V Druhin, Professor, Psychiatry department, Academy of Medical Science, Kannur.
He observed that women in their 40s seem willing to go to any extent to lead luxurious lives.
“Women can better sell a fraud than men since they can instill confidence in the victims. They also fly below the police radar much better than men. For instance, a few years ago, an attractive woman successfully donned the role of a guide in smuggling spirits. Though the gang was eventually caught, it was the presence of a woman that helped them to initially evade the police net. Besides, women seem to be better equipped in building contacts with the powers-that-be, helping them to evade the long arms of the law for longer periods than men,” says C P Udayabhanu, a noted criminal lawyer of the Kerala High Court.
Crime and glamour are kissing cousins, as seen in the case of the 25-year-old actress Leena Maria Paul, who was born in Kerala but brought up elsewhere, and her male friend from a south Delhi farmhouse where they were hiding, following a cheating case which was registered against them in Chennai. Leena, who has acted in Malayalam films like Red Chillies, is a well-educated girl who entered the field with the help of her friend Balaji. During her interrogation, Leena confessed that it was a desire for a lavish lifestyle and easy money, which made her take part in criminal activities. Along with Balaji, she has been involved in many other cases including defrauding a Chennai-based bank of `19.22 crore.
Justice D Sreedevi, a former chairman of the women’s commission, adds, “Money is the root cause of all evil. It also spoils the life of women. Those who are involved in crimes like this like to lead a luxurious life and want to find an easy way to get money for it. Surprisingly, the women are ready to go to any extent, even commit murder, to earn money. The number of alcoholic women is also increasing. Under the influence of alcohol they commit any crime.” But only eight women have been convicted in alcohol related cases so far while 27 are facing trial.
Money plays an important role in sex crimes and murder. A case célèbre was of former Kerala beauty queen Sherin and her alleged lover Basit Ali. In November 2010, Bhaskara Karanavar who had returned to Kerala after retiring from the US government, was found murdered in his house in Alappuzha. After investigations, the police concluded that the murder was planned and executed by the dead man’s daughter-in-law Sherin and Basit.
Basit and two accomplices smothered Karanavar to death, guided by Sherin. The provocation was Sherin’s name being cut off from Karanavar’s will. The police tech and cyber division examined calls from her cell phone and Orkut chat records to nail her.
Further investigations revealed a sordid network of crime. Ali, on the run after the murder and arrested from Karnataka reportedly ran a hawala network in Kerala. Cops said that Sherin seduced Ali and promised him they would live together with the proceeds. Sherin had a criminal history; when she and her husband Binu were living with Karanavar in New York she allegedly blackmailed her father-in-law for money, threatening divorce. The cops said she was jailed for credit card fraud and stealing money on her job.
In the opening chapter of Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, gum shoe Philip Marlowe is visiting a client living in a stately home. The passage ends: “I was still staring at the hot black eyes when a door opened far back under the stairs. It wasn’t the butler coming back. It was a girl.”
Well the butler didn’t do it. She did.
http://newindianexpress.com/magazine/Crime-she-wrote/2013/06/30/article1655916.ece
The femme fatale is a popular figure in crime fiction. Dashiell Hammett’s voluptuous blondes with beautiful faces and stone cold hearts ready to commit murder with panache and equal ruthlessness; Philip Marlowe’s redheads with revolvers and the hot-blooded murderesses of George Simenon’s works lend a dark glamour to the female criminal. In reality, however, the truth may be more mundane and gory; devoid of the sheen of good fiction. The deceptive gentleness of Kerala—the state of friendly people and emerald fields—is suddenly Ground Zero for the femme fatale with a yen for blood and con. The number of crimes recently exposed in the state where women have emerged as linchpins has shot up to such an extent that it has given birth to an altogether new saying: there is a woman behind every successful crime. She cooks up a storm full of murder, sex, blackmail and intrigue.
Saritha S Nair, Kerala’s new Betty the Blackmailer is the scandalous seductress—in concert with her allegedly murderous beau Biju Radhakrishnan—who has put the political establishment in a bind. The divorced Saritha was a college dropout who grew up in a dysfunctional family.
The taste for the good life brought her a like-minded partner in the form of Biju. Together they wove a net of fraud and blackmail, trapping starlets, politicians and prominent businessmen in their net. Her call details to Chief Minister Oomen Chandy’s aides (Chandy would speak to people only through those cell phones) leaked by a TV channel almost threatened to bring the government down. If it was not for the close relationship with some senior luminaries in the Communist Party that led the previous government—an important ex-minister was her “uncle”—Chandy would’ve been cornered into complete humiliation and despair.
Saritha’s allure over all those she dealt was most over Biju. Saritha’s is a cheap dime novel story—she married a Dubai-based businessman, whom she divorced in 2006 to live with Biju. Biju’s wife Reshmi complained to the cops that Saritha wrecked her marriage and her husband abandoned her for Saritha’s sake. Later, Reshmi was found dead in her bathroom. When Biju was arrested from a Coimbatore hotel two weeks ago, he was charged with murdering his wife through poison. Kerala’s Crippen alleged that Saritha was in a relationship with former UDF minister, K B Ganesh Kumar, and shared hotel rooms in Coimbatore where Ganesh had gone for an official function. Earlier, Ganesh’s wife had complained of his philandering accusing Chandy of shielding her. The chief minister finds himself in the unenviable position of being cornered in this scandal, which has provided much grist for Kerala’s rumour mills.
Another woman, the actor and dancer Shalu Menon, is under the scanner after reports pointing at her role in Saritha’s fraudulent schemes. Police suspect that it was Shalu who helped Biju to leave Kerala the day Saritha was arrested. Shalu and her mother were reportedly in the room next to the one in which Biju was staying as well. Police sources reveal that Saritha was a honey trap for the big wheels in politics and business; blackmailing them after photographing them in compromising positions with her. More revelations involving the state’s power elite are expected to fall out of Saritha’s and Biju’s closets as the police continue their investigations of how she defrauded many using their jointly owned company Team Solar as a front.
A survey of the inmates of Viyyur Women Prison showed that 100 per cent of the female prisoners in the prison are from Kerala. Fifteen out of 32 are convicted for murder and three are on trial for murder. Two hundred and seven women are incarcerated in different jails in the state, with 56 convicted criminals and 151 facing trial. Earlier, women caught by the police were found to be only involved in minor crimes like bootlegging and selling a few grams of marijuana.
Some, like their universal sisters, were just prostitutes—more bathos than blood. The marquee of mayhem is the new show in town—now women criminals in the state are being arrested for serious offences, ranging from brutal murders to multi-crore scams. Incidentally, Kerala tops India’s crime list with 455.8 cases for every 1,00,000 persons according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Ironically, along with Bihar and Chhattisgarh, Kerala tops the states with the highest percentage of women legislators with criminal records. A PRS Legislative Research study shows that 83 per cent of women legislators have criminal records in Kerala.
The modus operandi of women criminals in the state is a cocktail of politics, sex, cinema and crime; in some cases the la belle dames sans merci even marry hardcore criminals if it helps them to successfully execute their plans.
However, 54-year-old medical doctor Omana Edadan was flying solo; she is one of the most memorable of women criminals, perhaps the first one to capture public imagination in recent times. Omana is wanted in the murder of her lover Muralidharan in 1996. The middle-aged Lucretia Borgia of Kerala had poisoned Muralidharan. With surgical precision, she went on to dismember him, cut up his bones into little convenient pieces at her home in Payannur, where she lived alone. At her macabre best, she carefully packed her unfortunate paramour’s flesh and bones separately in plastic packets. The internal organs, she cut into very small pieces and flushed down the toilet. The police calculate it took her a mere three hours to accomplish the ghastly operation. Thereafter, she calmly placed packets in the boot of her car, and drove to the salubrious Tamil Nadu hill station Ooty where she checked into a hotel after parking the car at the railway station.
Thereafter, she made an attempt to dump the various parts of Muralidharan into a ravine. She then hired a taxi to go to nearby hill retreat Kodaikanal, which she thought provided a better option to dispose of the remains. However, the taxi driver got suspicious and informed the police. Omana was arrested. The deadly doctor spent a few months in Madras Central Jail. Soon, she managed to get out on bail. However, she jumped bail and has been in the wind since 2001.
“With better education and the increasing social exposure it entails, women have grown increasingly confident of doing anything that men are capable of. This is reflected in crime as well and they exploit the opportunities as well as men do. In fact, women are in a better position to exploit the weaknesses of prospective victims,” says James Vadakkancherry, a reputed criminologist.
According to James, women are capable of formulating a better modus operandi by virtue of their looks, approach and communication skills. He cited the more recent example of Shobha John, the only woman who holds the dubious honour of being in the Kerala Police’s ‘goonda’ list, to make his point.
Shobha made headlines in 2006 when she blackmailed and then kidnapped the former Thanthri (head priest) of Sabarimala, Kandaru Mohanaru. He was abducted and taken to a flat in Kochi and photographed with a woman in a compromising position. It’s not just blackmail and honey traps Shobha was an expert at. She also ran a successful prostitution racket. She figured prominently in the shocking Varappuzha sex scandal where a minor girl was bought from her mother and then pimped out to several high profile clients. She was caught and booked. But that wasn’t all. Next, one of her gang members who were also arrested by the police sang like a canary on their boss’s crimes. He accused Shobha of murdering one of her gang members. Sent to jail, the blackmailing belle became a source of dangerous embarrassment to the reputation of many of the high and mighty in the state. Out on bail, her reputation as an expert blackmailer had the political and bureaucratic class nervous. In fact, in her bail petition, which she filed in Kerala High Court in the second week of June, where it is pending since, Shobha claimed that the police were implicating her in one case after another. The reason she gave was that her revelations would expose many top politicians.
“There are many reasons why women like Shobha end up as criminals. Many of them have grown up in troubled families or have witnessed crimes in their childhood. The submissive personality of women may also induce them to commit a crime for their partners’ sake in some cases,” says A V Druhin, Professor, Psychiatry department, Academy of Medical Science, Kannur.
He observed that women in their 40s seem willing to go to any extent to lead luxurious lives.
“Women can better sell a fraud than men since they can instill confidence in the victims. They also fly below the police radar much better than men. For instance, a few years ago, an attractive woman successfully donned the role of a guide in smuggling spirits. Though the gang was eventually caught, it was the presence of a woman that helped them to initially evade the police net. Besides, women seem to be better equipped in building contacts with the powers-that-be, helping them to evade the long arms of the law for longer periods than men,” says C P Udayabhanu, a noted criminal lawyer of the Kerala High Court.
Crime and glamour are kissing cousins, as seen in the case of the 25-year-old actress Leena Maria Paul, who was born in Kerala but brought up elsewhere, and her male friend from a south Delhi farmhouse where they were hiding, following a cheating case which was registered against them in Chennai. Leena, who has acted in Malayalam films like Red Chillies, is a well-educated girl who entered the field with the help of her friend Balaji. During her interrogation, Leena confessed that it was a desire for a lavish lifestyle and easy money, which made her take part in criminal activities. Along with Balaji, she has been involved in many other cases including defrauding a Chennai-based bank of `19.22 crore.
Justice D Sreedevi, a former chairman of the women’s commission, adds, “Money is the root cause of all evil. It also spoils the life of women. Those who are involved in crimes like this like to lead a luxurious life and want to find an easy way to get money for it. Surprisingly, the women are ready to go to any extent, even commit murder, to earn money. The number of alcoholic women is also increasing. Under the influence of alcohol they commit any crime.” But only eight women have been convicted in alcohol related cases so far while 27 are facing trial.
Money plays an important role in sex crimes and murder. A case célèbre was of former Kerala beauty queen Sherin and her alleged lover Basit Ali. In November 2010, Bhaskara Karanavar who had returned to Kerala after retiring from the US government, was found murdered in his house in Alappuzha. After investigations, the police concluded that the murder was planned and executed by the dead man’s daughter-in-law Sherin and Basit.
Basit and two accomplices smothered Karanavar to death, guided by Sherin. The provocation was Sherin’s name being cut off from Karanavar’s will. The police tech and cyber division examined calls from her cell phone and Orkut chat records to nail her.
Further investigations revealed a sordid network of crime. Ali, on the run after the murder and arrested from Karnataka reportedly ran a hawala network in Kerala. Cops said that Sherin seduced Ali and promised him they would live together with the proceeds. Sherin had a criminal history; when she and her husband Binu were living with Karanavar in New York she allegedly blackmailed her father-in-law for money, threatening divorce. The cops said she was jailed for credit card fraud and stealing money on her job.
In the opening chapter of Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, gum shoe Philip Marlowe is visiting a client living in a stately home. The passage ends: “I was still staring at the hot black eyes when a door opened far back under the stairs. It wasn’t the butler coming back. It was a girl.”
Well the butler didn’t do it. She did.
http://newindianexpress.com/magazine/Crime-she-wrote/2013/06/30/article1655916.ece
'Draconian' amendment in Hindu Marriage Act gives wives final say in divorce cases; men's rights groups not amused
'Draconian' amendment in Hindu Marriage Act gives wives final say in divorce cases; men's rights groups not amused
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/MAH-PUN-draconian-amendment-in-hindu-marriage-act-giving-wives-a-final-say-in-divorce-ir-4306641-NOR.html?fb_action_ids=627117723973954&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%22627117723973954%22%3A167910723391944}&action_type_map={%22627117723973954%22%3A%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map=[]
Pune: Upset over the latest amendments in the Hindu Marriage Act which virtually give wives a final say in divorce
cases, Men’s Rights Association (MRA) on Saturday staged a protest against the legislation which they term as 'draconian'.
"The bill has a provision giving power to the courts to not grant a divorce unless the wife was paid adequate amount of
money in the name of financial security of the woman. Such powers
may result in harassment of men," MRA president Atit Rajpara said.
He also said the bill also provides special powers to wives to
oppose the divorce if she was unhappy with the money she received from
the husband under section IPC 498 (A), domestic violence act and several
other maintenance laws.
According to the MRA, such clauses are outright anti-male and
gender-biased and therefore men’s rights activists and organisations are
opposing them. Rajpara said the mens’ rights organisations want the
bill to be gender-neutral.
http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/MAH-PUN-draconian-amendment-in-hindu-marriage-act-giving-wives-a-final-say-in-divorce-ir-4306641-NOR.html?fb_action_ids=627117723973954&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%22627117723973954%22%3A167910723391944}&action_type_map={%22627117723973954%22%3A%22og.likes%22}&action_ref_map=[]
India’s 498a Law – The Abuse Continues
India’s 498a Law – The Abuse Continues
In a landmark decision in 2010, Preeti
Gupta v. State of Jharkhand,
the Supreme Court of India lambasted
the prevalent abuse of the infamous Section 498a of the Indian Penal Code law demanded
that the legislature should change the law and directed that a copy of its
decision be sent to the Law Commission of Indian the hope that the legislation
might be amended.
The Law Commission issued a report in August 2012,
calling for quite modest changes in the law. However, even those changes have
not yet been enacted.
In Gupta the Supreme Court demanded that lower courts intervene to
prevent the rampant consequential abuse of process, which has “led to enormous
social unrest affecting peace, harmony and happiness of the society”; ruled
that “most” 498a cases are filed in the heat of the moment over trivial issues
without proper deliberations; asserted that many such cases are not bona fide, that
many are filed with an oblique motive, and that many are filled with
exaggerated or false claims; explained that these cases “can lead to
insurmountable harassment, agony and pain to the accused and to his close
relations” and “immense sufferings for all concerned;” and stated further that
an ultimate acquittal may “not be able to wipe out the deep scars of suffering
of ignominy.”
Meanwhile the abusive conduct
continues. The Law Commission reported that in 2010 there were at least 340,555
cases under Section 498-A that were pending trial in various courts towards the
end of 2010 and that there were as many as 938,809 people who were implicated
in these cases. The reason that there were almost three times as many people
accused as there were cases is that the law expressly authorizes a wife (but
not a husband) to ask the police to bring charges against all of the relatives
of her husband who may have participated in the alleged acts of cruelty.
We have commented previously on this law, that was well-intentioned in its enactment but which is frequently misused in India as a means of blackmailing non-resident Indian husbands. http://www.international-divorce.com/Indias-Notorious-Section-498A.htm.
http://www.internationalfamilylawfirm.com/2013/06/indias-498a-law-abuse-continues.html
Seventy marriages saved, family court celebrates
Seventy marriages saved, family court celebrates
MUMBAI: "Judges, lawyers and counsellors of the family court need to have the vision to accommodate the needs and aspirations of a changing society where women now have a very clear identity both before and after marriage," said Justice Dhananjay Chandrachud of the Bombay high court on Saturday. The judge was addressing a packed house on the family court premises in Bandra, where 140 men and women on the verge of a split till a few days ago went home together as 70 happy couples.
The family court, its lawyers' association and marriage counsellors had organized a felicitation function for 111 couples who with a little help from their lawyers, counsellors and judges had given up their lengthy and acrimonious legal battle for a divorce, maintenance or custody and had resolved their differences to remain married. Seventy couples showed up, and a few among them who still were vacillating decided to drop their divorce proceedings after hearing Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Chandrachud of the high court as well as the principal judge of the family court, Laxmi Rao.
Chief Justice Shah felicitated the youngest couple present, who were in their 20s, and stressed that proper and timely mediation could save many a broken marriage. He encouraged more such group reconciliation programmes and promised more facilities for the family court.
Judge Rao said there were several laws that were being misused-such as the Domestic Violence Act-by people "on wrong advice of well-wishers".
She, too, said that with proper intervention, marriages need not end in divorces even when things appear bleak.
President of the Family Court Bar Association advocate Sajan Oommen said: "Family court lawyers must play a more proactive role, as the Family Courts Act is not meant merely for dissolution of marriages but for a solution to matrimonial disputes."
Family court judge Swati Chauhan was the first in April to conduct a group reconciliation of quarrelling couples.
It was her experiment that paved the way for more reconciliations. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Seventy-marriages-saved-family-court-celebrates/articleshow/20837521.cms
MUMBAI: "Judges, lawyers and counsellors of the family court need to have the vision to accommodate the needs and aspirations of a changing society where women now have a very clear identity both before and after marriage," said Justice Dhananjay Chandrachud of the Bombay high court on Saturday. The judge was addressing a packed house on the family court premises in Bandra, where 140 men and women on the verge of a split till a few days ago went home together as 70 happy couples.
The family court, its lawyers' association and marriage counsellors had organized a felicitation function for 111 couples who with a little help from their lawyers, counsellors and judges had given up their lengthy and acrimonious legal battle for a divorce, maintenance or custody and had resolved their differences to remain married. Seventy couples showed up, and a few among them who still were vacillating decided to drop their divorce proceedings after hearing Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Chandrachud of the high court as well as the principal judge of the family court, Laxmi Rao.
Chief Justice Shah felicitated the youngest couple present, who were in their 20s, and stressed that proper and timely mediation could save many a broken marriage. He encouraged more such group reconciliation programmes and promised more facilities for the family court.
Judge Rao said there were several laws that were being misused-such as the Domestic Violence Act-by people "on wrong advice of well-wishers".
She, too, said that with proper intervention, marriages need not end in divorces even when things appear bleak.
President of the Family Court Bar Association advocate Sajan Oommen said: "Family court lawyers must play a more proactive role, as the Family Courts Act is not meant merely for dissolution of marriages but for a solution to matrimonial disputes."
Family court judge Swati Chauhan was the first in April to conduct a group reconciliation of quarrelling couples.
It was her experiment that paved the way for more reconciliations. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Seventy-marriages-saved-family-court-celebrates/articleshow/20837521.cms
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Magistrate in Tamil Nadu arrested on rape charges
Magistrate in Tamil Nadu arrested on rape charges
A magistrate in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu has been arrested on charges of rape after a complaint by a woman police officer.
The woman, a sub-inspector in Coimbatore, has alleged that she was in a live-in relationship with the magistrate following his promise to marry her.
She claims the judicial officer refused to marry her and had recently married another woman.
A court in Tirupur district court has remanded the magistrate for two weeks.The
incident comes a week after the controversial order by the Madras High
Court which said that pre-marital sex is equivalent to marriage.
The High Court gave its judgement during an alimony hearing. The mother of two from Coimbatore was left by the man, who fathered her children. A court in Coimbatore had directed the man to pay maintenance for the children. However, the woman was denied alimony as she did not have valid documents of a marriage.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/south/magistrate-in-tamil-nadu-arrested-on-rape-charges-385932?pfrom=home-topstories
A magistrate in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu has been arrested on charges of rape after a complaint by a woman police officer.
The woman, a sub-inspector in Coimbatore, has alleged that she was in a live-in relationship with the magistrate following his promise to marry her.
She claims the judicial officer refused to marry her and had recently married another woman.
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The High Court gave its judgement during an alimony hearing. The mother of two from Coimbatore was left by the man, who fathered her children. A court in Coimbatore had directed the man to pay maintenance for the children. However, the woman was denied alimony as she did not have valid documents of a marriage.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/south/magistrate-in-tamil-nadu-arrested-on-rape-charges-385932?pfrom=home-topstories
Saturday, 29 June 2013
Gurgaon gang rape: Main rape accused arrested, but ground reality unchanged
Gurgaon gang rape: Main rape accused arrested, but ground reality unchanged
GURGAON: Gurgaon police on Friday nabbed the key accused in the Thursday early morning rape in a moving car, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to six. The accused has been identified as Dharambir, and it was he who planned the rape to get value for the Rs 10,000 he had paid to the two victims and also raped one of them.
The Toyota Corolla Altis car in which the two women were raped by the accused has been retrieved and the five persons who were arrested on Thursday were sent in judicial custody on Friday. Dharmabir had been trying to get to girls over the past week but when he couldn't he got a friend to lure them to get into his car and then carried out the rape of the victims. Police are currently interrogating him about the whereabouts of last of the seven accused, Vikram, who is at large.
"Dharambir, 27, is a native of Dor Kalan village near Narnaul and used to work as a taxi driver. We recovered the Corolla Altis car, which was used in the rape. We found out during the interrogation that the accused had raped the victims without using contraceptives. There is a possibility of getting strong biological evidence against the accused from the car," an investigating officer said.
The victims of the horrific incident were two Delhi-based women who had hired a private cab a little after 12.30am on Thursday after finishing their work in a pub. The two residents of Tughlakabad had left Empire Club in Metropolitan Mall on MG Road at 12 midnight. Sources said that the two were entry "escorts" and regulars at the club for three days in a week and would help boys to gain the cheaper "couple entry" and avoid the expensive "stag entry".
On the same day police arrested five of accused, identified as Devender, Parmod, Harish Khan alias Nisar, Satish and Devinder. One of the accused is a native of Mewat district while the other four belong to Nangal Peepa village in Mahendergarh distirct. An Indica car has been retrieved from them. One of the two victims, who is 27 years old, told police that they had come out of Empire Club a little after midnight and reached in front of Club-18 in an auto. Since their taxi driver had not reached in time to pick them up, they hired a Toyo http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Gurgaon-gang-rape-Main-rape-accused-arrested-but-ground-reality-unchanged/articleshow/20823417.cms
GURGAON: Gurgaon police on Friday nabbed the key accused in the Thursday early morning rape in a moving car, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to six. The accused has been identified as Dharambir, and it was he who planned the rape to get value for the Rs 10,000 he had paid to the two victims and also raped one of them.
The Toyota Corolla Altis car in which the two women were raped by the accused has been retrieved and the five persons who were arrested on Thursday were sent in judicial custody on Friday. Dharmabir had been trying to get to girls over the past week but when he couldn't he got a friend to lure them to get into his car and then carried out the rape of the victims. Police are currently interrogating him about the whereabouts of last of the seven accused, Vikram, who is at large.
"Dharambir, 27, is a native of Dor Kalan village near Narnaul and used to work as a taxi driver. We recovered the Corolla Altis car, which was used in the rape. We found out during the interrogation that the accused had raped the victims without using contraceptives. There is a possibility of getting strong biological evidence against the accused from the car," an investigating officer said.
The victims of the horrific incident were two Delhi-based women who had hired a private cab a little after 12.30am on Thursday after finishing their work in a pub. The two residents of Tughlakabad had left Empire Club in Metropolitan Mall on MG Road at 12 midnight. Sources said that the two were entry "escorts" and regulars at the club for three days in a week and would help boys to gain the cheaper "couple entry" and avoid the expensive "stag entry".
On the same day police arrested five of accused, identified as Devender, Parmod, Harish Khan alias Nisar, Satish and Devinder. One of the accused is a native of Mewat district while the other four belong to Nangal Peepa village in Mahendergarh distirct. An Indica car has been retrieved from them. One of the two victims, who is 27 years old, told police that they had come out of Empire Club a little after midnight and reached in front of Club-18 in an auto. Since their taxi driver had not reached in time to pick them up, they hired a Toyo http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Gurgaon-gang-rape-Main-rape-accused-arrested-but-ground-reality-unchanged/articleshow/20823417.cms
पत्नी और ससुरालवालों की ज्यादती से परेशान होकर पहुंचा कोर्ट
पत्नी और ससुरालवालों की ज्यादती से परेशान होकर पहुंचा कोर्ट
एनबीटी न्यूज ॥ राजनगर
युवक के साथ मारपीट की शिकायत पर कोर्ट ने पत्नी सहित ससुराल पक्ष के पांच लोगों के खिलाफ कंप्लेंड केस दर्ज करने का आदेश दिया है। शकूरपुर निवासी आकिल की ओर से उसके अधिवक्ता सुरेन्द्र सिंह ने कोर्ट में प्रार्थना पत्र दिया।
प्रार्थना पत्र माध्यम से बताया कि आकिल की शादी 10 अप्रैल 2011 को मुरादनगर निवासी उस्मान की बेटी गुलिस्ता परवीन के साथ हुई थी। शादी के बाद से गुलिस्ता परवीन का व्यवहार अच्छा नहीं रहा। आरोप है कि वह दहेज के झूठे मुकदमे में फंसवाने या फिर आत्महत्या करने की धमकी देती थी। उसने गुलिस्ता को समझाने का प्रयास किया, लेकिन वह मायके चली गई।
गुलिस्ता और उसके पिता ने कहा कि अपना मकान और दो लाख रुपये गुलिस्ता के नाम कर दो। इस शर्ता पर ही गुलिस्ता तुम्हारे साथ जा सकती है। आरोप है कि मना करने पर गुलिस्ता के परिवार वालों ने आकिल और उसके पिता के साथ मारपीट की और जबरन स्टांप पेपर पर साइन कराने चाहे। किसी तरह से वे दोनों जान बचाकर भाग आए। उन्होंने मामले की शिकायत पुलिस में की, लेकिन पुलिस ने रिपोर्ट दर्ज नहीं की।
http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/20821351.cms
एनबीटी न्यूज ॥ राजनगर
युवक के साथ मारपीट की शिकायत पर कोर्ट ने पत्नी सहित ससुराल पक्ष के पांच लोगों के खिलाफ कंप्लेंड केस दर्ज करने का आदेश दिया है। शकूरपुर निवासी आकिल की ओर से उसके अधिवक्ता सुरेन्द्र सिंह ने कोर्ट में प्रार्थना पत्र दिया।
प्रार्थना पत्र माध्यम से बताया कि आकिल की शादी 10 अप्रैल 2011 को मुरादनगर निवासी उस्मान की बेटी गुलिस्ता परवीन के साथ हुई थी। शादी के बाद से गुलिस्ता परवीन का व्यवहार अच्छा नहीं रहा। आरोप है कि वह दहेज के झूठे मुकदमे में फंसवाने या फिर आत्महत्या करने की धमकी देती थी। उसने गुलिस्ता को समझाने का प्रयास किया, लेकिन वह मायके चली गई।
गुलिस्ता और उसके पिता ने कहा कि अपना मकान और दो लाख रुपये गुलिस्ता के नाम कर दो। इस शर्ता पर ही गुलिस्ता तुम्हारे साथ जा सकती है। आरोप है कि मना करने पर गुलिस्ता के परिवार वालों ने आकिल और उसके पिता के साथ मारपीट की और जबरन स्टांप पेपर पर साइन कराने चाहे। किसी तरह से वे दोनों जान बचाकर भाग आए। उन्होंने मामले की शिकायत पुलिस में की, लेकिन पुलिस ने रिपोर्ट दर्ज नहीं की।
http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/20821351.cms
Lump sum payment received from Ex-husband against relinquishment of monthly maintenance not taxable: Tribunal
Lump sum payment received from Ex-husband against relinquishment of monthly maintenance not taxable: Tribunal
MUMBAI: Marriages are made in heaven, but a divorce happens on earth and with it comes the inevitable question of alimony and its tax implications. In a recent decision the Delhi Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that a lump sum payment received from a former husband, against relinquishment of monthly maintenance is a capital receipt and is not taxable.
The case relates to a Delhi-based woman, who had received a lump sum of $99,000 from her ex-husband based in the United States, but had not shown the amount in her tax declaration. Based on current exchange rate this sum translates to approximately Rs. 60 lakh.
Under Indian tax laws, any sum of money received by an individual without any consideration (without getting anything in return), in excess of Rs 50,000 in a year, is taxable. But if the same is received from a relative, such as a spouse, or on certain occasions such as marriage, it is exempt.
The tax officer, in this case, had held that as the divorce had taken place several years ago, the Delhi-based resident was not a 'relative' and hence such payment was not exempt but taxable as 'income from other sources' in her hands. This approach adopted by the tax officer, was rejected at the first level of appeal - commissioner of income-tax (appeals).
The commissioner held that the amount was paid by way of alimony only because they were husband and wife. Thus the payment received was from a relative (which includes spouse).
Further it cannot be said that the lump sum amount was received without any consideration. It was received against relinquishment by the wife of her right to receive monthly alimony payments (both past arrears and future payments). Such monthly payments were provided for in the divorce agreement.
Hearing an appeal filed by the tax officer, the Delhi ITAT upheld the order of the CIT (appeals). It observed that: "In this case, the taxpayer was to receive monthly alimony which was to be taxable in each year. As such monthly payments were not received they were not offered for tax as income. The lump sum received by the woman was a consideration for relinquishing all past and future claims." It was a non-taxable capital receipt not liable to tax, concluded the ITAT.
"Tax on alimony payment cannot be avoided by merely taking a lump sum consideration. Various facts such as the period of time the monthly alimony was not received, action taken for receipt of such alimony, and the fact pattern of the final settlement by way of lump sum payment will determine whether it will be treated as non-taxable," cautions a civil advocate, attached to the Mumbai high court.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Lump-sum-payment-received-from-Ex-husband-against-relinquishment-of-monthly-maintenance-not-taxable-Tribunal/articleshow/20823480.cms?
MUMBAI: Marriages are made in heaven, but a divorce happens on earth and with it comes the inevitable question of alimony and its tax implications. In a recent decision the Delhi Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that a lump sum payment received from a former husband, against relinquishment of monthly maintenance is a capital receipt and is not taxable.
The case relates to a Delhi-based woman, who had received a lump sum of $99,000 from her ex-husband based in the United States, but had not shown the amount in her tax declaration. Based on current exchange rate this sum translates to approximately Rs. 60 lakh.
Under Indian tax laws, any sum of money received by an individual without any consideration (without getting anything in return), in excess of Rs 50,000 in a year, is taxable. But if the same is received from a relative, such as a spouse, or on certain occasions such as marriage, it is exempt.
The tax officer, in this case, had held that as the divorce had taken place several years ago, the Delhi-based resident was not a 'relative' and hence such payment was not exempt but taxable as 'income from other sources' in her hands. This approach adopted by the tax officer, was rejected at the first level of appeal - commissioner of income-tax (appeals).
The commissioner held that the amount was paid by way of alimony only because they were husband and wife. Thus the payment received was from a relative (which includes spouse).
Further it cannot be said that the lump sum amount was received without any consideration. It was received against relinquishment by the wife of her right to receive monthly alimony payments (both past arrears and future payments). Such monthly payments were provided for in the divorce agreement.
Hearing an appeal filed by the tax officer, the Delhi ITAT upheld the order of the CIT (appeals). It observed that: "In this case, the taxpayer was to receive monthly alimony which was to be taxable in each year. As such monthly payments were not received they were not offered for tax as income. The lump sum received by the woman was a consideration for relinquishing all past and future claims." It was a non-taxable capital receipt not liable to tax, concluded the ITAT.
"Tax on alimony payment cannot be avoided by merely taking a lump sum consideration. Various facts such as the period of time the monthly alimony was not received, action taken for receipt of such alimony, and the fact pattern of the final settlement by way of lump sum payment will determine whether it will be treated as non-taxable," cautions a civil advocate, attached to the Mumbai high court.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Lump-sum-payment-received-from-Ex-husband-against-relinquishment-of-monthly-maintenance-not-taxable-Tribunal/articleshow/20823480.cms?
Govt wants judges fined for frequent adjournments
Govt wants judges fined for frequent adjournments
NEW DELHI: The government has suggested that higher judiciary impose fines on judges for allowing frequent and too many adjournments, a move which can potentially ensure swift punishment for those guilty of heinous crimes, early release of undertrials who may be found innocent as well as respite for those who have been embroiled in interminably long litigation over civil disputes.
The government has been holding consultations with the Supreme Court to urge the latter to ensure that the amendment made under Section 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which capped the adjournments permissible in a case at three, are implemented. It suggested that the higher judiciary consider imposing fines on judges infringing the three adjournment ceiling.
In fact, in cases of heinous crimes like rape, the amended Section 309 of CrPC lays down a timeframe of two months for the completion of inquiry as well as trial.
Sources said the law ministry has held several rounds of consultations with the apex court, and expressed satisfaction with the response it received to the proposal for strict enforcement of Section 309 of CrPC, limiting the number of adjournments before the subordinate judiciary.
The apex court too has in a number of recent judgments frowned upon the trend among subordinate judiciary to allow frequent adjournments: something which has been identified as one of the main factors behind the huge pendency of cases. The government is hopeful that SC may take steps shortly to ensure that the guidelines under the amended Section 309 are no longer disregarded by judges.
Section 309 of CrPC provides that "every inquiry or trial shall be held as expeditiously as possible and the recording of examination of witnesses shall be continued on day-to-day basis unless the court finds the adjournment of the same beyond the following day to be necessary for reasons to be recorded".
The government later incorporated some more guidelines relating to adjournments which specified that "no adjournment shall be granted at the request of a party, except where the circumstances are beyond the control of that party and even in cases where the pleader of a party is engaged in another court, shall not be a ground for adjournment".
The other important guideline said if a "witness is present in court but a party or his pleader is not present or the party or his pleader though present in court is not ready to examine or cross-examine the witness, the court may, if it thinks fit, record the statement of the witness and pass such orders as it thinks fit". Sources said some of these guidelines may be notified soon so that it becomes compulsory for the subordinate judiciary to enforce them.
Already, the law ministry has drawn up a list of other important amendments carried out in CrPC in the recent past but which are not being enforced by the lower judiciary.
For instance, a new Section 436A has been inserted, which provides that "if an accused has spent half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for that offence, not being an offence for which the death punishment has been specified as one of the punishment, he shall be released by the court on his personal bond with or without sureties".
Another amendment in Section 437 of CrPC provides that "if the accused had been previously convicted on two or more occasions of a cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment for three years or more but not less than seven years, such person shall not be granted bail". http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-wants-judges-fined-for-frequent-adjournments/articleshow/20825760.cms
NEW DELHI: The government has suggested that higher judiciary impose fines on judges for allowing frequent and too many adjournments, a move which can potentially ensure swift punishment for those guilty of heinous crimes, early release of undertrials who may be found innocent as well as respite for those who have been embroiled in interminably long litigation over civil disputes.
The government has been holding consultations with the Supreme Court to urge the latter to ensure that the amendment made under Section 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which capped the adjournments permissible in a case at three, are implemented. It suggested that the higher judiciary consider imposing fines on judges infringing the three adjournment ceiling.
In fact, in cases of heinous crimes like rape, the amended Section 309 of CrPC lays down a timeframe of two months for the completion of inquiry as well as trial.
Sources said the law ministry has held several rounds of consultations with the apex court, and expressed satisfaction with the response it received to the proposal for strict enforcement of Section 309 of CrPC, limiting the number of adjournments before the subordinate judiciary.
The apex court too has in a number of recent judgments frowned upon the trend among subordinate judiciary to allow frequent adjournments: something which has been identified as one of the main factors behind the huge pendency of cases. The government is hopeful that SC may take steps shortly to ensure that the guidelines under the amended Section 309 are no longer disregarded by judges.
Section 309 of CrPC provides that "every inquiry or trial shall be held as expeditiously as possible and the recording of examination of witnesses shall be continued on day-to-day basis unless the court finds the adjournment of the same beyond the following day to be necessary for reasons to be recorded".
The government later incorporated some more guidelines relating to adjournments which specified that "no adjournment shall be granted at the request of a party, except where the circumstances are beyond the control of that party and even in cases where the pleader of a party is engaged in another court, shall not be a ground for adjournment".
The other important guideline said if a "witness is present in court but a party or his pleader is not present or the party or his pleader though present in court is not ready to examine or cross-examine the witness, the court may, if it thinks fit, record the statement of the witness and pass such orders as it thinks fit". Sources said some of these guidelines may be notified soon so that it becomes compulsory for the subordinate judiciary to enforce them.
Already, the law ministry has drawn up a list of other important amendments carried out in CrPC in the recent past but which are not being enforced by the lower judiciary.
For instance, a new Section 436A has been inserted, which provides that "if an accused has spent half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for that offence, not being an offence for which the death punishment has been specified as one of the punishment, he shall be released by the court on his personal bond with or without sureties".
Another amendment in Section 437 of CrPC provides that "if the accused had been previously convicted on two or more occasions of a cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment for three years or more but not less than seven years, such person shall not be granted bail". http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govt-wants-judges-fined-for-frequent-adjournments/articleshow/20825760.cms
Friday, 28 June 2013
Husband, 4 family members acquitted in dowry harassment case
Husband, 4 family members acquitted in dowry harassment case
A man and his parents have been acquitted of the charges of murdering and harassing his wife for bringing insufficient dowry by a Delhi court which said it was a case of suicide and false allegations of torture were levelled against them.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) K S Pal also acquitted the man's brother and his wife of the charges of subjecting the woman to cruelty.
While freeing the five family members of Ganesh Nagar here, the court observed that now-a-days, there is a growing tendency adopted by the parents of deceased married woman, who died in her matrimonial house within seven years of marriage due to any reason, to implicate the husband and his relatives by making false allegations of harassment on ground of dowry demands due to their anger and to take revenge.
The court acquitted deceased Vinita's husband Lalit Kumar, his father Soran Singh, mother Ram Murti of the charges of murder, harassment for dowry and destruction of evidence. Lalit's brother Devender and his wife Urmila were acquitted of the charge of harassment.
"Undoubtedly, deceased Vinita committed suicide and there may be so many reasons to commit suicide and every suicide committed by any married woman at her matrimonial home, within seven years of her marriage, does not raise the presumption of dowry death in the absence of any harassment and torture on such married woman for or in connection with dowry demands, soon before her death," the judge said.
According to the police, Vinita was found hanging at her matrimonial house on April 11, 2011 and a case was lodged against her husband and in-laws for harassing and murdering her.
The victim's parents had told the police that Vinita had got married to Lalit in July 2009 and after 15 days of their marriage, the accused had started harassing and torturing her for dowry and were demanding a car.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/husband-4-family-members-acquitted-in-dowry-harassment-case-113062800680_1.html
A man and his parents have been acquitted of the charges of murdering and harassing his wife for bringing insufficient dowry by a Delhi court which said it was a case of suicide and false allegations of torture were levelled against them.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) K S Pal also acquitted the man's brother and his wife of the charges of subjecting the woman to cruelty.
While freeing the five family members of Ganesh Nagar here, the court observed that now-a-days, there is a growing tendency adopted by the parents of deceased married woman, who died in her matrimonial house within seven years of marriage due to any reason, to implicate the husband and his relatives by making false allegations of harassment on ground of dowry demands due to their anger and to take revenge.
The court acquitted deceased Vinita's husband Lalit Kumar, his father Soran Singh, mother Ram Murti of the charges of murder, harassment for dowry and destruction of evidence. Lalit's brother Devender and his wife Urmila were acquitted of the charge of harassment.
"Undoubtedly, deceased Vinita committed suicide and there may be so many reasons to commit suicide and every suicide committed by any married woman at her matrimonial home, within seven years of her marriage, does not raise the presumption of dowry death in the absence of any harassment and torture on such married woman for or in connection with dowry demands, soon before her death," the judge said.
According to the police, Vinita was found hanging at her matrimonial house on April 11, 2011 and a case was lodged against her husband and in-laws for harassing and murdering her.
The victim's parents had told the police that Vinita had got married to Lalit in July 2009 and after 15 days of their marriage, the accused had started harassing and torturing her for dowry and were demanding a car.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/husband-4-family-members-acquitted-in-dowry-harassment-case-113062800680_1.html
99% of cases filed over dowry and violence on women are false: Law Minister
99% of cases filed over dowry and violence on women are false: Law Minister
Same repeated story all over the world.....
Same repeated story all over the world.....
Dhaka: 80 per cent of the country’s lawsuits are false, State Minister for Law Quamrul Islam said Saturday.
“Accused in 100 per cent of the lawsuits in foreign countries faces
punishments whereas in Bangladesh, the number is only 20 per cent.
Besides, 99 per cent of the cases filed in connection with incidents of
dowry and violence against women are false,” said the minister.
This came as he was speaking at a view-exchange meeting organized by law ministry at Ruposhi Bangla hotel in Dhaka Saturday.
“We should have provisions for awarding punishment to people who
register false lawsuits. That’s one way we can bring number of false
cases down,” opined Islam.
He also voiced his support for stopping media trial.
“Justice can’t be established in the country if we can’t stop media
trial. There should be guidelines on the extent of media coverage a
lawsuit could receive,” said the minister.
Source Natun Barta
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