WOMEN NEEDS EMPOWERMENT TO CREATE A HEALTHY SOCIETY..NOT TO MISSHANDLE THE SOCIETY..

The empowerment of Women doesnt mean to take the Life Of Innocent Men..what This sentence signifies the meaning of sheer misuse and fraudulent uses of women empowerment in the sake of their friendly women laws,

celebrating Womens day is very important but treating men as rapist and brutually killing them infront of thousands of people before his conviction is termed as which day?

This is the prime question to all feminists who are holding their gender power within the nation to get sympathy from even beggars sitting on the road side..
yes, Women Could be Wrong but no matter her one confession could take the life of innocent male along with his whole family even his last stage grand citizens resting on the bed for his last breath..And Thats call India..Where Every One Searching For Ram But No one is Concern about Where Is Sita..Is she Extincting Or She willingly and Desperately Hiding Behind The Tag Of Holy Sita Where Every Woman Must Be treated As Devi, No Matter She Would Be Bitch or Troll..!

On This Womens Day When every women would be celebrating It There is One Family Who Is crying For Their Lost Son Due This Woman And Women Empowerment Law..
Even I felt my eyes wet after reading his suicide note published in this article by
IBN..
I request Every Male To read This and Drop His genuine Comment..

LINK AS UNDER:

 http://m.ibnlive.com/news/on-womens-day-read-the-suicide-note-of-a-man/532541-3-236.html

ESIS

AFTER SC LATEST RULLING ON ARREST IN 498A...SOME WHAT RELIEF TO OLD PARENTS

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1140704/jsp/bihar/story_18578504.jsp#.U9pLi2ZX5cs to

Relief follows 498A ruling


RAMASHANKARThe Supreme Court ruling on imposing Section 498A without investigation has come as a great relief for many a husband and even senior citizens.The relatives of Awadhesh Pathak, a retired schoolteacher, felt elated after coming to know about the Supreme Court guidelines on Wednesday. Pathak, 67, was arrested and lodged in the Barh sub-divisional jail about three months ago after his daughter-in-law Ragini (27) accused him along with seven other members of the family of harassing her for dowry.The apex court’s ruling has restrained the police from mechanically arresting the accused merely on the basis of lodging of complaints under Section 498A (harassing women for dowry) of the IPC.Pathak’s relatives have been running from pillar to post to secure bail for the retired teacher and his 62-year-old wife Sunita Devi. The couple, originally hailing from Mahua in Vaishali district, had settled in Patna after their son Manoj Kumar, a software engineer, got a job in a telecommunication company. Manoj was married to Rajini, daughter of an engineer of Barh, about three years ago.Ragini lodged a complaint with the Barh police station accusing her husband, in-laws, their two married daughters and their husbands. The police conducted a raid at their rented accommodation at Rajeev Nagar in April this year and took Pathak and his wife into custody. The couple were booked under Section 498A of the IPC and Section 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.Pathak’s daughter Anamika, whose name also figured in the FIR, said she and her husband had nothing to do with the case but they have been accused of harassing Ragini for more dowry. “We don’t stay in Patna and have not visited my parents’ house after my brother’s wedding. How can we torture her?” she said.Pathak’s bail petition was rejected from the sub-divisional court and is pending with the high court. “Now it’s our turn to seek bail. Our anticipatory bail has already been rejected,” she said.Pathak’s son, Manoj had to lose job as he was behind bars for six months.The story of Shivaji Pandey, a retired engineer of the irrigation department, is more pathetic. Pandey, a resident of Ashiana Nagar, was recently arrested with his wife by a Delhi police team. The couple were charged with harassing their daughter-in-law, Meenaxi. She lodged a complaint against her husband Vivek and other relatives under Section 498A of the IPC.The couple had to spend about two weeks in a high security jail in Delhi despite the fact that their daughter-in-law had hardly stayed with them in Patna. “Vivek, a software engineer, is working with a telecommunication company in US. He used to send money from there. Yet he has been made accused in the case,” a close relative of Pandey said.The relative, who requested anonymity, said the couple would hardly forget the humiliation they had to face in the court.The complainant’s relative is an IPS officer, who allegedly used his influence to get the couple arrested at the earliest. The marriage of Meenaxi was solemnised in 2006.The family members of Sudarshan Mahto, who too are facing dowry charges, are all praise for the Supreme Court for issuing new guidelines. “We hope that the court would grant bail to us in the wake of the recent directive of the apex court. A complaint has been lodged against Mahto, an employee of a nationalised bank, with the Bihta police station,” he added.Share on emailShare on printShare on facebookShare on twitterMore Sharing Services

NEW SISTER COURT OF LOWER COURT WILL JOLT YOU-MIND IT

One side Apex court gives relief to the untouched harrasments coming through decades and at other side the NCW is on the verge of giving a jolt to the indian males.The power of attorney to harrass the innocents will be continued through the vested powers of court to NCW as this commission would send summons and warrants directly to any accused just like a lower courts do.This much awaited drafting of women empowerment will begin soon if every thing goes on right track.The corruption level of india is rooted by the lowest court of India and now one more sister court is going to be release soon....Lets cross our fingers and pray for the acche din of women as well as innocent males who may not become the salt of the taste for these new brand of indian court.

Below is the rolling stories from publications about the above news: NCW to get civil court status | The Indian Express indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/ncw-to-get-civil-court-status/Jun 25, 2014 - “We are working on the amendments to the NCW Act to extend its ... The commission will be deemed to be a civil court with powers to issue ... powers to
NCW through - NCW::Reviews of Laws relating to Women ncw.nic.in/frmReportLaws21.aspxThe Central Government may, by rules, make provision for the terms and ... under this Act,have all the powers of a Civil court trying a suit under the code of Civil ... The Family Courts Act,1984 - NCW::Reviews of Laws relating to ... ncw.nic.in/frmReportLaws30.aspxWhen exercising jurisdiction under, sub-section 1), the Family Court shall have all the powers of an ordinary civil court of unlimited pecuniary jurisdiction.[PDF] THE NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN ACT, 1990 NO. 20 OF ... www.ncw.nic.in/PDFFiles/ncwact.pdfstanding who have had experience in law or legislation, trade unionism, management of .... sub-section (I), have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit and, ... National Commission for Women proposed to acquire status of Civil ... www.livelaw.in/national-commission-women-proposed-acquire-status-civil-...6 days ago - The Commission will be elevated to the status of a civil court, with its ... Regular meetings will be conducted and it will have the powers to initiate ...

The National Commission for Women (NCW) was constituted on 31st January, ... NCW set to be elevated to the status of civil court - YouTube ► 1:05► 1:05www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAyZ2Al_i8gJun 25, 2014 - Uploaded by newsxliveNCW set to be elevated to the status of civil court ... commission will havethe status of a ... NCW's demand for judicial powers is fundamentally flawed and ... www.merinews.com/article/ncws-demand...powers-is.../15898732.shtml7 days ago - If the NCW's logic of conferring it with powers of a court to hear ... will also be fully justified in demanding civil court powers to their welfare bodies. ... in any case would never stand a chance to get any justice from a court, ...

RIGHT TO FIGHT HIS/HER OWN CASE AS PARTY IN PERSON...!!

Petitioner has right to appear in person

Most of the citizens, who are involved in legal battles, are not aware of the fact that a citizen can plead the case in the court of law in person without engaging a lawyer.
THERE IS an old saying that it is the wearer who knows where the shoe pinches. So if you are an aggrieved or an affected party, and feel that you have a strong case to contest in the court of law, you are the better person who can plead the case and put forth your view point with authority, no matter whether you are an advocate or not. As a petitioner in person, you have a primary right to contest any of your civil or criminal case even without engaging an advocate.

According to Sunil Sethi, former president of Jammu Bar association, it is not necessary at all for a petitioner to engage a lawyer. In fact, an advocate is just a substitute and under order Three of Civil Procedure Code, an advocate is an attorney - a person appointed to act for the petitioner.

Sethi says that to appear in person in the court, one doesn’t require a law degree at all. “Even the petitioner can engage another person to plead the case. That other person also doesn’t require to be a lawyer. Simply, in such a case the permission of the court is required.

If a petitioner doesn’t have resources to engage a lawyer or cannot also plead of his own, in such case, he can approach Legal Aid committee who can engage an advocate for the petitioner on government expenses. These Legal Aid committees are at district level (headed by Sessions Judge) and at state level, headed by a judge of a High Court.

Sethi says that if a person wants to plead the case of his own, he doesn’t need to put on an advocate’s uniform. Further, if he can not write the writ petition, the same can be drafted by engaging an advocate, but the case in the court can be pleaded by the petitioner himself, if he wishes so.

It is not also necessary to engage an advocate for the entire case till it comes to its logical conclusion. “Even the petitioner has the right to change the advocate and engage another at any stage of case, opines senior Jammu and Kashmir High Court advocate SS Anand Lehar.

Dwelling upon criminal cases, Lehar says that no trial begins before an accused is given an opportunity to engage a lawyer. In case the accused is not in a position or doesn’t want to engage a lawyer, the court is bound to give him the services of an ‘Amicus Curie’- an advocate who will be asked by the Court to represent the case and the money for the same will be borne by the court.

If the accused neither engages the advocate nor takes the services of ‘Amicus Curie’, the Judge will be in that case himself examining the witness. Even the accused himself has the right to cross-examine the witnesses.

While giving reference of the law, Lehar says that under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution (seeking safeguard of life and liberty of an individual), even a foreigner can approach Indian Courts and that too without an advocate. Even those who have illegally come to India or detained after crossing the border, can seek justice under this provision and can plead for liberty if detained beyond the period of detention.

So the next time, when you are engaged in any legal dispute, be it a consumer case, a civil or a matrimonial dispute, if you are sure that you can plead the case of your own, you have the right to appear before the judge - but remember, maintaining the dignity of the court is everybody’s prime duty.

Source : "http://www.merinews.com/article/petitioner-has-right-to-appear-in-person/127492.shtml"

Man seeked Maintenance of Rs. 8000/- from his Liv-in Partner of 10 years

Man seeks alimony from partner

Saswati Mukherjee, TNN | Jul 14, 2010, 03.23AM IST

HYDERABAD: Giving gender equality a fresh twist, a jobless man has sought Rs 8,000 a month as alimony from his 'gainfully' employed partner.

This gender bender case, which has landed at the Andhra Pradesh High Court, however, gets even more curiouser in its detail. The couple in question are not legally wedded but have been in a live-in relationship for the last 10 years and even have a daughter.

The Mahbubnagar-based couple's happily ever after story hit a roadblock when the woman, who is 42, in a fit of rage filed a case of 'dowry harassment' against her jobless live-in partner, who is 51, alleging that he was physically assaulting her.

The woman, a multi-purpose health worker with a government hospital with a decent monthly salary of Rs 20,000 (especially in the context of a small town like Mahbubnagar), even moved out of the house with the child.

With sections 498 A, 506 and 509 of IPC pressed against him, the man moved the AP High Court seeking anticipatory bail stating that the charges were invalid since the two were never legally married. And then he served a googly — he filed a simultaneous petition seeking maintenance of Rs 8,000 from his live-in partner of 10 years.

When the case first came up for hearing at the High Court a few days ago, the counsel representing the man referred to a recent Supreme Court judgment wherein the apex court had granted alimony to a woman in a live-in relationship from her partner citing that the number of years the two had put together were 'considerable', akin to a marriage. The man in this case has now pinned his hope on the apex court verdict with his counsel arguing how he too has put in 10 years of his life into this relationship and is thus a 'considerable' time period for him to earn his alimony from the earning partner.

In the first hearing, the HC judge had asked the man's counsel to look into the merits of the case himself and also consider whether the SC judgment can apply here, given the difference in the gender of the alimony seeker.
A similar case was filed by a Tamil Nadu resident Kalaiselvan who had sought a whopping Rs 25 lakh from his ex-wife, a news story that flashes on many websites catering to aggrieved husbands. But the judgment on the case is awaited.

On Tuesday, the HC posted the Mahbubnagar man's alimony petition case for its next hearing on July 30. Clearly, an unusual gender test for the AP High Court.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Man-seeks-alimony-from-partner/articleshow/6164976.cms?referral=PM

Is this acquittal of wife justified..? where wife was the reason for suicide of husband

Man ends life to teach wife a lesson; HC acquits her, kin

Shibu Thomas, TNN | Jun 22, 2013, 03.25AM IST

MUMBAI: A Nashik resident, who spent nearly seven years in jail after she was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing her husband, was recently acquitted by the Bombay high court, which ruled that it was a case of suicide.

Vilas Pawar committed suicide to teach his wife Usha, who had filed a case of maintenance against him, a lesson, said the court.

Seven of Usha's relatives, including her elderly parents and three brothers, who were also sentenced to life imprisonment in the case were acquitted as well.

Three dying declarations of Vilas, accusing Usha of forcibly emptying a bottle of poison into his mouth, were recorded. But the court took into account Vilas' conduct. "It is material to note the conduct of the deceased. Vilas was refusing to take treatment," observed a division bench of Vijaya Kapse-Tahilramani and Justice Pramod Kode. "If Vilas had been forcibly administered poison, he would want to save his life and... immediately submit to treatment. Vilas was refusing to get treated, which shows that he wanted the case to get serious in order to cause harassment to the appellants... Vilas himself consumed poison as he wanted to teach a lesson to (his wife and in-laws)." The court also referred to the panchnama which revealed that "Vilas consumed poison from a bottle and he told (his wife and in-laws) that he would take every one along with him".

Usha had filed a maintenance case against Vilas after their relationship soured. Following the court hearing in a Nashik court on January 11, 2007, Vilas landed at Usha's parents' home with a bottle of poison. Vilas claimed that his in-laws held his hands and legs and Usha emptied the contents of a poison bottle in his mouth. Usha and her relatives said that it was Vilas who himself consumed poison from the bottle.

The trial court had held Usha and her relatives guilty of murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

The court also referred to the panchnama which revealed that "Vilas consumed poison from a bottle and he told (his wife and in-laws) that he would take every one along with him".

SOURCE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Man-ends-life-to-teach-wife-a-lesson-HC-acquits-her-kin/articleshow/20708600.cms

 

 

To prevent the breakup of marriages and families,pre-litigation mediation centre (PLMC), the first of its kind in the country has started..

Pre-litigation mediation centres to address marital disputes

Subhash Chandra N S, Bangalore, April 7, 2013, DHNS:

Move aimed at preventing the breakup of marriages
To prevent the breakup of marriages and families, the Bangalore Mediation Centre (BMC) is setting up a pre-litigation mediation centre (PLMC), the first of its kind in the country.
Several matrimonial disputes reach courts, without any attempt to save the relationships. With thousands of marriages being dissolved every year, the BMC, following the Supreme Court order of February 22, 2013, has now stepped in to save the institution of marriage. Plans are now on to start PLMCs across the State and, the first one would come up in Bangalore.  
                                       Says Justice K L Manjunath, judge, Karnataka High Court and president, Bangalore Mediation Centre: “The  centres will be a reality in two months. The process to set up the PLMC has already begun. We held a meeting of six master trainers two weeks ago. A committee comprising senior mediators has been constituted, which will be soon submitting a report,” he told Deccan Herald.

The PLMCs will explore the possibilities of reconcilation of the couple on the verge of divorce, seeking maintenence or rights of child. The BMC, which receives about 65 per cent of the matrimony cases, says that 64 per cent of them are resolved through mediation.

“If these matters are prolonged, the relationship will turn bitter and beyond repair. This has been observed by the Supreme Court too. We have already written to district judges to sensitise all judicial officers in the respective districts on PLMC. We will start with the PLMC in Bangalore, before having such facilities across the State,” said an official from the BMC.

The BMC will also organise workshops for judges, police officers and officials from Women and Child Welfare department.

Supreme Court orderThe Supreme Court directions came in the Srinivasa Rao vs Deepa case. Hearing the petition by Rao, a government official from Andhra Pradesh, the division bench comprising Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and Aftab Alam directed the state judiciaries to set up PLMCs.

Rao, who had married Deepa on April 25, 1999, got separated from her two days later on April 27, 1999. He moved the apex court against the Andhra Pradesh High Court verdict allowing his wife’s plea of seeking restitution of conjugal rights. The Supreme Court observed that the relationship would not have soured if there was pre-litigation counselling for the couple. “If the parties were sent to a mediation centre or if they had access to a pre-litigation clinic, perhaps bitterness would not have escalated. Things would not have come to such a pass so early.”

The apex court said that before litigations are heard by courts, they must be referred to mediation centres. “When disputes are taken up by family court or by court of first instance for hearing, they must be referred to mediation centres.”

The bench also suggested that even offences punishable under section 498 ‘A’ of Indian Penal Code can be referred to mediation when the courts feel they can be settled through mediation and, if the parties are willing for settlement.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/324630/pre-litigation-mediation-centres-address.html

Husband was sent to jail for false murder case of wife whereas wife eloped with her boyfriend...

A "dead" woman was found to be living with her boyfriend, now her husband, in Varanasi while the first husband is languishing in jail for "murdering" her.
The facts when explored .......
It was found that she eloped with her boyfriend making her husband to land up in jail in false charges of murder of his wife.
Finally she was arrested and sent to jail...

'Dead' woman resurfaces; 'killer' husband languishing in jail

PTI  Ranchi, December 23, 2013

First Published: 19:21 IST(23/12/2013) | Last Updated: 19:31 IST(23/12/2013)

A "dead" woman was found to be living with her boyfriend, now her husband, in Varanasi while the first husband is languishing in jail for "murdering" her, police said on Monday.

Police said five other people arrested in connection with the murder are out on bail.
The woman, Pinki, was produced Monday in a court in Giridih, 300 km from state capital Ranchi.
In 2010, Pinki's first marriage was solemnised with Arun Kumar.

On June 20, 2011, Pinki and Arun were headed to Bilaspur when she went missing. It later came to light that she eloped with her boyfriend, Nitesh Ram, and tied the knot.

Pinki's parents had lodged an FIR against Arun, alleging that she was killed by her in-laws. Six people, including Arun, were jailed.
Arun's family members found Pinki leading a married life with her second husband and a two-and-a-half-year child from the first marriage, in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. They then informed the police and she was arrested.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/dead-woman-resurfaces-killer-husband-languishing-in-jail/article1-1165715.aspx

 

Woman should be booked for filing fake rape case, says HC

Thursday, August 1, 2013 - 10:43 IST | Agency: DNA

Urvi Mahajani

Distinguish between genuine and false plaints, cops told.

If a woman lodges a false complaint of rape, then she should be prosecuted, observed the Bombay high court on Wednesday while granting anticipatory bail to an Art of Living teacher accused of rape.
Justice Sadhana Jadhav said, “The police should be careful and distinguish between genuine cases and false complaints.”
The judge remarked that of late several cases were coming to the HC in which ‘victims’ had filed rape complaints and alleged that they had entered into relationships after being promised marriage.
“In a relationship between consenting adults, sometimes, such complaints are filed in the heat of the moment. This sends wrong signals to society,” observed justice Jadhav.
The judge said the police should conduct initial inquiry into the matter and decide whether it is a genuine complaint or not.
The court was hearing an anticipatory bail application filed by Divyesh Vala, 35. He had sought anticipatory bail saying he has been falsely implicated and the case is causing him severe harm and mental agony. The complaint was filed by a central excise inspector, 42, alleging Vala raped her on the pretext of marrying her.
According to additional public prosecutor, Anil Shitole, the victim, who is also a divorcee, had contacted Vala through a social networking website, where they became good friends. Vala later cut all ties with her and married another woman in May. Following this, she registered a complaint with the RAK Marg police station in June this year.
Justice Jadhav, while granting Vala anticipatory bail against a surety of Rs15,000, said that both of them are adults and the victim, in her complaint, never said that she had sexual relations with Vala because he promised to marry her.
The court observed that Vala cannot be sent to custody as it would not serve any fruitful purpose except satisfying the complainant’s vendetta.
Justice Jadhav has directed him to report to the RAK Marg police station on Sundays.
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-woman-should-be-booked-for-filing-fake-rape-case-says-hc-1868459

 

Section 498A IPC has become a weapon for breaking families rather than for uniting them: AP HC

Do not jail accused in dowry cases, rules High Court

  DC | S.A. Ishaqui | 22nd Jan 2014

Hyderabad: In a significant ruling, the AP High Court has directed the police not to arrest the accused involved in dowry harassment cases without the permission of the district superintendent of police or any other officer of equal rank in metropolitan cities.
The High Court directed the magistrates that no accused should be remanded to judicial custody mechanically in a routine manner.
While allowing a criminal petition by Syed Kaleemuallah Hussaini and three others seeking anticipatory bail in a dowry harassment case, Justice B. Chandra Kumar observed: “It is most unfortunate that Section 498A IPC has become a weapon for breaking families rather than for uniting them.”
“There cannot be any doubt that there is dowry menace in society. But at the same time, it is also a fact that certain marriages are performed without any dowry.
Due to ill advice or under the wrong impression that the husband may come to terms if a complaint is lodged under Section 498A IPC, complaints are being lodged with the police,” the judge added.
Next: Dowry plaint be examined: Judge

States: 

Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad: Issuing certain guidelines to be followed by the investigation officers in dowry harassment cases, Justice B. Chandra Kumar observed that normally, no accused should be arrested on allegations of simple dowry harassment.
If an arrest is necessary, the investigating officer should obtain permission.
He said that when an accused is produced before the magistrate, they should examine the matter judiciously and consider whether there are valid grounds for remanding the accused to judicial custody.
The judge said if arrest is not necessary, the police may complete the investigation and file a chargesheet without arresting the accused.
He also made it clear that in the case of dowry death, suspicious death and suicide or when the allegations are serious in nature, the police officer may arrest the accused and the intimation of arrest should be immediately sent to the concerned SP.
According to the instructions of the judge, no accused or witness should be unnecessarily called to the police station. In case their presence is required for enquiry, they should be sent back immediately after that.
There should not be any unnecessary harassment either to the relatives of the complainant or of the husband. A fair and dispassionate probe should be conducted. After completing investigation, it should be verified by an officer not below the rank of deputy superintendent of police.
The judge said, “During investigation, if the probing officer is satisfied that there is false implication of any person in the complaint, then he may delete the names of such persons from the chargesheet after obtaining necessary permissions from the SP or any other officer equivalent to that rank.”
“As soon as a complaint is received either from the wife alleging dowry harassment or from the husband that there is possibility of being implicated in a case of dowry harassment, then both the parties should be asked to undergo counselling with any experienced counselor or counsellors,” the judge maintained.
He directed that the report of the counsellors should be made a part of the report to be submitted to the court.
The judge also ruled that the SP, in consultation with the chairman, district legal services authority, prepare a panel of counselors and details of the panel, along with their addresses and phone numbers, should be made available at all police stations.
Senior cops should also ensure that the parties are not forced to come to any settlement in police stations against their wishes. “Advocates have to play their roles in trying to unite the families.
The welfare of the children should be given utmost importance,” he added. The judge directed the DGP to issue necessary instructions to the concerned authorities in this regard.

States: 

Andhra Pradesh

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140122/news-current-affairs/article/do-not-jail-accused-dowry-cases-rules-high-court 

 

List of divorce Cases where husband got the ultimate freedom from their cruel wives...

MUMBAI

Businessman gets divorce after wife steals gold

November 21, 2013 | Rebecca Samervel , TNN

MUMBAI: A 37-year-old Dadar-based businessman was granted divorce on grounds of "cruelty" as his wife stole and hypothecated almost 200gm of his family's gold jewellery. A city court observed that her conduct had caused damage to the trust factor in the relationship. "Love, faith and trust are the founding pillars for strengthening marital relations," it said. "The respondent (wife) had taken away the gold ornaments without permission of the petitioner (husband) and...

CHENNAI

Man gets divorce for harassment by wife

June 2, 2012 | A Subramani , TNN

CHENNAI: Distress and social humiliation heaped on a husband by his wife by filing a false complaint and getting him arrested would amount to cruelty, which is a valid ground for divorce, the Madras high court has said. A division bench comprising Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Justice M Venugopal, passing orders on an appeal filed by a man, said: "The mental cruelty will continue to hurt a person throughout and any amount of healing words or healing touch would not wipe out...

Accusing husband of adultery with sister and sister-in-law is mental cruelty, Bombay high court rules

November 19, 2013 | Shibu Thomas , TNN

MUMBAI: Accusing a man of having illicit relations with his sister and sister-in-law is mental cruelty and grounds for divorce, ruled the Bombay high court. A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Revati Dere held that the woman had made it impossible for her estranged husband to live with her and conformed the divorce granted to the couple, who are now grandparents. Mulund residents Rajesh and Shanti Shah...

INDIA

SC allows couples to settle marital cruelty cases

February 23, 2013 | Dhananjay Mahapatra , TNN

NEW DELHI: In a first, the Supreme Court on Friday permitted settling of cases under Section 498A of IPC lodged by a woman against her husband and in-laws for alleged cruelty in her matrimonial home. Though it was enacted to protect women from harassment and cruelty, there has been judicial recognition of the fact that on several occasions, false complaints under Section 498A were filed to teach the husband and his relatives a lesson as these cases were...

BANGALORE

Karnataka HC grants divorce to a man who was constantly harassed by his wife for years

December 21, 2013 | P Vasanth Kumar , TNN

Bangalore: In an interesting case, the Karnataka high court has passed an order dissolving the marriage of a film producer citing that he has sufficiently proved the cruelty meted out to him by his wife, who was one upon a time was his 'dream girl '. "The making of unreasonable and unjustifiable demand for a separate house and a sum of Rs 20,00,000 in lump and Rs 20,000 as maintenance per month, the lodging of complaints on...

BANGALORE

Man divorces wife for her 'cruel treatment'

December 14, 2013 | TNN

BANGALORE: In an interesting case, the Karnataka high court has passed an order dissolving the marriage of a film producer citing that he has sufficiently proved the cruelty meted out to him by his wife. "The making of unreasonable and unjustifiable demand for a separate house and a sum of Rs 20,00,000 in lump and Rs 20,000 as maintenance per month, the lodging of complaints on important dates, the dates or the previous day, on which the younger brothers of her husabnd...

DELHI

'Denial of intimacy ground for divorce'

October 14, 2013 | TNN

NEW DELHI: Holding that physical intimacy is an essential aspect of marriage, the Delhi high court has said that a wife's continuous refusal to have such a relationship with her husband can be ground for divorce. Dismissing a woman's plea challenging the family court's decree of divorce to her husband, a bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and Najmi Waziri upheld the lower court's February findings in favour of the husband. Taking note that though the couple started living together again...

INDIA

Got sterilised secretly? It's mental cruelty

March 29, 2007 | Dhananjay Mahapatra , TNN

NEW DELHI: In a path-breaking decision, Supreme Court has defined what connotes 'mental cruelty' ? the ground that has been frequently cited as the reason for those seeking divorce but which had so far lacked a precise definition. The court on Monday laid down elaborate criteria of what would constitute "mental cruelty". However, it said that the behaviour patterns so mentioned must persist over a period of time to warrant the conclusion that the marriage between the parties had...

MUMBAI

Mental cruelty as grounds for divorce

November 5, 2008 | Swati Deshpande , TNN

MUMBAI: Getting a divorce is usually a messy job, especially if it is a contested affair. The commonly cited grounds are mental cruelty, because of the wide sweep of the definition as upheld even by the Supreme Court. In a landmark judgment in recent times, the apex court had held that mental cruelty can cover acts such as a wife not cooking for her husband or consenting to sexual intercourse, but such acts of rebellion must be on a regular basis and not one-off. But can a...

KOCHI

No children, no marriage, rules High court

January 8, 2013 | Mahir Haneef , TNN

KOCHI: On Monday, justices Pius C Kuriakose and C K Abdul Rehim of the Kerala high court made the significant ruling that a man's refusal to have children amounted to cruelty and was sufficient cause for granting divorce to his wife. The Thiruvananthapuram family court had granted divorce to Florence George but had refused to concede the larger underlying crime. In her petition to the family court, Florence had stated, "The petitioner (Florence) is very much fond of children and expressed desire to become a mother.

CHENNAI

Filing false case valid grounds for divorce: Madras high court

November 23, 2012 | TNN

CHENNAI: Levelling false allegations and filing false cases against a spouse is indeed cruelty and a valid ground for divorce, the Madras high court has said. Justice S Vimala, reiterating this established legal position, passed an order to this effect last week in a case where a woman had accused her husband of extramarital affair, suspecting her character, demanding dowry and subjecting her to cruelty. During cross-examination in a trial court, however, the woman admitted that the allegations were false.

CHENNAI

False case and allegations amount to cruelty; divorce valid: HC

November 22, 2012 | A Subramani , TNN

CHENNAI: Levelling false charges and filing false charges against a spouse is indeed cruelty and it is a valid ground for divorce, the Madras high court has said. Justice S Vimala, reiterating this established legal position, passed an order this effect in a case wherein the wife had accused the husband of extra-marital affair, of suspecting her character, of demanding dowry and of subjecting her to cruelty. During cross-examination in a trial court, however, the wife admitted that the allegations were false.

INDIA

Abusive newspaper ad by wife wins man a divorce

July 6, 2012 | Dhananjay Mahapatra , TNN

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court termed an advertisement inserted in a newspaper by an estranged wife accusing her husband of being a womanizer and drunkard as an act inflicting extreme mental cruelty on him and granted him divorce to end the 33-year-old marriage which had gone sour for the last 16 years. Shocked by the woman's conduct in inflicting trauma on the husband and tarnishing his reputation, a bench of Justices Deepak Verma and Dipak Misra said it was a fit case for grant of divorce for causing mental cruelty and reversed two concurrent judgments of Bombay high court which had refused the husband's plea for permanent separation on the ground that his marriage had broken down irrevocably.

INDIA

'Divorce epidemic due to sex-starved marriages'

March 25, 2012 | Abhinav Garg , TNN

NEW DELHI: Sex-starved marriages leading to divorce are becoming an "epidemic", the Delhi high court has observed, while granting divorce to a husband, maintaining that denial of sex by his wife amounted to mental cruelty. The man argued that in the five months he and his wife stayed as a couple after marriage, they had sex only 10-15 times. Dismissing the wife's plea against divorce, Justice Kailash Gambhir noted in his order earlier this week: "Although it is difficult to exactly lay down as to how many times any healthy couple should have sexual intercourse in a particular period of time as it is not a mechanical but a mutual act, there cannot be any two ways about the fact that marriage without sex will be an insipid relation.

MUMBAI

Man accused of infidelity by wife granted divorce

October 26, 2011 | Shibu Thomas , TNN

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has granted divorce to a man who was subjected to barbs about infidelity by his wife due to his late working hours. "The (unsubstantiated) allegations are certainly serious and the husband is bound to undergo mental pain, agony and suffering," said a division bench of Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice R Y Ganoo while dissolving the couple's 24-year-old marriage on grounds of cruelty. "We are inclined to observe that the unsubstantiated allegations levelled by the wife in the written statement as well as in her evidence and also evidence of her father amounted to mental cruelty as the wife has failed to prove those allegations by examining appropriate witnesses ," said the judges.

MUMBAI

Producer convicted for wife cruelty gets bail

July 17, 2011 | TNN

MUMBAI: A sessions court on Saturday granted bail to film producer Gaurang Doshi, convicted on charges of cruelty to his wife. The bail was granted on a surety of Rs 1 lakh. Doshi's estranged wife Madhuri had accused him and his parents of torturing her physically and mentally for when she resisted dowry demands. On July 5, Doshi, producer of the 2002 Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Aankhen, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code.

DELHI

Man allowed separation from wife for denial of sex

March 25, 2011 | Abhinav Garg , TNN

NEW DELHI: A husband, who cited denial of sex as one of the grounds for seeking divorce, has been granted separation by the Delhi High Court . Justice Kailash Gambhir took note of the fact that the wife left the husband in 2005 and "did not return to fulfill any of her matrimonial obligations" while allowing a decree for separation filed by the husband Rampal (name changed). "Had there been any intention of the wife to resume cohabitation with the husband then at least she would have come forward to contest the divorce petition...

DELHI

Divorce sparked off by short dress

February 12, 2011 | TNN

NEW DELHI: In a bizarre case of incompatibility of a couple, a man had moved a trial court seeking divorce on the ground that he was upset over the fact that his wife used to wear short clothes though he disapproved of it. Married in 2007, the couple started having fights soon after they went for their honeymoon . Additional Sessions Judge Manmohan Sharma finally put an end to the couple's agony by granting them a divorce on the ground of...

INDIA

Wife can't accuse husband's girlfriend of cruelty: SC

September 16, 2010 | Dhananjay Mahapatra , TNN

NEW DELHI: The other woman in a husband's life could universally be the major source of marital discord but the wife cannot accuse the girlfiend of causing mental cruelty to her under Section 498A of Indian Penal Code , the Supreme Court has ruled. No case under Section 498A could be slapped against the other woman -- "be it the husband's girlfriend or concubine" -- even if it was found that she lived with him after estrangement with his wife, it said.

MUMBAI

Bombay HC allows husband 'to live in wife's flat' after divorce

April 12, 2010 | PTI

MUMBAI: In an interesting case, the Bombay High Court confirmed the dissolution of a marriage, but allowed the husband to continue to live in the flat which is in wife's name. Both Sharad and Meena (names changed) are in their sixties. They got married in April 1969, and have two grownup sons. However, differences arose in the later years, and Meena left her husband and shifted to Delhi in 1980. The flat in which they lived in suburban Juhu had been purchased in Meena's name.

MUMBAI

Now, suicide attempts may end your marriage

January 3, 2010 | TNN

MUMBAI: Wives beware. Repeated attempts or threats of committing suicide are not going to pay off and the husband, instead of giving in to demands, will walk away with a divorce. In a judgment that would provide the threatened spouse some relief, the Bombay high court upheld a family court ruling that repeated attempts to commit suicide constituted mental cruelty and was a laid ground for divorce. A bench of justices Sharad Bobde and S J Kathawala late last year held that "It was not possible for a couple to peacefully carry on with their married life if one partner repeatedly threatened to commit suicide in public and within the home.

INDIA

Suicide threats amount to cruelty, can be a divorce ground: HC

January 2, 2010 | PTI

MUMBAI: Repeated attempts to commit suicide as well the threats to commit suicide could amount to "cruelty", and it can very well be a ground for seeking divorce, the Bombay High Court has held. The family court in Pune granted divorce to Varsha and Prakash (both names changed) on the application made by Prakash in 2002, against which Varsha had filed appeal. Both had been living separately for the last seventeen years. Prakash's application for divorce was on the ground that his wife was temperamental, she frequently fought with him, and threatened to commit suicide.

CHENNAI

Woman seeks divorce from impotent husband, Rs 1cr alimony

August 13, 2009 | TNN

CHENNAI: Claiming that she was cheated into marrying an "impotent" man, a 24-year-old woman has moved the family court here seeking divorce from him and Rs 1 crore as permanent alimony. According to the woman, her in-laws had suppressed the fact that their son suffered from some "hereditary sexual problems" and that he was physically incapable of performing his conjugal responsibilities towards his prospective wife. She claimed that she also had to quit her software job on the insistence of her in-laws.

INDIA

Husband can seek divorce if wife aborts without his consent

November 7, 2008 | PTI

NEW DELHI: A woman's act of undergoing abortion to terminate a pregnancy without the consent of her spouse amounts to mental cruelty and her husband is entitled to seek divorce on this ground, the Supreme Court has ruled in an important ruling. The apex court upheld the plea of one Sudhir Kapur that he was entitled to seek divorce under the Hindu Marriages Act, as his wife Suman Kapur had undergone three abortions without his consent. Sudhir claimed that his wife resorted to the abortions as she was more interested in pursuing her career in the US rather than bringing up a family.

INDIA

Cruelty-to-wife cases can't be withdrawn: HC

March 13, 2008 | Swati Deshpande , TNN

MUMBAI: It's one charge that husbands dread and many are guilty of. It's also a charge which the law doesn't allow a woman to withdraw once she has made it. However, courts had in the past taken conflicting views on this. Now, resolving the issue of whether or not a husband and wife can settle between themselves a complaint of cruelty to a wife under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, a full bench of the Bombay high court has both good and bad news, depending on which side of the accusation one is. In a landmark judgment on Wednesday, the HC bench comprising Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar, Justice Dhananjay Chandrachud and Justice J P Devadhar held that a wife certainly cannot withdraw the 498-A charge and that a court, including the lower courts and high courts, cannot allow such a serious non-bailable offence to be compounded (settled between the parties so that criminal proceedings no longer remain against the husband and/or his family members)

INDIA

Mind language in divorce pleas: HC

September 24, 2007 | Swati Deshpande , TNN

MUMBAI: Mind your language in bed and out of it. This could be the new warning mantra for warring spouses, especially those who knock on the family courts door. The Bombay High Court recently directed that language in divorce petitions had to clean and temperate, and deleted several paras of a husband's explicit rant against his wife's alleged unnatural sexual demands. The man, who cited these demands as infliction of mental cruelty, wanted out on the same grounds.

INDIA

Cruelty most cited basis for divorce

April 19, 2005 | Swati Deshpande , TNN

MUMBAI: Arun Nayar, Liz Hurley's burly, is not alone in using cruelty as a charge on which to peg a divorce petition. While the civilised divorce is on the rise, lawyers invariably dip into the dirty linen basket when one spouse refuses to oblige. And in the process both sides are sullied. Allegations such as "constant demand for money," "failing in duties as a wife" and "gravely insulting behaviour, causing mental pain and agony" are some of the phrases that contested divorce pleas are habitually strewn with.

INDIA

SC: Baseless charges against spouse cruelty

December 6, 2004 | TNN

NEW DELHI: While deciding on matrimonial disputes, courts deal with only a man and a woman, not an ideal couple. "Cruelty in matrimonial life may be subtle or brutal. It may happen through gestures, words or silence," the Supreme Court ruled in an attempt to distinguish between the normal problems of married life and a troubled home. A report from Italy says that a married woman was granted a divorce because her bossy mother-in-law was ruining her life. "She would keep on nagging me saying that I was only interested in make-up and dieting to attract other men; I was a poor mother and didn't deserve her son, let alone a child with him. None of it was true and in the end I just couldn't take anymore," the report quoting the woman said.

INDIA

Man assaulted by wife, gets divorce

November 7, 2004 | TNN

NEW DELHI: It's not always women who suffer due to cruelty and assault by their errant husbands. A husband too has been able to get divorce from his wife on grounds of assault and abuse. Before the SC granted him divorce on the charge of cruelty and assault by his wife, the man had lodged complaints with the Mahila Samiti in 1993. He suffered a fracture after his wife slapped him and pushed him against a wall. Rearing the two children himself as his wife, surprisingly, lives with her husband's parents, the man charged her with both both physical and mental cruelty.

MUMBAI

Battered? Remember Sec 498-A

October 26, 2004 | Swati Deshpande , TNN

MUMBAI: 498-A? That might seem like an arcane figure to the layman, but it's one that married women would do well to remember. Section 498-A, introduced into the Indian Penal Code three decades ago, gives recognition to the ugly reality of domestic violence against a wife. The section makes cruelty by a husband or his family towards a married woman a cognisable and non-bailable offence and can even result in a three-year prison term for the culprit. But the conviction rate in '498-A cases', as they are called, is barely one or two per cent, says women's activist Flavia Agnes.

Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/keyword/mental-cruelty 

Know about Mortgage...

Mortgages

A Mortgage is the transfer of an interest in a specific immovable property for the purpose of securing the payment of money advanced by way of loan. The transferor is called the mortgagor the transferee a mortgagee.

In India mortgages are categorized as six types.

1. Simple Mortgage: in this type of mortgage, the mortgagor without delivering possession of the property binds himself to pay the mortgage money and agrees that in the event he fails to pay the money the mortgaged property can be sold and proceeds of the sale can be applied for repayment of the loan.

2. Mortgage by Conditional Sale: in this type of mortgage the mortgagor ostensibly sells the mortgaged property on a condition that on default of payment of the mortgage money on a particular date the sale shall become final or on the condition that on the payment being made the sale shall become void and the buyer shall transfer the property to the seller.


3. Usufructuary Mortgage: in this the mortgagor delivers possession or binds himself to deliver possession of the mortgaged property and authorizes him to receive the rents and profits that accrue from such property till repayment of the loan.


4. English Mortgage: in this case the mortgagor binds himself to repay the mortgage loan on a fixed date and transfers the mortgage property to the mortgagee subject to the term that mortgagee shall retransfer the property upon payment of the loan amount.


5. Mortgage by Deposit of Title Deeds: in this case the mortgagor delivers the original deeds of his property as a security against the loan. In the event the mortgagor fails to repay the loan, the mortgagee sells the property.


6. Anomalous Mortgage: A mortgage which is not a simple mortgage, a mortgage by conditional sale, a usufructuary mortgage, an English mortgage or a mortgage by deposit of the title deeds within the meaning of Section 58 of the Transfer of Property Act is called an anomalous mortgage.


Rights of a Mortgagee

• Right to foreclosure: the mortgagee has a right to obtain a decree for sale of property once the mortgagor fails to pay the mortgage amount.

• Right to sue for mortgage money: a mortgagor has the right to sue for mortgage money in certain cases.

• Right of power of sale of mortgaged property.

The Transfer of Property Act provides that the mortgagee, or any person acting on his behalf, subject to the provision of the Act, has the power to sell or concur in selling the mortgaged property or any part thereof in default of payment of the mortgage money, without intervention of the Court, in the following cases and in no others, namely;

1. Where the mortgage is an English mortgage, and neither the mortgagor nor mortgagee is a Hindu, Mohammedan or Buddhist, or a member of any other race, sect, tribe or class from time to time specified in this behalf, by the State Government in the official Gazette;

2. Where a power of sale without the intervention of the Court is expressly conferred on the mortgagee by the mortgage deed, and the mortgagor is the Government;

3. Where a power of sale without the intervention of the court is expressly conferred on the mortgagee by mortgage deed, and the mortgaged property or any part of thereof, was on the date of the execution of the mortgage deed, situated within the towns of Kolkata, Chennai, Bombay, or in any other town or area which the State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf.

No such power shall be exercised unless and until:

a) Notice in writing requiring payment of the principal money has been served on the mortgagor, or on one of several mortgagors, and default has been made in the payment of the principal money or of part thereof, for three months after such service; or

b) Some interest under the mortgage amounting to at least five hundred rupees, is in arrear and unpaid for three months after becoming due.

4. Right to appoint a Receiver: A mortgagee who has the right to exercise a sale shall be entitled to appoint for on his behalf a receiver. The mortgagee also has the right to move a court for appointment of a receiver. A receiver appointed under the Act shall be deemed to be the agent of mortgagor and the mortgagor shall be responsible for the receivers’ acts or defaults.

5. Right to accession to mortgaged property: if after the date of mortgage any accession is made to the mortgaged property the mortgagee shall be entitled for accession.

6. Right to benefit of new lease: where the mortgage property is on lease and the mortgagor has renewed the lease the mortgagee shall be entitled to such new lease.

7. Right to proceeds of sale: where the mortgage property or any part there of is sold the mortgagee shall be entitled to claim payment of such sale.

An agreement to mortgage requires the stamp duty as an ordinary agreement in terms of Article 5 of the stamp Act.

A mortgage deed for which property value exceeds rupees 100 is to be registered. If it is not registered the deed can only be used as evidence the mortgage debt.

Know The Easiest Way to Transfer Your Property...!!

Dear friends and Victims,

Many things must be going through your mind when you are on the verge of marital disputes or fighting the conspiracy of your in-laws and your 498A wife would be planning to extort the amount as much she can through attaching your properties and assets.Many of the victims must be worrying about what are the ways through which I can transfer my property to my nearer and dearer ones to save my hard earned destiny.

So, following are the easiest way to shed your deep pain by the way of gifting properties and assets to your blood relations through whom you could get back after finishing of marital traumatization from 498A trolls..

How to transfer your property in easiest way

When it comes to transferring property, a sales deed may not always fit the bill, especially if you want to pass it on to relatives. In such cases, instruments like a gift deed or relinquishment deed can come to your rescue. However, blindly choosing either can lead to problems.
"You must understand the purpose of each document before getting it drafted. Know the benefits as well as drawbacks of each," says Vaibhav Sankla, director, H&R Block. "These documents are designed to play a specific role in the transfer of property and, hence, it is important to consult a lawyer," he adds.

Gift deed

This document allows you to gift your assets or transfer ownership without any exchange of money. To gift immovable property, you just have to draft the document on a stamp paper, have it attested by two witnesses and register it. Registering a gift deed with the sub-registrar of assurances is mandatory as per Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908, failing which the transfer will be invalid. Besides, such a transfer is irrevocable. Once the property is gifted, it belongs to the beneficiary and you cannot reverse the transfer or even ask for monetary compensation.

However, if you want to gift movable property like jewellery, registration is not compulsory. At the same time, a mere entry in an account book is not sufficient to establish a transfer. Apart from physically handing over the property, you need to back it with a gift deed. The process is slightly different if you are gifting company shares. You will have to fill out the share transfer form and submit it to the company or registrar, and the transfer agent of the firm. Once again, get a gift deed drawn and executed to complete the transfer, but the document need not be registered.

Advantages:
The biggest benefit is that there is no tax implication if you are gifting property to certain relatives (see box). However, you still have to pay stamp duty, which can vary from 1-8% for immovable property, depending on the state in which the transfer takes place. If you are gifting property to a non-relative, the stamp duty would be higher at 5-11%. You have to pay this duty even in the case of movable property. Expect to shell out 2-8% in case of relatives, and 3-8% for non-relatives. For physical shares, the stamp duty is 0.25%, but if these are in the demat form, you don't have to pay.




Limitations:
Though a gift deed cannot be revoked, it can be challenged in court, coe rcion and fraud being the most common grou nds. So, if you have been tricked into gifting property, you can take the matter to court and have the transfer reversed. It can also be challenged on the grounds that the donor was not of sound mind or a minor. "You can never have a challenge-free gift deed, but consult a lawyer while drafting it so that the chances of it being challenged are minimum," says Aakanksha Joshi, senior associate, Economic Laws Practice. Also, you cannot gift a property that's held jointly.

Relinquishment deed:

This document is quite different from a gift deed, though the legal implications are the same. You can use this instrument if you want to transfer your rights in a particular property to another co-owner. Such a transfer is also irrevocable even if it is without any exchange of money. As with all documents related to the transfer of immovable property, a relinquishment deed needs to be signed by both parties and registered.
The stamp duty is similar to that for a gift deed. However there is no discount for relatives, nor are there any tax benefits. Also, both stamp duty and tax will be applicable only on the portion of the property that you relinquish, not on its total value. You can also use this deed to transfer movable property without registration, but it is typically used for immovable property.

Advantages:
It allows seamless transfer of your share in a jointly-held property. "This document is most commonly used when a person dies without leaving behind a will and all siblings end up inheriting the property," explains Joshi. Unlike a gift deed, you can draw the relinquishment deed for monetary consideration.

Limitations:
There are no tax benefits, for as per the tax laws, the term 'transfer' includes relinquishment, not gift. Hence, when you are relinquishing property for monetary consideration, it will result in capital gains for the transferor. "If the consideration is less than the stamp duty value of the property, the difference between the stamp duty and the consideration will be taxed in the hands of the buyer," says Sankla. If you relinquish it without any consideration, the stamp duty value of the property will be its sales price.

Courtesy: economictimes.indiatimes.com


You may be also interested to Read the below,just have a click:

Tips For writting A will

 

Know about Mortgage

 

SEXUAL HARASSMENT CHARGES AT WORKPLACE-PRECAUTIONS NEEDED BEFORE YOU BEEN TRAPPED

Number of sexual harassment cases are in the air.Many condemns,opinions and suggestions were circulated across the country. Millions of Men are confused about there friendly behavior towards their female colleagues at their offices as these comes under Sexual harassment?
Many CEO'S , MD's or Top notched positions of an organization are worried to know about the behaviors of their employee and to stop any such adversity within the organization.
What women has to say on this sexual harassment act and Zero tolerance at the work place.What Men are doing to protect themselves from false charges.Go through the below articles and find out Many......

Male pilots put flyers at risk to avoid sexual harassment charges

Harinder Baweja , Hindustan Times  New Delhi, January 08, 2014

First Published: 00:46 IST(8/1/2014) | Last Updated: 07:54 IST(8/1/2014)

The fear of being accused of sexual harassment  is driving male pilots to violate a standard operating procedure (SOP), potentially putting lives in peril.
According to the SOP governing flight safety, the pilot or the co-pilot can leave the cockpit only after a member of cabin crew has been called into the flight deck. This is to ensure that if the person flying the plane suddenly falls sick, there is someone to tend to him or her and get the other pilot back urgently.

But, it turns out, many male pilots across domestic airlines have decided to keep air hostesses out of the cockpit, terrified the women will slap charges of groping or other forms of harassment on them.
"As a departure from the SOP, most of us in SpiceJet as well as in other domestic carriers have adopted a practice wherein we don't really allow the female members of the crew to enter the flight deck," a senior pilot told HT.
"The only reason being that should one of them turn around tomorrow and level seriously damaging allegations of groping, we pilots would have a lot of answering to do and may even lose our jobs even if the allegations are unsubstantiated," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Several other pilots said that recent high-profile cases involving a retired judge, Justice AK Ganguly, and journalist Tarun Tejpal, have forced them to look at measures that "protect us, even though they come at the cost of flight safety."
Airlines contacted were quick to deny that any such contravention of SOP was occurring.
A SpiceJet spokesperson said: "As a procedure, the crew does go in when required. No one is afraid nor has there been any case of anything unusual happening. The idea of fear of female cabin crew is preposterous given that we have plenty of female pilots as well."
"There have never been any instances of pilots sharing any fears of asking female crew members to come inside the cockpit when one of the pilots has stepped out. Safety is paramount for IndiGo and there can be absolutely no compromise on safety," said an IndiGo spokesperson. Air India and Jet Airways did not respond.
But one pilot spoke of the need to air his fears:  "I do admit and fully understand that not allowing female colleagues in have consequences from a flight safety issue, but I do deem it important enough to let our fears be known to the public at large.''
Another pilot HT spoke to said, "The new law is playing on our psyche.'' Asked if they were not scared about air hostesses complaining about the SOP being violated, he said, "We pilots are constantly discussing this issue and now believe that it is better that the air hostess complain about not being allowed entry into the cockpit than them complaining about being groped." Another pilot said they only allow cabin crew colleagues they know well and trust but are now guarded about following the SOP as a routine.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/male-pilots-put-flyers-at-risk-to-avoid-sexual-harassment-charges/article1-1170450.aspx

Sexual harassment cases at workplace leave male employees feeling confused, fearful

Kala Vijayaraghavan, Rica Bhattacharyya & Deepali Gupta, ET Bureau Nov 28, 2013, 04.35AM IST

MUMBAI: This week, the human resources head of a top-notch consumer goods company recently spoke to the vice-president (marketing), gently advising him to tone down his habit of putting his arms around junior women colleagues. "He is this over-effusive, friendly person prone to physical display of affection to both male and female team-mates," the HR head told ET on condition of anonymity. "But with growing incidents of sexual harassment cases at workplaces, we wanted the person to correct his behaviour for his own sake. A friendly hug could also go against him."

Recent developments - a new act to prevent sexual harassment of women at the workplace and separate cases involving a chief executive officer, a Supreme Court judge and a prominent magazine editor - are finally forcing India Inc to adopt a 'zero tolerance' posture on sexual harassment.
But, at the same time, the heightened sensitivity and rigorous new codes of conduct are leaving male executives confused, awkward and perhaps even a little fearful over what is appropriate in their work-related engagement with women and what is not.
Unexpected Repercussions
"Some CEOs have told me their male managers are refusing certain postings where there are women-intensive roles," says Saundarya Rajesh, founder and head of Avtar Career Creators, a talent strategy consulting firm. "Men are now afraid their natural behaviours may be seen through a different lens and land them in trouble."
Adds a Mumbai-based senior manager at a consumer company: "My boss and my wife have asked me to watch my words and actions while dealing with female colleagues."
Such fears — both well founded and otherwise — are also causing other unexpected repercussions. "I don't have evidence, but I fear hiring of women may slow down as an immediate effect," says Zia Mody, managing partner, AZB Partners.
Many companies are swinging into action. At one level, they are tightening workplace codes to protect women. "Over the last week, an increasing number of corporates have asked us to look at their manuals, conduct trainings, check compliance with Vishaka guidelines (the name by which the new act is commonly referred to)," says Mody.
At another level, companies are also sensitising male employees and addressing their concerns and fears. About a dozen top officials and consultants ET spoke to said HR heads and company leaders are working overtime, gently correcting borderline behaviour and also addressing fears male managers have of committing a faux paus or being unfairly maligned by women colleagues.
RPG Group has kicked off etiquette workshops for men on how to behave in the workplace or even on social media to safeguard themselves. The group also conducts powerful story-telling sessions around such incidents to help leaders get a sense of what is right and what is wrong and help them pick up the essence of how to correct their behaviour. Vodafone India took some senior and mid-level managers for a similar workshop. The company is keenly stepping up gender diversity.
Men are being advised to avoid involuntarily sizing up women, putting up offensive or seemingly sexual screen-savers on computers and laptops. A general manager at a leading financial services company had the 'gentlemanly habit' of making loud offers of dropping his junior women colleagues home if they happened to work late. "It was a harmless and helpful attitude. But we requested him to offer office cars," the HR chief of the company told ET, also on condition of anonymity. "It is better to be safe than sorry. We cannot put our organisation's reputation at risk."

Men need to be educated. "My interaction with several male employees during the course of my training programmes is that three-fourth of them don't even know what kind of behaviour could have sexual connotations or where they have crossed the line," says Priya Warrick, an etiquette trainer and clinical psychologist and president-cum-executive director of Priya Warrick Finishing School.
The etiquette school does gender sensitisation workshops for male employees through role plays and role reversals.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-11-28/news/44546892_1_sexual-harassment-hr-head-workplace

What women has to say...

Indian firms take little notice of law against sexual harassment

A string of high-profile complaints has put the spotlight on workplace sexual harassment of women in India. While firms are scrambling to raise awareness, experts say they are failing to implement an anti-harassment law.

Namita Shah (name changed) enjoys her high-flying job as a consultant for a software company. The 29-year-old has flexible working hours, stimulating projects and the opportunity to train abroad. But there's a downside: unwelcome behavior from some male colleagues.
From lewd stares and explicit jokes, suggestive pings on the company's internal messaging service to persistent requests to meet outside work, Shah said she has often faced sexual harassment in the seven years that she's worked in the IT industry in the western city of Pune.
"It's creepy and at times makes me uncomfortable at work," she told DW. "I have to be careful how I conduct myself because some male colleagues easily misconstrue simple gestures like a smile or a friendly comment." She said she was unaware of any anti-harassment measures at her company, which she didn't want to be named.
High-profile cases
Shah's experience is not uncommon. A string of highly-publicized complaints in recent weeks has turned a spotlight on the prevalence of sexual harassment even in what are considered to be progressive workplaces in India.
Last month, the editor of prominent news magazine Tehelka was arrested after a female colleague accused him of sexually assaulting her. It followed allegations by a law school graduate in a blog that she was sexually harassed by a retired judge from India's top court when she was interning with him.

Many Indians were outraged by the Delhi gang rape that killed a female student

Workplace safety is the latest issue in a wider ongoing discussion in India about the position of women and how they are treated. The debate was triggered by the fatal gang rape of a student in Delhi
almost exactly a year ago, which sparked national outrage and huge protests.
Experts say the intense media coverage of crimes against women ever since has sent companies scrambling to hire gender experts to help them sensitize their workforce and set up measures to prevent sexual harassment.
Identifying harassment
Kalpana Tatavarti, managing partner at Interweave, a Bangalore-based consultancy that works in diversity management and inclusion for the workplace, says her firm has seen a big increase in companies requesting workshops about appropriate behavior at the workplace.
"I'm often amazed at workshops about the low level of awareness both among men and women about what constitutes sexual harassment," Tatavarti said. "In the corporate context, leering, innuendos or off-color jokes are the main issues. But they are still not seen as harassment. So we help employees and managers understand the nuances and realize when someone is crossing a line."
Tatavarti said the focus of the workshops is on "building a culture of openness and respect" in industries which bring together people of widely differing social and economic backgrounds from all over the country.
'Zero-tolerance'

Ever more women are joining the IT workforce in India

With more and more women joining the Indian workforce - a quarter or more of the estimated three million workers in the IT and BPO services sector are women according to Nasscom, the industry's trade body - some companies say they are actively pushing anti-harassment measures.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy on harassment," Meghala Nair, press spokeswoman for IBM India, said. The global IT player has a diversity manager as well as helplines, counseling and regular workshops and e-learning modules to raise awareness about sexual harassment among its employees.
Vivek Rana, head of consumer and healthcare at The PRactice, a public relations company, said they had a "well-defined" policy in place that includes a gender sensitization program which is mandatory for anyone joining the firm.
A majority of the company's 90 employees are women. "So far, we've had issues like an invasion of private space with a male colleague hovering too close for comfort," Rana said.
He added that the awareness programs were meant to give employees "the confidence and the vocabulary to assert themselves in such situations."
Anti-harassment law
Nair said IBM had also set up a committee that investigates complaints of harassment by employees and takes disciplinary action if needed. That's mandated by a set of 1997 government guidelines to ensure women's right to work in an environment "free of sexual harassment."

The Indian parliament passed the anti-harassment bill last April

The guidelines, detailed by an anti-harassment bill passed by the Indian parliament in April, requires all companies and organizations with more than 10 employees to set up an internal complaints committee, with one external member, headed by a woman. The mechanism is meant to encourage women to complain if they face sexual harassment and ensure a fair process.
But the reality is quite different, some say. Anagha Sarpotdar, a consultant on gender issues, said there was "rampant non-compliance" by companies even though they could face penalties and even lose their license if they fail to implement the law.
Companies not committed?
Sarpotdar, who's researching workplace sexual harassment of women at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, said few firms are serious about stamping out the problem.
"Many companies make noises after a high-profile case and set up fantastic-sounding policies. But many only have complaint committees on paper," she said. "Also, they avoid using the term 'sexual harassment' and instead trivialize it by calling it 'inappropriate behavior' or an 'untoward incident' or an 'internal matter."
Worse, many companies actually deter female workers from making a formal complaint about sexual harassment, Sarpotdar said.

Women are often blamed for becoming the target of sexual harassment

"Women are often labeled as 'troublemakers' or they're pressured to drop the complaint and quit. There's also a huge fear in companies about the mechanism for complaints being abused," she said. "As a result, few women dare to step forward and speak out."
Women 'stand to lose everything'
So what can be done to make workplaces safe and harassment-free for women?
More awareness is the answer, Kalpana Tatavarti said. "There's a tangible sense of empowerment among women employees during awareness workshops as they become aware of their rights and realize how to say 'no' in unwelcome situations" she said. "And we get feedback from companies about improved communication and mutual respect between male and female employees."
While that can help in tackling the problem, Sarpotdar said there can be no real improvement in workplace safety unless employers "understand the spirit of the anti-harassment law" and implement it stringently.
"Companies have to realize what a huge impact workplace sexual harassment has on women in the Indian context. They risk a lot when they decide to make a formal complaint," Sarpotdar said. "It can completely damage not just their careers, but also their personal life and reputation. They stand to lose everything."

http://www.dw.de/indian-firms-take-little-notice-of-law-against-sexual-harassment/a-17298779

Sexual harassment: India Inc faces a ‘male storm’

Dec 3, 2013, 07.16PM IST

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(Sexual harassment: India…)

 

 By Shibu Joseph

A sense of panic gripped Corporate India following exposure of the 'lapse of judgement' by the chief of many an expose in the country a few weeks ago. Managements and HR heads of most companies have gone into a huddle to devise ways to instill a sense of normalcy among their staff who have been flustered by the minute-by-minute ad nauseum coverage of the Tehelka chief's journey from the high moral pedestal to a gaol in Goa.

Their immediate worry has very little to do with their female employees or the loss of innocence at work. 'Light-hearted banter' may have assumed new meanings in corporate corridors, but these are small issues for venerable HR heads to tackle. But none were prepared for the crises that threaten to endanger their men folk. Says the HR head of an FMCG company, "Putting in place an anti-harassment policy, we thought, was all that was required. We were least prepared for the paranoia and its after-effects on our male colleagues."
With every passing minute of breathless coverage of Tejpal Gate on televisions (as if nothing else in the country was worth reporting), several male employees across companies are being rushed to hospitals. Ambulances are on call every minute attending to nervous men complaining of various stages of mental distress. According to unconfirmed reports, Bangalore's reputed mental health hospital Nimhans said that it was unable to accommodate any more patients.
Similar reports are pouring in from its peer hospitals in other parts of the country. A source at Nimhans told this correspondent, "Most of the patients are brought in complaining of 'lift-o-phobia' (fear of being caught with a lady in a lift), guilt laceration, etc. Some patients panic as soon as they spot a lady nurse or a doctor. They all insist on talking to only male doctors and we are short of male doctors here."
Visiting the hospital, this correspondent spotted a senior executive from a major technology firm, sleepwalking outside the men's ward rubbing his hands repeating the words of Lady Macbeth, "Out, damned spot! Out... All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh!" When queried what it all meant, a relative confided, "Apparently, he had put his arm around a lady in his office recently. He is scared he would be sued for sexual harassment and meet the fate of Tarun Tejpal. Offices are also witnessing thinner attendance by male staff. Some of them are being dragged to offices by their family members like kids are brought to their kindergartens on the first day. Fearing 'inappropriate' behaviour by them, many men are staying at home or are demanding that they be allowed to work from home. A paranoid employee, it was learnt from a source inside, demanded from the management that separate work bays be built for men and women and that washrooms for men and women be kept on different floors as he did not want to bump into anyone from the opposite sex.
When contacted, a male executive in an MNC who obviously couldn't endure being at a disadvantage, said, "Instead of working on our targets, we are constantly worried about being the targets of 'adamantine' women. I will ensure I will never get within a mile of them. Life was smooth before law started poking its nose."
Several men across cities were reportedly out in bookshops and online stores looking for a certain 'The Tejpal Book of Excuses for the Wayward Men' to learn the right words to explain in case they are caught with 'a lapse of judgement' or 'misreading of situations' or indulging in 'untoward incidents'. Thanks to such efforts, Google is said to be preparing to announce 'lacerate', 'atonement', 'adamantine' and 'mendacious' as the year's most searched words leaving behind the hitherto top words like 'snooping', 'shehzada' and 'feku'.   According to a source in Delhi, several companies in the Capital are organizing 'Harassholics Anonymous' to help some of their licentious staff to fight the addiction. Some men who until recently talked to women colleagues with their hands on their shoulders, are clueless about what to do with their hands now. The ever alert government too has swung into action.

A bird in the finance ministry told this correspondent that this year's Union Budget will announce a series of women ventures like all-women newspapers, all-women hotels, all-women stores in line with all-women banks. And these ventures would come under surveillance and snooping by 'sahebs' emboldened by the fact that snooping victims or their kin do not appear to have a problem with surveillance.
Meanwhile, the senior executive from the tech firm was again seen sleepwalking back to his bed uttering, "To bed, to bed! There's knocking at the gate. Come, come... what's done cannot be undone... To bed, to bed, to bed!
(Disclaimer: This is a spoof on the hotly-debated harassment issue and not based on facts)