‘Worrying trend’: Supreme Court flags criminalising long-term consensual relationships upon turning sour

Source: Indian Express

The Supreme Court on Tuesday flagged a “worrying trend” of criminalising long-term consensual relationships after they turn sour. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh said while quashing an FIR against a man accused of rape by a woman who was  in a relationship with him for over 9 years. To read more please go to the following link:

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/worrying-trend-supreme-court-flags-criminalising-long-term-consensual-relationships-upon-turning-sour-9692335/

State-wise changes in rape law: Similarities & differences between Bengal, Andhra, and Maharashtra Bills

 Source: Deccan Herald

Before Bengal's Aparajita Bill, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra had passed similar bills for women's safety that prescribed death penalties for rapists. Here are the key features, similarities, and differences in the three state bills. To read more please go to the following link:

https://www.deccanherald.com/india/state-wise-changes-in-rape-lawilarities-differences-between-bengal-andhra-and-maharashtra-bills-3178137

First woman CJI is need of the hour, writes Olav Albuquerque

 Source: Free Press Journal (https://www.freepressjournal.in)

The learned CJI ignored that crimes like rape attract severe penalties under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013. The Justice J S Verma Committee laid down that the law ought to specify that even a marital relationship could not be a defence against forced sexual intercourse.

India badly needs its first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI) and this post could be filled by Justice B V Nagarathna of the Karnataka high court in 2027, if she is promptly elevated .........

To read this article by Ms. Geeta, go to the following link:

https://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/first-woman-cji-is-need-of-the-hour-writes-olav-albuquerque

Law News and Updates 03-03-2021

Law News and Updates - Compiled by M&J Services - The Eclectic Law Bookstore. 

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SC to not share video conference links for hearings on WhatsApp group

https://tinyurl.com/y8f3cmae

Source: First Post

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BCI sets up India's first law teacher training institute

https://tinyurl.com/y8rpkk97

Source: Times of India

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When law tries to catch up with technology (and fails)

https://tinyurl.com/y84tqc32

Source: Economic Times

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SC questions what construes marital rape

https://tinyurl.com/yb7g449y

Source: New Indian Express

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Cheque dishonor cases can't be filed or continued against firms facing insolvency proceedings: SC

https://tinyurl.com/ycjby36x

Source: The Economic Times

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Can’t forgo quarantine period for divorce: High Court

https://tinyurl.com/ycqlvw4m

Source: Tribune India

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Supreme Court ends bail of over 2,000 prisoners given on Covid-19 ground

https://tinyurl.com/y75fxrka

Source: Hindustan Times

Disclaimer: Law News and Updates sources material from the public domain. Readers are advised to exercise their discretion and cross-check on the authenticity of the same. Law News and Updates will not be responsible for any consequences arising out of the use of the said material.

Law News and Updates - 16.12.2020

 Indian Content

- Compiled by M&J Services - The Eclectic Law Bookstore. 

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Senior Citizens Act can’t be used to evict daughter-in-law from shared household: SC

https://tinyurl.com/y7f7oeun

Source: Siasar Daily

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Homeopathy Practitioners Can Give Medicines To Mitigate Covid: Top Court

https://tinyurl.com/y9vmxvcf

Source: NDTV

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Maharashtra government sends new death law for review

https://tinyurl.com/yaadtxqw

Source: Times of India

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What is the legal sanctity of Advocate stickers? Madras High Court asks

https://tinyurl.com/yakcoanl

Source: Bar and Bench

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Supreme Court asks AG to consider if Wildlife Act can be added to NGT jurisdiction

https://tinyurl.com/ydc2area

Source: Indian legal Live

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Provide facilities for online classes to children in care homes, Supreme Court directs states

https://tinyurl.com/ya6ebpf7

Source: The Economic Times

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Justice Muralidhar elevated as CJ of Orissa High Court

https://tinyurl.com/yca5evtj

Source: The Tribune

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Lawyer cites US Supreme Court ruling in plea to quash FIR over 'offensive' post on Uddhav Thackeray

https://tinyurl.com/ybm7xkvt

Source: The Times of India

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Subscribe to our Free e-Paper https://goo.gl/J7rhGN - The Law News and Updates

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Disclaimer: Law News and Updates sources material from the public domain. Readers are advised to exercise their discretion and cross-check on the authenticity of the same. Law News and Updates will not be responsible for any consequences arising out of the use of the said material.

To deter rapes, cases of heinous nature should be expedited all the way through different levels of the judiciary

Source: Times of India dated 02.01.2020

-- Arunav Kaul (Works in the area of judicial reform at Daksh)

The recent cases of rape and sexual harassment have shocked the conscience of the country. And the cry to set up more fast-track courts that can swiftly deal with these cases has been growing. In July 2019, the Centre had proposed a plan to set up 1,023 fast-track special courts (FTSCs) that would specifically deal with pending cases of rape and cases under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. As of March 31, 2018, there were 1,66,882 cases of rape and Pocso Act pending in trial courts across the country.

Government has recently released a detailed plan laying out the implementation framework for the FTSCs scheme: states and UTs were given a cutoff date of December 31, 2019, within which they needed to communicate their concurrence for coming on board. Post the launch, FTSCs would be initially set up for a period of one year subject to further approval.

Delay in disposal of cases is an issue of serious concern not just at the subordinate court level but at different appellate levels of the judiciary. But a lot of the government initiatives to fasttrack cases in courts have primarily been focussed around the subordinate courts. To reduce delays, it is important that reforms should be introduced not only in subordinate courts but in high courts as well as in the Supreme Court.

As per a reply submitted in Rajya Sabha in June 2019, close to 43 lakh cases are pending in HCs with nearly 8 lakh cases pending for more than a decade. Criminal cases arising from lower courts form a huge proportion in HCs too. As per the recent SC annual report, as of June 30, 2018, there were close to 7.5 lakh criminal appeals and criminal revision cases that were pending in HCs. Allahabad HC topped the chart followed by the Madhya Pradesh HC and the Punjab and Haryana HC.

A similar trend can be seen even in the SC. Daksh’s study of the SC cases between January and November 2018 revealed that most number of judgments pertained to criminal matters, with cases taking 4.6 years on an average to get disposed. Hence, it is imperative that focus should be shifted towards all the tiers of the judiciary. To render complete justice cases of certain nature should be fast-tracked all the way up till the SC and until the final execution of the punishment.

It must be noted that in the Nirbhaya case, the trial in the subordinate court was completed swiftly within 8 months and in the Delhi HC within a span of 6 months. However, it took the SC nearly 3 years to deliver the final verdict. And even though the apex court confirmed the death sentence in 2017, none of the convicts has been hanged till date. If the intention behind capital punishment is to deter future crimes, then why is there an inordinate delay in execution of the sentences? With delay being caused both from the judicial and the executive front, such deterrence is difficult to achieve.

Another important measure that government needs to undertake is to make FTCs permanent in all the states. The non-permanent nature of the FTCs has been a persistent issue. The scheme was first introduced by the Centre in 2000 and FTCs continued functioning in different states supported by the central funding until 2011. Between 2000 and 2011, Rs 870 crore were released by the Centre towards the scheme. Post 2011, a lot of states abolished FTCs and as of March 2019, there were only 581 FTCs functioning in the country.

A baseline survey conducted by a research centre at the National Law University, Delhi revealed that FTCs are facing several issues, ranging from poor infrastructure to lack of proper manpower. Even under the current plan for FTSCs, it is clear that the scheme will be in operation only for a temporary period of time. Judges are required to specifically target the 1,66,882 pending cases of rape and Pocso Act. The remaining cases are expected to be dealt either by FTCs that would be established under the 15th Finance Commission from 2020-25 or any other FTCs that the states/UTs establish.

Government and judiciary need to adopt not a short-term plan but a longterm framework such as permanently establishing FTCs and ensuring that cases of heinous nature are expedited all the way through different levels of the judiciary. The three key players, that is the state government, central government and judiciary need to come together to bring concrete changes to the system. These reforms should be formulated with the objective of addressing systemic and deep-entrenched issues, and leave a long-lasting impact on the system.

Judge who made city safer for women stands against misuse of rape laws

Source: Times of India dated 13.05.2019

by Swati Deshpande (Swati.Deshpande@timesgroup.com)

Mumbai:

Retired Bombay high court Judge V M Kanade has called for a revamp in criminal law for the handling of certain types of rape cases. He has supported the principle of anonymity for accused, along with measures against immediate or mechanical arrests. His stand is significant given his longstanding reputation in the judiciary as a champion of women’s rights as evidenced by significant judgments he delivered until his retirement in 2017.

In an exclusive interview to TOI about what ails society specifically in relation to misuse of rape laws, the eminent judge said on Sunday, “It is perhaps time to effect a change in law or to clarify the existing position in respect of procedure followed in rape accusations that are made essentially on the premise that there has been a breach of promise to marry, promise on which consent to get into a physical relationship was granted.” But, he said, “Let one thing be immediately clear. I am speaking only of cases which are either filed after a substantial delay or after a relationship which may be on and off has ended sourly, often involving an allegation that consent… was given on promise of marriage.”

In a bold suggestion, Justice Kanade said, “In such types of cases, the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Lalita Kumari matter perhaps needs to be revisited. The judgment says once police are informed of a cognizable offence, they are bound to register an FIR and have no other option. But when it comes to certain complaints of rape, either after substantial delay or in the case of a relationship which ended with complaint of consent under promise of marriage, it may merit a preliminary enquiry by the police to verify. This would be as is sought in cases of cruelty to wife under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) where the SC accepted possibility of abuse and directed that police first verify.”

What should be done to ensure that the police are not hasty in making arrests that can never be undone, even in cases which high courts have described as cases of vendetta? “I think the police ought not to rush into an arrest. They should investigate before effecting any arrest since the power to do so under Section 41 of the IPC is not to be exercised mandatorily in every case,” said the retired judge. “Arrest is not mandatory unless there is no consent. This procedure of naming the accused in such cases where there has been a relationship for some time which either ended sourly or there was a break in the physical relationship, and it is alleged that therefore it is a case of rape as defined under Section 375 and 376 of the IPC, must change,” said Justice Kanade, who retired in 2017 and was briefly the acting Chief Justice of the Bombay high court.

Among the high points of the judge’s career were orders to make the city and the state safer for women in the backdrop of an increase in molestation cases. In December 2016, recognising the dangers of travel after the “graveyard shift” for solo women, he directed the state to enumerate steps for their safe commute. Another important judgement was his death sentence for the accused in a horrifying Pune rape-murder case; his order was upheld by the apex court. Also, his bench in 2016 made way for women to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali Dargah.

Justice Kanade said as a “matured society” a debate was in order. “When something goes wrong, using Section 376 to settle any score or even in anger over a break-up or rejection is unfair and in such a limited band of cases you need to protect the anonymity of the accused too,” said Justice Kanade.

The issue, he said, is primarily with an increase in the number of cases where the woman has given consent which she alleges cannot be counted as voluntary on grounds of a promise of marriage. “There are several judgments of this being a trend. Why not give anonymity to the accused till a charge is framed or till he is convicted? In the last two decades there has been a spate of such allegations. High courts and the apex court have had to decide such cases, concluding that a mere breach of promise to marry or a misrepresentation cannot be defined as rape,” he said. “The courts have made a distinction between breach of promise and cases of fraud where from the inception a man never intended to marry and may have taken several women for a ride.”

Speaking of his experience as an HC judge, he said, “As a judge dealing with pleas for the quashing of such complaints, I found that very often the complainant supports the quashing of the plea or she herself comes as a petitioner for withdrawing her complaint. In a third category, she comes with consent for quashing, the quashing consent saying it was ‘due to a misunderstanding’ or ‘misconception’. The issue is serious and calls for debate and study.”

Sex on pretext of marriage is rape, says SC

Source: DNA dated 16.04.2019

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that sex on the pretext of marriage is rape and degrading to the honour of a woman.

A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and MR Shah in a recent judgment observed that rape offends a woman’s dignity and self-esteem. The court observed such incidents were on the rise in modern society. “It tantamounts to a serious blow to the supreme honour of a woman.”

The order came on a case filed by a woman accusing a doctor from Chhattisgarh of raping her in 2013.

After stricter law on child rape, death sentences hit two-decade high

Article in the Indian Express dated January 25, 2019 regarding the Statistical information on death sentences and POCSO Act  by Amrith Lal. Link to this article:

http://epaper.indianexpress.com/c/36106190

Sexual Harassment at the Workplace

Source: Indian Express, Mumbai, 10 October 2018

SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORKPLACE

Source: Times of India, Mumbai, 10 October 2018

If you touch a woman inappropriately, you could go to jail for 5 yrs

As India has its #MeToo moment, here’s a look at the laws that are in place to make our workplaces safe for women. Vishaka guidelines, promulgated by the Supreme Court, were in place since 1997. This was superseded in December 2013, when the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, or POSH Act, was passed. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, was also passed and Section 354 was added to the Indian Penal Code. This defines sexual harassment and the penalties for the offence. Additionally, with sexual harassment being a crime, employers are obligated to report offences

Misuse of Anti-Rape laws

To read an article on Misuse of Anti-Rape laws in the country appearing in DNA newspaper dated 16.1.2014, click on the following link:

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=58349&boxid=32162&ed_date=2014-01-16&ed_code=820009&ed_page=1

Rape tops juvenile crimes

Source: The Times of India dated 16.1.2014

Rape tops juvenile crimes

1,175 Such Cases Reported The Year Nirbhaya Died

Chethan Kumar TNN 

Bangalore: While legal eagles and lawmakers debate over the quantum of punishment and benefit of age for juvenile offenders, an emerging trend begs for attention – the number of such offenders is on a steady rise in the country. Going by stats, 75,801 cases were registered against juveniles for various offences between 2010 and 2012. If this isn’t shocking enough, rape tops the table of heinous crimes committed by juveniles in the country. 
    The ministry of home affairs (MHA) assessed the data while looking at crimes like murder, attempt to murder, homicide not amounting to murder, rape and abduction. In the same period, an alarming 3,182 cases were registered against juveniles committing rape. What’s even more worrisome is that the statistical graph heads northward year after year. In 2010, 858 rape cases involved juveniles; this rose to 1,149 in 2011, and in 2012, the year Nirbhaya met with her brutal fate, 1,175 cases were reported. 
    Close on the heels of rape is murder. A total of 2,557 juveniles committed murder during the three years, with the highest number recorded in 2012 (990). 2011 and 2012 registered 888 and 679 cases, respectively. 
    There were 2,073 and 2,061 cases of people below the age of 18 involved in kidnapping and abduction, and attempted murder during the three years, while 134 of them committed homicide. 
    Overall, of the 75,801 cases registered during the three years, 10,007 were classified as heinous crimes, accounting for more than 13% of the total figure. While the reasons are many and varying, expert opinions converge at a point – there’s a problem with the way we interact with people. 
    Says Sudha Sitaram, a Bangalore-based sociologist: “Something is fundamentally wrong in the way we socialize. It seems flawed, allowing people to view women in a way that encourages them to hurt or even destroy them.” 
    Psychologist Sulata Shenoy, while arguing that an adolescent mind doesn’t worry about consequences, stressed on the need for sex education among children. “We keep turning a blind eye to the problem and think such things don’t happen in our society. But look at the statistics. We need to educate the youth about their sexual identity, disseminate information about how to deal with biological changes and protect themselves,” she said. 
Times View:While crimes grow more heinous, and the age of offenders grows younger, it is time to ask a few questions and find answers. Is something wrong with the education system, home values, socializing and cultural mores, or even new-age entertainment? While it could be a bit of all these and other factors, our nature-nurture influences need to be changed subtly. Sex education both at home and in school is necessary for young boys. Our criminal justice system also needs a change: some harsh punishment could put fear into offenders, and deter crime.