In-laws have right to house despite son-wife discord: HC

In-laws have right to house despite son-wife discord: HC

Written by Express News Service | New Delhi | April 27, 2012 2:17 am

SUMMARY

Concerned about the harassment of a couple who were dragged into a marital dispute between their son and daughter-in-law,the Delhi High Court has said that trial courts must balance legal rights to ensure that the man’s parents can live in peace in their house.

Concerned about the harassment of a couple who were dragged into a marital dispute between their son and daughter-in-law,the Delhi High Court has said that trial courts must balance legal rights to ensure that the man’s parents can live in peace in their house.

Referring to the right of a woman to reside in her matrimonial house,Justice Kailash Gambhir said that although this right was brought on the statute book to protect the woman from being left in the lurch at the hands of her in-laws,it was a reality that the man’s old parents were often made to pay the price for the discord between the couple.

“One cannot or may I say should not shy away from the hard-hitting reality that it is not always the daughter-in-law who is berated,but at times the in-laws who are at the receiving end of the daughter in law’s cantankerousness,” said the court,while granting a decree of possession of a house in South Extension Part-II to a 61-year-old woman.

The court allowed her plea that her daughter-in-law could not claim her right to have possession of a room in the house as it belonged neither to her son nor her husband and the same was given to her (the complainant) by her mother as a wedding gift.

While passing the order in her favour,Justice Gambhir said: “It should not be for a moment consigned to oblivion that the parents-in-law have every right to live in peace in their own property and the right to property vested in them cannot be snatched away and used as a tool to harass them.”

Also expressing displeasure over the growing number of matrimonial cases filed by women against their parents-in-law,the court noted that such laws were being misused frequently.

“This court would like to observe that with a view to mitigating the oppression and inequality suffered by the fairer sex in this country from times immemorial,various woman-friendly laws have been enacted so as to empower the women. It is a bitter truth that where on one hand these progressive laws have led to amelioration and advancement of the cause of the woman in this country,at the same time on the other hand these liberalised statutes have been flagrantly misused,” added Justice Gambhir.

Source-http://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/inlaws-have-right-to-house-despite-sonwife-discord-hc/

Rape laws On their use and misuse Being used as a tool for “vengeance and vendetta” to harass, extort and blackmail males,difficult to distinguish fake cases from genuine ones

Rape laws On their use and misuse 

Being used as a tool for “vengeance and vendetta” to harass, extort and blackmail males Difficult to distinguish fake cases from genuine ones

by Maheer Ashraf

India saw a paradigm shift in the crimes against women in the aftermath of the Delhi Gang Rape in December 2012. The only story that seemed to be in print, on air and in our minds and hearts was the story of a paramedical student who died after a brutal gang rape. The momentum is still ripe with thousands of debates, seminars and discussions happening everyday around the nation on how to prevent crime against women. Women empowerment and safety has become a political issue, with each party making these a prime agenda in their manifesto.

The stringent law brought in a year ago in the wake of the Delhi Gang Rape expanded the ambit of sexual assault but, as is being realised now, left it open to misuse. Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party got into trouble when he revealed the ‘other side’ of the rape story. Justice Virender Bhat while acquitting four people in a gang rape case in Delhi made an observation that it was becoming “difficult to distinguish fake cases from genuine ones”.  However, he had to bear the brunt of stating the truth as many feminist organisations went on record to say that he needed “gender sensitization training”. Justice Kailash Gambhir said that the rape law was frequently being used as a tool for “vengeance and vendetta” to harass, extort and blackmail males.

The mere statement of a woman becomes gospel truth and the accused gets arrested and charge-sheeted. Even the frail, old and weak persons are not spared against the false accusation of rape. The saddest part is that just because of being a woman, she gets the benefit of doubt. Being a feminist, I cannot be against the empowerment of Indian women. But yes, I am strongly against the cheap attitude of such women who manipulate the Indian laws in their favour. This is because the misuse of these laws not only ruins the reputation of the falsely accused and his family, but also weakens the case of those women who have really gone through any molestation.  It is true that men need to respect women, but it is equally important that women must respond accordingly.

An RTI response filed with the Delhi Police reveals that from 2008-2013, out of 27 complaints registered at 6 Police Stations under the New Delhi district, 11 cases were that of ‘rape with promise of marriage’. It is not only making a mockery out of the sacred institution of marriage, but also inflating statistics of rape which further depreciates our own society.

Many people will question my opinion that many laws are misused, why raise voice against this. The truth is that those laws don’t destroy families. These do! Moreover, justice cannot be based on gender of an accused or victim. Such cases become huge media trials for the accused and the victim’s name is kept out of media. Same is the case with dowry laws where a huge misuse is being made every single day. No doubt laws are made for our protection but their gross misuse is ruining families and the very fabric of our society.

We as a society are now witnessing administrative matters turned into rape, office politics turned into rape drama and rape law becoming a tool for blackmail, revenge and extortion! Similarly, dowry law is being used for abuse of men and their elderly parents who then have to pay through their nose to settle these cases or rot in jail. The worst part is that if men are acquitted it is not reported in media and by then his family has suffered the most horrible punishment. To sift the chaff from wheat requires sensitivity of lawmakers not only towards women but equally towards men because both in tandem form this society. It is important that we demand gender-just, gender-sensitive and not only gender-neutral rape laws.

By misuse of these laws we are only further endangering and deepening women’s vulnerability in the country.  Let us stop this legal terrorism and ensure the strictest punishment meted out to perpetrators of crimes against women as well as women who misuse these laws. Ultimately, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Women’s groups and civil society also need to introspect whether these laws are not being made a mockery of and whether they are demanding justice or merely media space.

Because respect cannot be demanded, it can only be commanded.

The author is a freelance writer.

Source - http://www.risingkashmir.com/on-their-use-and-misuse/

Failure of live-in relations a major reason for increase in rape cases, claims Delhi High Court

Failure of live-in relations a major reason for increase in rape cases, claims Delhi High Court

Thursday, 19 June 2014 - 5:07pm IST | Agency: PTI

Failure of live-in relationship or young adults acting immaturely by getting into commitments that end up in break-ups are among major reasons for increase in rape cases, the Delhi High Court has observed. The court also cautioned parents of young couples to behave with "more sensitivity" while dealing with such issues.

A bench of justices Kailash Gambhir and Sunita Gupta made the observation while upholding the life term awarded to four members of a Delhi-based girl's family, including her father, for killing her lover as they did not approve of their relationship.

Anguished over the killing of the 24-year-old youth, the bench said young adults, especially girls, need to be more responsible and act maturely when taking important decisions like getting married or entering into a live-in relationship. "The need of the hour is that boys and more importantly girls have to be very careful and cautious before taking such an important decision concerning their lives before entering into the most sanctimonious relationship of marriage or even to have live-in relationship.  "One of the major reasons contributing to increase in the rape cases is failure of live-in relationship or any immature decision on the part of such young adults which more often end up in a broken relationship but sometimes after indulging into physical relationship," it said.

However, this placed an implied onus on the shoulders of the persons involved in such relationships to act responsibly and maturely, it said.

Parents are "expected to behave with more sensitivity and maturity as such issues need to be resolved with patience, understanding and tolerance and instead of indifference or with a bent of mind of alienating the two", the court said. "It is often noticed that any impetuous act to smother such relationships often has a backlash in the form of resentful feelings or even rebellious actions.

"Therefore, it is with great sensitivity that the parents need to acknowledge the growing independence of their children and rationally and dispassionately deal with these emotive issues giving due respect to their feelings," the bench added.

24-year-old Kuldeep was stabbed to death on the evening of October 14, 2006, by his lover's father, Ravi Kumar and her three uncles Karamvir, Raj Kumar and Sanjay at Uttam Nagar in west Delhi.

According to the prosecution, the four had acted with the common intention of eliminating Kuldeep as they believed he had damaged their reputation because of his affair with Ravi's daughter. The court also agreed with this view that the four acted with the common intention of killing Kuldeep, as Karamvir and Raj had immobolised the victim by holding his arms and legs and Sanjay stopped anyone from coming to the aid of the youth while Ravi stabbed him seven times with a knife. The trial court on June 6, 2011, had awarded life term to all the four after holding them guilty of murder.

While upholding the trial court decision, the high court also said, "Kuldeep perhaps would not have met such a tragic end and these accused persons perhaps would not have suffered severity of punishment of life imprisonment had they acted in a sensible and mature manner with due patience, tolerance and understanding to resolve the things instead of taking the law in their own hands."

Source-http://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/report-failure-of-live-in-relations-a-major-reason-for-increase-in-rape-cases-claims-delhi-high-court-1996651