Archives for October 2016

New Delhi: Should the practice of triple talaq be abolished and whether a uniform civil code should be optional, the Law Commission on Friday has asked the public seeking its response on these sensitive issues broached perhaps for the first time.

Amid a raging debate on uniform civil code, the law panel has sought public views on the subject to revise and reform family laws, saying the aim is to address social injustice rather than the plurality of laws.

In an appeal issued on Friday, the Commission said the objective behind the endeavour is to address discrimination against vulnerable groups and harmonise the various cultural practices even as it assured the people that the “norms of no one class, group or community will dominate the tone and tenor of family law reforms”.

In an accompanying questionnaire, the Commission has asked whether the existing personal laws and customary practices need codification and whether it would benefit people.

Should the practice of triple talaq be abolished, retained or retained with suitable amendments; and whether a uniform civil code should be optional are among 16 queries by the commission.

It has also sought to know whether the uniform code should include subjects like divorce, marriage, adoption, child custody, succession and inheritance.

It has asked people and stakeholders as to whether a common code would infringe an individual’s right to freedom of religion.

“The Commission hopes to begin a healthy conversation about the viability of a uniform civil code and will focus on family laws of all religions and the diversity of customary practices, to address social injustice rather than plurality of laws,” law panel chairman Justice B S Chauhan (retd) said.

He said responding to the demands of social change, the panel will consider the opinions of all stakeholders and the general public to ensure that the “norms of no one class, group or community dominate the tone and tenor of family law reforms”.

Justice Chauhan said in the appeal that the family law reform has to view women’s rights as an end in itself rather than a matter of constitutional provision, religious right, and political debate.

Indicating the need for wider consultation before taking a call on a uniform civil code, the government had in June asked the Law Commission to examine the issue.

Implementation of a common code is part of the BJP’s election manifesto.

The move asking the law panel to examine the issue assumes significance as the Supreme Court had recently said it would prefer a wider debate, in public as well as in court, before taking a decision on the constitutional validity of ‘triple talaq’, which many complain is abused by Muslim men to arbitrarily divorce their wives.

However, a section of Muslim leaders has opposed any move to abolish triple talaq and other personal laws.

(Agencies)

New Delhi: Facing flak for his ‘dalali’ remarks on surgical strikes, Rahul Gandhi today said he has “unequivocally” supported the military action but is against the use of army in political posters and propaganda by BJP.

“I fully support the surgical strikes and I have said so unequivocally, but I will not support using the Indian Army in political posters and propaganda all across the country,” the Congress vice president said in a series of tweets.

He had yesterday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing him of “hiding behind the blood of soldiers” and said that he was politically exploiting their sacrifices.

“Jinhone Hindustan ke liye surgical strike kiye hain, unke khoon ke peeche aap chhupe hain. Unki aap dalali kar rahe ho. Yeh bilkul galat hai. {You (Modi) are hiding behind the blood of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir and those who carried out the surgical strikes for India. You are exploiting their sacrifices, which is very wrong},” Rahul had said.

His ‘dalali’ barb has drawn strong reaction from BJP which called it “a new low in Indian politics”. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and other parties have also criticised the Congress leader’s remarks.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Digvijay Singh lashed out at the BJP leadership, alleging that they were touting the surgical strike on terror launchpads along the LoC as if they did it themselves instead of the army men.

“Modi-Amit Shah Parrikar and BJP Leaders are going around as if they have done the Surgical Strike! Give our Army & our Braveheart the Credit,” Singh tweeted.

Rahul had made the remarks yesterday while addressing a rally here, marking the culmination of his month-long ‘Deoria to Delhi kisan yatra’ in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

(PTI)

Dehradun/Pithoragarh: A 35-year-old Dalit man was beheaded allegedly by a primary school teacher, who accused him of rendering “impure” a flour mill by using it before the upper caste villagers in Uttarakhand’s Bageshwar district, a senior police officer said today.

Sohan Ram died when he was assaulted with a sickle by Lalit Karnatak after he protested an insulting remark against his caste, Bageshwar SP Sukhbir Singh told PTI on phone.

The accused, who belong to an upper caste, was arrested yesterday and sent to Almora jail this morning, the SP said, adding that he was charged with murder and under provisions of the SC and ST (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act.

The incident occurred on Tuesday evening in Kadaria village of Bageshwar bordering Pithoragarh. The victim Sohan had gone to a flour mill owned by Kundan Kumar Singh to take back his wheat flour, the SP said.

When Lalit, who teaches at a primary school in a neighbouring village, saw Sohan at the flour mill, he made an insulting remark on his caste, saying the flour mill had been “rendered impure” by him.

As Sohan protested, Lalit attacked him with a sickle on the neck in a fit of rage, beheading him.

According to villagers, both Dalits and upper castes had been using the mill. But in view of the ongoing Navratri festival the upper castes had issued a diktat to the Dalit families to use the mill only after flour has been prepared for offering to deities.

(Agencies)