Archives for 2023

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that a three-judge bench will hear a batch of petitions pertaining to criminalisation of marital rape after constitution benches conclude hearing some listed pleas.

“We have to resolve the matters concerning marital rape,” a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra said when senior advocate Indira Jaising mentioned the matter for hearing.

“My case deals with the child sexual abuse case,” the senior lawyer said.

The CJI said these matters are to be heard by a three-judge bench and these will be listed up for hearing after the five-judge constitution benches conclude hearing some of the listed cases.

Presently, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by the CJI is hearing pleas relating to regimes on grant of driving license for different kind of vehicles under the Motor Vehicle Act.

The petitions relating to abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which had provided special status to erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, are also scheduled for the hearing.

The top court on March 22 had fixed the petitions on marital rape for hearing on May 9.

Prior to this, the top court on January 16 had sought the Centre’s response on the petitions pertaining to criminalisation of marital rape and the IPC provision which provides protection to a husband against prosecution for forcible sexual intercourse if the wife is an adult.

The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, had said the issue has legal as well as “social implications” and the government would like to file its response to the petitions.

One of pleas has been filed in relation to the Delhi High Court’s split verdict of May 11, 2022 on the issue.

This appeal has been filed by a woman, one of the petitioners before the Delhi High Court.

However, two HC judges — Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice C Hari Shankar — had concurred for granting a certificate of leave to appeal in the Supreme Court as the matter involved substantial questions of law which required a decision from the top court.

While Justice Shakdher, who headed the division bench, favoured striking down the marital rape exception for being “unconstitutional” and said it would be “tragic if a married woman’s call for justice is not heard even after 162 years” since the enactment of the IPC, Justice Shankar said the exception under the rape law is not “unconstitutional and was based on an intelligible differentia”.

Another plea has been filed by a man against the Karnataka High Court verdict which had paved way for his prosecution for allegedly raping his wife.

The Karnataka High Court had on March 23 last year said exempting a husband from allegation of rape and unnatural sex with his wife runs against Article 14 (equality before law) of the Constitution.

The set of pleas are PILs filed against the IPC provision and have challenged the constitutionality of the marital rape exception under Section 375 IPC (rape) on the ground that it discriminates against married women who are sexually assaulted by their husbands.

Under the exception given in Section 375 of the IPC, sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his wife, the wife not being minor, is not rape.

Udupi, Jul 19: The body of a youth who was washed away by strong waves while swimming at Trasi-Maravanthe beach in Udupi district, was found near Kanchugodu on Wednesday, police sources said.

The deceased has been identified as Peer Nadaf (21), a resident of Gadag. He ventured into the waters on Tuesday with two other young men who were saved.

The efforts to trace Nadaf with the assistance of local swimmers, lifeguard diving expert Dinesh Kharvi the fire brigade and coastal guard staff had failed on Tuesday due to rough sea conditions.

A case has been registered at the Gangolli police station.

Pakistan’s Seema Haider and Sachin Meena speak to media after they walked out of a jail, in Greater Noida

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday said it would not be appropriate to say if Pakistani citizen Seema Haider, who entered India illegally in May and is staying with her partner in Noida, is a spy “unless we have enough proof”.

Seema (30) and her Indian partner Sachin Meena (22) were questioned by the Uttar Pradesh Police’s Anti-Terrorist Squad on Monday and Tuesday. They were first arrested by the local police in Greater Noida on July 4 but were granted bail by a court on July 7.

When asked if Seema could be a Pakistan spy, Uttar Pradesh Special Director General of Police Prashant Kumar said nothing could be said so early.

“The matter is related to two countries. Till we have enough proof, it would not be appropriate to say anything in this regard,” he said.

In her media interactions since her bail, Seema has been saying she entered India though the Nepal border and travelled to Noida in a bus to be with Sachin whom she met online.

Asked whether the entry of a Pakistani citizen in India through the Nepal border was a security lapse, Kumar said, “This is not so. Our border (with Nepal) is porus. No passport is needed there. Nothing is written on anyone’s face.”

Kumar also said no team is being sent to Nepal to probe how she entered India.

But the senior officer evaded a direct reply when asked if Seema could be deported. “The law is there in this regard and it will be followed. Action is being taken as per the legal mandate.”

On the ATS questioning of Seema and Sachin, the officer said, “All agencies are doing their work.”

The couple, who claims to have gotten married in Nepal earlier this year, had first got in touch in 2019 over online game PUBG.

On July 4, Seema was arrested by local police for entering India illegally and Sachin was held for sheltering illegal immigrants. However, they both were granted bail by a local court on July 7 and have been living together along with her four children in a house in the Rabupura area.

Seema has also said she does not wish to go back to Pakistan and wants to live with Sachin. She also claimed to have turned a Hindu.

Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have informed the country’s government that “love” is the “only” factor that led the mother of four to sneak into India to live with a Hindu man whom she befriended through an online game platform, a media report said on Monday.

Ujjain: Illegal portions of properties of three persons nabbed by the police for allegedly ‘spitting’ water on a religious procession in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain were demolished on Wednesday by civic officials, police said.

Local authorities demolished the illegal parts of the properties of three accused located at Daba Road, Tanki Chowk and near Gold Bakery, said Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Akash Bhuria.

He said the list of the accused was given to the Ujjain Municipal Corporation after a case was registered against them by the police.

“The corporation found illegal constructions in their houses, which were removed after making announcements to allow the residents to remove their goods,” Bhuria said.

Police had registered a case under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for disturbing communal harmony against the trio in connection with the ‘spitting’ water incident that occurred on Monday.

Bhuria said two of the three accused were produced in a court on Tuesday and sent to a juvenile home, while the third accused was remanded in judicial custody.

According to the complaint, some people, who were part of the procession of ‘Baba Mahakal Sawari’ on Monday, saw a few youngsters standing on the balcony of a building and spitting water on them.

Later, those part of the procession shot a video of the youngsters and lodged a police complaint, Bhuria had said.

Earlier, the incident led to a protest by Hindu outfits at Kharakua police stationsion

Malaysia bestowed its highest civilian award, the Hijra Award, upon prominent Sunni leader Kanthapuram Aboobacker Musliar, making him the first Indian to receive this prestigious honor. The award was presented by Malaysian King Al Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah during a ceremony held at the World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

The Hijra Award, instituted by Malaysia in the name of Prophet Mohammed, is dedicated to recognizing distinguished Islamic scholars from around the world and has been awarded on the first day of the Islamic New Year since 2008. It is considered one of the most esteemed prizes in the Islamic world.

The event was graced by several high-ranking Malaysian officials, including Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Minister for Religious Affairs Mohammed Nahim Bin Mukhtar. Mr. Kanthapuram, who was present at the function in a wheelchair, was lauded on stage to receive the prestigious award.

The Malaysian government initiated the Hijra Award to honor international Islamic scholars for their significant contributions to world peace and harmony.

The decision to confer the Hijra Award upon Mr. Kanthapuram was based on his notable efforts in promoting messages of peace and fostering interfaith relations worldwide, as recognized by Malaysia’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

Expressing his gratitude after receiving the award, Mr. Kanthapuram conveyed that the esteemed recognition by Malaysia would embolden him to expand his activities to broader horizons. He arrived in Malaysia on Monday after accepting an invitation from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

During his visit, the Malaysian Prime Minister and Mr. Kanthapuram engaged in discussions on further enhancing and strengthening cultural ties between Malaysia and India.

Joining Mr. Kanthapuram during the ceremony were Abdul Hakeem Azhari, the managing director of Markaz Knowledge City; Abdussalam, the Knowledge City chief executive officer; and Kuttur Abdurahman Haji, the chairman of Jamiul Futooh maintenance committee.

New Delhi: The decision to exempt Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat from the Asian Games trials is “unfortunate” and will hurt wrestling in India, outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is facing sexual harassment charges by women grapplers, said on Wednesday.

IOA’s ad-hoc panel on Tuesday handed direct Asian Games entries to Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, who were at the forefront of protest against Singh.

The junior wrestlers, especially the most-affected Antim Panghal and Sujeet Kalkal, have also slammed the panel and dragged it to the court, demanding a fair trial in all categories.

Singh, who is also a BJP MP, said they had ended the practice of giving exemptions to wrestlers because they realised that it was hurting the juniors.

“I am pretty anguished since the ad-hoc panel took this decision. It will hurt the sport of wrestling in this country. A lot of people have worked hard to lift this sport. The athletes, their parents, the fans of the sport, all have worked hard,” Singh told PTI in an exclusive interaction.

“Today, wrestling is one sport where Olympic medal is considered guaranteed. And the decision that these wrestlers will go to a competition like Asian Games, is an unfortunate one.”

Singh, who is out on an interim bail and not eligible to contest the upcoming WFI elections due to the Sports Code guidelines, feels the protest launched by six wrestlers was motivated.

“When all this (protest) began (in January) I used to think why is it all happening? I had recited a poem back then (on social media),” he said and recited the poem again emphasising that he chose to side with the juniors and thus invited trouble for himself.

The 19-year-old Panghal along with several other wrestlers, their families and elders hit the streets in Hisar to protest against the ad-hoc panel’s decision.

“I am remembering this poem again today because things are becoming crystal clear.”

When countered that even under his tenure as President, the WFI had exempted Vinesh, Bajrang and others from trials for the 2018 Asian Games and that even during the 2022 CWG trials, the same wrestlers were given direct semifinal entries, he admitted it was a mistake.

“We did not send these wrestlers (to Commonwealth Games) directly, though we gave them direct semifinal berths. We realised later that perhaps it is not right and that’s exactly why we discussed this issue at our Executive Committee, took advise of the coaches, studied the rules from other nations and passed the new rules in General Body Meeting that such exemptions will be not be given to any wrestler in any situation.”

“I myself did not make this rule, unilaterally. It was widely discussed and then a decision was taken.”

The WFI had passed the resolution on August 25 at its General Body Meeting in Rohtak, last year.

Singh chose not to speak when asked what he thinks of presence of Gian Singh and Ashok Garg as technical experts in the IOA ad-hoc panel.

“Now I would request you to let this go. How well these coaches are well-versed with modern-day wrestling is another topic. I don’t talk to the media now but some issues were rankling me, so I spoke today (on exemption given to wrestlers),” he said.

Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court

Gwalior: The Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a man who was accused of raping a woman on the pretext of marriage, observing that more than a year’s time is sufficient for a prudent woman to figure out a false promise.

Justice Deepak Kumar Agrawal made the observation on July 13 while hearing a petition of a man, seeking to quash a rape case registered against him at Seondha in Datia district.

“Near about more than one year’s time is sufficient time for a prudent woman to realise as to whether the promise of marriage made by the petitioner is false from its very inception or there is a possibility of breach of promise,” the order stated.

The order said that the prosecutrix (woman) was in a relationship with the petitioner over a significant period of time and therefore her consent could not have been obtained by misrepresentation.

“The complainant prosecutrix is a mature lady having three children and she knew the petitioner for the last more than one year. She made physical relations with the petitioner on her own consent and free will,” the order said.

As per the order, the woman had stated that she was in a relationship with the petitioner since 2020. If any woman continues to remain in a physical relationship for a long period during which she was free to visit every place, then it cannot be said that her consent was obtained by misconception of fact.

The court said that the woman herself went to the house of the accused (petitioner in this case) in Seondha. Thus, it cannot be said that her consent was obtained by “misconception of facts”..

“Only a false promise to marry made with an intention to deceive a woman would vitiate the woman’s consent being obtained under the misconception of fact, but a mere breach of promise cannot be said to be a false promise,” the order stated.

As per her complaint filed in July 2021, the woman said that she was in contact with the petitioner in 2017.

In 2020, the petitioner proposed to marry her following which she came to Seondha on June 29, 2020, and stayed there in a house where the petitioner had a physical relationship with her on the pretext of marrying her, she alleged.

Whenever the woman told the petitioner to solemnize the marriage, the petitioner would ignore her, she said.

The woman said that in July 2021, she again came back to Seondha where the petitioner assaulted her. On her complaint, a first information report (FIR) was registered against the petitioner for rape and criminal intimidation.

The FIR and criminal proceedings in the form of chargesheet are quashed against the petitioner, the order said.