10.31.08
Open Letter to Demand inclusion of family laws in school syllabus
To,
Dr. Manmohan Singh
Prime Minister of India
South Block
Rasina Hill
New Delhi 110 011
Sub: Proposal to make marital laws a part of academic syllabus in schools.
Respected Sir / Madam,
Of late, the social institution of marriage has come under great scanner be it the increasing rate of divorces due to any number of reasons or the breakage of marriage due to enthrallment of legal terrorism on its precincts via the misuse of women protection laws like Section 498a of the Indian Penal Code (45 0f 1860), Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, Section 125 of CrPC (for maintenance) or alimony provisions in divorce proceedings and various other related provisions related to Family Law.
It is very interesting and pertinent to note here that though the prevalence of dowry in marriages has been in discussion since almost 50 years as the Dowry Prohibition Act was enacted way back in 1961, it is now, of late since the last 5 years or so since 2003, that we are seeing marriages being broken due to dowry so much that all over the country and abroad, various support groups have formed under the aegis of Save Indian Family to stop the menace of dowry and the misuse of its legal provisions.
Such unfortunate incidents have far reaching effects on the society; one of the most prominent one is the rising suicide rates especially among married men which is in fact double than that in married women, if data provided by National Crime Records Bureau for the years 2005 and 2006 is anything to go by. Other secondary effects of this colossal wave engulfing the society include eroding faith on the institution of marriage, growing mutual distrust between the two genders, establishment of the foundation of a fatherless society, growing apathy towards the legislature and executive lobby, and many more to count.
As the old adages go, “Prevention is better than cure” and “Knowledge is power”, it becomes the moral and ethical duty of any society to study and identify disturbing trends taking turns in the society and nip them in the bud. Family being the basic unit of society and marriage being the first step towards its establishment, its erosion cannot be tolerated with closed eyes and be allowed to take place.
Save Indian Family Foundation and its partner NGOs, dedicated to promote the cause of gender equality and family harmony, strongly believe as a result of their continuous efforts in this area, that including family laws as a portion of academic syllabus in the education of students in secondary education stage is a necessary and positive step towards educating the coming generation to the perils and pitfalls of a failure of marriage.
It would also be imperative to state here that the inclusion of Rule 2 of “The Dowry Prohibition (Maintenance Of List Of Presents To The Bride And Bridegroom) Rules, 1985” would also go a long way in imparting education about this social menace called dowry and creating awareness to uproot it from its very foundation.
In addition to the above background, we emphasize the inclusion of marital laws in academic syllabi for the following understated reasons:-
1 All have to marry as it is a social norm hence all should know family laws for when we can teach our children about the basic social behavioural paradigms then why not about the legalities involved in marriage because, “Knowledge is Power”.
2 Not providing education pertaining to matrimonial laws is analogous to asking a person to drive without knowledge of driving norms, vehicle and safety norms and then penalize the same person for accidents and loss of life and property.
3 When the Government can provide sex education in the schools then why not laws related to marriages.
4 The high number of suicides by married men and women are due to the fact that they are not aware of matrimonial laws and the protection offered by them. The suicides can be reduced drastically by keeping a subject on Matrimonial Laws. For often it is the expectations crestfallen that give birth to the suicidal tendency and its consequent culmination rather than an unexpected marital tragedy befalling. Imparting proper, necessary and sufficient prior knowledge will go a long way in mature shaping of expectations and development of a tendency to accept.
5 As all matrimonial laws are either civil or criminal laws and these laws are intended for the benefit of the civil society and also as the students are the future of any country hence in wake of today’s deteriorating age of marriages its is imperative that they be taught about Matrimonial Laws.
6 It has been seen that more and more educated women are unable to maintain themselves and are hence seeking maintenance from their husbands once their marriages fall apart which is mostly due to the imbalance between expectancy potential and acceptance levels. Teaching about Section 125 CrPC and Domestic Violence will make women more knowledgeable, empowered and independent.
7 The National Commission for Women and the Women and Child Development Ministry have also been demanding to sensitize youngsters about the sensitive issue of marriages but it looks like an untold nexus of Police and advocates is working against this move as they are the biggest beneficiaries of breakage of families due to improper use of marital laws owing to unnecessary litigations. It is estimated that close to 48 % of cases in courts are marital cases. The huge market potential around it is anyone’s guess.
8 Imparting this knowledge will reduce the misuse as most of the times it is found that people misinterpret a law and cause more harm to their near and dear ones. The same has also been corroborated by a statement by the Chairperson of National Commission for Women Dr. Girija Vyas that 60 % of women file these cases in ignorance in this article.
9 As corroborated by the World Health Organization that misuse of marital laws is the biggest reason behind elder abuse in India and taking this step to reduce misuse will automatically reduce elder abuse as well.
10 As a frivolous litigation filed in ignorance has the deadly potential to rip apart a family, and the worst and most unwarranted targets of such a fallacy are the children born out of that wedlock who become objects and objectives of an ego war between erring couples, this step will save many innocent childhoods from being strangulated in the precincts of a litigating corridor.
11 Last but not the least, such a step will only is a positive effort for achieving social as well as matrimonial harmony.
Save Indian Family Foundation and its affiliates strongly hope and expect that the above considerations are taken in the right positive spirit by your good office and they see the light of the day for a better tomorrow.
10.24.08
498A India Limited: A look into the economics of IPC Section 498A
498A India Limited, A Govt of India Undertaking
Just like India has many shady unorganized sectors like Gambling, Hawala and other clandestine operations this is a sector which has witnessed the most growth.498A and its related operations are hence forth referred to as “498A India Limited” just to honor this law which has forced revenue generation from the Indian populace.498A Indian limited today is a Rs 3000 crore a year company.
If the Govt of India would list “498A Indian Limited” in any of the stock exchanges today this is how the company report would look like. It would most certainly be listed as a “Navratna Company”.
Growth: 498A Indian limited has grown at a faster rate than any industry in India, be it IT or BPO. This sector has grown almost 120% in the last 12 years. From just 28,579 cases in 1995 the number of cases has grown to 63,128.
People Outreach: This balance sheet of the company is completely black. Its organizational activities has touched the life of almost 10,00000( 10 Lakh ) people since 1999 who have been arrested under various frivolous allegations.That’s a phenomenal number since if we manage to determine that the average cost of bail posted by a single person is at least Rs 10,000 then the revenue generated by the government from the bail itself is.
1000000 x Rs 10000 = Rs 1000 crores
Although it is a fact that according to government rules the bail money is to be returned to the payer at the end of the trail, how many people actually get it, or are in state to run around seeking the bail amount back is a question that needs to be answered.In India now more than 30% bail applications are for 498A only. It does not take much to notice that “498A India limited’s” main product is a tool that makes the forces the husband’s family to become a goose that is then forced to lay golden eggs for all the shareholders of the company.
Flagship Products
498A Indian limited’s sales has clocked 120% growth over the past 12 years and registered phenomenal returns on almost zero investment. Customers using this tool have to just file a simple complaint and this tool takes of the rest. The company has not changed its product for the past 25 years but the use of the product has grown astronomically. There has no tests done by the company to study the effects of its products have on the people on whom it has been miused although reliable reporting shows that people on whom their products are misused are harassed and extorted to no end and eventually many commit suicide. The party using the products of 498A India Limited
almost always get richer by a lot of lakhs while the party on which the products are used suffer irrespective of gender , age or role in the family.Also another spectacular thing about the product is that it is miused 98% of times and is almost never used in the right way.
Board of Directors
The Board is appointed by the Govt of India and controls this organization with an iron fist. They always turn a blind eye to the people on whom the company’s products have had an adverse effect. They board has total immunity from any prosecution that might result from harm caused due to the misuse of the company’s products. They also do not think twice before fudging numbers to show that that there is increasing customer demand for their products and as a result they recommend that more such companies like 498A Indian Limited must be started like “DV Act India Limited” and “All Death Dowry death India limited”.
Employee Welfare and Customer care
498A India Limited prides itself in being an employer of choice and takes a lot of care of its customers too. The company protects their customers who have misused its products by making themselves and their customers immune to prosecution for misuse.So the “498A India Limited” customers are the happiest lot since they get to misuse the products of the company and as and when they wish for their materialistic desires and then just walk away with a big booty.
Shareholders
The primary shareholders in the company are the wives of India, The Police, judiciary , Lawyers , radical NGO’s and the all powerful national commission for women.Looking at the companies phenomenal returns the shareholders do not want to dilute or modify the company’s products as modification of the company’s products will result in decreased revenue for the company and its shareholders.
Private Investment
This company also attracts lots of private investment from organizations like the UNIFEM and UNO. This is mainly due to the doctored customer demand reports that are submitted by the chairperson of the company to the press and media. These private grants encourage the company to create many smaller companies like “DV Act India Limited” and “All Death Dowry death India limited”.
Public Sentiment for the company
The people on whom the company’s products have been misused and who are the 98% majority here are too weak and suffering to even respond. But there are a lot of young and old people in India who want the company’s products to be modified in a way that they cannot be misused and if misused there be adequate avenues to prosecute the misusers. The chairperson of the company is trying her best at fudging numbers to project to the government and the media that their 25 year old product still confirms with the current quality standards is never misused. They also fudge numbers to show that the customer demand is increasing at a phenomenal rate for similar products and so more such companies must be set up to serve the customers better.
Final Thought
The Greed of a few people is eating away into the nations family system while the Govt of India is still deep in slumber. The Govt does not realize that the profits made by 498A India Limited is actually being paid for by the people of India on whom the company’s products are being brutally misused. The govt must realize that although the company was formed with the noble intention of producing products for defense of the innocent, it has now turned into a company that produces products for “Legal terrorists” with which these terrorists then unleash extreme pain and suffering on the Indian populace and then walk away unscathed. The Govt must be immediately adopt stringent guidelines for the use of the company’s products so that misuse is curtailed and the misusers of its products are then prosecuted at the Government’s expense.
10.22.08
Indian Men – An epitome of sacrifice
66 women are attacked with acid in 9 years from 1999 to 2008 and there is suddenly a huge hue and cry to get a law against acid attacks. Well this act is by no means non – condemnable as violence is violence and has no locus standi in any civilized human society. But on one side where there is a lot of euphoria being generated for women’s issues, no one seems to be bothered at all about men. Whether they exist or not, or are they facing any issues or not? Time has come to have a look at some glaring lacunae in the system which has led to:-
1) Close to 1, 20, 000 mothers and sisters of men have been arrested under charges of Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, without any verification / trial, just on a mere complaint, as these women were blood relatives of a MAN. Even the barbarous British Government took 10 years to arrest 5000 women (1937 – 47) but the Indian Government has arrested close to 24 times more women in just four years (2004 – 2007). The maximum women arrested by the British Government is 17000 in 1930 for Dandi, but the Indian Government under the protection of National Commission of Women arrested 1, 20, 000 women in 4 years.
2) As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in the year 2005, more than 22, 64, 000 crimes have been registered against men (which is 92.8 % of total registered crimes), while crime against women is 1 , 55, 000 approximately (which is 6.38 % of total registered crimes) and yet the media never found it worth enough to create awareness about this. A really pathetic and callous approach. Original source here. It’s just a matter of question as to whose life is in more danger in India, Men or Women? In fact as per the murder rates of USA and India, Indian women are 2 times safer than women in USA despite the presence of so called Dowry Deaths in India.
3) As per suicide statistics provided by National Crime Records Bureau, for the years 2005 and 2006, close to 52, 483 and 55, 452 married men, respectively, have committed suicide as opposed to 28, 188 and 29, 869 married women. Yet whenever a married woman dies due to any reason, be it accident, illness or commits suicide due to any reason unknown, it is converted into dowry death and yet such large scale suicides by men are not even noticed let alone imparting justice to them. Can the Govt. and the media answer as to why such apathy meted out to men?
4) Why is not even a single rupee spent for men’s welfare when men pay 82 % of the total taxes in India? Even animals have welfare, but men do not have. Has anyone thought about this? This despite the fact that everyday 192 men end their lives as compared to 112 women.
Some more issues faced by men but never published:-
1) Literacy: Literacy rate amongst males is 73.4 % and that amongst females is 47.8 % in 2004, still more than 60 % of men earn less than 1 USD per day.
2) Lifestyle Gap: Women’s average annual earned income was US$1,471 in 2002, almost
three times less than the average for men of US$4,723, but still shopping malls dominated by women more than 75% buying capacity.
3) Work – Life Balance: Indian Men toil like donkeys and the females spend off the splurge and as a result men are dying 1.7 times faster than women over all statistics.
Domestic Violence:
More than 98% of Indian husbands face Domestic violence at least once from their wife on an average 3 Years of Marriage in terms of economical abuse, mental harassment, relationship cheating.
More than 22,000 Indian Men have ended their life in reverse dowry Harassment by their wives against 6800 wives who ended their life due to dowry harassment by their husbands.
In all the 6800 cases the Indian husbands had been sent behind bars without any investigation and more than 68% found to be innocent, where as in 22000 cases only 6 cases had been registered and not a single woman has been questioned as to why their Husbands ended their life, let alone any punishment.
Forced Sex and crimes against men:
More than two-thirds of married Men in India between the ages of 15 and 49 are victims of forced sex by their girlfriends and in more than 78% cases the men had been booked under Rape cases, as they refused to marry their girlfriends.
Crime against men is increasing with a Growth rate of 42% in last 5 years, whereas the media and government have never even bothered to disclose the same in front of Public.
Sexual harassment and refusal of sex has happened with more than 82% Indian men as their wives refused for physical union at least once in 6 months and 42% faced have faced once in 3 months.
Progress made so far:
Six decades have passed since independence and yet not a single rupee has been spent for men welfare nor has a single law been enacted to protect men. Though the Government has earned 82 % tax from men it has been of less use to men.
More than 98 % of armed forces are formed of men, with less than 2 % women.
Less than 28 % men serve in the media industry.
Prostitution industry is dominated by 99.98 % women and only 0.02 % men.
Reception, office telecom, school bank, etc. all jobs having ease of work and less burden are occupied by 30 % men and 70 % women.
More than 96 % of NGOs are getting fund from the Government in the name of Women and Child Welfare while for men less than 4 % of NGOs receive funds.
One third of seats in village councils are now reserved for women but still educated women are not ready to take the responsibility.
High Achievers like Atal Behari Vajpayee ji and Dr. Abdul Kalam have not married and done wonders in their life.
Role of Congress Government:
More than 85 % of the time this country has been ruled by the Congress Government and during that regime:
1) Indian husbands have been openly killed by their wives and their boyfriends and all those murderers are roaming freely in the society, yet the Government has not bothered to make any law to protect these husbands.
2) Killing of unborn child or abortion has become a birth right for Indian women by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.
3) Legal Terrorism tools like Section 498A IPC, Domestic Violence Act 2005, 125 CrPC (Maintenance), have been let loose to terrorize Indian men as in these cases, the verbal statement of the wife is considered as evidence whereas definitive documentary evidence by husbands like video recording, voice recording, bank statements are routinely ignored in investigation.
4) Adultery is a civil offense for Indian women whereas criminal offense for Indian Men.
5) And more and more anti – male laws are in line to create disarray and chaos in workplace via the Workplace Harassment Bill and the new Rape Law.
The questions that irk the rationale are:
1) Is not the Congress Government staunchly anti – male?
2) Is not the Congress Government promoting the creation of Fatherless Society in India?
3) Is not the Congress Government out to kill the institution of marriage in India?
I am hoping the government has a good justification for not spending a single rupee for men welfare in the last six decades and as a result of which crime is increasing day by day in the society. And lastly, what justification does the Government have to have given wholesale free license to women in India to do all sorts of crime and go scot free and catch some man and punish him?
10.21.08
Press Release for Black Day October 26th
PRESS RELEASE on the 2nd Anniversary of Domestic Violence Act, 26th October 2008
Save Indian Family Foundation calls on the nation to observe BLACK DAY
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, commonly known as the Domestic Violence (DV) Act took effect on 26th October 2006. On the occasion of the second anniversary of this highly inhuman and discriminatory law, Save Indian Family Foundation and its sibling organizations call upon the entire nation to observe BLACK DAY and show solidarity by joining our Dharna at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 26th October 2008 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.
From the outset, the DV Act has been touted as one of the most progressive legislations passed to empower women in India and to protect them from domestic abuse. The dark secret, unknown to many, is that this law is a clone of Western laws (like the American VAWA) which have not only been utterly unsuccessful in curbing domestic violence against women, but, on the contrary, have become socially harmful legislations that facilitate violence against men, violate basic human rights of men, women and children and promote family destruction. What is worse is that this lethal weapon of social destruction was secretly imported to India, without any debate or discussion on its relevance or pros and cons to the Indian society prior to its enactment.
The DV Act, through its various provisions, not only violates the Constitution of India but also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other International Conventions. The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the DV Act begins with the acknowledgment that “Domestic Violence is undoubtedly a human rights issue and serious deterrent to development”, while citing the Vienna Accord of 1994 and the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action of 1995.
However, the Act consciously ignores a well-established fact that domestic violence is not gender specific, and that, studies all over the world show that men and women are equally likely to indulge in intimate partner violence.
The DV Act is based on the untenable assumption that victims of domestic violence are always women and that the perpetrator is always a man; while statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau show that in the years 2005 and 2006 alone, nearly twice as many married men (52,483 in year 2005 and 55,452 in year 2006), compared to married women (28,186 in year 2005 and 29,869 in year 2006), committed suicide unable to withstand verbal, emotional, economic and physical abuse and legal harassment.
The Universal Declaration of Human rights states that “men and women,…, are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.” It declares that “all are equal before the law, and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law“. Article 14 of the Indian Constitution declares that “The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.” The DV Act, however, blatantly denies protection to men against any form of domestic abuse.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that “everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.” However, the DV Act presumes that the accused man is guilty until proven innocent, thus violating the presumption of innocence and the principles of fair trial guaranteed under Articles 20 and 21 of the Constitution of India, in addition to defying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The DV Act also prescribes many rules of evidence, procedure and trial which are shockingly arbitrary, unreasonable, irrational and discriminatory. The following are a few examples.
1) The DV Act assumes that women are always honest victims, and, hence, requiring proof of their claims is unnecessary. Under this Act, the sole testimony of the so-called aggrieved person is enough for the court to conclude that an offence has been committed. This baseless assumption turns the Act into a weapon in the hands of abusive women to perpetrate violence against men and also misuse the law. Section 10 of the Act makes a provision for service providers which amounts to delegation of essential judicial as well as investigatory functions to them. Such a provision is completely preposterous and hitherto unknown to law.
2) Rule 14 of the DV Act prohibits any defense to be taken by the accused husband or his relatives and the entire procedure prescribed to the so-called counselors is unilateral, one-sided and loaded in favor of the complainant. This provision is in direct violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
3) Section 20 of the DV Act provides monetary compensation for victims of domestic violence. This Section empowers a Magistrate to order the accused to pay monetary relief consistent with the standard of living to which the complainant claims to be accustomed (irrespective of the earning capacity of the accused). In addition, if the accused person fails to make the payment, the Magistrate can direct the employer or debtor of the accused to directly pay the complainant or deposit the same amount with the court. Commonsense dictates that a victim of domestic violence should be removed from the abusive situation and be sheltered from further violence. By making lucrative provisions for monetary compensation, the law provides enormous scope for misuse by unscrupulous women.
4) The DV Act contains provisions which are essentially duplications of several other laws and confers the same protections and rights to women that have been already provided by other existing legislations. For example, a wife who has been allegedly subjected to cruelty by her husband and in-laws is protected both under Indian Penal Code Section 498A, and also under the DV Act. This violates Article 20(2) of the Constitution, which states that “No person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.” The DV Act also makes provisions for a woman to claim maintenance from the “abusive” husband, while two other legal provisions, CrPC Section125 and the Hindu Marriage Act Section 24, simultaneously allow a wife to claim maintenance from the husband.
5) Apart from being blatantly anti-male, the DV Act is also anti-family, as it violates the social and legal sanctity of marriage. According to the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, a Hindu wife shall not be entitled for separate residence or maintenance if she is commits adultery or gets converted to another religion, but the DV Act actually empowers a wife to violate marital norms with impunity and also claim residence and maintenance in spite of being unfaithful or converting to another religion. The DV Act also endeavors to grant live-in partners/concubines the same legal status as a legally wedded wife. In many instances, the protections and privileges (maintenance, residence rights, etc.) granted to the live in- partner/concubine, violate the rights of a legally wedded wife. Such provisions are not only revolting but also destructive to the institutions of marriage and family. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society, and is entitled to protection by society and the State.” The DV Act, on the contrary, promotes matrimonial disharmony and destruction of family.
In addition to violating family rights, the DV Act also violates a child’s right to the love and affection of both parents. The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the DV Act refers to the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), 1989, which mandates that States shall ensure among other things that in all cases the interest of children is paramount. For reaching a just opinion about the interest of children, it is imperative that a just and fair enquiry be held by the court to assess the competing claims of both parents about the suitability of guardianship. However, Section 23(2) of the DV Act allows for passing of ex-parte orders to take away the custody of a child from the father on the sole basis of the self-serving affidavits of a complainant woman. Thus, the DV Act promotes a fatherless society.
One of the most preposterous aspects of the DV Act is that it violates even the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the very International Convention that the law is based on. The DV Act openly promotes discrimination against women relatives of an accused man. The Statement of Objects and Reasons categorically states that “whereas the Bill enables the wife or the female living in a relationship in the nature of marriage to file a complaint under the proposed enactment against any relative of the husband or the male partner, it does not enable any female relative of the husband or the male partner to file a complaint against the wife or female partner.”
Thus, the Act ignores the several instances where a daughter-in-law commits domestic violence against her mother-in-law, sister-in-law or any other females related by marriage. Interestingly enough, the DV Act also favors divorced women and former girlfriends over a legally wedded wife. It supports the encroachment of property by a girlfriend (former or present) at the expense of the right to residence of a man, his legally wedded wife and any other dependent female members of a family. So, in the name of protecting a section of women who may be making true or false allegations, the law penalizes innocent women who are related to an accused man. So much for Elimination of ALL forms of Discrimination Against Women!!!
While the DV Act came under severe criticism from several judicial authorities, legal experts, NGOs and concerned citizens, the Government has not made any efforts to amend the provisions of the law in the interest of fairness, justice, family harmony and social stability. The Ministry of Women and Child Development conducted a Round Table Conference in New Delhi, on 25th June, 2008, claiming to give an opportunity to “men’s organizations” to present their recommendations and suggestions regarding laws pertaining to women. Save Indian Family Foundation and its sibling organizations, which work towards family harmony and true gender equality, were deliberately left out until several appeals were sent to include our representatives in the discussions. The Conference, however, turned out to be only an eye-wash, as the Ministry, eventually, denied the need for amendments in these laws including the DV Act.
In light of all the above facts, and in an attempt to highlight the serious social damage caused by the DV Act, Save Indian Family Foundation and its sibling organizations call upon the entire nation to observe the second anniversary of the DV Act as a BLACK DAY in the history of India. We specifically request all the print and electronic media to show solidarity by joining us in our Dharna at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 26th October 2008 between 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.
On this occasion, we also demand that the following amendments be made to the DV Act to prevent further damage to marital harmony and social stability in India:
- DV Act should be made gender-neutral and equal protection should be provided to men and women against physical, emotional, verbal and economic abuse.
- DV Act, like every other law, must be based on the presumption of innocence until guilt is proved. In addition, the DV Act must follow the principle of according a fair trial to the accused.
- Service providers should not be delegated with judicial and investigatory functions. In addition, service providers and counselors must be persons or organizations who have a track record of working for family harmony, true gender equality, and possess a balanced and educated approach towards serious issues like domestic violence.
- In order to protect victims of domestic violence from further abuse, they should be removed from the abusive situation and relocated to shelters. Making provisions for monetary compensation to the complainant promotes misuse of the law by unscrupulous individuals. Denying the accused persons of residential rights on their own property violates the human rights of the accused. In addition, a genuine victim who is not removed from the site of abuse is more likely to fall prey to violence again and again.
- A complainant should not be allowed to claim maintenance under DV Act, as there are two other existing provisions, CrPC Section 125 and Hindu Marriage Act Section 24, which simultaneously allow a dependent woman to seek maintenance.
- DV Act should not be allowed to contain any of the same protections and provisions granted under any other laws without first repealing those other laws and rendering them ineffective. For example, since the DV Act provides protection to women against cruelty by the husband and his relatives, IPC Section 498A should be repealed with immediate effect.
- DV Act attempts to legalize live-in relationships, thereby violating laws against polygamy and also disregarding the rights of a legally wedded wife. A live-in relationship, unlike marriage, is not a legally binding contract. Women and men who enter live-in relationships are implicitly accepting the risk of a break-up, whatever the reasons for the break-up may be. Forcing legal interference into a relationship that is legally invalid is simply ridiculous. Therefore, live-in relationships must be removed from the purview of the DV Act.
- Child custody decisions should be made by a court based on a fair hearing of competing claims of both parents, and unless there is compelling evidence to believe that either one or both parent(s) is/are harmful to the child’s physical and emotional health and well-being, joint custody should be granted to the mother and the father.
- Persons filing false cases to settle personal scores should be severely punished for misusing the judicial process and blocking the path of justice for genuine victims.
In short, the DV Act should be replaced by a more benign, sensible, gender-neutral legislation that ensures women and men their rightful, honorable place within and outside the home, in order to promote domestic harmony, reduce litigations and prevent legal terrorism and extortion through misuse of the law.
10.20.08
Observing 26th October as a Black Day
Meet my old Mother. A victim of 498A and Domestic Violence Act
She is just one of the 120,645 women arrested in last 4 years only under Women Protection Laws without any credible evidence, investigation or trial.
Do you know that in 2006, 55425 married men committed suicide compared to 29869 married women?
Do you know that 98% Men have faced Domestic Violence at least once in 3 years
(Study conducted by SFF and My Nation)
Do you know that trauma suffered by victims of false/fabricated cases is 10 times more than DV Victims?
Do penalizing innocent women & men under false cases bring justice to genuinely abused women?
In order to address these burning questions, Save Family Foundation and associated NGOs invites you to join us against protest on misuse of women protection laws and demand gender neutrality of DV Act on the
2nd Anniversary of Domestic Violence Act (Black Day) at
Jantar Mantar, New Delhi on 26/10/08 from 11 to 1 PM
Fight against misuse of Women Protection Laws and conspiracy to destroy the Family System of India. Let us prevent India becoming a Father Less Society
Contact : 9810611534 (Swarup), 9810452017 (Anupama), 9971117829 (Sandeep), 9818332305 (Neeraj), 9871134040 (Preeti), 9818509406 (Wasif), 9810407895 (Vijay), 9811052770 (Niladri)
Supported by : Save Family Foundation (Regd.), Gender Human Rights Society (Regd.), All India Forgotten Women (Regd.), CRISP (Regd.), My Nation, Save Indian Family Foundation (Regd.)
“Parivar Bachao Desh Bachao, Save the Indian Family”
10.13.08
Mother dies seeing arrest of son and father
Meerut
The news of the arrest of her son and husband under allegations of dowry harassment sent a terror shock to an old lady who immediately died receiving the news. After her family members talked to the district authorities father and son duo were released for two hours on parole for performing the last rites. Her last rites were performed in a melancholic atmosphere. Sabir along with his wife Hanifa and son Nafis resides in Saddeek Nagar under the limits of Lisadi Gate Police Station. Nafis was married to one Tasleema of Laavad under the police limits of Icchauli Police Station. They had been leading a happy married life. They also gave birth to a son meanwhile. Family members of Nafis told Tasleema used to fight over petty issues and used to threaten to embroil the entire family. A case had been registered at Icchauli police station on behalf of Tasleema. Accused are Sabir, his wife Hanifa, Nafis and his sisters and their husbands. Family members told that on Saturday the police arrived at their place and started to take the Sabir and Nafis along with them. On inquiring the reason for arrest, the police told they have to get a ‘compromise’ done with Tasleema’s parents. Police presented Sabir and Nafis before the judge and they were remanded to Judicial Custody. On receiving the news of the arrest of her son, Hanifa was in shock and fell ill. By the time the family members could avail her of medical treatment, she was already dead. On receiving the news of Hanifa’s death, family members met Abbas and raised an alarm for help. They requested the DM Kamini Ratan to release Sabir and Nafis for the last rites of Hanifa. Later the court released them on police remand. Her last rites were performed in the late evening in the graveyard near Sham Shambhudas Gate.
Translated from Mother dies seeing arrest of son and father
10.11.08
Family against woman or 21st century woman against Family
“Family against woman or 21st century women against family?”
“Two years after the law to protect women from domestic violence was enacted, it continues to be defeated by social prejudice and blind spots.”
In her Indian Express Article, head of Lawyer’s Collective and mastermind behind all biased, anti-family law in this country which are designed with the underlying assumption that all the women are born in Raja Harish Chandra family (Never lie) and all the men are born in Criminal Family only, expresses her view that the family is against woman, but in reality the 21st century woman is against family as shown below with some glaring facts, figures and statistics.
SC snubs Center for domestic abuse act
A small effort by Supreme Court of India: Right to residence, maintenance only from husband: Court By Times of India.
Since the last few months eminent Media Channels like NDTV / CNN-IBN / IBN7 / ZEE / India TV have started to justify that divorce is not a bad as in Delhi itself more than 9000 Divorce cases have been filed and more than 55% filed of those have been by Women only.
Seems like it was a dirty word only till the time Men filed more Divorce cases, and that too was long back, but as now a days it is the women who are filling the Divorce cases more than man, so it should not be treated as “Dirty Word”. Is this the gender equality what women want?
But, they have never disclosed that, in each and every Divorce case, it is the Husband who had been treated as a “Free ATM Machine” in front of Judge / Police / Media and more than 98% cases it is the wife’s family have demanded as well as taken huge money from the husbands family, irrespective of the span of the marriage be it 15 days or 15 years.
Wherever the husband has refused to be treated as free ATM machine, they have been termed as Criminal by our draconian, lopsided and gender biased laws like Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code and subjected to Legal terrorism. In some cases wives staying in abroad and have sent their Domestic Violence Complain through mail/post, against their Husbands who are living in India and our Judges have happily accepted the same, as anyone can file the domestic violence against husband’s family on behalf of a women. They also immediately passed the interim order, restraining him from going to the media to say the truth, asked to deposited the Passport, interim maintenance also ordered in the range of 10K, 15k whether she stays at USA or Dubai, it does not matter.
The harassment does not end here. He will have fight three maintenance case for the same purpose in form of Domestic Violence Act, Section24 of the Hindu Marriage Act, Section125 of the CrPC (some time in three different state) and our Judges happily pass the judgments as per their view, without considering the fact that it is the wastage of valuable time of Judiciary, as in blatant violation of Article 20 of the Indian Constitution, for the same purpose three different cases have been filed, whereas millions of cases are awaiting justice.
There are umpteen number of cases where after the husband gets the child visitation or child custody, and immediately the Domestic Violence act followed as a gift and the creation of “father less child” society was set in motion. The media openly announces a child reunited with mother but forget to mention that a child became “father less” and a father becomes “childless”.
It is a bitter truth about our Women and Child Development minister who openly says after passing the biased Domestic Violence Act:
- Its turn to suffer for the Indian men, as women suffered for long. (Like as Muslim Kings had destroyed a lot of temple, so let demolish the entire Mosque in India).
- Don’t trust Your Men; trust Condom in the name of reducing AIDS. (Forgetting the fact that AIDS has increased due to sex with multiple partners and condom is used for multiple partner sex, not for single partner sex, which we term as married couple)
- It’s Diwali Gift to Indian women. (Within two weeks, four women have been sent behind the bars under first DV act case in Pune and one old woman was forced to leave her own house as her daughter-in-law walk in her house with her all friends and parents)
View Point: Domestic Violence Act lacks perspective By Zamir Uddin , Central Chronicle News.
“In short, the DVA-2005 in its enthusiastic thoughtlessness has throttled all avenues of reconciliation, has weakened the foundations of the institution of marriage, and vitiated conjugal life by developing a false sense of ego and a fictional helplessness among women. When it comes to man-woman relationship let us listen to the traditional but sane voice of John Milton, the English poet and moralist. Milton says that man represents reason and woman passion. As long as reason dominates passion, there is cosmos, but the moment passion dominates reason, chaos ensues. Let us view marital life from this viewpoint for marriage is not a bed of roses but a domestic battlefield. Unless husband and wife bring immense goodwill and sacrifice to bear upon their marital fortunes, their situation is desperate. The DVA need to be replaced by some more benign, sensible, gender-neutral legislation that may ensure women their rightful, honorable place at home and abroad, at the same time not forgetting the rights of men.”
On the other hand our LAW maker forget to recognized Spouse abuse: It’s the husband’s turn now: DNA News,September 20, 2007 .
“The study, conducted by two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – Save Indian Family Foundation and My Nation – looked at four aspects of domestic violence — economical, emotional, physical and sexual. In a sample survey of 1,650 urban men, almost 98% of the respondents said they had suffered violence under one or the other of these heads more than once. Economical abuse was found to be the most common complaint with 32.8% saying they had faced it at least once in their married life, followed by emotional (22.2%), physical (25.2%) and sexual violence (19.8%). Nagging, grumbling, taunting, name calling, refusing food, denying sexual intercourse, abusing parents and family members, snatching salary, throwing objects, scratching with nails and biting, threats of suicide and even eviction from the house were some of the common forms of abuse mentioned. But perhaps the most serious was framing of false charges under the Indian Penal Code.”
As a result while a large section of women, especially activists are happy that the act has stood the test of time for a year, there are an equal number of people who feel that this act should be abolished. Rediff News: Delhi: Protest against Domestic Violence Act
So after completion of second year this question is being raised to the Lawmakers and they have to decide honestly, that instead of an assumption that Domestic violence is only a gender issue and men do not face any domestic violence some gender neutrality and benignity be brought into it , for National Crime Record Bureau report says, more than 52K married men committed suicide after marriage vs. 28k married women 2005 and more 55K married men vis – a – vis 29K married women in 2006. Above data definitely leads to the question ”Family against Women or 21st century Women against family?”
