Taking Stock After An Year Of Activism

“Feminism in India has no integrity. You can’t trust it”

– Madhu Purnima Kishwar

It’s time to reflect.

I was thrust into this mess on account of the ill advised actions of my ex-wife and her conniving father. The 498A was filed as means to force me into a settlement (they had my family in custody) or to take her back and sell myself for the money they offered me. I was never arrested. A charge sheet was never filed after my sister filed complaints against the police for their illegal actions.

I knew about 498A the day I filed for divorce, except, as time went by, I let down my guard and expected her to go her way and not resort to these tricks. I hoped she would gauge the depth of this pile of dung before jumping in. Fond hope on my part.

While my family was in custody and was being terrorized by the police, I looked for info on the web and talked to SIF volunteers. The SIF volunteers were great and were available round the clock. I can’t thank them enough, but, the info given didn’t go very far. I failed to understand the extent and depth of the mess my family and I were tossed into. In short, I was given helpful suggestions, but they were not applicable to my case and my situation.

The info on the web was sketchy at the best and inaccurate at the worst. An example was about the meaning of cognizable*, which was portrayed as the unrestricted power of the police to arrest, which is inaccurate.

*In a cognizable offense, the police are duty bound to register and investigate the complaint. Cognizable does not mean that the police can arrest you upon the filing of the FIR. They are required to investigate as a first step. 498A is a cognizable offence.

After writing a bunch of memos and press notes, enduring the rantings of Ranjana Kumari, Girija Vyas and the random Feminazis of India in the press, I was restless and felt a pervasive sense of not doing enough.

At this point I was introduced to blogging thanks to the idiocy of a bunch of embittered ex-wives, who spewed venom and gloated about the trouble they got their ex-hubbies and their families into. I was enraged over the fact that they felt smug about the plight of their mothers and sisters in law. I started blogging to mock them and developed an appreciation for the possibilities that blogging opens up. As a footnote, I take full credit for shutting them down.

I felt the need for A Guide To Surviving IPC 498A, as at this stage, though I knew and understood a lot, it was obvious to me that there was nothing anywhere that tied it all together or served as a repository of information.

The motivation to educate others about their Fundamental Rights was given by the book by Prof Som K Shah, Faith Belied, which mentioned Joginder Kumar Vs The State Of UP, which, for the first time, detailed the limits on the powers of the police to arrest.

Taking that as a base, I started digging and soon found DK Basu Vs State Of WB and more judgments from the Supreme Court. Initially I focused on the judgments curtailing/defining the powers of the Indian Police. I got pretty good at digging up judgments at Judis.

Around this time, I received a gift from the gods, in the form of a Judgment by Justice Shiv Narain Dhingra, which is now popularly known as the 498A Income Tax judgment. This and the following judgments by him were my first posts.

I put all this together and wrote up the Survivor’s Guide To IPC 498A. I did have some friends proof read it and had to edit it, as my anger was apparent in tone and the choice of words. As an example, I referred to the 498A wives as bitches. Nothing wrong with that, except, when writing, moderation should be exercised, to reach out to a wider audience.

I kept digging through Judis and the web and as I came across relevant judgments and material, I blogged them in order to serve as a repository of information.

By July, I had it all together, but had to wait until November to inaugurate the 498A Survival Kit, as I was having the document reviewed for accuracy by a former IPS officer.

By then, I was burnt out and decided to walk away for a short time. Upon my return, I was able to have the Gujju version up. I also made a major update and uploaded it.

The blog averages over 400 visitors a day and they are from all over the world. Check out the cluster map on the lower right side of this page, to see the spread. It also looks like I may have a small but regular set of readers, though I don’t know who they are.

498A and the associated asinine laws, though formulated with good intentions, are inherently flawed. The establishment has taken advantage of these flaws and it is now an extortion racket feeding the ravenous appetite of the corrupt Indian Police force, the lower judiciary, NGOs like CSR, statutory bodies like the NCW and worse, has become a component of vote bank politics.

Who cares if more than a 100,000 women have been arrested in 4 years, or the Indian criminal justice system is clogged, or the fact that the real victims of domestic violence or dowry harassment will never get justice as the cases will drag on for years due to the numerous frivolous cases that have been filed?

As depressing as this situation seems, the tide is turning.

I have asserted, from the moment that I came across Joginder Kumar Vs State Of UP, that the police have been arresting people in 498A cases in contravention of the orders of the Supreme Court. My stand has been vindicated by the recent emergence of a memo from 2002, by the Hyderabad Comm Of Police, MV Krishna Rao, who forbade any 498A arrests without the authorisation of the DCP of the investigating officer. This is a standing order, in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment. Further vindication came in the form of the Delhi Police Commissioner issuing a circular forbidding 498A Arrests W/O Permission Of DCP

People on the ground are finally questioning the cops about arbitrary arrests and I expect this to spread, especially as the translations in the regional languages come into play.

I have made some lasting friendships in this time of my activism and also had to endure the idiocy of morons. This battle can be fought and will be won, though it will take time.

So how does one fight this hydra headed monster?

As a first step, it must be recognized that it is the radical feminists and crass opportunists of India, who are preventing any kind of a discussion or amendment to this flawed law from taking place. These radical feminists are like the Taliban. They are radical, they are stupid, they are corrupt and they will be defeated. The domestic violence act is their swan song and the sinking of the Sati Law is proof of their diminishing clout.

As a next step, it is essential to re-frame this fight as anything else other than that between men and women. The Feminazis got this far as they successfully portrayed themselves as “Abala Nari” vs the “Rakshas Ravana” .

SIF is fighting this as a way to protect the Indian family structure. The petrol pump scam tainted Girija Vyas, feeling the sting of the inroads made by SIF, is now attempting to claim this mantle. I feel that this issue can also be framed as a fight against corruption in India.

The Feminazis of India are like hyenas and vultures, they feed on the helpless. They have successfully pushed aside respected women rights activists like Madhu Kishwar and have hijacked the cause of the empowerment of women to serve their selfish ends. They are the enablers in setting the corrupt establishment upon vulnerable individuals and families. They play the role of useful idiots for the establishment, in return for access and privilege, and they have the MPs cowed. They have been attempting to intimidate the judiciary with varying degrees of success, under the garb of “gender sensitization”.

The Feminazis haven’t faced organized opposition due to the nature of this problem. This is not oppression of a particular caste, religion, language or sex. This is persecution of small units in this multitude of millions for the purposes of empty propaganda; to claim that the establishment has legislated laws for women, is pro women and thus pandering to a perceived vote bank. In reality, as with everything else, this is empty propaganda which enriches the establishment and nothing concrete is accomplished. If 100,000 women have been arrested in 4 years, you won’t hear a peep of protest as it doesn’t matter. They don’t count as a voting block as they are scattered across the country and so they won’t dent an election. Besides, who really understands fully the pernicious theory of vote-bank politics?. These numbers are a drop in the 500,000,000 women of India. In addition, these persecuted individuals and their families come from the middle and upper middle classes and they are spread out over the country with the only unifying thread being that they have been 498A’d or DV Act’d. Finally groups like SIF, though small in number are unifying and fighting the establishment.

The most prominent Feminazis are unmarried or divorced. Their temperament was never tempered by the pangs of birthing or gazing fondly upon their own flesh and blood, be it a boy or a girl. They want privilege, but don’t want to earn it, but want it handed over under the garb of equality. 498A and the DV Act have nothing to do with womens rights or feminism, these laws are designed to feed on the helpless and unsuspecting.

What do they have to gain from propagating and spreading this misery ? The explanation is simple. It is money, lifestyle, access to power and privilege, a paycheck and I don’t know what else. I can only stoop to a certain level of dirt in terms of speculating about motivation. Regardless they are the beneficiaries of this misery. They are backed up by large amounts of money in funds from the center or from the UN. They have the megaphone and can lock up the print media and the TV channels with their rants and propaganda.

But, alas, they have decisively lost the online battle. An example is the maligning of Justice Dhingra. Before the advent of this blog, anyone who read about him would pass him off as a male chauvinist and a sexist, thanks to the malicious propaganda of Indira Jaising.

I’ve set the record straight and effectively countered Indira Jaising’s mud slinging. She had made it her mission to malign Justice Dhingra at any given opportunity. As a writer with a guaranteed readership of at least 12,000 a month, I assert that Justice Shiv Narain Dhingra can be ranked amongst the greatest judges in the history of our nation. All you need to do is read his judgments, any judgments and you will understand what I mean. Those of us, who’ve been entangled in this mess need to thank the gods for their gift, in the form of this great judge.

I work hard, stay fit and have loads of fun and I don’t believe that I will ever marry again. My ex-wife gave me a precious gift, a gift so precious that few men would have ever received it. This is the ability to live alone and endure with ease, the pangs of loneliness. On the occasions that I felt it, all it took was a recollection of my life with her, of her nagging, her threats and accusations of incest and the blackmail she subjected me to, and I am back on my feet.

There is a lot to do, and I am an idea factory, but often, just like Cassandra, my words fall on deaf ears and I feel frustrated at the stupidity. This is the reason for the existence today of the 498A Survival Kit. Fortunately, unlike Cassandra who ended up as a slave to the Greeks, I’ve been gaining in credibility and being listened to. The biggest example of this is the widening recognition of the importance of Joginder Kumar Vs State of UP, as a cornerstone of defense against arbitrary arrest by the 498A accused and activists.

As I drift away to resurrect my once promising career, I leave with a hope that I may have laid a foundation.

Getting back to the 498A wives, here is a song, whose message their parents should have drilled into their stupid heads: Itna Nazuk Na Bano.

I want to share with you the approach I took to get through my darkest days.

When ever you feel overwhelmed and unable to go on, just remember this, get through today and wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow will dawn, glorious and bright, and you can pick up where you left off, filled with energy after a night’s rest.

The 498A wives have a biological clock ticking. Each day you’ve gained is a day they’ve lost. Run out the clock on them. This is the way to beat them.

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SC 498A AB Judgment Explaining Some Misconceptions – 2003

Here is the judgment: SC 498A AB Judgment – 2003

Excerpts:

• From a careful reading of the said judgment we do not find any restriction or absolute bar on the concerned Court granting anticipatory bail even in cases where either cognizance has been taken or a chagesheet has been filed. This judgment only lays down a guideline that while considering the prima facie case against an accused the factum of cognizance having been taken and the laying of chargesheet would be of some assistance for coming to the conclusion whether the claimant for an anticipatory bail is entitled for such bail or not.
• We respectfully agree with the observations of this Court in the said case that the duration of anticipatory bail should be normally limited till the trial court has the necessary material before it to pass such orders and it thinks fit on the material available before it. That is only a restriction in regard to blanket anticipatory bail for an unspecified period. This judgment in our opinion does not support the extreme argument addressed on behalf of the learned counsel for the respondent-State that the courts specified in Section 438 of the Crl.P.C. are denuded of their power under the said Section where either the cognizance is taken by the concerned court or charge sheet is filed before the appropriate Court. As stated above this would only amount to defeat the very object for which Section 438 was introduced in the Crl.P.C. in the year 1973.

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Afaf Nassar Khalifa Vs Michael Shannon

This is for NRIs who had their kids taken away by their embittered spouses to their home countries.

Here is the pdf of the document: Afaf Nassar Khalifa Vs Michael Shannon

Here is the link to the news article from the Baltimore Sun

I sourced this from this blog: Parental Abduction is Child Abuse

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Steps To Get Anticipatory Bail After You Are Hit By 498A!!

Here is the link:

Steps To Get Anticipatory Bail After You Are Hit By 498A!!

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Garg Vs Garg: NRI Child Custody Battle Fought In The US

Here is the link to the document:

Garg Vs Garg: NRI Child Custody Battle

This judgment from a US court clarifies a lot of issue relating to NRI child custody battles.

Here is another judgment for X-Ref:  Gahun Vs Gahun

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The Uniform Child-Custody And Jurisdiction And Enforcement Act (UCCJEA)

This document can be downloaded from the website of the US Dept Of Justice by clicking  here

What this document does is it describes the Uniform Child- Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (the UCCJEA),1 the most recent in a series of laws designed to deter interstate parental kidnapping and promote uniform jurisdiction and enforcement provisions in interstate child-custody and visitation cases. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is publishing this Bulletin to provide current information about the UCCJEA to legislators in States considering its adoption and to parents and practitioners in States that have already adopted the law. The Bulletin is not an official OJJDP endorsement of the Act.

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A Compilation Of Police Interrogation Tactics

I pulled this from various sites on the net. The most common tactics of interrogation, used by the Indian police, is to beat a confession out of a suspect or intimidate the suspect into signing a confession.

My family was subjected to the tactic of intimidation. Among the many indignities heaped upon them, they were made to watch a suspect subjected to third degree treatment in their presence.

• The Lakshmana Kailas story is a prime example of the interrogation techniques used by the ham handed Indian police.
• Here is another, involving the torture of a juvenile. This is in the last paragraph
• Finally, Interpol Umapathy on Interrogation

Here is a list of the most common interrogation techniques:

• Exaggerating the strength of their case: They tell you that they have recordings, fingerprints, documents, eyewitnesses, etc. All of this may true or all may be false but you simply don’t know because you are isolated. They try and get to you as soon as possible to play on your fears and work that confused state of mind to their advantage.
• Good cop, bad cop: this is an age-old tactic. The police will work in teams of good cop and bad cop. The bad cop will shout at you and attempt to intimidate you, and may even rough you up. The good cop walks in and will apply the healing solution. He may even yell at the bad cop. Apart from exchanging pleasantries, speak to him about all other things at your own risk.
• Comparison: They will convince you that they think you are the least to blame for what happened and that, therefore, you will not suffer as severe a sentence. It’s the other guys they are really after and if you cooperate, they will put a good word in for you.
• Small talk/Chit chatting: What is critical to getting the ultimate admission is to get you talking in the first place – about anything – usually in a “friendly” manner. They will try and find something that you have in common and just have a regular conversation. Then, when you feel comfortable just talking, they will move into the area of the crime. It’s the old story about the frog – try and place him in the boiling pot and he will jump out immediately. But put him in a cold pot and then slowly turn up the heat, he will die before he knows what happened to him.
• Separation: if the accused, like in most 498A cases, belong to a family, then the family members may be separated and each will be told that the other confessed. Watch out for this. This is the most pernicious tactic in my opinion.
• Threats And Intimidation: This is the standard operating procedure. The police may threaten to book you under more charges. Wish them the best. These charges need to be proven in court and lies don’t stand up to impartial, intelligent scrutiny. There will threats of physical violence, direct or suggested. Just stand up to it.
• Promises: They will cut a “deal” with you or “put a good word in” for you. Don’t be fooled. They have no power whatsoever to make deals – only prosecutors can do that and, even then, the judge is never bound by any bargain.
• Furniture And Spatial Psychology: When in the interview room look out for use of furniture. The power of persuasion is greater when the interviewer removes the barrier of the desk that creates a division of “their” space and “your” space. It is common for the interviewers to touch the suspect in a gesture of support and friendship. If the interviewer is on the opposite side of the table, such a gesture is limited. You best defense is to SHOW NO EMOTION. The whole atmosphere inside a police station is geared towards creating an environment of stress so as to break down the suspects morale. It is easy to accept the hand of friendship in such a situation, DON’T break your silence. You, as the suspect, will have your back to the door. This is done to make you feel apprehensive each time someone comes into the room. In addition, the seat for the solicitor will be out of your eye line. The interviewer will often fall silent, putting pressure on you to fill in these “pregnant pauses” – maintain your silence.
• Expressions Of Approval: Look out for expressions of approval, both verbal and non verbal. Verbal: “That’s good”, “Yes, go on” and “I like that approach”. Non verbal: smiling, nodding, looking at a fellow interviewer as if to say “She’s/he’s right you know.” These are all indications of the frame of mind of the interviewer. You may be offered compliments e.g. “You’re no fool”, etc. Non verbal compliments such as a little shake of the head as if to say that I admire you for saying that. The principle behind all this is to make the suspect feel good and to encourage further dialogue.

CHRI has brought out a flier about police interrogation —> CHRI Police Interrogation

Have your lawyer with you at all times and maintain your silence. The right against self incrimination is a fundamental right.

The police cannot torture you or extract a confession out of you either. This is illegal and if they do so, they are in contempt of the many judgments of the Supreme Court in this regard.

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The Guide To Surviving IPC 498A Updated !

Folks,

I updated the document/e-book to reflect the new judgments and added the following:

• Table Of Contents for chapter 1
• What is AB?
• Passport cannot be impounded judgment
• Delhi HC RTI judgment
• Mentioned AP police memo on NO Arrests- (Joginder Kumar Vs State Of UP)
• Expanded On Jurisdiction
• Explained Quash petitions
• Interrogation tactics used by cops
• NRI cases jurisdiction
• Case lost in foreign court cannot be re-fought in India
• Compounding a non compoundable case

In addition, the document is fully bookmarked for easy navigation in Adobe Acrobat. Please enable bookmarks to make it easier for yourself to navigate.

Here is the link to the document:

A Guide To Surviving IPC 498A

The rest of the material is here:

The 498A Survival Kit

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Justice Dhingra Explains Section 482 Of IPC (HC Quash Petition)

The courts have always been reluctant to quash a case under Section 482 IPC.

I have written about it here: Understanding High Court Quash Petitions (Section 482 Of CrPC)

The best explanation of the view of the courts, in my opinion, has been given by Justice Dhingra.

This is what he says:

“While exercising powers under Section 482 of the Cr. P.C. the Court has to keep in mind that it should not ordinarily embark upon an enquiry whether the evidence in question is reliable or not or whether on a reasonable appreciation of it accusation would not be sustained. This is a function of the Trial Court. Though the judicial process should not be an instrument of oppression or needless harassment but the Court should be circumspect and judicious in exercising discretion and should take all relevant facts and circumstances in consideration before issuing process under Section 482 lest the Section becomes an instrument in the hands of accused persons to claim differential treatment only because the accused persons can spend money to approach higher forums. This Section is not an instrument handed over to an accused to short circuit a prosecution and bring about its sudden death. “

Here is the judgment I pulled this from : Justice Dhingra Explains Section 482

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Rights And Responsibilities Of US Green Card Holders: A Reminder For The GC Holding 498A Wives

I am posting this here for the US based NRIs with marital issues.

They are a group often maligned by the radical feminists and by the media. What is never highlighted is the fact that these men are often used by their bitter halves to piggy back to the US and then dumped after these spouses get their green cards. They find themselves facing 498A and other cases in India especially after their spouses lose their case in the US court.

In an NRI divorce judgment, Justice Dhingra says:

“The decree passed by the court of USA has not been challenged by the complainant. She herself submitted to the jurisdiction of the USA Court and contested the case. She was living, at the time of contesting, the case in USA and continued to live in USA even after passing of decree till 2002. She even preferred an appeal, which was dismissed. Thus, it is not a case where decree was obtained by her husband clandestinely or she had not submitted to the jurisdiction of the US Court or the US Court had no jurisdiction. Once a competent Court has passed an order in respect of return or exchange of articles including dowry articles, no offence under Section 406 IPC can be tried for the same articles in India.”

NRI spouses with GCs are required to obey US laws, implicitly acceding to US jurisdiction. It is a responsibility, like paying taxes in the US, that they are REQUIRED to fulfil. This is an agreement they are signing when accepting the green card. These women may want to think twice before filing a case against their hubbies in India after getting their green cards. They may be faced with a contempt of court charges in the US if they try to challenge the divorce judgment in India after losing the case here.

Here is the text of the responsibilities:

• You are required to obey all of the laws of the United States, the States, and localities.
• You are required to file your income tax returns and report your income to the US Internal Revenue Service and State IRS.
• You are expected to support the democratic form of government and cannot attempt to change the government through illegal means.
• If you are a male, age 18 through 25, you are required to register with the Selective Service.

Here is the pdf: US Green Card Holders Rights And Responsibilities

Here is the link to the US CIS site where I pulled this information from.

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Instructions On Filing Complaints With The NHRC

Here is the link with instructions on how to file complaints with the NHRC in the event that you are victims of highhanded behavior of govt agencies such as the corrupt Indian police force.

This link details: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Guidelines On Arrest

The NHRC is a toothless tiger and I consider filing a complaint with it to be a waste of time, but all the same, what does one have to lose?.

The document below is the complaint form and contains instructions on how to file the complaint:

http://nhrc.nic.in/Documents/Compformat.pdf

Guidelines on how to file complaint with the NHRC:
1. Complaint may be made to the Commission by the victim or any other person on his behalf.
2. Complaint should be in writing either in English or Hindi or in any other language included in the eighth schedule of the Constitution. Only one set of complaint needs to be submitted to the Commission.
3. Complaint may be sent either by Post or Faxed at Nos. 91-11-23382911/ 23382734 or through e-mail covdnhrc@nic.in
4. No fee is chargeable on such complaints.
5. The complaint shall disclose i) violation of human rights or abetment thereof or; (ii) negligence in the prevention of such violations, by a public servant.
6. The jurisdiction of the Commission is restricted to the violation of human rights alleged to have been committed within one year of the receipt of complaint by the Commission.
7. Documents, if any enclosed in support of the allegations in the complaint must be legible.
8. Name of the victim, his/ her age, sex, religion/ caste, State and District to which the incident relates, incident date etc. should invariably be mentioned in the complaint.
9. Please submit the complaint preferably in the enclosed format.
10. Following types of Complaint(s) are not ordinarily entertainable:
i. Illegible
ii. Vague, anonymous or pseudonymous;
iii. Trivial or frivolous in nature;
iv. The matters which are pending before a State Human Rights Commission or any other Commission;
v. Any matter after the expiry of one year from the date on which the act constituting violation of human rights is alleged to have been committed;
vi. Allegation is not against any public servant;
vii. The issue raised relates to civil dispute, such property rights, contractual obligations, etc;
viii. The issue raised relates to service matters;
ix. The issue raised relates to labour/industrial disputes;
x. Allegations do not make out any specific violation of human rights;
xi. The matter is sub-judice before a Court/ Tribunal;
xii. The matter is covered by judicial verdict/decision of the Commission.
11. As far as possible complainants are encouraged to make use of the format given above to file their complaints. The guidelines indicate the kind of information, which would facilitate in processing a complaint.

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NHRC Publications: Priced And Non Priced

NHRC Publications

The Publications brought out by the National Human Rights Commission are either free or priced. In case it is a priced publication, then a Demand Draft for the amount that covers the cost of the book has to be made in favour of the National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi payable at New Delhi . Some Publications are available in electronic format on this website. To view or download, simply click on the appropriate link given below:

http://nhrc.nic.in/publications.htm

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National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Guidelines On Arrest

Here is the original : Guidelines on Polygraph Tests And Arrests

You can download the pdf of my version, for printing here:

NHRC GUIDELINES REGARDING ARREST (pdf)

Need for Guidelines:

Arrest involves restriction of liberty of a person arrested and therefore, infringes the basic human rights of liberty. Nevertheless the Constitution of India as well as International human rights law recognise the power of the State to arrest any person as a part of its primary role of maintaining law and order. The Constitution requires a just, fair and reasonable procedure established by law under which alone such deprivation of liberty is permissible.

Although Article 22(1) of the Constitution provides that every person placed under arrest shall be informed as soon as may be the ground of arrest and shall not be denied the right to consult and be defended by a lawyer of his choice and S.50 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr. PC) requires a police officer arresting any person to “forthwith communicate to him full particulars of the offence for which he is arrested or other grounds for such arrest”. in actual practice these requirements are observed more in the breach. Likewise, the requirement of production of the arrested person before the court promptly which is mandated both under the Constitution [Article22(2)] and the Cr. PC (Section 57] is also not adhered to strictly.

A large number of complaints pertaining to Human Rights violations are in the area of abuse of police powers, particularly those of arrest and detention. It has, therefore, become necessary, with a view to narrowing the gap between law and practice, to prescribe guidelines regarding arrest even while at the same time not unduly curtailing the power of the police to effectively maintain and enforce law and order and proper investigation.

PRE-ARREST

Ø The power to arrest without a warrant should be exercised only after a reasonable satisfaction is reached, after some investigation, as to the genuineness and bonafides of a complaint and a reasonable belief as to both the person’s complicity as well as the need to effect arrest. [Joginder Kumar’s case- (1994) 4 SCC 260).

Ø Arrest cannot be justified merely on the existence of power, as a matter of law, to arrest without a warrant in a cognizable case.

Ø After Joginder Kumar’s pronouncement of the Supreme Court the question whether the power of arrest has been exercised reasonably or not is clearly a justiciable one.

Ø Arrest in cognizable cases may be considered justified in one or other of the following circumstances:

(i) The case involves a grave offence like murder, dacoity, robbery, rape etc. and it is necessary to arrest the suspect to prevent him from escaping or evading the process of law.

(ii) The suspect is given to violent behaviour and is likely to commit further offences.

(iii) The suspect requires to be prevented from destroying evidence or interfering with witnesses or warning other suspects who have not yet been arrested.

(iv) The suspect is a habitual offender who, unless arrested, is likely to commit similar or further offences. [3rd Report of National Police Commission]

Ø Except in heinous offences, as mentioned above, an arrest must be avoided if a police officer issues notice to the person to attend the police station and not leave the station without permission. (see Joginder Kumar’s case (1994) SCC 260).

Ø The power to arrest must be avoided where the offences are bailable unless there is a strong apprehension of the suspect absconding .

Ø Police officers carrying out an arrest or interrogation should bear clear identification and name tags with designations. The particulars of police personnel carrying out the arrest or interrogation should be recorded contemporaneously, in a register kept at the police station.

ARREST

Ø As a rule use of force should be avoided while effecting arrest. However, in case of forcible resistance to arrest, minimum force to overcome such resistance may be used. However, care must be taken to ensure that injuries to the person being arrested, visible or otherwise, is avoided.

Ø The dignity of the person being arrested should be protected. Public display or parading of the person arrested should not be permitted at any cost.

Ø Searches of the person arrested must be done with due respect to the dignity of the person, without force or aggression and with care for the person’s right to privacy. Searches of women should only be made by other women with strict regard to decency. (S.51(2) Cr.PC.)

Ø The use of handcuffs or leg chains should be avoided and if at all, it should be resorted to strictly in accordance with the law repeatedly explained and mandated in judgment of the Supreme Court in Prem Shanker Shukla v. Delhi Administration [(1980) 3 SCC 526] and Citizen for Democracy v. State of Assam[(1995) 3 SCC 743].

Ø As far as is practicable women police officers should be associated where the person or persons being arrested are women. The arrest of women between sunset and sunrise should be avoided.

Ø Where children or juveniles are sought to be arrested, no force or beatings should be administered under any circumstances. Police Officers, may for this purpose, associate respectable citizens so that the children or juveniles are not terrorised and minimal coercion is used.

Ø Where the arrest is without a warrant, the person arrested has to be immediately informed of the grounds of arrest in a language which he or she understands. Again, for this purpose, the police, if necessary may take the help of respectable citizens. These grounds must have already been recorded in writing in police records. The person arrested should be shown the written reasons as well and also given a copy on demand. (S.50(1) Cr.PC.)

Ø The arrested person can, on a request made by him or her, demand that a friend, relative or other person known to him be informed of the fact of his arrest and the place of his detention. The police should record in a register the name of the person so informed. [Joginder Kumar’s case (supra)].

Ø If a person is arrested for a bailable offence, the police officer should inform him of his entilement to be released on bail so that he may arrange for sureties. (S.50(2) Cr.PC.)

Ø Apart from informing the person arrested of the above rights, the police should also inform him of his right to consult and be defended by a lawyer of his choice. He should also be informed that he is entitled to free legal aid at state expense [D.K. Basu’s case (1997) 1 SCC].

Ø When the person arrested is brought to the police station, he should, if he makes a request in this regard, be given prompt medical assistance. He must be informed of this right. Where the police officer finds that the arrested person is in a condition where he is unable to make such request but is in need of medical help, he should promptly arrange for the same. This must also be recorded contemporaneously in a register. The female requesting for medical help should be examined only by a female registered medical practitioner. (S.53 Cr.PC.)

Ø Information regarding the arrest and the place of detention should be communicated by the police officer effecting the arrest without any delay to the police Control Room and District / State Headquarters. There must be a monitoring mechanism working round the clock.

Ø As soon as the person is arrested, police officer effecting the arrest shall make a mention of the existence or non-existence of any injury(s) on the person of the arrestee in the register of arrest. If any injuries are found on the person of the arrestee, full description and other particulars as to the manner in which the injuries were caused should be mentioned in the register, which entry shall also be signed by the police officer and the arrestee. At the time of release of the arrestee, a certificate to the above effect under the signature of the police officer shall be issued to the arrestee.

Ø If the arrestee has been remanded to police custody under the orders of the court, the arrestee should be subjected to medical examination by a trained Medical Officer every 48 hours during his detention in custody by a doctor on the panel of approved doctors appointed by Director, Health Services of the concerned State or Union Territory. At the time of his release from the police custody, the arrestee shall be got medically examined and a certificate shall be issued to him stating therein the factual position of the existence or nonexistence of any injuries on his person.

POST ARREST

Ø The person under arrest must be produced before the appropriate court within 24 hours of the arrest (Ss 56 and 57 Cr.PC).

Ø The person arrested should be permitted to meet his lawyer at any time during the interrogation.

Ø The interrogation should be conducted in a clearly identifiable place, which has been notified for this purpose by the Government. The place must be accessible and the relatives or friend of the person arrested must be informed of the place of interrogation taking place.

Ø The methods of interrogation must be consistent with the recognised rights to life, dignity and liberty and right against torture and degrading treatment.

ENFORCEMENT OF GUIDELINES

1. The guidelines must be translated in as many languages as possible and distributed to every police station. It must also be incorporated in a handbook which should be given to every policeman.

2. Guidelines must receive maximum publicity in the print or other electronic media. It should also be prominently displayed on notice board, in more than one language, in every police station.

3. The police must set up a complaint redressal mechanism, which will promptly investigate complaints of violation of guidelines and take corrective action.

4 The notice board which displays guidelines must also indicate the location of the complaints redressal mechanism and how that body can be approached.

5. NGOs and public institutions including courts, hospitals, universities etc., must be involved in the dissemination of these guidelines to ensure the widest possible reach.

6. The functioning of the complaint redressal mechanism must be transparent and its reports accessible.

7. Prompt action must be taken against errant police officers for violation of the guidelines. This should not be limited to departmental enquiries but also set in motion the criminal justice mechanism.

8. Sensitisation and training of police officers is essential for effective implementation of the guidelines.

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Justice Dhingra Clarifies Issues Of Jurisdiction In An NRI 498A Case- Jan 2008

Here is another gem from Justice SN Dhingra of the Delhi HC, involving issues of jurisdiction in an NRI 498A case.

This judgment explains the law governing issues of jurisdiction in criminal cases.

The 498A wives or their parents have been filing cases in their home towns and hauling entire families to court in their backyard, where there is a lot of scope for manipulation and harassment. They do this to cause a lot of hardship and people have settled, unable to bear the harassment.

This judgment, will hopefully put an end to this practice by elaborating on the law governing jurisdiction. Womens groups have been trying to change this, so far unsuccessfully.

You can read about their nonsensical arguments and their refutation here:

Jurisdiction is where “she” says it is.

justice Dhingra, has yet again, delivered us from evil !

Here is an excerpt from this judgment:

12. Cr.P.C. specifically provides for the jurisdiction of Police Stations regarding registration of FIR and investigation of case. The FIR can be registered even if a part of the crime has taken place within the jurisdiction of that Police Station. If the crime is spread over the various Police Stations, then FIR can be registered at any of the Police Station within which the crime has taken place. Crime cannot be registered on the basis of residence of the complainant or the residence of the father of the complainant or the effect of the crime. If the murder is committed in Delhi and the effect is that the wife of the deceased living at Mumbai has become widow, the crime cannot be registered at Mumbai Neither if the alleged matrimonial atrocities have been committed in Delhi, the crime can be registered in Patna in respect of those atrocities because the parents of the wife were living in Patna. In the present case, the wife had either lived in Delhi or in USA. She had contested her divorce petition in USA and had made allegations of cruelties done on her in USA. Thus, place of crime was either Delhi or USA and FIR could have been registered either in Delhi or in USA.
11. In view of above discussion the petitions are allowed to the extent that FIR No. 0188/02, P.S. Digha, Patna, Bihar registered against the petitioners in respect of offences under Section 498-A IPC and Sections 3 and 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act be transferred by the Police of Patna to Commissioner of Police, Delhi, who shall mark it to the appropriate Police Station for further investigation and action. Both the writ petitions stand disposed of.

Here is news coverage in the Indian Express about this judgment: Justice Dhingra On Jurisdiction

Here is the judgment: Justice Dhingra Settles Jurisdiction In NRI 498A – Jan 2008

Here is an earlier post about issues of jurisdiction:

Understanding Issues Of Jurisdiction In A 498A Case

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Orr vs Orr: The US Supreme Court Landmark Judgment On Alimony-Mar ’79

The significance of this judgment is that it rejected the premise that married women are necessarily dependent upon their husbands for financial support.

Lillian and William Orr divorced in Alabama on 26 February 1974. The decree directed William to pay Lillian $1,240 per month in alimony. Soon he either fell behind or stopped paying altogether, and Lillian brought contempt proceedings against him in the Circuit Court of Lee County, Alabama, demanding back payments.
In defense, William claimed that Alabama’s alimony statutes violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, since they required only husbands–never wives–to pay alimony. Lillian believed the law was constitutional. The court agreed with her and ordered William to pay the back alimony plus Lillian’s legal fees. William promptly appealed the judgment to the Court of Civil Appeals of Alabama.
On 16 March 1977, the court ruled that alimony laws–“designed” to help “the wife of a broken marriage who needs financial assistance”–were constitutional. The judgment against William must stand. William next petitioned the Supreme Court of Alabama for a writ of certiorari–an order that the lower court send the trial records to the superior court for review. In May, the state supreme court granted this writ–only to reverse itself six months later, saying the writ had been “improvidently granted.” William then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case.

The US Supreme Court concluded the discussion with a few remarks about women’s “proper place”:

“Legislative classifications which distribute benefits and burdens on the basis of gender carry the inherent risk of reinforcing stereotypes about the “proper place” of women and their need for special protection .. . Thus, even statutes purportedly designed to compensate for and amelioratethe effects of past discrimination must be carefully tailored. Where, as here, the State’s compensatory and ameliorative purposes are as well served by agender-neutral classification as one that gender classifies and therefore carries with it the baggage of sexual stereotypes, the State cannot be permitted to classify on the basis of sex.”

A Divorce Decision Changes the Meaning of Marriage
The laws governing marriage are more often evaluated during divorce proceedings than during the life of an intact marriage. Thus, in settling the Orrs’ dispute about their divorce decree, the Supreme Court radically changed the legal basis of marriage in America. As editor Leslie Friedman Goldstein points out, Anglo-American law had held that the “legal core” of marriage was a woman’s obligation to provide sexual and domestic services and a man’s obligation to provide financial support. The Court’s ruling in Orr v. Orr was a complete rejection of such assumptions and one that, in Goldstein’s words, “seismically altered” the marriage institution.”

Here is the link to the analysis of this judgment: Orr v. Orr

Here is the link to the full text : Orr Vs Orr, Full Text

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Over 27,000 Women Arrested Per Year Under 498A Cases

Here is a revelation.

There are approximately 27,000 women being arrested per year in 498A cases a majority of whom are acquitted.

I gathered this from the statistics published by the NCRB. Here is the data from 2004-2006.

NCRB Data On The Women Arrested Under 498A

How can one call 498A a law meant to protect women ?

• Here are the rest of the statistics from the 498A.org.
• More Analysis Of NCRB Data

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