An Overview Of The American Criminal Justice System

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Understanding The US Criminal Justice

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CrPC Amendments Are In Effect

The CrPC amendments are the codification of the Indian Supreme Court’s orders on arrest and the procedures to follow upon arrests. Read on to understand what these amendments mean.

Impact of Amendments:

(a) This amendment stops the police from making arbitrary arrests. The very fact that reasons shall have to be recorded in writing fixes responsibility and makes the Police Officer accountable for justifying the arrest. Recording an arbitrary reason would be difficult, since it would need to be substantiated and will also be open to judicial scrutiny. As a matter of fact, to have power to make an arrest is one thing, but to justify that arrest is something completely different. And it is precisely this gap which the amendment seeks to bridge.

(b) The amendment lays considerable stress on the importance of investigation before an arrest is made or not made. Which further means that the officer must be convinced about the bonafides of the case. A mere complaint would not be enough to exercise the power of arrest.

(c) Insertion of Section 41A, pertaining to issue of Notice of Appearance, is in line with the Right to Life and Liberty of Indian citizens. It would also help bring down the number of arrests, which in turn would decongest the crowded Indian jails. Simultaneously, the innocents too can feel secure in case they stand a chance of exposure to implication in false cases.

(d) System of Administration of Law and Justice would become more transparent. The amended CrPC Act together with the Right to Information Act (RTI) would be able to inject necessary checks and balances in the Process of Administration of Law in India. But then, a lot depends on how awakened the citizens are to their Right to Information.

You can read more about these amendments by clicking on this link.

Kerala Police Circular on CrPC Amendments

Here are the CrPC amendments:

CrPC amendments As Passed

Here is the notification in the Gazette with date of enforcement:

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An NRI Wins An Interim Maintenance Case – 2008

An NRI has won his interim maintenance case.

He will remain anonymous, but he has shown us how to fight and win an interim maintenance case.

I hope to have more from him soon.

Here is the judgment:  an-nri-wins-an-interim-maintenance-case-2008

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Justice Dhingra’s Judgment Clarifying CrPC 125

CrPC 125 is meant to serve as a tool to prevent destitution. Highly qualified Indian women harass their husbands by filing these cases to park themselves on their butts and collect tax free pay checks.

Justice Dhingra has turned his attention to putting an end to this malaise of laziness. This judgment embodies everything that can be done to end the abuse of CrPC 125.

Here is the text of this short and sharp judgment:

The petitioner who is an MBBS qualified Doctor and admittedly had been in practice before, claims that she was sitting at home despite being a qualified Doctor and does not work. The petitioner claimed maintenance against her husband who is in service. The Trial Court granted maintenance of Rs.4,000/- per month. This petition is made against observation of the Trial Court that she was working somewhere and earning around Rs.8,000 to 10,000/- PM and that the maintenance granted by the Trial Court was made subject to adjustment of the maintenance being received by her under Section 125. Since counsel for the petitioner states that petitioner is not working anywhere, despite being a qualified Doctor, I consider that as she is receiving maintenance from husband, the Court should not allow her experience and qualification to go waste. I consider that she should be directed to work as a honorary Doctor in some public welfare institute or school free of charges where she can take care of health of the poor people. Let her come to Court and give an undertaking that she was prepared to work without charging anything in any institution named by this Court around her house minimum 5 hours a day and 6 days a week, so long she receives maintenance from her husband on the plea of being unemployed.

Here is the judgment: Justice Dhingra’s Landmark Judgment On Purpose Of CrPC 125

PS:

Thanks to the visitor who posted this judgment on my blog as a comment.

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A Few Notes On CrPC 125

The credit for this info goes to the original poster/researcher, a great guy and a true 498A warrior.

A Few Notes On Crpc 125

1. The code has dangerous implications – any wife (that includes divorced women) may file a petition for maintenance under CrPC 125. In the event that she doesn’t marry anyone, you are liable for her maintenance for the remainder of her life. You are liable no matter what, whether you pay or you don’t that’s your choice. If you don’t pay maintenance, the Order can go to execution resulting in a warrant against you and potentially Passport cancellation (Passport Act, 1967) – I repeat, passport cancellation – that DOES NOT mean you will be extradited – but it’s a concern nevertheless.

2. Divorced wife means – whether she lives in adultery doesnt affect her rights to maintenance – ONLY if she is capable of earning on her own (has a job) OR gets married – then you are off the hook. Or, you may get US or Canadian citizenship in which case the Indian law doesn’t affect you unless you land in India. Unpaid maintenance resulting in a warrant still remains valid within Indian jurisdiction.

3. Most importantly, US divorce – contested, uncontested, ex-parte, mutual consent, whatever… don’t matter in the case of CrPC 125……the Magistrate at the lower court, may upon his/her discretion, ignore the US court’s verdict. His call on “change of circumstances” is final… if the girl had a job in the US (legal or illegal) and she returns to India just for fun… that’s a change in fiscal circumstance and she may be entitled for maintenance u/s CrPC 125.

Even if you pay/settle in the U.S. or India – she may still claim and get more maintenance, if she has reasons – such as a medical need or any other life events that have changed her fiscal condition (she has blown all the money you had paid in permanent maintenance) .

No matter how fool proof your marital termination agreement here is, she can claim and get maintenance u/s CrPC 125. Monetary sanctions against a wife levied in the US has no impact in India as Indian law and judgments will be based on Indian public policy and socio-economic context.

4. The only silver lining is – if you can smoke her out in the U.S. to participate in a contested divorce, at least the divorce is valid in India.

5. Finally, marital misconduct in the U.S. such as restraining orders on wife’s or arrests of abusive wives may have some feeble impact, if any, on the “FINAL” maintenance order. As far as the interim “maintenance pendente lite” – court awards temporary maintenance based on prima facie assumption of truth on the girl’s petition and cursory review of preliminary facts.

Bad news huh? Well, I learned it/learning it the hard way.

This doesn’t mean however, that we shouldn’t fight – if your case has merits (or so you think) – keep fighting… the ONLY two prongs we have –

1. Lengthier procedure may frustrate the girl’s party

2. She may get married…Hope and pray that she gets married

In this gloom and doom, some rays of hope:

• Justice Dhingra’s Landmark Judgment On Purpose Of CrPC 125

• Mumbai HC: Deserting without just Cause. No Maintenance
• THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
  Criminal Revisional Jurisdiction
  Appellate Side

  Amal Mukherjee
  versus
  Pranati Mukherjee & Anr.

  C.R.R. NO. 399 of 2007

  In the case of Md. Jahangir Khan Vs. Mst. Manoara Bibi, reported  in 1992 Cri L.J. 83, a Division Bench of our High Court held that the future salary not being a tangible corporeal property the same cannot be attached for recovery of the arrear maintenance.

• More to come…

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