New Delhi:

Financial means is not the only ground to decide the custody of a child to a parent, a Delhi court has said while awarding interim custody of two children to their mother.

Metropolitan Magistrate Sana Khan was hearing a plea filed by a woman under the provision of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence (PWDV) Act seeking custody of her two children.

The woman sought custody of her five-year-old daughter and two-year-old on the grounds of being their mother and natural guardian, while her husband opposed the application, saying he was a doting father, capable of providing the requisite comforts to the children, the court noted.

It said, “This court is cognisant of the legal proposition that while deciding custody issues, the paramount welfare of the minor child involved has to be gauged and taken care of and the court has to ensure the child’s physical, mental, psychological and financial well-being.”

Relief under provisions of the PWDV Act “must be guarded by the principles of paramount welfare theory in favour of the child who in almost all matrimonial litigations remains least represented”, the court added.

It said while deciding the custody of the children, the court has to look into various factors like their age, gender, preference and the suitability of the parties to ensure their maximum welfare.

“Unarguably, respondent no 1 (father) is a man of means and capable of providing the best education, healthcare and lifestyle to his children. It is also undisputed that the financial capacity of a party is a compelling consideration, however, sadly financial means is not the only ground to decide the custody of the children,” the court said.

It said that the father was a commercial pilot in a foreign country, admittedly away for work for 10-12 days a month, and despite hiring domestic help and calling his parents to the country to take care of the children, these measures could not be substituted for the mother’s desire to provide care, love and affection to her children.

It said that both parties had an equally good claim over the children but considering the tender age of the children, the odds tilted more in the complainant’s or mother’s favour.

“This court is of the view that if children are denied their mother’s company in such crucial and formative years of their lives, it would be detrimental to their overall development and well-being and there is nothing on record which shows that complainant is unfit to have custody of the children,” the magistrate said.

“Hence, I am of the view that children being given to their mother, who is yearning for her reunion with the children, would only help the children to grow and develop physically, physiologically and mentally. Merely the fact that the complainant is dependent upon her parents for subsistence is no grounds to deny her the custody of her children,” she added.

The court said that the mother was “absolutely fit” to take care of the children and that their welfare would be ensured if she was granted interim custody.

It said, “Accordingly, respondent no. 1 is directed to hand over the custody of the children to the complainant within three weeks from the date of this order. The complainant will have interim custody of the children till the final disposal of the case, or their permanent custody is decided by a court of competent jurisdiction, whichever is earlier.”

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New Delhi:

A Delhi court is likely to pronounce on August 1 its order on the anticipatory bail plea of IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, accused in a case of cheating and forgery.

Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala on Wednesday reserved the order after hearing arguments on the application filed by Khedkar, who claimed through her lawyer that she has an “imminent threat of arrest”.

During the proceeding, the prosecution as well as the counsel appearing for the UPSC opposed the application, claiming she has “cheated the system”.

“This person has abused the law and process of law. The chances of her abusing the law is still there. She is a resourceful person,” the counsel appearing for the UPSC claimed before the court. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A court here has directed the Delhi Police to take legal action against a woman for registering a false rape case, saying the special privileges given to women should not be used as “sword” to settle personal scores.

Additional Sessions Judge Shefali Barnala Tandon also said that such false allegations destroy the life, reputation and social standing of the accused.

The court was hearing a bail application of the accused.

Noting the facts of the case, the court said an FIR was registered against the man on July 14, but the next day the prosecutrix gave a statement to the magistrate stating she voluntarily went to a hotel with the accused, where they had consensual sexual relations.

After a fight with the accused, however, she became irritated, called the police, and made allegations of rape in a fit of rage, the court noted.

The prosecutrix stated the same facts before the court, it said in an order dated July 25 while granting bail to the man.

“The men of our country have equal rights and protection under the law as enshrined in the Constitution, however, special privilege is given to the women. But this special privilege and woman protecting laws should not be made a sword to settle scores or to satisfy ulterior motives, which is going rampant in the society,” the court said.

“Allegations of rape are made on drop of a hat nowadays for many other reasons as observed by the Courts, day in and day out. This is one such case in hand. False rape allegations not only destroy life of the man named but also reputation and social standing of his family members at large,” it added.

The court said rape is the most heinous and painful offence because it destroys the very soul of the victim as well as her body but the law against rape is being misused in some cases.

“The law has given the remedy of lodging a criminal complaint if a crime is committed against them (women) but such a remedy should not be used as a tool to gratify the complainant’s ulterior motive or to teach a lesson to the accused,” it said.

“Both man and woman are two pillars of the society and are equal in every aspect, therefore, one should not overpower the other only on the basis of gender misuse,” the court added.

It directed the city police to initiate appropriate legal action against the complainant for making a false complaint to the police out of anger and in the state of intoxication, because of which the man was incarcerated for around 10 days.

“The police is also advised not to act in haste in arresting the accused person(s) in the cases where circumstances warrant some initial enquiry or investigation after writing due reasons as per law, since there cannot be any compensation sufficient to indemnify the innocent person for incarceration on the basis of false complaint,” the court said.

It directed that a copy of the order be sent to the deputy commissioner of police concerned and said that a compliance report be filed within 10 days.

Releasing the man on bail, it directed him to furnish a bail bond and surety bond of Rs 20,000 each.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

 Delhi’s Patiala House Court, in a recent order, directed the jail authorities to provide an air cooler to Sukesh Chandrasekhar on medical grounds at his own expense.

Chandrasekhar, who is in judicial custody in connection with the Rs 200 crore extortion case, had sought relief on the medical grounds that he had developed skin problems due to a high temperature.

After considering the submissions and facts that centralised air conditioning system at Mandoli jail is under repair, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Chander jit Singh passed the direction.

The court said that it is a matter of record, being the report filed by Jail Authorities, that the applicant/accused has been advised to maintain optimum temperature for recovery and to avoid further exposure to skin disease.

“Therefore, it is directed that jail authorities shall take all measures to maintain the optimum room temperature in the cell where accused/applicant Sukesh Chandrashekhar is lodged and if need be, to achieve this optimum temperature, to provide private cooler to applicant/accused at his own expense,” ASJ Singh ordered on June 3.

The court observed, “The scorching heat Delhi is experiencing is unprecedented. At the time of framing the Delhi Prison Rules 2018, such a circumstance may not have been contemplated to emerge in the future.”

“Therefore, in the backdrop of this unprecedented situation, contention relating to health of inmate/accused Sukesh Chandrashekhar has to be interpreted under the umbrella of the general principle that careful attention is not only to be given for treatment to sick people but also to matters connected with the health prisoner,” the court said.

Advocate Anant Malik, counsel for the accused had submitted that the central cooling system at his cell was switched off on purpose.

It was reported that the entire centralized cooling system at Mandoli Jail complex is under repair/replacement and the matter has already been reported to the concerned department i.e. PWD and an estimate has also been given by PWD.

Counsel for the accused said that due to unprecedented heat, he is facing extreme situation and has developed certain skin problems in the form of rashes and his BP is also on the lower side.

However, it was also reported on behalf of Jail Authorities that there is no provision for a separate cooler.

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New Delhi:

A sessions court here has rejected an appeal by the Delhi Police challenging an order for the release of seized electronic devices of five editors of news portal The Wire in connection with an FIR, saying serious injury would be caused to the “foundations of democracy” if the press, its fourth pillar, is not allowed to function independently.

The city police had filed a revision petition assailing the September 23 order of the magisterial court asking them to release seized electronic devices to Siddharth Varadarajan, Siddharth Bhatia, Jahnavi Sen, MK Venu and Mithun Kidambi.

In October last year, police had lodged an FIR against the portal and its editors on a complaint by BJP leader Amit Malviya accusing the media outlet of “cheating and forgery” and “tarnishing” his reputation.

Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Singh Rajawat dismissed the revision petition filed by the city police, saying the impugned order of the magisterial court did not decide any right and only granted “the interim custody” of the devices till the conclusion of the investigation or disposal of the case.

“The press is considered the fourth pillar of our great democracy and if it is not allowed to function and operate independently, it would cause serious injury to the foundations of our democracy,” the sessions court said.

Dismissing the petition as “not maintainable,” the sessions court said the order passed by the magistrate was “purely interlocutory in nature” and no revision would lie against it.

“The investigating agency by continuous seizure of electronic devices of the respondents (portal and its editors), is not only causing undue hardship to them, but impinges upon their fundamental right of freedom of profession, occupation, trade or business as guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) as well as freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution as admittedly the respondents are working for news portal — The Wire — which is engaged in disseminating news and information and the electronic devices were being used for their work,” it said.

It did not find any fault with the order of the magisterial court and said it not only safeguarded the interest of the journalists but also ensured that they keep the devices safe.

Rejecting the arguments of the Delhi Police, the judge said the release order was made after noting that the mirror imaging of the devices had been done and their custody was no longer required.

The city police’s crime branch had registered an FIR against Mr Varadarajan, Mr Bhatia, Ms Sen, Mr Venu and Mr Kidambi under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery with the purpose of cheating), 469 (forgery for harming reputation), 471 (using forged document), 500 (defamation), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) along with the provisions of the Information Technology Act.

The stories were retracted by the news portal.

Mr Malviya had said The Wire’s reports alleged that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, regularly colluded with members of the BJP in removing content deemed unfavourable to the party.

Even after Meta issued a categorical denial and said the documents shown by the portal were “fabricated” and that the ‘Xcheck’ status, the privilege reportedly bestowed on him, had been mischaracterised, The Wire instead of pausing its coverage and doing an internal audit went on to publish yet another “malicious” report, he had said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A Delhi court on Wednesday summoned BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain on a woman’s complaint alleging rape and criminal intimidation. The court took cognisance of the alleged offence and directed the former Union minister to appear before it on October 20.

“This court, after going through the cancellation report, protest petition filed by the complainant, the reply to the protest petition filed by the IO and other material on record is of the view that the complainant has given consistent statements to the police, to the court in her application and before the Ld. Magistrate in her statement u/s 164 Cr.PC,” the judge said.

The police had filed a report before the court seeking cancellation of the FIR.

The judge dismissed the police report, saying, “The issues raised by the IO (investigating officer) while filing the cancellation report…are matters which can be decided during trial.”

 “Moreover this court is of the view that the version of the complainant and her trustworthiness can be tested only during trial when she is cross-examined by the accused and so this court on the basis of material placed on record along with the cancellation report especially the statement of the complainant… wherein she has supported her allegation of rape and threats by accused Syed Shahnawaz Hussain… this court takes cognisance of the offences,” the judge said.

The judge took cognisance of the alleged offences, which are punishable under various provisions of the IPC including sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

“Accordingly, accused Syed Shahnawaz Hussain be summoned through SHO PS Concerned for the next date of hearing,” the judge said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

No law gives the right to a husband to beat and torture his wife, the Delhi High Court has held while granting divorce to a woman on the grounds of cruelty and desertion by the man.

The high court said, in this case, it has been proved that the man failed to resume companionship with his wife and not only did there exist physical separation but it was also coupled with “animus” of not bringing her back to the matrimonial home.

Taking into account the medical documents of the woman, the high court said in the absence of any rebuttal by the man, it has to be held that the woman’s testimony of being subjected to physical assault stands corroborated by the medical documents.

“Merely because the parties got married and the respondent (man) was her husband, no law gave him the right to subject his wife to beatings and torture. Such conduct of the respondent necessarily qualifies as physical cruelty entitling the appellant (woman) to divorce under Section 13(1) (ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA), 1955,” a bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna said.

The court noted that the man, who was present before it at the time of the passing of the verdict, had no objection to the grant of divorce.

“We accordingly find merit in the appeal and the marriage between the appellant and the respondent is hereby dissolved,” the bench said.

The high court was hearing an appeal filed by the woman challenging the decision of a family court which had dismissed her petition seeking divorce from the man on the grounds of cruelty and desertion.

The high court noted that the woman had deposed that she was left at her parental home on May 11, 2013, in an injured condition and thereafter despite her efforts, the man refused to take her back to the matrimonial home.

It said the man has also not countered the woman’s argument that she was not brought back to the matrimonial home, for which there existed no reason.

“It is proved that the respondent had failed to resume the companionship with the appellant and thus not only there exist physical separation but it was also coupled with ‘animus’ of not bringing back the appellant to the matrimonial home.

“The respondent had no intention of resuming the matrimonial relationship which also got reflected when he chose not to contest the petition. The petition for divorce has been filed after more than two years of separation and therefore the appellant is also entitled to divorce on the ground of desertion under Section 13 1 (ib) of the HMA,” the high court said.

According to the woman’s plea, she and the man got married in February 2013 and they have been living with the family of the man’s maternal aunt since his parents died a long time back.

The woman claimed that soon after the marriage, she was subjected to physical and mental torture and various atrocities were meted out to her which she continued to tolerate in the fond hope that with the passage of time, things would get settled.

However, the atrocities of the man and his family members kept increasing as they wanted to get rid of her so that the man could re-marry into an affluent family, the plea said.

The woman claimed that there was repeated demand for dowry and she was deserted by the man who refused to take her back to the matrimonial home.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)