Tag: humanity

Property of a female Hindu to be her absolute property

 

Section 14 of The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 states that,

(1) Any property possessed by a Female Hindu, whether acquired before or after the commencement of this Act, shall be held by her as full owner thereof and not as a limited owner.

Explanation: In this sub-section, “property” includes both movable and immovable property acquired by a female Hindu by inheritance or devise, or at a partition, or in lieu of maintenance or arrears of maintenance, or by gift from any person, whether a relative or not, before, at or after her marriage, or by her own skill or exertion, or by purchase or by prescription, or in any other manner whatsoever, and also any such property held by her as streedhan immediately before the commencement of this Act.

(2) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall apply to any property acquired by way of gift or under a will or any other instrument or under a decree or order of a civil court or under an award where the terms of the gift, will or other instrument or the decree, order or award prescribe a restricted estate in such property.

Under this Section , any property acquired by a Hindu female except that which is covered by sub-section 2 before the Act came into force will became her absolute property and any property acquired by a Hindu female except that which covered by the commencement of Act will be her absolute property.

 

The above stated changes could be seen while going through the observation of courts at different periods:-

In Janaki v. Narayana Swami,  Privy Council observed regarding women’s estate as “her right is of the nature of right of property, her position is that of owner; her powers in tat character are, limited…So long as she is alive , no one has vested interest in succession.”

 

In another case,  Kalawati v. Suraj, SC stated that in the context of section 14 “ ‘women’ does not mean any woman , but that woman who is the owner of woman’s estate. If the holder of woman’s estate had alienated the estate to a woman, that woman is not the woman whose estate is enlarged to full estate.”

“The effect of rule laid down in the Section 14 of The Hindu Succession Act, 1956 is to abrogate the stringent provisions against the proprietary rights of a female which are often regarded as evidence of her perpetual tutelage and to recognize her status as independent and absolute owner of property.”

Before the enactment of The Hindu Succession Act, 1956, Hindu women has streedhan as:-

(a)Absolute property and

(b) Limited estate.

 

When the constitutionality of the Act has been challenged and SC has observed that the Act has the object of enhancing women’s limited estate concept regarding property into absolute interest. It is within the spirit of court of India. Hence it is not violative of any fundamental rights especially Art.14, 15(1) of the Constitution of India.

 

S.14 has been given retrospective effect. But this Section has no application for those who has already inherited and alienated the property before the Act came into force. In Anandibhai v. Sundarabhai , High Court has been observed as “the expression ‘any property possessed by a female Hindu’ in Section 14 means ‘any property owned by a female Hindu’ at the date of the commencement of the Act, and, these words are prospective in their application. Any property ‘acquired before’ the commencement of the act shall be the absolute property. The expression ‘whether acquired before or after the commencement of this act’ shows that section is operative retrospectively.

 

There are two conditions to be fulfilled for the application of Section 14 of The Hindu Succession Act, 1956:

Ø Ownership of the property must vest in her, and

Ø She must be in the possession of the Estate when the Act came into force.

 

Supreme Courts and High courts have given wider connotations for the term possession. According to their observation, it can be in the form of actual and constructive possession. In Santosh v. Saraswathi, a question has been raised regarding the possession of property of female Hindu and Court held the view that where property was given to the woman by way of maintenance over which she had a right, her possession was accepted, it became her absolute property. Even when the property is in the possession of a trespasser, it has been held that she is in constructive possession.

Fundamental rights and the Environment

 

The Golden Triangle of the Indian Constitution – Article 14, Article 19 and Article 21 – has been invoked time and again for environmental protection. The High Courts and Supreme Court of India have read the right to a wholesome environment as a part of the right to life guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

In the Dehradun Quarrying Case, though the orders did not articulate the fundamental right to a clean and healthy environment, the petition was treated as a writ under Article 32, which implied that the court was seeing this right in the light of a fundamental right. The Supreme Court explained the basis of this jurisdiction in the later case of Subhash Kumar v State of Bihar where the court held that the right to life is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution and it includes right of enjoyment of pollution free water, air for full enjoyment of life. and that .if anything endangers or impairs the quality of life, in derogation of laws, a citizen has a right to have a recourse to Article 32 of the Constitution for removing the pollution of water or air which may be detrimental to the quality of life.. This concept has been furthered by the Supreme Court and various High Courts decisions worded differently by concretising the idea of right to a clean and healthy environment as a part of fundamental rights.

 

The other integral part of right to life is right to livelihood as enumerated in the Olga Tellis Case, which is again a judicial enlargement of the right to life envisaged under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. In Olga Tellis the Court looking at the limitation of the Indian State said that to deprive a person of his right to livelihood would mean depriving him of his life. The State may not by affirmative action be compellable to provide adequate means of livelihood or work to the citizens but any person who is deprived of his right to livelihood by law can challenge the deprivation as offending the right to life conferred by Article 21. Many environmentalists think that the right to livelihood could be asserted to prevent environmentally disruptive projects that threaten to uproot tribal people and villagers for depriving their right to livelihood. The recent agitation by the farmers of Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal and Narmada Bachao Andolans (NBA) campaign against the Sardar Sarovar Dam can be understood in this perspective. However, industries see a strict environmental regime at loggerheads with the right to livelihood and clean/healthy environment of the citizens. The argument forwarded by the industry interests can be rebutted on the grounds that right to clean environment and right to livelihood are complementary rather than contradictory. If all industries follow the environmental standards, then the price of products will include all the external costs which would have to be borne by the consumers. Nevertheless, even this alternative can be questioned in a third world country like India where most people are unable to afford costlier products.

 

Article 14 can be invoked to challenge government sanctions for projects with high environmental impact, where permissions are arbitrarily granted without adequate consideration, for example, of their environmental impacts. Article 19(1) (g) provides that all citizens shall have the right to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business but with reasonable restrictions which may be placed in the interest of the general public as provided within section 19 sub clause (6), which might include total prohibition. Accordingly, in cases involving polluting industrial units, the courts face the task of balancing the environmental imperative with the right to carry on any occupation/trade or business.

Truth is beauty And Beauty Truth.

The poetic saying  emphasises the identity of beauty and truth. According to it , only truth represents beauty – a fact which all humans should take note of all their day to day thoughts , proclivities , human and socal dealings , and works of art and science. There are such things as acted truths and acted lies , and these have their impact on human life  as important as those which arise from the spoken or the written word. Truth and falsehood are qualities that belong to the work of our hands , as well as words of our lips and are often more eloquent to the eye than the words can be to ears. They are expressed by our whole personalities , by our characters , by our conduct , by our general conversion with our kith and kin or , friends in the world , and foes . Great truths are often communicated by works of art , literature , sculpture, painting , cartoons , films or other  effective media that permeates the  human mind.

Every portrait painted is either a truth or a lie , or a mixture  of the two. Its beauty depends on the degree of truth , and honesty depicted in it. It also represents the character of the painter . An artist who puts his heart and souls in his work , and applies tones of colour , themes and dedicated motifs , is able to produce a beautiful piece . If his objective is merely mercenary , simply to flatter the onlooker and paint for the sake of getting outward application , in terms of more , his work cannot be called a piece of lasting beauty.
Truth is a beautiful operation , a dynamic thing which does its beneficient work in a personal and social context. On the other hand , a lie is an offensive operation , performed by one man upon other. It resembles robbery and theft. Just as robbery cannot be committed without a victim , so lies cannot be told  without a victim  to be deceived or beguiled . A lie is an offence against logic. It is an offence against the persons to whom it is addressed.
Whatever else truth may be , there is no doubt as to its being valuable , not merely in the sense that it is good to look at , but also it does good to those who see it , know it , and act upon it . Truth is , in other words , a value not residing inertly in the personality that utters it ,  or the work of art that express it . It operates rhythmically , making a difference for the better , to every mind which accepts it . On the opposite end is the lite that makes the personality of the teller as well as of the listener , blurred.
Like Truth , Beauty is dynamic and vital ; no wonder they look to be identical.
It spreads in the whole personality of each individual , his heart , brain , the hormones , the eyes and the ears.  It is not only inspires and also sentimentalises.

Concept of Writs In India

 

A Writ is a formal written order issued by a government entity in the name of the sovereign power. In most cases, this government entity is a court. In modern democratic countries, the administrative authorities are vested with vast discretionary powers. The exercise of those powers often becomes subjective in the absence of specific guidelines etc. Hence the need for a control of the discretionary powers is essential to ensure that ‘Rule of Law’ exist in all governmental actions. The judicial review of administrative actions in the form of writ jurisdiction is to ensure that the decisions taken by the authorities are legal, rational, proper, just, fair and reasonable. Safeguard of fundamental rights and assurance of natural justice are the most important components of writ jurisdictions

Writs are meant as prerogative remedies. The writ jurisdictions exercised by the Supreme Court under article 32 and by the high courts under article 226, for the enforcement of fundamental rights are mandatory and not discretionary. But the writ jurisdiction of high courts for ‘any other purpose’ is discretionary. In that sense the writ jurisdiction of high courts are of a very intrinsic nature. Hence high courts have the great responsibility of exercising this jurisdiction strictly in accordance with judicial considerations and well established principles. When ordinary legal remedies seem inadequate, in exceptional cases, writs are applied.

 

Types of Writs:

 

1. Habeas Corpus:  The meaning of the Latin phrase Habeas Corpus is ‘have the body’. According to Article 21, “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law”. The writ of Habeas corpus is in the nature of an order directing a person who has detained another, to produce the latter before the court in order to examine the legality of the detention and to set him free if there is no legal justification for the detention. It is a process by which an individual who has been deprived of his personal liberty can test the validity of the act before a higher court.

The objective of the writ of habeas corpus is to provide for a speedy judicial review of alleged unlawful restraint on liberty. It aims not at the punishment of the wrongdoer but to resume the release of the retinue. The writ of habeas corpus enables the immediate determination of the right of the appellant’s freedom. In the writs of habeas corpus, the merits of the case or the moral justification for the imprisonment or detention are irrelevant. In A.D.M. Jabalpur v. Shivakant Shukla , it was observed that “the writ of Habeas Corpus is a process for securing the liberty of the subject by affording an effective means of immediate relief from unlawful or unjustifiable detention whether in prison or private custody. If there is no legal justification for that detention, then the party is ordered to be released.”

 

2. Certiorari: The writ of Certiorari is generally issued against authorities exercising quasi-judicial functions. The Latin word Certiorari means ‘to certify’. Certiorari can be defined as a judicial order of the supreme court or by the high courts to an inferior court or to any other authority that exercise judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative functions, to transmit to the court the records of proceedings pending with them for scrutiny and to decide the legality and validity of the order passed by them. Through this writ, the court quashes or declares invalid a decision taken by the concerned authority. Though it was meant as a supervisory jurisdiction over inferior courts originally, these remedy is extended to all authorities who issue similar functions.

The concept of natural justice and the requirement of fairness in actions, the scope of certiorari have been extended even to administrative decisions. An instance showing the certiorari powers was exercised by the Hon’ble Supreme court in A.K.Kraipak v. Union of India, where the selection was challenged on the ground of bias. The Supreme Court delineated the distinction between quasi judicial and administrative authority. The Supreme Court exercising the powers issued the writ of Certiorari for quashing the action. Certiorari is corrective in nature. This writ can be issued to any constitutional, statutory or non statutory body or any person who exercise powers affecting the rights of citizens.

 

3. Prohibition:  The grounds for issuing the writs of certiorari and prohibition are generally the same. They have many common features too. The writ of prohibition is a judicial order issued to a constitutional, statutory or non statutory body or person if it exceeds its jurisdiction or it tries to exercise a jurisdiction not vested upon them. It is a general remedy for the control of judicial, quasi judicial and administrative decisions affecting the rights of persons.

The writ of Prohibition is issued by the court exercising the power and authorities from continuing the proceedings as basically such authority has no power or jurisdiction to decide the case. Prohibition is an extra ordinary prerogative writ of a preventive nature. The underlying principle is that ‘prevention is better than cure.’ In East India Commercial Co. Ltd v. Collector of Customs, a writ of prohibition is an order directed to an inferior Tribunal forbidding it from continuing with a proceeding therein on the ground that the proceeding is without or in excess of jurisdiction or contrary to the laws of the land, statutory or otherwise.

 

4. Mandamus:  The writ of mandamus is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from the supreme court or high courts to any inferior court, government or any other public authority to carry out a ‘public duty’ entrusted upon them either by statute or by common law or to refrain from doing a specific act which that authority is bound to refrain from doing under the law. For the grant of the writ of mandamus there must be a public duty. The superior courts command an authority to perform a public duty or to non perform an act which is against the law. The word meaning in Latin is ‘we command’. The writ of mandamus is issued to any authority which enjoys judicial, quasi judicial or administrative power. The main objective of this writ is to keep the public authorities within the purview of their jurisdiction while performing public duties. The writ of mandamus can be issued if the public authority vested with power abuses the power or acts mala fide to it. In Halsbury’s Laws of England , it is mentioned that, “As a general rule the order will not be granted unless the party complained of has known what it was required to do, so that he had the means of considering whether or not he should comply, and it must be shown by evidence that there was a distinct demand of that which the party seeking the mandamus desires to enforce and that that demand was met by a refusal.”

 

5. Quo Warranto: The word meaning of ‘Quo warranto’ is ‘by what authority’. It is a judicial order against a person who occupies a substantive public office without any legal authority. The person is asked to show by what authority he occupies the position or office. This writ is meant to oust persons, who are not legally qualified, fro substantive public posts. The writ of Quo warranto is to confirm the right of citizens to hold public offices. In this writ the court or the judiciary reviews the action of the executive with regard to appointments made against statutory provisions, to public offices .It also aims to protect those persons who are deprived of their right to hold a public office.

In University of Mysore v. Govinda Rao, the Supreme Court observed that the procedure of quo Warranto confers the jurisdiction and authority on the judiciary to control executive action in making the appointments to public offices against the relevant statutory provisions; it also protects a citizen being deprived of public office to which he may have a right.

Guidelines to be followed by Police while making an Arrest

 

Arrest involves the 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 recognize 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 the 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.

GUIDELINES LAID DOWN BY THE HON’BLE SUPREME COURT IN D.K. BASU CASE:

The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in D.K. Basu Vs State of West Bengal , has laid down specific guidelines required to be followed while making arrests.

THE HON’BLE SUPREME COURT GUIDELINES on arrest:

The principles laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court are given here under:

(i) The police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations. The particulars of all such police personnel who handle interrogation of the arrestee should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designation. The particular of all such personnel who handle interrogation of the arrestee must be recorded in a register.

(ii) That the police officer carrying out the arrest shall prepare a memo of arrest at the time of arrest and such memo shall be attested by at least one witness, who may be either a member of the family of the arrestee or a respectable person of the locality from where the arrest is made. It shall also be counter signed by the arrestee and shall contain the time and date of arrest.

(iii) A person who has been arrested or detained and is being held in custody in a police station or interrogation centre or other lock up, shall be entitled to have one friend or relative or other person known to him or having interest in his welfare being informed, as soon as practicable, that he has been arrested and is being detained at the particular place, unless the attesting witness of the memo of arrest is himself such a friend or a relative of the arrestee.

(iv) The time, place of arrest and venue of custody of an arrestee must be notified by the police where the next friend or relative of the arrestee lives outside the district or town through the Legal Aids Organization in the District and the police station of the area concerned telegraphically within a period of 8 to 12 hours after the arrest.

(v) The person arrested must be made aware of his right to have someone informed of his arrest or detention as soon as he is put under arrest or is detained.

(vi) An entry must be made in the diary at the place of detention regarding the arrest of the person which shall also disclosed the name of the next friend of the person who has been informed of the arrest and the names land particulars of the police officials in whose custody the arrestee is.

(vii) The arrestee should, where he so request, be also examines at the time of his arrest and major and minor injuries, if any present on his /her body, must be recorded at that time. The Inspector Memo’ must be signed both by the arrestee and the police officer effecting the arrest and its copy provided to the arrestee.

(viii) The arrestee should be subjected to medical examination by the trained doctor every 48 hours during his detention In custody by a doctor on the panel of approved doctor appointed by Director, Health Services of the concerned State or Union Territory, Director, Health Services should prepare such a panel for all Tehsils and Districts as well.

(ix) Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest, referred to above, should be sent to the Magistrate for his record.

(x) The arrestee may be permitted to meet his lawyer during interrogation, though not throughout the interrogation.

(xi) A police control room should be provided at all district and State headquarters where information regarding the arrest and the place of custody of the arrestee shall be communicated by the officer causing the arrest, within 12 hours of effecting the arrest and at the police control room it should be displayed on a conspicuous notice board.

Right to Privacy

 

Privacy is a fundamental human right, enshrined in numerous international human rights instruments. It is central to the protection of human dignity and forms the basis of any democratic society. It also supports and reinforces other rights, such as freedom of expression, information and association.  Activities that restrict the right to privacy, such as surveillance and censorship, can only be justified when they are prescribed by law, necessary to achieve a legitimate aim, and proportionate to the aim pursued.

 

As innovations in information technology have enabled previously unimagined forms of collecting, storing and sharing personal data, the right to privacy has evolved to encapsulate State obligations related to the protection of personal data.  A number of international instruments enshrine data protection principles, and many domestic legislatures have incorporated such principles into national law.

 

Privacy also has implication for the freedom of opinion and expression. The Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression emphasises that the “right to privacy is often understood as an essential requirement for the realization of the right to freedom of expression. Undue interference with individual’s privacy can both directly and indirectly limit the free development and exchange of ideas.”

 

The Constitution of India does not specifically guarantee a right to privacy, however through various judgements over the years the Courts of the country have interpreted the other rights in the Constitution to be giving rise to a (limited) right to privacy – primarily through Article 21 – the right to life and liberty. In 2015, this interpretation was challenged and referred to a larger Bench of the Supreme Court (the highest Court in the country) in the writ petition Justice K.S Puttaswamy & Another vs. Union of India and Others, the case is currently pending in the Supreme Court.

 

The constitutional right to privacy in India is subject to a number of restrictions. These restrictions have been culled out through the interpretation of various provisions and judgements of the Supreme Court of India:

 

• The right to privacy can be restricted by procedure established by law which procedure would have to be just, fair and reasonable (Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India);

• Reasonable restrictions can be imposed on the right to privacy in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence; (Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India, 1950)

• The right to privacy can be restricted if there is an important countervailing interest which is superior (Gobind v. State of M.P.);

• The right to privacy can be restricted if there is a compelling state interest to be served (Gobind v. State of M.P.);

• The protection available under the right to privacy may not be available to a person who voluntarily thrusts her/himself into controversy (R. Rajagopal v. Union of India).

• Like most fundamental rights in the Indian Constitution, the right to privacy has been mostly interpreted as a vertical right applicable only against the State, as defined under Article 12 of the Constitution, and not against private citizens. (Zoroastrian Cooperative Housing Society v District Registrar)

Legal Aspects of Domestic Violence Against Men

 

The term “domestic violence” includes a broad range of violent acts committed by one member of a family or household against another. It often refers to the mistreatment of a child or spouse, and includes not only physical harm but also threats and verbal, psychological, and sexual abuse. The relationship of the abuser to the victim is the key distinction between other assault crimes and domestic violence. In India, domestic violence is always believed to be inflicted on women. However, during personal interactions with many males in society and in the organized setups such as industries and offices, it was observed that men also suffer from domestic violence. Due to stereotyped gender roles, it is hardly believed by society that a woman can inflict violence on men. Many courts also commented on false allegations of domestic violence by women. Men are still not ready to speak of this violence against them and they are ignorant about any legal help to avoid this.

Comparison of India and Other Countries

The prevalence of spouse/intimate partner violence (51.5%) in the latest Indian study2 was found to be higher than data collected for domestic violence under partner abuse state of knowledge project (PASK) from the USA, Canada, and the UK (19.3%).

Domestic violence was recognized as a criminal offense in India in 1983. The offense is chargeable under section 498A of the Indian Penal Code.

Prevalence

Scarce research data on domestic violence against men are available in the scientific literature.

However, according to a recent study, 51.5% males experienced violence at the hands of their wives/intimate partner at least once in their lifetime and 10.5% in the last 12 months.

According to the National Family Health Survey, 2004, this violence is not always inflicted by the female partner/wife but many a time by a male relative of the wife attacks or threatens the man. When physical violence and threats against men by wife’s relatives are taken into account, an estimated 3 crore men are facing domestic violence in India.

In a study conducted by My Nation along with Save Family Foundation (Delhi) on domestic violence against men, between April 2005 and March 2006, 1,650 men were interviewed and their personal cases looked into. The study concluded that Indian women were the most abusive and dominating.

From all over India, 98% of the respondents had suffered domestic violence more than once in their lives. The study covered Indian husbands from various socioeconomic strata, but the bulk of the respondents, according to the researchers, came from the upper middle class and the middle class.

Nadda et al found much higher physical violence, 35% and 26.9%, respectively, against women this reflecting that Indian women are much less physically aggressive than Indian men. Gender symmetry does not exist in India for physical violence.

Types of Violence

Domestic violence has been recognized across the world as a form of violence that affects a person’s life in every way, physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically, and is a violation of basic human rights. In a recent study by Malik and Nadda, the most common spousal violence was found to be emotional followed by physical violence.

Physical Violence

This can include slapping; pushing; hitting by wife, her parents, or relatives; or throwing objects like utensils, cell phones, and crockery at the husband. In physical violence, slapping was identified as the most common form (98.3%),  and the least common was beaten by weapon (3.3%). Only in one-tenth of the cases, physical assaults were severe.2

Psychological Violence

In emotional violence, reported 85% abuse against the men was criticism, 29.7% were insulted in front of others, and 3.5% were threatened or hurt. It can also be in the form of mental abuse such as constant threats to the husband and his family under false allegations of dowry and domestic violence.

Types of Crime Committed Against Men in India

At home or at the workplace to avoid punishments or to get some rewards, men too can be involved in sexual activity by force. In many states of India, a young man with good qualifications and income is abducted and forced to marry without his consent. False rape and other charges such as molestation are also common. Since law and society always traditionally favor females as the weaker sex, many a time, false complaints of sexual abuse/rape are lodged against men. This is true regarding cases against men under 498A (domestic violence) and false dowry cases, and the same was expressed by various courts during their proceedings.

Effects of Domestic Violence Against Men

Any violence affects life physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically. It is also a violation of basic human rights. Unreported and unnoticed violence against men may lead to denial in accepting the family, divorce, depression, or suicide in extreme cases. It has been observed that suicides were more in married men as compared to separated/unmarried men. According to WHO (2002), women think more about committing suicide, whereas men die by suicide more frequently. This is also known as a gender paradox in society.

According to WHO, exposure to violence can increase the risk of smoking, alcoholism, and drug abuse; mental illness and suicidality; chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer; infectious diseases such as HIV, and social problems such as crime and further violence.

Legal Issues

Despite the data available, suggesting violence against men, no law to protect men is yet to be formed by the legislature. All laws for controlling domestic violence consider women as victims. Antidowry laws Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, and later Section 498A passed by the Supreme Court of India already show the concern and asked to stop the “Legal Terrorism” in the form of misuse of 498A and the necessary changes to be made by the Parliamen

Need for Gender Neutral Laws

In cases where men are falsely accused of violence or dowry, a law which can address these false allegations is the need of the hour. Human rights and gender equality should include both men and women. Domestic violence should be considered as spousal violence and must not be differentiated due to gender.

Domestic violence act in India is for women only. Studies show that men are also the victims of violence at the hand of women. Hence, necessary amendments addressing violence against men are suggested.

Concept of ‘Power of Attorney’ (POA)

 

Meaning of the term ‘Power Of Attorney’

‘Power Of Attorney’ is an authority given by an instrument by one person, called as the donor or principal, authorising another person, called donee or agent to act on his behalf. There may be possibility of giving ‘Power Of Attorney’ by two or more persons jointly to one or more persons. Here a legal authority is given by the principal to the agent which may be broad or limited and an agent can take all necessary decisions i.e. financial, property related matters and all other matters where principal cannot be present to sign or in the case of principal’s illness and disability. A paper signed by principal giving powers to an agent is sometimes itself called a power of attorney. A paper giving a power of attorney should be clear and understandable.

 Importance of Power of Attorney

A power of attorney document is an extremely important part of estate planning yet one of the most misunderstood. It is often convenient or even necessary to have someone else act for you as there is advancement in the business and commerce transactions. As many people confuse the power of attorney (POA) with a will (Probate), but these documents are two very different things and have two very different functions. A will comes into effect on the day person die. A POA applies during a person’s lifetime and ceases to apply when he dies. So you actually need both a POA and a will as they complement, and do not overlap, each other. To add a twist to the subject, there are two types of POA: one for property and one for personal care. These two types are completely separate. They deal with different areas of your life and both are required for effective estate planning.

Classification of Attorney

 The Power of Attorney can be classified into two categories which includes:

 General Power of Attorney: A general power of attorney is one by which an instrument is executed by the principal authorising the agent to do certain acts in general on his behalf. The word ‘General’ here means that the power must be general regarding the subject matter and not general with regard to powers in respect of a subject matter. If the subject matter is not general but restricted to something either specific or specifically mentioned by the principal while drafting an instrument then it will not constitute a general power of attorney. It is otherwise called as limited power of attorney.

 Special Power of Attorney: A special power of attorney is one by which a person is appointed by the principal to do some specified act or acts. In this type of power of attorney, an agent conferred with a power to do specific act in a single or specified transactions in the name of the principal.

 Durable Power of Attorney: A Power of Attorney which specifically says otherwise, agent’s power ends if principal become mentally incapacitated. However, a power of attorney may say that it is to remain in effect in the event of future incapacity of the principal. A power of attorney that says this is called a durable power of attorney.

To ascertain whether power of attorney is of general or special in nature, the subject matter in respect of which power is conferred Is to be seen accurately. The power of attorney is the unilateral document wherein donor or the principal gives authoritative power to the agent by signing the document and the agent’s sign is not always required.

 Persons Competent To Execute

A power of attorney can be executed by any person who is competent to enter into a contract. However, the married women can execute powers of attorney even if they are minors. A company while executing power of attorney must make conformity with the ‘Articles of Association’ and its common seal. A person must be competent to give power to the appointed person so that it will not affect the legality of the instrument/deed of power of attorney.

Authentication of power of Attorney

As per Indian law, a power of attorney is a legal document that has to be properly framed, using the right legal terminology and setting out the objectives and responsibilities that you wish to authorise the appointee to carry out on your behalf. If a person wants to authorise someone to act as a power of attorney on his behalf, it must be signed and notarised by a certified notary advocate, who is able to declare that you are competent at the time of signing the document to issue the said power of attorney. You will need to show your ID to the notary advocate before he/she is able to certify and issue the document. It must be executed and authenticated by the registrar or sub-registrar of assurances as per the ‘Registration Act, 1908’.

Presumption About Power of Attorney

 A power of attorney is legal written document which has more legal value and the authenticated attorney will be presumed by the court as legal document under ‘Indian Evidence Act, 1872’. According to the Section: 85 of ‘Indian Evidence Act, 1872’, which provides that the court shall presume that every document purporting to be a power of attorney, and has to be clearly authenticate and executed before the notary or magistrate. If there is any issue arises concerning to the genuineness of the attorney then proof of its execution can be called for the verification.

Honour Killing

 

‘Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce — even from an abusive husband — or (allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that “dishonors” her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.’

‘Honor killings are not new to the rural India especially in the regions of Hariyana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. But then such cases are not just restricted to the rural areas. They are also heard of in our capital and in the southern states like Kerela, Tamil Nadu etc. The Aarushi Talwar Case and the killing of Kuldeep and Monica are speculated to be such killings.

Our country has been very selective about the kind of development she has undergone. On an international level with the nuclear deal, 8% growth rate and the recognition India is enjoying to voice its opinion, it seems that ‘India is shining’. But dig deeper into the dark secrets of this developing nation and we still find rampant killings of young couples by their own family members to save their honor because of the incest committed by the couple. Their crime: living in the same village and getting married.

According to the ‘conservative’ khap panchayat, marriage between people of the same village is considered incest as they are siblings and hence these marriages are not valid. So the panchayat orders the murder of the couple and hangs their body in the village crossing as an example to other straying couples.

In India, with its patriarchal society, women are considered as property and the vessel of family’s honor. And any act which might blot the family’s prestige renders an absolute right to the male members to murder the girl, undo her wrongs and win back the honor.

Such crimes as well as such criminals have been breeding under the political blessings of the political parties mainly interested in the vote banks of these villages and the support of the khap panchayat. 

In order to find a solution for such killings, it is necessary to analyze it from the very core. The solution to this problem mainly lies in the eradication of myths in the minds of people. They need to be educated with the provisions given in the Hindu Marriage Act and what kinds of marriages are actually considered invalid. Khap Pachayats should at last be ripped out of all its power so that it is unable to wrongly influence the naïve people and to instigate them to commit such inhuman acts.

It is time India finally developed in the real sense. Building malls and increasing the standard of living of the common man is not really development. Cases on Honour killing show that more than half of the Indians still lead lives within the strong crutches of caste system and even today youths don’t have the power to make decisions regarding their own lives. To see that even today, people blindly commit such barbaric crimes and consider it as an act of sanctifying the impure shows that India has really not modernized.   Development has to be from the very base, the core. Or else it’s just a hollow wooden structure eaten on the inside by the termites that eventually comes crashing down.

Lok Adalat/People’s Court

 

Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms, it is a forum where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably. Lok Adalats have been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Under the said Act, the award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law. If the parties are not satisfied with the award of the Lok Adalat though there is no provision for an appeal against such an award, but they are free to initiate litigation by approaching the court of appropriate jurisdiction by filing a case by following the required procedure, in exercise of their right to litigate.

There is no court fee payable when a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat. If a matter pending in the court of law is referred to the Lok Adalat and is settled subsequently, the court fee originally paid in the court on the complaints/petition is also refunded back to the parties. The persons deciding the cases in the Lok Adalats are called the Members of the Lok Adalats, they have the role of statutory conciliators only and do not have any judicial role; therefore they can only persuade the parties to come to a conclusion for settling the dispute outside the court in the Lok Adalat and shall not pressurize or coerce any of the parties to compromise or settle cases or matters either directly or indirectly. The Lok Adalat shall not decide the matter so referred at its own instance, instead the same would be decided on the basis of the compromise or settlement between the parties. The members shall assist the parties in an independent and impartial manner in their attempt to reach amicable settlement of their dispute.

Nature of Cases to be Referred to Lok Adalat

1. Any case pending before any court.

2. Any dispute which has not been brought before any court and is likely to be filed before the court.

Provided that any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under the law shall not be settled in Lok Adalat.

Which Lok Adalat to be Approached

As per section 18(1) of the Act, a Lok Adalat shall have jurisdiction to determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties to a dispute in respect of –

(1) Any case pending before; or

(2) Any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not brought before, any court for which the Lok Adalat is organised.

Provided that the Lok Adalat shall have no jurisdiction in respect of matters relating to divorce or matters relating to an offence not compoundable under any law.

How to Get the Case Referred to the Lok Adalat for Settlement

(A) Case pending before the court.

(B) Any dispute at pre-litigative stage.

The State Legal Services Authority or District Legal Services Authority as the case may be on receipt of an application from any one of the parties at a pre-litigation stage may refer such matter to the Lok Adalat for amicable settlement of the dispute for which notice would then be issued to the other party.

Levels and Composition of Lok Adalats:

At the State Authority Level –

The Member Secretary of the State Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the High Court or a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.

At High Court Level –

The Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the High Court and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.

At District Level –

The Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a woman.

At Taluk Level –

The Secretary of the Taluk Legal Services Committee organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a woman.

National Lok Adalat

National Level Lok Adalats are held for at regular intervals where on a single day Lok Adalats are held throughout the country, in all the courts right from the Supreme Court till the Taluk Levels wherein cases are disposed off in huge numbers. From February 2015, National Lok Adalats are being held on a specific subject matter every month.

Permanent Lok Adalat

The other type of Lok Adalat is the Permanent Lok Adalat, organized under Section 22-B of The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Permanent Lok Adalats have been set up as permanent bodies with a Chairman and two members for providing compulsory pre-litigative mechanism for conciliation and settlement of cases relating to Public Utility Services like transport, postal, telegraph etc. Here, even if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the Permanent Lok Adalat gets jurisdiction to decide the dispute, provided, the dispute does not relate to any offence. Further, the Award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding on all the parties. The jurisdiction of the Permanent Lok Adalats is upto Rs. Ten Lakhs. Here if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the Permanent Lok Adalat has the jurisdiction to decide the case. The award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding upon the parties. The Lok Adalat may conduct the proceedings in such a manner as it considers appropriate, taking into account the circumstances of the case, wishes of the parties like requests to hear oral statements, speedy settlement of dispute etc.

Mobile Lok Adalats are also organized in various parts of the country which travel from one location to another to resolve disputes in order to facilitate the resolution of disputes through this mechanism.

As on 30.09.2015, more than 15.14 lakhs Lok Adalats have been organized in the country since its inception. More than 8.25 crore cases have been settled by this mechanism so far.

Transgenders = HUMAN

India is a country where stereotypes exist in every other street. From ages and ages of society, there has been an ongoing tradition and culture of blindly persuing the stereotypes formed by the formers without even considering the causes and basis for the same. 

‘Transgender’, commonly pronounced shamelessly as ‘chakka’, ‘hijda’ and what not in the Indian society are a target for always being stereotyped.
Transgender refers to people who have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from their sex assigned at birth.
The only difference between a male/ female and a transgender is that the latter doesn’t resemble the gender expression assigned to him at birth. THAT’S IT. Anybody having some medical or biological issue doesn’t mean that they do not belong to the society nor they are to be treated as a taboo. All of it is fine. There is nothing to be disgusting about the term ‘trans’. 
It is really heartbreaking to see the pathetic lifestyle and living condition these people have to be in. Not being able to openly move like a normal person, not being able to have somebody to talk to like others, neither somebody to be called as a friend because ofcourse our society is already so busy finding flaws and put ‘them’ at fault when their fault in all of this(being how they are) is absolutely NOTHING. Rather than understanding the normality and coincidence behind this happening, they compel such people to be isolated and to be resided somewhere away from their city so that their children or any younger generation do not get influenced by those trans. 

The existence of humanity is what matters, regardless of the gender label on it.

People need to understand that there exists a HUMAN BEING behind every anthropoid stereotype we have created. For it be anyone from the LGBT community, THEY ALL DESERVE RESPECT. There is a lot that a person can learn from them. The way they struggled to have their life, the way they dare to feel alive and foremost, the way they are proud to be themselves. 

In the world where we hide our identities inside out, with make up on outside and a mask on inside, these beautiful people are far better than who don’t even own whoever they are. 
They accept and they proudly flaunt it, without letting the world break them. Transgender are needed to be treated as equal as any normal person is being treated. They deserve to have society with them who supports and cherish them.
They are a piece of art with million of worlds hidden in them. Where, there exist the beauty of a sparkling smile which just awaits to find a way out. Somebody who longs for us to welcome them to their real home, the world. They are us. There is nothing that can differentiate them from a human because they are human too. They should live the life like every other person do. They should be respected, they should be loved. They should be cherished for who the are and how strong, powerful and beautiful they are. They are a creation of God so profound that the mankind can’t miss the chance to be with. 

They are the people of God just like us

Who ought to be loved

More and more every other day,

To be welcomed with our open arms

to bless the society of mankind

With unusual generosity, kindness and love they carry along.

Let us all come together to break this stereotype and see everybody with a vision of humanity. Let’s welcome them in our world and accept them and spread smiles.

Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

 

Introduction:

“Public interest Litigation”, in simple words, means, litigation filed in a court of law, for the protection of “Public Interest”, such as pollution, Terrorism, Road safety, constructional hazards etc.

Article 32 of the Indian Constitution contains the tool which directly joins the public with the judiciary. Public Interest Litigation is not defined in any statute or in any act. It has been interpreted by judges to consider the intent of public at large.

Public Interest Litigation means a legal action initiated in a court of law for the enforcement of public interest or general interest in which the public or class of the community have pecuniary interest or some interest by which their legal rights or liabilities are affected.

In the case of People‟s Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India, it was held that “Public Interest Litigation which is a strategic arm of the legal aid movement and which is intended to bring justice within the reach of the poor masses, who constitute the low visibility area of humanity, is a totally different kind of litigation from the ordinary traditional litigation which is essentially of an adversary character where there is a dispute between two parties, one making a claim or seeing relief against the other and that other opposing such claim or relief. Public interest litigation is brought before the court not for the purpose of enforcing the right of one individual against another as happens in the case of ordinary litigation, but it is intended to promote and vindicate public interest which demands that violations of constitutional or legal rights of large numbers of people who are poor, ignorant or in a socially or economically disadvantaged position should not go unnoticed and un-redressed. That would be destructive of the Rule of Law which forms one of the essential elements of public interest in any democratic form of government. The Rule of Law does not mean that the protection of the law must be available only to a fortunate few or that the law should be allowed to be prostituted by the vested interests for protecting and upholding the status quo under the guise of enforcement of their civil and political rights. The poor too have civil and political rights and the Rule of Law is meant for them also, though today it exists only on paper and not in reality.”

Development of Public Interest Litigation:

A new era of the PIL movement was heralded by Justice P.N. Bhagawati in the case of S.P. Gupta v. Union of India. In this case it was held that “any member of the public or social action group acting bonafide” can invoke the Writ Jurisdiction of the High Courts or the Supreme Court seeking redressal against violation of a legal or constitutional rights of persons who due to social or economic or any other disability cannot approach the Court. By this judgment PIL became a potent weapon for the enforcement of “public duties” where executed in action or misdeed resulted in public injury. And as a result any citizen of India or any consumer groups or social action groups can now approach the apex court of the country seeking legal remedies in all cases where the interests of general public or a section of public are at stake.

It can be evidently seen that the development of public interest litigation has been extremely significant development in the history of the Indian jurisprudence. The decisions of the Supreme Court in the 1970’s loosened the strict locus standi requirements to permit filing of petitions on behalf of marginalized and deprived sections of the society by public spirited individuals, institutions and/or bodies. The higher Courts exercised wide powers given to them under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution. The sort of remedies sought from the courts in the public interest litigation goes beyond award of remedies to the affected individuals and groups. In suitable cases, the courts have also given guidelines and directions. The courts have monitored implementation of legislation and even formulated guidelines in absence of legislation.

Merits of Public Interest Litigation:

1. In Public Interest Litigation (PIL) vigilant citizens of the country can find an inexpensive legal remedy because there is only a nominal fixed court fee involved in this.

2. Further, through the so-called PIL, the litigants can focus attention on and achieve results pertaining to larger public issues, especially in the fields of human rights, consumer welfare and environment.

Demerits of Public Interest Litigation:

1. The genuine causes and cases of public interest have in fact receded to the background and irresponsible PIL activists all over the country have started to play a major but not a constructive role in the arena of litigation. Of late, many of the PIL activists in the country have found the PIL as a handy tool of harassment since frivolous cases could be filed without investment of heavy court fees as required in private civil litigation and deals could then be negotiated with the victims of stay orders obtained in the so-called PILs.

2. The framers of Indian constitution did not incorporate a strict doctrine of separation of powers but envisaged a system of checks and balances. Policy making and implementation of policy are conventionally regarding as the exclusive domain of the executive and the legislature. Vishaka v State of Rajasthan which was a PIL concerning sexual harassment of women at work place. The court declared that till the legislature enacted a law consistent with the convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women which India was a signatory, the guidelines set out by the court would be enforceable.

3. The flexibility of procedure that is a character of PIL has given rise to another set of problems. It gives an opportunity to opposite parties to ascertain the precise allegation and respond specific issues.

4. The credibility of PIL process is now adversely affected by the criticism that the judiciary is overstepping the boundaries pf its jurisdiction and that it is unable to supervise the effective implementation of its orders. It has also been increasingly felt that PIL is being misused by the people agitating for private grievance in the grab of public interest and seeking publicity rather than espousing public cause.

Landmark Judgements:

1.Peoples Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India (A.I.R. 1982, S C 1473)-The court now permits Public Interest Litigation or Social Interest Litigation at the instance of “Public spirited citizens” for the enforcement of constitutional & legal rights of any person or group of persons who because of their socially or economically disadvantaged position are unable to approach court for relief. Public interest litigation is a part of the process of participate justice and standing in civil litigation of that pattern must have liberal reception at the judicial door steps.

2. In the Judges Transfer Case – AIR 1982, SC 149: Court held Public Interest Litigation can be filed by any member of public having sufficient interest for public injury arising from violation of legal rights so as to get judicial redress. This is absolutely necessary for maintaining Rule of law and accelerating the balance between law and justice. It is a settled law that when a person approaches the court of equity in exercise of extraordinary jurisdiction, he should approach the court not only with clean hands but with clean mind, heart and with clean objectives.

3. Shiram Food & Fertilizer case AIR (1986) 2 SCC 176 SC: Public Interest Litigation directed the Co. Manufacturing hazardous & lethal chemical and gases posing danger to life and health of workmen & to take all necessary safety measures before re-opening the plant.

4. In the case of M.C Mehta V. Union of India (1988) 1 SCC 471 – In Public Interest Litigation brought against Ganga water pollution so as to prevent any further pollution of Ganga water. Supreme court held that petitioner although not a riparian owner is entitled to move the court for the enforcement of statutory provisions, as he is the person interested in protecting the lives of the people who make use of Ganga water.

Disability Laws in India

 

Concept of Disability:
Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. Disability is thus not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.

Disability is a contested concept, with different meanings for different communities. It may be used to refer to physical or mental attributes that some institutions, particularly medicine, view as needing to be fixed. It may refer to limitations imposed on people by the constraints of an albeit society. Or the term may serve to refer to the identity of people with disabilities. It can be said that it is an impairment that may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, sensory, or some combination of these. It substantially affects a person’s life activities and may be present from birth or occur during a person’s lifetime.

Legal Rights of The Disabled In India:

The Constitution of India applies uniformly to every legal citizen of India, whether they are healthy or disabled in any way (physically or mentally). The Constitution of India secures to the citizens including the disabled, a right of justice, liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship, equality of status and of opportunity and for the promotion of fraternity. The right to Education is available to all citizens including the disabled. The Constitution directs the State to provide free and compulsory education for all children until they attain the age of 14 years. The health laws of India have many provisions for the disabled. Some of the acts which make provision for the health of the citizens including the disabled may be seen in the Mental Act, 1987. Various laws relating to the marriage enacted by the Government for different communities apply equally to the disabled. There are certain circumstances that will disable a person from undertaking a marriage.

They are:

·       When the either party is a lunatic;

·       When the parties are unable to give a valid consent because of the unsound mind;

·       When the parties are within the degree of prohibited relationship.

Under the Succession Act, 1956 which applies to Hindus it has been specifically provided that physical disability or physical deformity would not remove a person from inheriting ancestral property. The rights of the disabled have not been spelt out so well in the labour legislations but provisions which cater to the disabled in their relationship with the employer are contained in delegated legislations such as rules, regulations and standing orders.

Constitutional aspects:-
The Constitution of India has guaranteed full protection to the rights of disabled people. The Preamble of the Constitution contains the concept of social justice and equality of status and opportunity to all the people of India. Article 14 & 16 of the Constitution which guarantee equality of opportunity to all citizen of India. Article 38 of the Constitution which subsides within Directive Principles of State Policy, requires the State to promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order in which social, economic and political justice can inform to all institutions of national life and the State is required to make efforts to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities amongst individuals.

Various Statutory legislations In India:

1) Persons with disabilities (PWD) (equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation) Act, 1995: The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 had come into enforcement on February 7, 1996. It is an important step which ensures equal opportunities for the people with disabilities and their full participation in the nation building. The Act provides for both the preventive and promotional aspects of rehabilitation like education, employment and vocational training, reservation, research and manpower development, creation of barrier- free environment, rehabilitation of persons with disability, unemployment allowance for the disabled, special insurance scheme for the disabled employees and establishment of homes for persons with severe disability etc.


2) The Mental Health Act, 1987: The Mental Health Act,1987 was enacted to regulate admissions to psychiatric hospitals and  psychiatric nursing homes of mentally ill-persons who do not have sufficient understanding to seek treatment on a voluntary basis and to protect the rights of such persons while being detained, to protect society from the presence of mentally ill persons who have become or might become a danger or nuisance to others among other provisions.

3) The Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992:
It was passed to regulate the man power development programmes in the field of education of persons with special needs. The main objectives are to regulate the training policies and programmes in the field of rehabilitation of people with disabilities, to standardize training courses for rehabilitation professionals and also for ensuring the establishment of rehabilitation centres.

4) The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923:
If any injury or accident is caused to the workman in the course of work or employment then his employer has to pay compensation. As per Section 4 of the above Act, where permanent total disablement results from the injury, an amount equal to 60% of the monthly wages of the injured workman multiplied by the relevant factor or amount of twenty thousand rupees whichever is more.

5) Employee’s State Insurance Act, 1948:
Periodical payment shall be made to an insured person suffering from disablement as a result of an employment injury sustained as an employee under this Act and certified to be eligible for such payments by an authority specified in this behalf by the regulations. In India, the disabled citizens have the same rights as other citizens to a descent standard of living and economic security, right to work, education, employment and also right to access and communication.

Decided cases in India:
In Javed Abidi v. Union of India – The Supreme Court bearing in mind the discomfort and harassment suffering by a person of locomotors disability would face while travelling by train particularly to far off places, issued direction to the Indian Airlines to grant persons suffering from locomotors disability to the extent of 80%.

In Chandan Kumar Banik v. State of West Bengal – The Supreme Court has given the order to provide respite to mentally challenged inmates of a hospital in Hooghly district who were being kept chained by the hospital authority to control their unruly and violent behavior.

In National Federation of Blind v. Union Public Service commission – The Supreme Court held that, the UPSC may be directed to allow blind person for appearing the examinations for Indian Administrative and allied services.

In Govt. of NCT of Delhi v. Bharat Lal Meena – The Delhi High Court held that people with disabilities can be appointed as physical education teachers provided they have passed the qualifying examination and undergone the requisite training.

Conclusion:

Disability refers to the disadvantage or restriction of activity caused by the way society is organized which takes little or no account of people who have physical, sensory or mental impairments. As a result such people are excluded and prevented from participating effectively on equal terms in mainstream society. Disability is an unfortunate part of human life which can effect not only the natural way of living but also despair component strength and power.

What are Human Rights?

 

In order to live with dignity certain basic rights and freedoms are necessary, which all Human beings are entitled to, these basic rights are called Human Rights

Human rights demand recognition and respect for the inherent dignity to ensure that everyone is protected against abuses which undermine their dignity, and give the opportunities they need to realize their full potential, free from discrimination.

Human rights are the rights a person has simply because he or she is a human being. Human rights are held by all persons equally, universally, and forever. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Kant said that human beings have an intrinsic value absent in inanimate objects. To violate a human right would therefore be a failure to recognize the worth of human life.

Human right is a concept that has been constantly evolving throughout human history. They have been intricately tied to the laws, customs and religions throughout the ages. Most societies have had traditions similar to the “golden rule” of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The Hindu Vedas, the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, the Bible, the Quran (Koran), and the Analects of Confucius are five of the oldest written sources which address questions of people’s duties, rights, and responsibilities.

Different counties ensure these rights in different way. In India they are contained in the Constitution as fundamental rights, i.e. they are guaranteed statutorily. In the UK they are available through precedence, various elements having been laid down by the courts through case law. In addition, international law and conventions also provide certain safeguards.

Human rights refer to the “basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled.” Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in culture, the right to food, the right to work, and the right to education. “A human right is a universal moral right, something which all men, everywhere, at all times ought to have, something of which no one may be deprived without a grave affront to justice, something which is owing to every human simply because he is human.”

Human rights are inalienable: you cannot lose these rights any more than you can cease being a human being.

Human rights are indivisible: you cannot be denied a right because it is “less important” or “non-essential.”

Human rights are interdependent: all human rights are part of a complementary framework. For example, your ability to participate in your government is directly affected by your right to express yourself, to get an education, and even to obtain the necessities of life.

Another definition for human rights is those basic standards without which people cannot live in dignity. To violate someone’s human rights is to treat that person as though he or she was not a human being. To advocate human rights is to demand that the human dignity of all people be respected.

In claiming these human rights, everyone also accepts the responsibility not to infringe on the rights of others and to support those whose rights are abused or denied.

Basic Requirements for Human Rights – Any society that is to protect human rights must have the following characteristics –
1. A de-jure or free state in which the right to self-determination and rule of law exist.
2. A legal system for the protection of human rights.
3. Effective organized (existing within the framework of the state) or unorganized guarantees.

Classification – Human rights have been divided into three categories:
1. First generation rights which include civil and political rights.
2. Second generation rights such as economic, social and cultural rights.
3. Third generation rights such as the right of self-determination and the right to participate in the benefits from mankind’s common heritage.

Human rights may be either positive or negative. An example of the former is the right to a fair trial and an example of the latter is the right not to be tortured.

Human rights are fundamental to the stability and development of countries all around the world. Great emphasis has been placed on international conventions and their implementation in order to ensure adherence to a universal standard of acceptability. With the advent of globalization and the introduction of new technology, these principles gain importance not only in protecting human beings from the ill-effects of change but also in ensuring that all are allowed a share of the benefits. The impact of several changes in the world today on human rights has been both negative and positive.

The Impact of Social Media Marketing

 

What is Social Media?

Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein describe social media as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content”.

Social Media contains two words. The first one is “Social” which means interaction, sharing and so on. Another word is “Media” where to say that social media is a medium for publication.

Social media contains a lot of tools and applications which let the users express their opinion, publish articles, sharing videos and so on easily.

Social Media Influence:

According to Sir Andrew Likierman, London Business School Dean, “social media has completely disrupted the way businesses assess their performance”. This statement is completely true because social media is no longer an option but is a must, especially companies that dealing straightly with customers. Some business can completely avoid thinking about social media like wholesalers because they are just dealing with another business. Since social media became more powerful, organization are facing difficulties to measure their performance. They must have specific strategy for social media or even companies could have one special unit that handle feedbacks and responses from user. Any negative feedbacks should grab attention and they have to discuss on how to react with any negative comments. Any negative response from customers will be there on net forever. No way to remove that and because of that, companies that avoid think about social media will lose some customers.

Customers are now become more particular about with whom and from where they are buying products or services. They willing to make online search before making any purchase decision especially for expensive items. Since internet is now more conveniently searchable through smart phones, customer can make search in just a minute. That’s why companies must have social media presence and put some attention to manage customer response and try to convince them that the business is reputable and trusted.

Social media providing big opportunity to organization to build better relationship with clients and providing real one to one communication. They have no better advertising then “word of mouth”. Satisfied customers surely will share to their friends in their social network about their experiences with the particular company. If one person shares their experience to his 400 Facebook friends, and that friends spread that news to their friends, the information moves extremely fast. If a video uploaded in YouTube with attracting title like “Think Twice before you eat XXX”, this video surely will grab thousands or even millions of social medial users. With “Share” function available almost in any site, in just a second we can share anything to social media community.

One of the main reasons that we must use social media is because our competition is using that daily as marketing strategy. Another big reason why a business should use social media because their customers and future customers are using it. A lot of people have at least one social media account like Facebook, YouTube and so on. A business should present their brand where customers are. Traditionally we can see people open shops at crowd places like in shopping mall and so on. The same case here where a business should present in crowd place like social media. Millions of people using that every day.

Some Fail Stories of Businesses When Using Social Media:

In 2012, giant car manufacturer Toyota launched Camry Effect Campaign on Twitter to promote Camry. They had created number of Twitter account. This campaign was designed for directly communicating with users but what happen is, big number of users start to accuse Toyota for their bombarding and spamming marketing then with many unsolicited messages. As response Toyota suspended their accounts. Until now this campaign is well known as fails campaign. The main problem with this campaign is, not because Toyota Spamming but the content of the messages that they send out were not attracting. They also were sending same messages content over and over. They were only sending promotional messages which did not help to build relationship with users.

Advantage of Social Media for Business:

The advertising cost is much more cheaper then traditional advertising and promotional activities. Social media also gives full value for every penny they spend. Traditional advertising only shows the brand to the customer but with social media company can build long term relationship through “Like” function and can get their email address for sending future emails.

Future customer able to find our brand through many channels like sharing activities, news, search engine search result and so on which gives company free advertising. Social media can bring huge amount of traffic to their content especially when that content is grabbing their attention. This is what we can call free traffic or free customers.

Social media allows customers to express their experiences to others. A satisfied customer surely will bring another new customer through sharing experience activity. Companies will improve their products and services to customers.

Disadvantage of Social Media for Business:

A successful online presence especially in social media, a company needs an experienced team which can improve companies’ reputation. Social media becomes unique and able to drive a lot of sales when they engage with their customers. This mean they have to reply messages, comments and so on. Pushing sales without engaging with customers or not responding to negative feedback will damage the companies’ reputation. Organization also must produce new contents and always find out ways to overcome to any negative feedback.

Wrong online presence strategy will damage the companies’ reputation and put them at a viral social disadvantages. Any mistake they companies make in front of thousand of fans or social media members will result in big reputation impact. So, companies must be careful when performing social media campaign.

Using social media marketing and advertising campaign could be more time consuming because companies would have to watch out every activity in the social media.

Conclusion:

Social media gives deep impact to the business world. Today from small companies to big giant companies. Social media landscape is big and the system and technology are continuously growing and changing everyday. Companies who are using and present in social media are enjoying big benefits. Social media is no longer an option but is a must especially companies that dealing straightly with customers. Social media promises a lot of opportunities and challenges, so organization must prepare themselves for facing it.