Categoies
National Judgments/ Orders
Inference of ‘false’ case cannot be drawn from mere acquittal of husband in domestic violence case, holds Chhattisgarh HC
In an appeal from a Family Court decision, in which divorce was granted to the husband on the ground that his wife had made false criminal allegations of domestic violence against him, and this amounted to cruelty, the Chhattisgarh High Court held that the husband was not entitled to a divorce. The court held that […]
Gujarat HC to examine the use of Sec. 377 by wives for marital rape
The Gujarat High Court is set to examine the question whether a wife can initiate prosecution against her husband for unnatural sex punishable under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Terming marital rape as a ‘disgraceful offence’, the Gujarat High Court is set to examine the question whether a wife can initiate prosecution against […]
Pursing employment against a husband’s wishes does not amount to cruelty, holds Allahabad HC
In an appeal from a family court decision which had granted divorce to husband on the grounds that the wife had subjected him to cruelty by taking up gainful employment against his wishes, the Allahabad High Court has observed that a wife working against the wishes of a husband or his family is not ‘cruelty,’ […]
Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of adultery law
The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the government in a petition challenging the constitutionality of Section 497 of the IPC. The three-judge bench noted that only the man with whom adultery is committed is criminally liable under the provision, which exempts the wife from criminal liability. The bench also noted the discrimination between […]
Parsi woman challenges the absence of a mediation process in Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act
A Parsi woman has moved the Supreme Court questioning the validity of several provisions of Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act. The petitioner had moved a Parsi matrimonial suit early last year seeking dissolution of her 11-year-old marriage. She claims that the procedure under the 1938 personal law was exasperatingly cumbersome, involving a system much like […]
Husband’s consent irrelevant for obtaining abortion, holds Supreme Court
The Supreme Court recently concurred with a decision of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, where the court had upheld a woman’s sole and inalienable right to give birth or terminate pregnancy, regardless of her husband’s consent. This was in response to a petition filed by the man seeking damages from his wife for […]
Supreme Court to revisit verdict that put an end to automatic arrest in dowry cases
A three judge bench of the Supreme Court has agreed to revisit the Court’s division bench decision in the case of Rajesh Sharma v. State of U.P which laid down procedural guidelines to restrict arrests for cases of cruelty against a married woman under Sec. 498A IPC. The directions cautioned against arrests for a period […]
Kerala High Court warns against branding all inter-religious marriages as ‘love jihad,’ sets girl at liberty to join husband
A division bench of the Kerala High Court has warned against the branding of every inter-faith marriage as ‘love jihad.’ In this case the love marriage of a Hindu woman and a Muslim man, which was staunchly opposed by the girl’s parents, resulted in the lower courts handing over the custody of the woman to […]
Delhi High Court issues notice to JNU, UGC in GS CASH case
The Delhi High Court has issued notice to Jawaharlal Nehru University and the University Grants Commission in a petition filed by some teachers of JNU against the disbanding of GS CASH. GS CASH, the University’s Committee for entertaining complaints of sexual harassment, was replaced with an Internal Complaints Committee vide an administrative decision. As students […]
Jharkhand and Bombay High Courts adopt opposing views on second and third trimester abortions
The Jharkhand High Court has held that medical termination of pregnancy after the statutorily stipulated twenty week period is permissible in cases where carrying the pregnancy to term would harm the mental health of the pregnant woman. In doing so, the Court has adopted a wide interpretation of Sec. 5 of the Medical Termination of […]