Monday, May 28th, 2007

Time	Event
9:47a	Mediation : Value of mediation proceedings as evidence Mediation : Value of mediation proceedings as evidence >"a counsellor appointed by the court for >counselling in the DV case will not be bound by >evidence act, cpc or crpc" !!! >[..........] >"the record of counselling proceedings shall not >be deemed to be material on record in the case" >[..........] >Isn't this an encouragement for vexatious >petitions with the help of one sided laws Reply 1. At present, some Matrimonial Laws in India are one sided. There is NO denying that. Men have to endeavour to change them. SIF , 498 org , mynation etc are the first steps. We need to proceed further. 2. The DV act is a family breaker. No denying that 3. The DV act seems to be using SHE all over the mediation provisions. Having only women as mediators makes me feel agast. There seems to be no future for litigating men. Having said all this let me add the following below >"the record of counselling proceedings shall not >be deemed to be material on record in the case" 4. Even now under the Family courts, mediation centers have been set up 5. these mediations centers act in a very similar way. Proceedings in mediation / mediation cell cannot be used as evidence elsewhere. Just for your info, mediation is practiced all over the world. To the best of my knowledge the Indian Mediation has drawn from the British system. > >what is the intent of all this? > 6. One intent is to reduce the burden on the judiciary. In a country with a billion GENERALLY LAW ABIDING people the incidence of murder rape etc - as a % of the population is generally low. With the present police force and courts and juges, the law and order machiney CAN NOT cope with EVEN that. But practically EVER EIGHTH OR EVERY TENTH household is turning into a battlefiled on matrimonial cases (the number could be higher in some cities). The Family courts have huge backlogs .... running to years. So the judiciary wishes to settle matters OUTSIDE the evidence, inquiry .... trial process , but under the supervision of the court. IMHO, this is the overriding intent. However I agree that this intent MAY BE misused. >Is this logically possible? some one not bound >by crpc and evidence act? 7. Let us say YOU are the mediator in a family fued. You try to reason out. During the discussions, say for e.g. One of the parties doesn't shut up and keeps on talking. In frustration you tell him "..shut up you fool..". Do you, as a mediator, wished to get sued for slander, indecent behaviour etc etc ??? because of this "..shut up you fool..". The idea of absolving the mediator of criminal liabilities and burden of evidence is to let the mediator act with freedom. However I agree that this liberty / protection to mediators MAY also BE misused. Especially if the govt. plans to have just women as mediators. Regards Vinayak > >Who is not bound by evidence act in court proceedings? >Sun May 27, 2007 1:17 am (PST) > >Hi > >As per the notification under the DV act, > >"a counsellor appointed by the court for >counselling in the DV case will not be bound by >evidence act, cpc or crpc" !!! > >" she shall only strive for bringing an end to >domestic violence to the satisfaction of the >aggrieved person" > >"the record of counselling proceedings shall not >be deemed to be material on record in the case" > >what is the intent of all this? > >Is this logically possible? some one not bound >by crpc and evidence act? > >Isn't this an encouragement for vexatious >petitions with the help of one sided laws > > (1 Comment | Comment on this)
10:14a	Beware of Marketing Advocates Beware of Marketing Advocates Posted by: "m.r. gupta" Dear friends, All mumbai sif members who hired services of some advocates have complaint against them and are totally dissatisfied with their services and have reported that they never attend crucial dates. It is observed that some lawyers are using various tactics to attract rich clients and are interested only upto making 'petition' for anything 10K to 30+K and 500 to 2K for per appearance. But as appearance charge are not attractive compare to making 'ONLY PETITION', they do not take interest in appearance and then we have to suffer. Please beware of such advocates and report the group about such advocates so that others could be cautioned in time. Some advocates in the name of social service are luring unsuspecting sufferers/group members to appear for interviews with them and make CDs for their own marketing. M.R. GUPTA PROTECT INDIAN FAMILY FOUNDATION (1 Comment | Comment on this)
2:16p	Men caught in the Act? Men caught in the Act? 28 May, 2007 l 0011 hrs ISTlSmita Khanna/TIMES NEWS NETWORK The first prosecution under the Domestic Violence Act may have come through, but what's worrying legal experts is not the need for more laws to protect women. Salman Khan wasn't crooning Shaadi kar ke phas gaye yaar, for nothing, you know. Those ludicrous tales of the misses running after the hapless hubby with the belan aren't as unrealistic as they sound. While there have been some lone voices beginning to take up the battle for the victimised pati post the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961, Section 498 (a) seems to have become a rapier some women love to brandish. even as legal experts collectively frown at how the law is often misused to implicate innocent men and their families, the frown just got deeper post the Protection of Women Against Domestic Violence Act, (DVA) 2005. While the first prosecution under the Act just came through, men's organisations and lawyers alike are wondering if the belan just became a baton. For the likes of Sachit Dalal, project manager with a software firm in Delhi at least, the hits just keep on coming. Admittedly, a victim of "legal terrorism", for Dalal these laws spell bad news. "Feminists and women's organisations keep throwing these laws at men's faces, but what about those thousands of cases where men are abused? Why are there no laws supporting men?" he questions. While Dalal also cites a WHO report which talks about financial abuse of in-laws by the bahu to fortify his cause, Swarup Sarkar, founder member and coordinator, Save Indian Family, thinks that this isn't a fight between men and women, but between families. "Statistics reveal that only two per cent of the cases of harassment filed by women are genuine and there are several reasons for this," says Sarkar even as he elaborates: "Extra-marital affairs, the husband's inability to provide enough money etc lead women to exploit these laws to get their way around." Agrees Pratima Gupta, an advocate practicing in the Delhi High Court, "There is no doubt that only two or three per cent of the cases of harassment coming to court are genuine. These laws are being used as tools of mal-adjustment. If you want to keep a marriage going, small things don't matter, but they get blown out of proportion if one wants to break free. Unfortunately, when you are unable to split gracefully, you use Section 498!" Perhaps it is things like these that have led Sarkar to demand that the DVA be made "gender neutral" and be termed as the Domestic Harmony Act. Not that women's rights activist Shalini Mathur, founder of Suraksha, would agree. According to Mathur, "These laws cannot be gender neutral, because our society is not gender neutral. Has a man ever been hanged for killing his wife?" "The ordinary man is not a criminal," retorts RP Chuge, lawyer, practicing in the Supreme Court and a member of Protect Indian Family. While Chuge reveals that he has been abused by his wife and is himself a "victim", it doesn't deter him from saying, "Women should be protected, but that doesn't mean that they will use these laws to threaten men." Time the legal eagles sorted things out, don't you think? http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/City_Supplements/Lucknow_Times/Men_caught_in_the_Act/articleshow/2077692.cms (1 Comment | Comment on this)

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