Legal FAQs Q:I had an arranged marriage in 2009. After putting up with verbal abuse from my in-laws for three months I returned to my parents' house. We had completed all the formalities for the registration of our marriage but have not received the marriage certificate as yet. Can I move for divorce now Can I ask for maintenance
an open letter to m.f. husain Respected Husain saheb, Your flight to Qatar has anguished us in more ways than one. Firstly, because we could not keep you here. Secondly, and more importantly, because you thought you could not live here.
Ticket Sunanda Sen, 79, does not need to drive regularly. But he does take out his car occasionally to go to the neighbourhood market, bank or post office. So far he has been driving the short distances without any problems whatsoever. So naturally, Sen is piqued by the government's recent proposal to stop issuing driving licences to those above 72 years of age. "The government should find out how many road accidents are caused by people over 72 and how many by those who are young. Older drivers are usually much more cautious and they drive slowly."
Aura of a radical When I joined the University of Delhi in 1959 as a young lecturer, the dominant presence at the Delhi School of Economics was that of K.N. Raj. Everyone at the School talked about him, and he was well known and well liked throughout the university. Part of Raj s attraction lay in his youthful spirit. He was specially liked because he did not throw his weight about, but, on the other hand, was always ready to stand up for the underdog. It is this instinct to stand up for the underdog that gave Raj his aura of a radical in the best sense of the term.
Bill for Change It was a difficult feat for the Congress to get the bill for women's reservation in legislative bodies passed in the Rajya Sabha, although the bill has a long way to go before it becomes a law. The victory itself is dubious. The indiscipline in the Rajya Sabha on March 8 demonstrated that little has changed since 1996 when the bill was first introduced in Parliament. Each time it came up, the same opponents put up the same objections and disrupted Parliament with equal violence. Yet there was more than enough time for discussion and debate, not merely within Parliament but also with parties, in states and in public fora. In all the rhetoric around the bill ' including the bill as "gift" to women on the centenary of International Women's Day ' there has been a remarkable absence of effort to prepare the nation and the polity for the change. The Congress's idea of barrelling through the bill simply because the party was confident of the support from the Opposition was just a way of politicking with numbers. This is hardly worthy of a decision that means amending the Constitution.
Step by step Iraq voted as Afghanistan did last August ' in the shadow of violence. But unlike in Afghanistan, where the Western coalition forces could not dispel the suspicion that they were favouring a particular candidate, in Iraq, they have managed to put a healthy distance between themselves and the vote-seekers. It is perhaps this apparent detachment and impartiality of the occupying powers that have encouraged Iraqis ' 62 per cent of the 19 million registered voters ' to defy death threats and violence and turn the elections into one of the most successfully conducted democratic processes in the post-Saddam Hussein era. What has contributed to the success of the polls is the overwhelming participation of Sunni Arabs from the extremist stronghold of Anbar, as also from Sunni-dominated areas that had boycotted the elections in 2005. It goes without saying that this image of fairness will be crucial to the credibility of the government, which will eventually be formed, although that may seem a long way off. The results are unlikely to be known soon, and government-formation may take a longer time given that none of the parties, not even the Rule of Law coalition of the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, has sufficient support to claim a majority. All this will mean a prolonged phase of uncertainty as parties try to strike a deal with like-minded groups and even fortune-seekers. The Kurdish parties will have a major role in coalition-building, and their support will be determined by the amount of flexibility negotiators display on Kirkuk, the disputed oil-rich area the Kurds claim as their own. There is also likely to be a period of constitutional vacuum during the time the president decides which coalition should be called upon to form the government.
Court poser on Besu boy death The high court has "some queries" on the CID probe into the death of Besu student Soumik Basu, who many suspect was a victim of campus violence, and has asked a senior officer to appear before it with all relevant documents.
Rs 1.5cr job scam busted The city police busted an inter-state job racket on Tuesday and arrested two persons who had allegedly collected Rs 1.5 crore by promising railway jobs to several youths.
Insolvency net widens The high court on Tuesday widened the scope of the probe into insolvency declarations, bringing cases before April 1, 2008, within its ambit. Justice Sanjib Banerjee implicated a former registrar of insolvency and a former official assignee in the case and directed the duo to file affidavits by March 23.
Widow found dead The body of a 56-year-old widow, Namita Biswas, was found in a bathroom of her Baguiati home on Tuesday morning. Biswas's son and married daughter used to live with her. The woman, who was suffering from high blood pressure, fell in the bathroom and died, said police. Relatives alleged that her daughter had killed her for property. The body was sent for post-mortem.
Apex court allows annexe The Supreme Court on Tuesday permitted the Victoria Memorial authorities to construct an administrative building inside the complex, rejecting arguments by environment activist Subhash Dutta.
Hotel ploy in clone-card plot Peter Orenubi Oluwagbenga, the mastermind of the million-dollar credit card fraud busted in Calcutta, would not only swipe his cloned cards for jewellery and gizmos to sell later but also make bookings in star hotels, only to cancel these for cash refunds.
New dose of good ol' martial arts Want to be a cop First learn to move like Shah Rukh Khan in Dil Se or Asoka ' but without Preity or Kareena for company.
Review nod for HS scripts The state Higher Secondary council has decided to allow re-evaluation of answer scripts whenever marks are disputed, bowing to a long-standing demand of examinees.
Paul to give up tax sop after row London, March 9: Lord Swraj Paul disclosed today that he had been told by Scotland Yard that the police were no longer investigating his expenses claims.
First peek at iPad rival London, March 9: Leaked footage of Microsoft's dual-screen iPad challenger looks surprisingly impressive.
Sahil alive, say Pak police Jhelum, March 9 Reuters: A five-year-old British boy kidnapped in Pakistan nearly a week ago is alive and police are making progress in the investigation, a police official said today.
SC moves SC against transparency order New Delhi, March 8: The Supreme Court today filed an appeal with itself against the Delhi High Court order bringing the Chief Justice of India's office under the ambit of the Right to Information Act.
Disclaimer: Trademark Logos, Images, graphics and content on this page may be subject to copyright of their respective manufacturers or companies and you may need permission from the owner to use the image or other content for any purpose. All images are courtesy of and copyright their respective manufacturers or companies, unless otherwise indicated, without the express written permission of whom they may not be reproduced or retransmitted in any way. Images produced by the US government and other governments are generally in the public domain unless otherwise indicated.
