Punjab and Haryana High Court sets norms for photocopies as evidence

Chandigarh, December 12
In a first, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has laid down the principles on admissibility of photocopies as secondary evidence in court cases. The principles are to be followed by the courts while admitting a photostat copy as secondary evidence and assessing its probative value.

Justice Paramjeet Singh has, in fact, elaborated on the circumstances under which photostat copies of original documents can be tendered in evidence; and whether the photostat copies of documents are covered within the meaning and definition of secondary evidence contained in Section 63 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

Justice Paramjeet Singh has asserted that the photostat copy of a document can be allowed to be produced only in absence of original document. When a party seeks to produce photostat copy, it has to lay the foundational facts by proving that original document existed and is lost. Or else, it has to prove that the original document is in possession of opposite party, who failed to produce it.

Taking up the petition filed by Surinder Kaur against Mehal Singh and other respondents in a case hovering around a will, Justice Paramjeet Singh also clarified that mere assertion of a party is not sufficient to prove the foundational facts. The objections as to non-existence of such circumstances or non-existence of foundational facts must be taken at earliest by the opposite party after the photostat copy is tendered in evidence.

When the opposite party raises an objection, the authenticity of photostat copy has to be determined, as every copy made from a mechanical process may not be accurate. “Allowing production of photostat copy in evidence does not amount to its proof. Its probative value has to be proved and assessed independently. It has to be shown that it was made from original at particular place and time,” Justice Paramjeet Singh asserted.

The accuracy of photostat copy shall be established on oath to the satisfaction of court.

Gay sex illegal, rules Supreme Court

Says Section 377 constitutionally valid; Parliament free to drop it; triggers outrage

What the SC said  Section 377 constitutional; gay, lesbian sex is a criminal offence  Parliament free to drop Section 377  Homosexuals account for miniscule fraction of population HC verdict set aside The Delhi HC had, on July 2, 2009, de-criminalised such acts by reading down Section 377.  It ruled that criminalising consensual sexual acts of adults in private was against Articles 21, 14 and 15 which guaranteed fundamental rights to personal liberty, equality and non-discrimination to the people.  The SC said the High Court had relied on overseas verdicts which can't be applied to Indian laws

New Delhi, December 11
The Supreme Court today restored the Constitutional validity of Section 377 of the IPC, under which homosexual acts are a criminal offence punishable with life term, noting that Parliament had chosen to retain it despite amending the IPC as many as 30 times since 1950.

The Delhi High Court had, on July 2, 2009, de-criminalised such acts by reading down Section 377 and ruling that criminalising consensual sexual acts of adults in private was against Articles 21, 14 and 15 which guaranteed fundamental rights to personal liberty, equality and non-discrimination to the people.

An apex court Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi, who retired today, and SJ Mukhopadhaya set aside the HC verdict, pointing out that the HC had gone by several judgments of other countries in its anxiety to protect the so-called rights of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender) persons and to declare that Section 377 violated the right to privacy, autonomy and dignity.

"Though these judgments shed considerable light on various aspects of this right and are informative in relation to the plight of sexual minorities, we feel that they cannot be applied blindfolded for deciding the constitutionality of the law enacted by the Indian legislature," the SC ruled. The judiciary should exercise "self-restraint" while striking down any legal provision and its analysis of any law "must be guided by the presumption of constitutionality," it explained.

Section 377 had come up for debate repeatedly and the Law Commission in its 172nd report had recommended its deletion.

Laws relating to sexual offences were amended only this year in the wake of the December 2012 Delhi gang rape case but Parliament "has chosen not to amend the (377) law or revisit. This shows that Parliament, which is undisputedly the representative body of the people of India has not thought it proper to delete the provision," the SC explained.

Indian cab driver jailed for six years in Australia for rape

Melbourne:  A 30-year-old Indian taxi driver has been sentenced to six years in prison in Australia for raping a drunk and vulnerable teenage schoolgirl who he had been asked to drop home.

County Court judge Wendy Wilmoth said Nitin Rana, who was found guilty by a jury of three counts of rape, had taken advantage of the 17-year-old girl when she was in such an intoxicated state that she could not sit up straight in the taxi or even fasten her seatbelt.

Rana was jailed for six years with a non-parole period of four years and the Judge ordered him to be placed on the sex offenders register for 15 years, according to a media report.

Rana was given 50 dollars by a group of good Samaritans to take the girl home.

"The public is entitled to expect to be safe in taxis; parents should be able to trust that their teenage children will be safe in taxis," Wilmoth told Rana.

"This girl's safety was entrusted to you when the people who helped her gave you the money for her fare, to take her safely home.

"Instead you violated that trust when you raped her."

"The victim was a child, and at the time she was struggling with personal issues and had consumed a large amount of both medication and alcohol," the judge said.

"She was very drunk, and this could be seen from her condition and behaviour before and at the time of getting into your taxi.

"It is clear from the verdict that the jury accepted that you knew what her condition was," Wilmoth said.

The teenager had been drinking vodka at a friend's house before sharing a taxi with a male friend to a railway station in Melbourne's east at about 1 am on November 4 last year.

While her friend continued home in the taxi after dropping her at the station, the victim got stranded as she had no money and no way of getting home as trains had stopped running for the night.

She also accepted two valium tablets from a couple who she came across and she described as junkies.

While she was trying to walk  down the street, a married couple and two friends who were attending a birthday party dinner saw her fall over and tried to help to reach home.

The group tried to help the teenager and even called the emergency number.

Rana who drove past during that time in his taxi was then given 50 Australian dollars to take the teenager to her place. Rana drove off and then raped the teenager before dropping her home.

The teenager told her mother the next day that she had been sexually assaulted.

Wilmoth noted that Rana hailed from well regarded middle-class family in Hyderabad and had completed a commerce degree before working for several multinational companies in India.

He had migrated to Australia in 2008 where he completed a diploma course in hospitality and management.

He was driving a taxi to support himself and to save money to return to India.

The judge said she had received letters from Rana's family and two friends expressing their faith in him as "a good person, well brought up, and respectful of women".

Wilmoth said, "The charges are very serious indeed, and in this case there are some aggravating features." 

Punjab Government refuses 5-star facility to HC judges in Amritsar

Chandigarh, November 20
The Punjab Government has refused to concede to the demand of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for the construction of an “exclusive five-star guest house” for judges in Amritsar.

The government has instead offered to reserve a separate floor in the proposed multi-storey guest house for judges.

A committee of High Court judges had asked the state government to construct an exclusive guest house for them on a piece of land near Kachehri chowk in Amritsar, where the old sessions court stood. The old sessions court building is now being demolished as the new judicial complex has become functional.

The guest house was required since the city was frequented by judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court as well as other High Courts to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple, the committee had said. An exclusive guest house would have ensured minimum inconvenience to the judges in case other government guest houses, such as the Circuit House, were fully occupied, it had contended. But the land on which the old building of the sessions court stood is now worth hundreds of crores of rupees.

The state government proposes to set up a multi-storey guest house there in public-private partnership to be managed by a hotel chain. The government proposes to build this facility for all visiting dignitaries and not exclusively for any particular section of VIPs.

“We have now informed the High Court that instead of constructing an exclusive guest house for judges, a set of 10-12 rooms in the proposed multi-storey complex will be reserved exclusively for judges,” said a senior official in the Punjab government. The government has also reiterated that some rooms in the Circuit House in Amritsar will always be reserved for the judges.

Government offers an alternative A committee of HC judges had sought an exclusive guest house for them on a piece of land in Amristar where the old sessions court stood It contended that the facility was required as the city was frequented by judges to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple But the government proposes to set up a multi-storey guest house on the land as it is now worth hundreds of crores of rupees It has offered to reserve a separate floor in the proposed guest house for judges

Mistaken Identity Case: Punjab police deletes name of NRI from 'Non Hardcore Terrorists’ list'

Chandigarh, 14th November, 2013 (NLGC): The Punjab Police today informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that they had deleted the name of US settled NRI Shingara Singh, a native of village Jassomajra in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district,  from the list of 'Non-Hardcore Terrorists'  from the list of ‘Non-Hardcore Terrorists’.

Shingara Singh had submitted that his name has been included in the list of ‘Non-hard-core Terrorists’ maintained at police station Behiram in district Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar.

He informed the court that as per the information received under the RTI Act, SHO, police station Behiram has informed that no criminal case is pending against him but his name figures in the list of ‘Non-hard-core Terrorists’.

The petitioner had submitted that on account of similarity of his name with another Shingara Singh of Kapurthala district, who is a proclaimed offender, having a number of criminal cases pending against him, he is interrogated and harassed by Punjab police whenever he visits Punjab.

Time Line of the Case:

On September 7,2013 in a reply to the Shingara Singh's petition, DSP, Banga (District S.B.S. Nagar) filed affidavit making startling revelation before Punjab and Haryana Highcourt that  “Whosoever went abroad during the period of terrorism  in Punjab, his name was mentioned in the list of Hard-core Terrorists”. During the resumed hearing on Thursday, of a Criminal Petition filed by one Shingara Singh of Village Jasso Mazara, District S.B.S. Nagar (now NRI residing in USA) seeking direction to the Punjab Police to delete his name from the list of “Non-hardcore terrorists” maintained in the Police records of Police Station, Behram (District S.B.S. Nagar), inter-alia, on the grounds that he was never involved in any criminal case during his entire life, Shri Bhagwant Singh, DSP, Banga filed an affidavit  in the HC, candidly admitting that “during the period of terrorism, the persons who went abroad, as per report of Crime Branch, CID Security and Secret information, their names were mentioned in the “list of Hardcore terrorists”. DSP, in his affidavit, however, admitted that there is no record available with the Police showing involvement of the petitioner in the terrorist activities. Police has no objection if  his name is ordered to be deleted from the list of non-hardcore terrorists.  Taking serious exception to the aforesaid contents of the affidavit of DSP, Banga, Hon’ble Justice Ram Chander Gutpa , orally expressed his shock and dismay over the aforesaid statement by DSP, Banga, and also the conduct of the Police in itself not deleting the name of the petitioner from the list of non-hardcore terrorists, and instead    leaving  it to the HC to  order deletion of his name from the said list.

ਪਹਿਲੀ ਪਤਨੀ ਨੂੰ ਤਲਾਕ ਦਿੱਤੇ ਬਗੈਰ ਕਰਵਾਇਆ ਦੂਜਾ ਵਿਆਹ, ਧੋਖਾਦੇਹੀ ਦਾ ਮਾਮਲਾ ਦਰਜ

ਮੋਗਾ - ਮੋਗਾ ਜ਼ਿਲੇ ਦੇ ਪਿੰਡ ਧੱਲੇਕੇ ਨਿਵਾਸੀ ਮਨਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਕੌਰ ਨੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਪਤੀ ਨਛੱਤਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਤੇ ਆਪਣੀ ਪਹਿਲੀ ਪਤਨੀ ਨੂੰ ਤਲਾਕ ਦਿੱਤੇ ਬਗੈਰ ਉਸਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਦੂਜਾ ਵਿਆਹ ਕਰਵਾ ਕੇ ਉਸਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਧੋਖਾਦੇਹੀ ਕੀਤੇ ਜਾਣ ਦਾ ਦੋਸ਼ ਲਗਾਇਆ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਸਬੰਧ ਵਿਚ ਥਾਣਾ ਸਦਰ ਮੋਗਾ ਵਲੋਂ ਜਾਂਚ ਦੇ ਬਾਅਦ ਮਨਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਕੌਰ ਪੁੱਤਰੀ ਬਲਦੇਵ ਸਿੰਘ ਨਿਵਾਸੀ ਧੱਲੇਕੇ ਦੀ ਸਿਕਾਇਤ ਤੇ ਨਛੱਤਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਪੁੱਤਰ ਭਰਪੂਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਨਿਵਾਸੀ ਪਿੰਡ ਲੂੰਡੇਵਾਲਾ (ਕੋਟ ਭਾਈ) ਮੁਕਤਸਰ ਦੇ ਵਿਰੁੱਧ ਧੋਖਾਦੇਹੀ ਦਾ ਮਾਮਲਾ ਦਰਜ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਦੀ ਜਾਂਚ ਸਹਾਇਕ ਥਾਣੇਦਾਰ ਅਮਰਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਵਲੋਂ ਕੀਤੀ ਜਾ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ। ਪੁਲਸ ਸੂਤਰਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਮਿਲੀ ਜਾਣਕਾਰੀ ਦੇ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ ਜ਼ਿਲਾ ਪੁਲਸ ਮੁਖੀ ਮੋਗਾ ਨੂੰ ਦਿੱਤੇ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਇਤ ਪੱਤਰ ਵਿਚ ਮਨਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਕੌਰ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਅਖ਼ਬਾਰ ਵਿਚ ਛਪੇ ਇਸ਼ਤਿਹਾਰ ਦੇ ਅਧਾਰ ਤੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨਛੱਤਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਨਾਲ ਸੰਪਰਕ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਿਸ ਤੇ ਨਛੱਤਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੇ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਕਿ ਉਸਦੀ ਪਹਿਲੀ ਸ਼ਾਦੀ ਕੁਲਦੀਪ ਕੌਰ ਪੁੱਤਰੀ ਜਸਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਨਿਵਾਸੀ ਬਸਤੀ ਸੁਰਾਗਪੁਰੀ ਮੁਕਤਸਰ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਹੋਈ ਸੀ ਅਤੇ ਉਸਦਾ ਆਪਣੀ ਪਤਨੀ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਅਦਾਲਤ ਵਿਚ ਤਲਾਕ ਹੋ ਚੁੱਕਾ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਉਸਦਾ ਕੋਈ ਬੱਚਾ ਵੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ ਜਿਸ ਤੇ ਅਸੀਂ ਉਸਦੀ ਗੱਲਾਂ ਤੇ ਯਕੀਨ ਕਰ ਲਿਆ। ਮਨਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਕੌਰ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ ਕਿ ਉਸਦੀ ਸ਼ਾਦੀ 6 ਫਰਵਰੀ 2013 ਨੂੰ ਕਥਿਤ ਦੋਸ਼ੀ ਨਛੱਤਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਧਾਰਮਿਕ ਰੀਤੀਰਿਵਾਜਾਂ ਦੇ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ ਹੋਈ ਸੀ। ਹੁਣ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਪਤਾ ਲੱਗਾ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਮੇਰੇ ਪਤੀ ਨਛੱਤਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਦਾ ਆਪਣੀ ਪਤਨੀ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ ਅਦਾਲਤ ਵਿਚ ਕੋਈ ਤਲਾਕ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੋਇਆ ਅਤੇ ਉਸਦੇ ਬੱਚੇ ਵੀ ਹਨ। ਇਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਉਸਨੇ ਸਾਨੂੰ ਧੋਖੇ ਵਿਚ ਰੱਖ ਕੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਨਾਲ ਵਿਆਹ ਕਰਵਾਇਆ ਅਤੇ ਬੱਚਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਬਾਰੇ ਵਿਚ ਵੀ ਨਹੀਂ ਦੱਸਿਆ। ਇਸ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਉਸਨੇ ਸਾਡੇ ਨਾਲ ਧੋਖਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਹੈ। ਜ਼ਿਲਾ ਪੁਲਸ ਮੁਖੀ ਨੇ ਉਕਤ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਦੀ ਜਾਂਚ ਵੁਮੈਨ ਸੈੱਲ ਮੋਗਾ ਦੀ ਮੁਖੀ ਇੰਸਪੈਕਟਰ ਕਸ਼ਮੀਰ ਕੌਰ ਨੂੰ ਇਸ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਦੀ ਜਾਂਚ ਕਰਨ ਦਾ ਆਦੇਸ਼ ਦਿੱਤਾ। ਜਾਂਚ ਸਮੇਂ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਇਤ ਕਰਤਾ ਮਨਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਕੌਰ ਦੇ ਦੋਸ਼ ਸਹੀ ਪਾਏ ਜਾਣ ਦੇ ਬਾਅਦ ਜਾਂਚ ਅਧਿਕਾਰੀ ਵਲੋਂ ਜਾਂਚ ਰਿਪੋਰਟ ਜ਼ਿਲਾ ਪੁਲਸ ਮੁਖੀ ਮੋਗਾ ਨੂੰ ਸੌਂਪ ਦਿੱਤੀ ਜਿੰਨਾਂ ਦੇ ਆਦੇਸ਼ ਤੇ ਕਥਿਤ ਦੋਸ਼ੀ ਨਛੱਤਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਦੇ ਵਿਰੁੱਧ ਧੋਖਾਦੇਹੀ ਦਾ ਮਾਮਲਾ ਦਰਜ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ। ਇਸ ਮਾਮਲੇ ਦੀ ਜਾਂਚ ਸਹਾਇਕ ਥਾਣੇਦਾਰ ਅਮਰਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਵਲੋਂ ਕੀਤੀ ਜਾ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ। ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੱਸਿਆ ਕਿ ਕਥਿਤ ਦੋਸ਼ੀ ਦੀ ਗ੍ਰਿਫਤਾਰੀ ਬਾਕੀ ਹੈ।

Indian-origin former Canadian MP begins campaign in Punjab against fraud marriages

New Delhi:  Indian-origin former Canadian parliamentarian Ruby Dhalla has kick-started a campaign to help women victims of fraud marriages in Punjab.

The campaign is being spearheaded by 'Dreams for You', an NGO, which focuses on helping, supporting and empowering women who have been "victimised, impacted and affected with the growing phenomena of fraud marriages".

Dhalla has also brought out a fashion label "Ruby Red", comprising gowns, kurtas, dresses and kaftans, whose sale proceeds would be channeled towards the charity.

Dhalla, who is the first Sikh Parliamentarian in Canada, says she used to deal with a lot of cases from the Indian community there concerning fraud marriages and during a visit to India had met an "unexpectedly huge" number of people who turned up to meet her.

"I have been working on this issue for many years in Canada. I remember in 2004 a lot of women from ethnic communities and the Indian community began coming to me with such issues. When I came to Punjab in 2009, I asked them to organise a function to meet these women. I thought only about 15 to 20 women would show up and we would discuss the issue. To my shock I remember walking into the event with hundreds of women lined up outside and other thousands inside that little community centre. They were in tears and pleading with me to help them," Dhalla said during her recent visit in New Delhi.

The former member of the Canadian House of Commons said it was about that time when she decided to help the women.

"These women have so little. They are neither here nor there. They are not divorced, they are not married. They are just living in a sense of abandonment. And it is difficult for these women to live with their in-laws or even at their parents' home," Dhalla said.

Through her NGO, Dhalla says she wants to raise awareness about issues like registration of marriages, development of an NRI wing, imparting skill training and proving legal assistance to those affected.

"Besides raising awareness on the issue, one of the elements that I advocate for is the need to develop an NRI wing where issues like this would go to and where people can come forward and there is a sense of collectivity," she said.