Asin Thottumkal in her second outing - LONDON DREAMS

Will Asin Thottumkal be next Sridevi in Bollywood? The verdict is near. Her second outing in Hindi film, much awaited LONDON DREAMS will hit the theatre in the coming Friday. Her debut film, GHAJINI, was a run away hit, and thus she becomes much sought actress. Now LONDON DREAMS will be a very crucial film for her career. Her contemporary Deepika Padukone has able to survive after a dream debut in OM SHANTI OM, though two disaster in her credit. Her career was rescued by the success of LOVE AAJ KAL.

LONDON DREAMS will also be a very crucial film for Salman Khan after his disaster MAIN AUR MRS. KHANNA. Though he has a large fan following, he lacks consistency in delivering Box Office hits. But still he is going great, ... anytime his film will bounced back. Don't forget WANTED.

Ajay Devgn, on the other hand, is going great after his much successful ALL THE BEST. Last time, he had shared the screen with Salman Khan in HUM DIL DE CHUKE SANAM, and surprisingly he won the viewers heart with his excellent performance.

LONDON DREAMS has all the ingredients to become a super hit film, good star cast, good director, good musics, good locations...the final verdict will be out next week. Best of Luck.

Ajay Devgan- All the best

It is not an easy job living upto expectation. BLUE created much hype but ALL THE BEST has come out much beyond the expectation. Five films old, Rohit Shetty has three consecutive hits in his kitty. Started with action flick ZAMEEN, he has created a niche in tinsel town with his later comedy flicks.
Started in early nineties, Ajay Devgan has a lot of fan following for most of his action films churned out in the early nineties. Probably he is the only "angry young man" type actor after Amitabh Bachchan, thanks to his action flicks. With brooding looks, the critics started taking him seriously in the late nineties. With two National Awards, he is also the only actor among his contemporaries who can essayed negative roles successfully.
Only in 1997 that he acted in comedy film ISHQ. But the success of the film goes to Amir Khan and Director Inder Kumar. His second outing in comedy, MASTI was also a big hit, again the credit goes to Director Inder Kumar and other actors like Viveik Oberoi, Aftab Shivdasani and Ritesh Deshmukh. His real comedy started with very successful GOLMAAL, followed by semi hit SUNDAY super hit GOLMAAL RETURNS and now ALL THE BEST. Though five of the six comedy flicks he acted are of all hits at box office, the critics accepted only from his latest ALL THE BEST. Continuously he is proving that he is a versatile actor who carry a film on his shoulder. Truly, ALL THE BEST belongs to him.
Action star Sanjay Dutt has made a name in comedy films in the late nineties. In all of his successful comedy films like Haseena Maan Jaayegi, Jodi No.1, and Ek Aur Ek Gyarah with David Dhawan, the credits goes mainly to his co actor Govinda. His true success as a comic actor comes with Munnabhai MBBS. In All The Best, his role is very pivotal, but lacks his charisma. He has gain much weight, and sometimes looks dull in the film.
Fardeen Khan is very promising in comedy flicks after the success of No Entry and Life Partner. He carries his role very well in this film All The Best too, but still he needs a solo hit to be a bankable star.

Marriage and Divorce: Remedies Under the Laws

If a woman is subjected to aggressive and violent behaviour from her husband, she can end the marriage. This can be done either by executing a separation agreement with her husband, by judicial separation or by divorce.
Divorce is the complete dissolution of marriage whereas judicial separation by a court order gives the right to live apart from the husband while the marriage tie still subsists. A woman can not remarry after judicial separation but she can after divorce. But in most cases, a woman can not apply for divorce until at least one year from the date of marriage, but she can apply for judicial separation at any time.
A woman’s right to her husband’s property upon his death is not affected by judicial separation but terminates upon divorce. Choice regarding divorce or judicial separation will depend on these factors as well as on the laws set out under the matrimonial Acts that applies to a particular woman. When deciding whether or not to legally separate from her husband, a woman should bear in mind that, unless Hindu Law is applicable to her, she can not claim maintenance for herself or her children without first applying for divorce or judicial separation.
This consideration is important if a woman decides to live apart from her husband, she need to ensure that she has adequate financial support for herself and her children. A third option is to live apart from her husband through a separation agreement.
This is like a contract, where wife and her husband agree to live separately and release each other from the duties that come with marriage. As in judicial separation, marriage continues to exist. However, unlike judicial separation, one does not have to go through court proceedings to be released from marital duties – the signing of the agreement is enough.

[Inputs: Premjit Elangbam,DHR, LLM [Advocate]

Dowry Death

Many women have been killed by their husbands or relatives out of greed for more dowry. To deal with this problem, the offence of dowry death was included in the IPC. Section 2 of Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 defines dowry, it means property or valuable security give or agreed to be given in connection with the marriage. Dower or Mehr is not dowry under Muslim Personal law. Gifts that are given to a woman during her marriage are not dowry. They are her own personal property and she has an absolute right over them. Dowry need not be directly given. For example, property given in someone else’s name or given by someone who is not a woman’s parent or her husband’s parents is still considered as Dowry. An agreement to give property may count as dowry even if has been negotiated between people who are not related to her.
As the earlier law was not sufficient to check dowry death, the legislature introduced stringent provisions under the Section 304B, IPC and Section 113B Evidence Act in 1986. These provisions were introduced so that the person committing such inhuman crimes on married woman could not escape liability, as evidence of a direct nature is not readily available.
The primary requirements for finding the accused guilty of an offence under S.304B, IPC, are that the death of the deceased was caused by burns of bodily injuries, which occur otherwise than under normal circumstances, within seven years of her marriage and that soon before her death, she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by the accused for or in connection with a demand for money. Unless there is evidence of dowry demand, S304B cannot be attracted.
The concept of cruelty or harassment has to be taken from the explanation to S. 498A IPC. Cruelty or harassment need not be physical. Even mental torture would in the facts and circumstances of a given case amount to cruelty or harassment under S. 498A IPC. The term ‘willful conduct’ means conduct willfully done; this may be inferred by direct or indirect evidence. In Pawan Kumar v. State of Haryana, the court held that taunting the woman for not bringing dowry and calling her ugly, amounts to mental torture. Further, if there is a quarrel a day before her death, this would constitute willful act of cruelty both within the meaning of S. 498A and 304B, IPC.
Dowry deaths occur within the four walls of the house, therefore the concept of deemed ‘dowry death’ was introduced by the 1983 amendment. In order to invoke the legal presumption under S. 113B of the Evidence Act, it is necessary to prove that the deceased was subjected to cruelty or harassment. Further, the presumption under Ss. 113B and 304B only apply if the offence takes place within seven years of marriage. The sections read in conjunction shift the burden of proof from the prosecution on the husband or his relatives of the offence. This is a departure from the normal rule of evidence and was introduced to strengthen the hands of the prosecution. The provisions of S. 113B is mandatory in nature. In State of Punjab v. Iqbal Singh, the court opines that S. 113B could be applied retrospectively as it is procedural in nature. There has to be a proximity between the incident of cruelty or harassment and the offence for the presumption of S. 113B to apply.
There can be no direct evidence available for the offence of dowry death, therefore the courts must rely upon circumstantial evidence and infer from the material available. The Court in C.V. Govindappa v. State of Karnataka held that the conduct of the husband in not trying to put out the flames and not taking her to hospital will be taken as circumstance against the husband. It is also necessary to establish that cruelty or harassment meted out to the woman was on account of the failure on her part to meet the dowry demands. Along with circumstantial evidence, the courts also rely upon the dying declaration of the deceased. The statement of the deceased regarding circumstances of the transaction, which resulted in her death, would be relevant under S. 32(1) of the Evidence Act.
Motive for murder may or may not exist but in dowry deaths, it is inherent. The courts only have to examine as to who translated it into action, as motive for dowry is not of the individual but that of the family.
Sections 304B and 498A, IPC are mutually exclusive. These provisions deal with two distinct offences. Under S. 304B, it is dowry death within the time period of seven years. There is no time limit within which the offence would have to be committed to attract the provision of S. 498A, IPC. Further, S. 498A deals with the offence of cruelty by the husband and his relatives. There is nothing in the section that excludes the application of S. 302, if S. 304B applies. Where the dowry death takes place after seven years of marriage, then the other provisions of IPC are applicable.
The offence under S. 304B can be tried by the sessions court and it is a cognizable offence. Where the complaints reveals a case of continuing offence of maltreatment and humiliation in various cities then S. 178(c) of the Criminal Procedure Code applies. Where the charge is only under one section but the ingredients of another offence are fulfilled, the court in exercise of its inherent powers under Art. 142 of the Constitution can give appropriate orders in the interest of justice.
Unlike S. 498A, S. 304B, IPC gives no space to be used in situations where the violence is not linked to dowry. Since no record is maintained and no complaints are made at the time of meeting the dowry demands while the girl is alive, it is extremely difficult to prove a dowry death under this section. The section also presumes that women are harassed for dowry only within the first seven years of marriage. Overall, this section is not likely to benefit women to deal with domestic violence. The other sections of the IPC which have been used in cases of wife murder are S. 302- punishment for murder and S. 306 abetment to suicide.

[Inputs: Premjit Elangbam,DHR, LLM [Advocate]

Domestic violence: The changing concept

Domestic violence as such can also be called as Battery, Partner abuse, Spousal abuse etc. Domestic violence is a type of abuse. It involves injuring someone usually a spouse or partner. Domestic violence is a serious problem. It is the most common cause of injury to women ages 15 to 44. Victims may suffer physical injuries such as bruises or broken bones. They may suffer emotionally from depression, anxiety or social isolation. It is hard to know exactly how common domestic violence is, because people often don't report it. There is no typical victim. It happens among people of all ages. It affects those of all levels of income and education.
Domestic Violence (sometimes referred to as domestic abuse or spousal abuse) occurs when a family member, partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate another. Domestic violence often refers to violence between spouses, or spousal abuse but can also include cohabitants and non-married intimate partners. Domestic violence occurs in all cultures; people of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexes and classes can be perpetrators of domestic violence.
The Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences defines violence in the social context as “the illegal employment of methods of physical coercion for personal or group ends . . . which is distinct from force or power”. . . a purely physical concept. It goes beyond the dictionary meaning of the term ‘violence’ as merely the exercise of physical force so as to inflict injury or damage to persons or property both spiritual and non–spiritual. The “illegality “and “illegitimacy” of social violence will differ on situational norms and social context. There has been overlapping between “force” and “violence”, “legitimate” and “illegal violence”, between “violence” on the one hand and “discrimination” and “oppressions” perpetuated on the female folks as a group. For all these reasons, ‘social violence’ is roughly defined as the illegal use physical, mental and social concern or use of threats for personal or group ends reflected broadly in our traditional social structure and present day developmental processes. Here, the ‘coercive’ aspects ( physical, psychological and social), ‘threats’ for harm (battering, killing, insulting, isolating, molestation and rape, eve teasing) and the ‘discriminating’ and ‘oppressive’ aspects and of violence (subjugation in different walks of life i.e. child rearing and child bearing, employment, low wages, education, health, denial of opportunities for dissent, etc.) are included.
Thus , the social violence means illegal use of force or threats for use of such force by the patriarchal social order and their agents (e.g. men) against women folks in general for perpetuating the goals of that group (e.g. men) for subjugating women physically, socially and psychologically.

[Inputs: Premjit Elangbam,DHR, LLM [Advocate]