India: Don’t Involve Relative Of The Husband In Dowry Cases, Supreme Court Warns Lower Courts

The Supreme Court has cautioned lower courts not to involve relatives of the husband in dowry harassment cases. Giving this ruling on Tuesday, a bench of Justices S.A. Bobde and L. Nag-eswara Rao said the courts should be careful in proceeding against the distant relatives in crimes pertaining to matrimonial disputes and dowry deaths.
Writing the judgment, Justice Rao said the relatives of the husband should not be roped in on the basis of omnibus allegations unless specific instances of their involvement in crime are made out.

India: Government Opposes A Blanket Ban On Firecrackers

The Indian government on Wednesday opposed a blanket ban on firecrackers and told the Supreme Court that a regulatory mechanism should be put in place to restrain manufacturers from using polluting raw materials to curb pollution. The Centre said use of ash as desiccant or filler materials in crackers should be avoided for a reduction in particulate matter by 15 to 20 percent.

In an affidavit filed by the ministry for environment and forests, the government said production of ‘series’ crackers or ‘laris’ could be banned and the state government could designate places for the bursting of firecrackers.

India: State Government Can Deny Doctors Voluntary Retirement, Supreme Court Declares.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declared that Uttar Pradesh government has the legal and moral right to deny voluntary retirement to government doctors, saying that allowing all doctors to leave service would lead to a collapse of the healthcare system for the poor.
A bench led by justice Arun Mishra said the right of life of the poor would prevail over the right of employees to take voluntary retirement. The Allahabad High Court had on November 29, 2017, ruled against the state government’s right to deny any employee the opportunity to take voluntary retirement.

India: Kerala Flood: Supervise Rehabilitation Of Flood Victims, KSCPCR Chairman Begs Supreme Court

The Chairman Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR), C J Anthony, has appealed to the Supreme Court to supervise the rehabilitation of Kerala Flood Victims. He made the appeal in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Supreme Court of India on Kerala floods. Anthony demanded in the PIL that the Central government and the Kerala government should work for the rehabilitation of the people of the state under the supervision of the Supreme Court. KSCPCR is part of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Right.

India: District Bar Association Election: Lawyers Accuse Body Of Deferring Elections Till 2019

A group of Lawyers has accused the District Bar Association’s President and the Secretary of deferring the body’s election till next year. If the lawyers are to be believed, the current body, led by president Prakash Jaiswal and secretary Nitin Telgote, is planning to defer the process till next year, which would enable it to complete four years in the office — two officially and two unofficially. Even after expiry of its two-year term about 18 months ago, the present office-bearers of District Bar Association (DBA) seem to be in no mood of conducting the much-awaited polls.

India: You Cannot Challenge School Fees Hike Individually, High Court Tells Parents

A High sitting in Bombay on Wednesday ruled that individual parents cannot challenge a school fee hike before the divisional fee regulatory committee (DFRC). A division bench of Justices Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari and Bharati Dangre dismissed a petition seeking a change in the law so that a parent aggrieved by a fee hike in a school can approach the regulator. The Maharashtra Educational Institutions (Regulation of Fee) Act (MEIA) gives only the management or the executive committee comprising teachers and PTA representatives to challenge a fee hike order before the DFRC or the revision committee.

India: Aadhaar Data Security: Delhi High Court Seeks UIDAI, Centre Response On Data Breach

A High Court sitting in Delhi on Tuesday sought response of the UIDAI and the Centre on a plea raising concerns about Aadhaar data security and privacy of individuals, in the wake of several reported leaks of personal information of people from the Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI) database. The plea was brought before the court by a Kerala-based lawyer Shamnad Basheer, who alleged in his plea that there were several breaches of the Aadhaar system leading to leakage of personal information of individuals since January this year and contended that UIDAI and the Centre were liable to compensate people whose data was compromised. A bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and Anu Malhotra issued notice and sought reply of the authorities on the plea.

UK: Government To Ban The Sale Of Puppies and Kitten By Pet Shops

The UK Government on Wednesday announced its decision to ban the sale of puppies by pet shops, online dealers and other third-party sellers. This was made known by the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove. Gove heaped praise on the campaign which highlighted how these sellers rely on puppies supplied by callous commercial breeders who raise animals in horrendous conditions.

Australia: China’s Huawei, ZTE banned from the 5G network

The Australian government on Wednesday imposed a heavy ban on Chinese telecommunication companies Huawei and ZTE from providing 5G technology to the country. This was revealed in a joint statement from Treasurer, Scott Morrison, and Communications Minister, Mitch Fifield, during a press conference. The government layed out new rules in a security guidance statement to vendors and telcos building the next-generation mobile infrastructure.

Germany: Germans Want Rejected Asylum Seekers To Remain In The Country

Majority of Germans are in favor of a proposed rule change which would allow rejected asylum seekers to stay in the country if they were working or schooling. A survey carried out by Insa shows that 58 percent of Germans said they supported the idea of allowing rejected asylum seekers to remain in the country if they were integrating well. Only 31 percent said that they were against the proposals, and would prefer that all those whose asylum claims had been rejected were deported.

UAE: Employers To Deduct Workers’ Pay For Leaving Work Early

Employers in the UAE have agreed to deduct their Employees’ pay if they leave the workplace early. This decision was taken unanimously accordance to the Schedule mentioned in ministerial order no. 28/1 of 1991 regarding mode disciplinary code, a guide to the employee in making disciplinary regulations applied in their undertaking. The Schedule clearly states the kind of contravention and the degree of penalty to be imposed on the employee. An employee taking frequent breaks during working hours or leaving the workplace early may attract penalties.

US: Undocumented Immigrant Confesses Killing Lowa Student, Mollie Tibbetts

Police are charging a Mexican immigrant with first-degree murder in the death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts. She went missing on July 18 while jogging in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. On Wednesday, According to a report by Des Moines Register, the suspect’s attorney filed court documents declaring his client is here legally. The court has not fixed a date to hear the suit.