INDIA- Jessica Lal Murder Convict Manu Sharma seeks Premature Release, Moves Delhi High Court

Following the premature release of former Youth Congress leader Sushil Kumar Sharma, who had been in the prison for 23 years for the murder of his wife Naina Sahni in 1995, Manu Sharma, the convict in the Jessica Lal murder case, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder, has moved the court, seeking the same relief. As per Manu Sharma’s petition, he has served 15 years in the prison without remission and over 20 years with remission and therefore, he becomes eligible to get a premature release. Remission is part of a sentence, that is granted to an accused after the assessment of his behavior during his term in the jail including his conduct during the term, and the period of interim bail or parole or furlough. A remission is added to the sentence undergone by a prisoner in jail.

DUBAI- Proposal to revoke violators’ passports under draft Indian law

As per the new law, which is yet to be approved, Indian nationals flying internally for education and employment, who fail to register their information with the Indian Government may have their passports revoked, suspended or canceled and will be liable to pay a fine of not less than Rs10,000 (DhDh515.5) on those who fail to register, as per the 51-page Bill posted on the website of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Indian expats, mainly from the UAE, had complained about the difficulties in registration and protested the government’s controversial plan to offload passengers who fail to register their details.

INDIA- Online User Speech Could Be Suppressed As Indian Government Proposes Social Media Rules

The Indian government seeks to propose new rules for the prevention of misinformation on social media, sparking free speech concerns among local advocacy groups. An amendment of  Section 79 of the country’s IT Act is proposed by the government, which would require social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook to censor content deemed inappropriate by the government, according to The Verge. If amended, the law would require social media networks to provide users’ private messages to the government, if they’re requested. Civil liberties group Internet Freedom Foundation said the new rules could “break end to end encryption” and would be a “sledgehammer to online free speech.”

INDIA- NRIs can vote in Lok Sabha polls through proxies? Key bill awaits Rajya Sabha test

The Law Ministry is looking forward to a small window for the passage of a key bill to allow proxy voting rights Indians living abroad and intends to make the electoral law gender neutral for service voters. The bill assumes importance as Lok Sabha elections are due in summer.

The bill that was passed by Lok Sabha in August 2018 has been awaiting Rajya Sabha’s consent. Rajya Sabha was repeatedly disrupted in the previous session due to Rafale and other issues. If the bill becomes a law, NRIs or Non-resident Indians eligible to vote in India will be allowed to appoint proxies who can vote on their behalf. These proxies will change for every election. Presently, overseas Indians have to register as voter, come to India, go to their constituency with the original passport issued to them when they had gone abroad and cast their votes.

INDIA- Unregulated acid sale: High Court to Examine if Supreme Court’s ruling implemented

It has been clarified by the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it intends to examine whether or not the Supreme Court judgment regarding unregulated sale of acid and the directions laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of “Laxmi versus the Union of India”  is being implemented meticulously in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. The Secretaries in the Ministry of Home Affairs and in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had been directed by the Supreme Court of India to take up the issue of banning the sale of acid across the counter with state governments and union territories for ensuring issuance of an appropriate notification. The Supreme Court had added that some states and union territories had already issued such a notification, but all states and union territories were required to issue such a notification at the earliest.

INDIA- New Feature Introduced Globally By WhatsApp To Curb The Spread Of Fake News 

Facebook-owned platform WhatsApp announces a feature first launched in India last July that will allow forwarding only five chats at once than 20 chats, that were allowed until now, with an aim to curb  fake news and starting today, this feature in WhatsApp will be implemented globally.  “The new change will continue to help keep WhatsApp focused on private messaging with close contacts,” it added. With the Indian government talking tough on WhatsApp’s failure to check the spread of fake and provocative content on its platform, the instant messaging service last year rolled out its forward message limit to five chats for over 200 million users in the country.

UK- New Domestic Violence Laws clamp down on controlling men 

If any Man’s girlfriend or wife is stopped from going to work by the Man stealing the females car keys or impose any other restrictions on her freedom will face prosecution under new domestic abuse legislation unveiled today.  Home Office minister Victoria Atkins said stopping a woman from doing a job would be viewed as coercive economic control that will be considered illegal as it amounts to an “extraordinary” level of oppression that restricts female financial independence. Any other actions that impose restrictions on a woman’s independence will also be outlawed under an expanded definition of domestic abuse designed to cover conduct ranging beyond physical violence. The move was announced today by the government as it published its long-awaited draft Domestic Abuse Bill.

AUSTRALIA- Tax Debts can be shifted between spouses, High Court rules against ATO

A recent case before the High Court has found that a tax debt of one spouse can be shifted to another in a property settlement during a divorce between the parties to the marriage, which according to the lawyers is unprecedented and could leave the richer spouse with the debts of their divorced partner. The case of Commissioner of Taxation v Tomaras concerns whether the Family Court can give orders to government agencies — in this case the ATO — as part of the determination of a property dispute. After the breakdown of a marriage, one spouse, who had incurred a $250,000 tax debt during the marriage, sought an order from the Federal Circuit Court that her (bankrupt) partner become solely liable for the debt. The Full Court said s90AE(1) of the Family Law Act 1975 confers power onto the court that enables it to make an order that the commissioner be directed to substitute the husband for the wife in relation to the debt owed by the wife to the commissioner.