Divorce v. Judicial Separation

My Lord, Decree for Divorce v. Decree for Judicial Separation? “A 3-Judge Bench in Jeet Singh, (1993) 1 SCC 325 ruled that, a Decree or an Order for Judicial Separation permits the Parties to live apart. There would be no obligation for either Party to cohabit with the other; mutual rights and obligations arising out […]

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Birth Certificates

“It may be recalled that owing to curial fiat, it is no longer necessary to state the name of the father in applications seeking admission of children to school, as well as for obtaining a passport for a minor child. However, in both these cases, it may still remain necessary to furnish a birth certificate. […]

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Monsters-in-Law I

“If a spouse abuses the other as being born from a prostitute, this cannot be termed as ‘wear and tear’ of family life. Summoning the police on false or flimsy grounds cannot also be similarly viewed. Making it impossible for any close relatives to visit or reside in the matrimonial home would also indubitably result […]

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Masterly Concubinage I

Yajnavalkya Smriti classifies concubines into two types: (1) Avaruddha and (2) Bhujasya. An Avaruddha Stree operates under an injunction to stay at the master’s home whereas a Bhujasya is not kept in the house but elsewhere. There is some protection for an Avaruddha Stree in modern India. There is a presumption in favor of a […]

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The Guardian

After referring to the Black’s Law Dictionary; The Guardians & Wards Act, 1890; The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956; The Tamil Nadu Elementary Education Act, 1994 & The Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) Act, 2000. “Guardianship postulates control over both the person as well as the assets of a minor or of one and […]

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Schizophrenia

Section 13(1)(iii) of The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 does not make the mere existence of a mental-disorder, of any degree, sufficient in law to justify the dissolution of a marriage. Its degree must be such, the spouse seeking relief cannot reasonably be expected to live with the other. The same must be proved by positive […]

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Boris and Barbara

In 1993, when admittedly Boris Becker was not entirely focused on Tennis, a German Magazine, STERN, published an article with a picture of Boris Becker posing nude with his dark-skinned fiancée. Sports World and Anandabazar Patrika, in India, reproduced the article and the photograph. Someone in the capacity of an “experienced Advocate and an elderly person” stood his ground on […]

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