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Friday, May 29, 2009

Degree of Prohibited relationship as per the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

This clause prevents marriages between prohibited degree of relationships and sapindas. This provision has a scientific base because the prevention of a marriage between persons of prohibited degree of relationship or sapindas, will actually prevent the birth of physically deformed children or deaf, dumb and blind children, because the possibility of delivering such children is more in marriages between persons of prohibited relationship and sapindas.

Section 3 (f):

i. "
Sapinda relationship" with reference to any person extends as far as the third generation (inclusive) in the line of ascent through the mother, and the fifth (inclusive) in the line of ascent through the father, the line being traced upwards in each case from the person concerned, who is to be counted as the first generation;

ii. two persons are said to "sapindas" of each other if one is a lineal ascendant of the other within the limits of sapinda relationship, or if they have a common lineal ascendant who is within the limits of sapinda relationship with reference to each of them;

Section 3 (g):

"
degrees of prohibited relationship" – two persons are said to be within the "degrees of prohibited relationship" –

if one is a lineal ascendant of the other; or 
if one was the wife or husband of a lineal ascendant or descendant of the other; or 
if one was the wife of the brother or the father’s or mother’s brother or of the grandfather’s or grandmother’s brother; or 
if the two are brother and sister, uncle and niece, aunt and nephew, or children of brother and sister or of two brothers or of two sisters; 
Explanation – For the purposes of clauses 3(f) and 3(g), relationship includes –

relationship by half or uterine blood as well as by full blood; 
illegitimate blood relationship as well as legitimate; 
relationship by adoption as well as by blood; 
and all terms of relationship in those clauses shall be construed accordingly.

Degrees of Prohibited relationship as per the Special Marriage Act, 1954

Section 2 (b):

"
Degrees of prohibited relationship" – a man and any of the persons mentioned in Part I of the First Schedule and a woman and any of the persons mentioned in Part II of the said Schedule are within the degrees of prohibited relationship.

Explanation (I) – Relationship includes, --

relationship by half or uterine blood as well as by full blood; 
illegitimate blood relationship as well as legitimate; 
relationship by adoption as well as by blood; 
and all terms of relationship in this Act shall be construed accordingly.

Explanation (II) – "Full blood" and "half blood" – two persons are said to be related to each other by full blood when they are descended from a common ancestor by the same wife and by half blood when they are descended from a common ancestor but by different wives.

Explanation (III) – "Uterine blood" – two persons are said to be related to each other by uterine blood when they are descended from a common ancestress but by different husbands.

Explanation (IV) – In Explanations II and III, "ancestor" includes the father and "ancestress" the mother;

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THE FIRST SCHEDULE [ DEGREE OF PROHIBITED RELATIONSHIP]

PART – I

Mother. 
Father’s widow (step mother). 
Mother’s mother. 
Mother’s father’s widow (step grand-mother). 
Mother’s mother’s mother. 
Mother’s mother’s father’s widow (step great grand-mother).

Mother's father’s mother. 
Mother’s father’s father’s widow (step great grand-mother). 
Father’s mother. 
Father’s father’s widow (step grand-mother). 
Father’s mother’s mother. 
Father’s mother’s father’s widow (step great grand-mother). 
Father’s father’s mother. 
Father’s father’s father’s widow (step great grand-mother). 
Daughter. 
Son’s widow. 
Daughter’s daughter. 
Daughter’s son’s widow. 
Son’s daughter. 
Son’s son’s widow.
Daughter’s daughter’s daughter. 
Daughter’s daughter’s son’s widow. 
Daughter’s son’s daughter. 
Daughter’s son’s son’s widow. 
Son’s daughter’s daughter. 
Son’s daughter’s son’s widow. 
Son’s son’s daughter. 
Son’s son’s son’s widow. 
Sister. 
Sister’s daughter. 
Brother’s daughter. 
Mother’s sister. 
Father’s sister. 
Father’s brother’s daughter. 
Father’s sister’s daughter. 
Mother’s sister’s daughter. 
Mother’s brother’s daughter.

Explanation – For the purposes of this Part, the expression "widow" includes a divorced wife.

PART – II 

Father. 
Mother’s husband (step-father). 
Father’s father. 
Father’s mother’s husband (step grand-father). 
Father’s father’s father. 
Father’s father’s mother’s husband (step great grand-father). 
Father’s mother’s father. 
Father’s mother’s mother’s husband (step great grand-father). 
Mother’s father. 
Mother’s mother’s husband (step grand-father). 
Mother’s father’s father. 
Mother’s father’s mother’s husband (step great grand-father).

Mother’s mother’s father. 
Mother’s mother’s mother’s husband (step great grand-father). 
Son. 
Daughter’s husband.
Son’s son.
Son’s daughter’s husband. 
Daughter’s son. 
Daughter’s daughter’s husband. 
Son’s son’s son. 
Son’s son’s daughter’s husband. 
Son’s daughter’s son. 
Son’s daughter’s daughter’s husband. 
Daughter’s son’s son. 
Daughter’s son’s daughter’s husband. 
Daughter’s daughter’s son. 
Daughter’s daughter’s daughter’s husband. 
Brother. 
Brother’s son. 
Sister’s son. 
Mother’s brother. 
Father’s brother. 
Father’s brother’s son. 
Father’s sister’s son. 
Mother’s sister’s son. 
Mother’s brother’s son. 

Explanation – For the purposes of this Part, the expression "husband" includes a divorced husband. 

Legal consequences are that the marriage is void.

Void marriage

Section 11 of the Act provides the circumstances under which a marriage shall be declared null and void, on a petition presented by either party on the grounds that the marriage contravened the conditions specified for a valid marriage in section 5 which are;

Neither party must have a living spouse at the time of marriage 

The parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship unless the custom or usage of either party permits marriage between such parties within a prohibited relationship. 

The parties are not sapindas of each other unless the custom or usage of the parties permits marriage between them. 

A marriage which is solemnized after the commencement of this Act in contravention of any of the conditions mentioned above is null and void ab initio from its inception and either party can obtain a decree of nullity from the Court. Any marriage that is null and void shall be so declared, and dissolved by the court on a petition presented by either party.

Legitimacy of children born out of a void marriage

Section 16 of the Act grants legitimacy to the children who are born out of a void marriage and declares them to be legitimate regardless of a decree of nullity being passed by the Court.


Wednesday, May 27, 2009

India's Prime Ministers from Independence on Aug 15, 1947 till now :-

Jawaharlal Nehru : Aug 15, 1947 - May 27, 1964

 

Lal Bahadur Shastri : June 9, 1964 - Jan 11, 1966

 

Indira Gandhi : Jan 24, 1966 - March 24, 1977

 

Morarji Desai : March 24, 1977 - July 28, 1979

 

Charan Singh : July 28, 1979 - Jan 14, 1980

 

Indira Gandhi : Jan 14, 1980 - Oct 31, 1984

 

Rajiv Gandhi : Oct 31, 1984 - Dec 2, 1989

 

Vishwanath Pratap Singh : Dec 2, 1989 - Nov 10, 1990

 

Chandra Shekhar : Nov 10, 1990 - June 21, 1991

 

P.V. Narasimha Rao : June 21, 1991 - May 16, 1996

 

Atal Bihari Vajpayee : May 16, 1996 - June 1, 1996

 

H.D. Deve Gowda : June 1, 1996 - April 21, 1997

 

Inder Kumar Gujral : April 1, 1997 - March 19, 1998

 

Atal Bihari Vajpayee : March 19, 1998 - May 22, 2004

 

Manmohan Singh : May 22, 2004 -  May 22, 2009

 

Manmohan Singh  :  May 22, 2009 to      - - - - -

 

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Doha Legal Conference: 29-31 May, 2009

The Qatar Law Forum will host the Doha Legal Conference in Doha from 29th to 31st May 2009 under the patronage of His Highness the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani. Its purpose is to provide an unprecedented opportunity for global leaders in law to debate the global commitment to the Rule of Law. The importance of this debate in the present global economic circumstances is self-evident. It is the ambition of the Forum to be the foremost meeting for positive transnational engagement among leaders in law from around the world. Given its reach, the Forum offers an unparalleled opportunity for face-to-face dialogue. It will address the administration of justice, latest methods of dispute resolution, and legal education, in an ever-changing world. Its focus will include the role of the law in meeting the world’s current financial challenges. The hosting of the Forum in the Middle East will allow the issues to be addressed both at a global level and in an Islamic context. There is the confirmed attendance of leading judicial figures (including eleven serving Chief Justices), distinguished academics from universities in Europe, the Americas, the Far East and the Middle East, together with regulators, central bankers and general counsel of the most senior level.

Among the host of topics being covered at the conference, the following may be in focus :

- Islamic Finance;

- The Legal Profession Today: Local and International Practice;

- From Delaware to Doha: the Legal Environment Necessary for Corporate Centres and Thriving Financial Markets;

- Redefining Global Governance;

- International Organisation and the Economic Crisis: The Contribution of Global and Regional Cooperation in Trade and Finance;

- In a Time of Financial Stress: Regulatory Law and the Credit Crunch; and

- International Dispute Resolution: Mediation and Arbitration and the Place of Law and Economics.

The provisional programme is available here...

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Colors of Money in India

BLACK MONEY in Swiss bank from India has become a major issue in the current Lok Sabha elections in the country. The BJP, the Congress and the Left have decided to capitalise on the issue making claims and counter claims. According to an estimate put forward by BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani , anything between 25 lakh crore and 70 lakh crore of rupees have been siphoned out of the country in the past sixty years. While the BJP blamed the Congress for siphoning off funds from the country, the Congress rebuffed by saying that even the NDA government during its tenure did not take any steps to prevent such siphoning off of funds from the country. According to the 2006 estimate of the Swiss Bank Association, the Indians have deposited over 1450 billion dollars. A recent estimate said the amount had now gone up to 1891 billion dollars. Source

Why call it "Black" ?
So how come we call it black money? All countries, to a greater or smaller percentage, have what is known as a parallel, or cash, economy that operates outside the legitimate loop. But India's parallel economy is unparalleled, in that by many guesstimates it is not only as big as the legit economy but in fact a couple of times bigger. And we have a unique name for it. Black money. Also known as No.2. The origins and current disposition of black money are as mysterious as its name. Source

A 2006 report of the Swiss Banking Association dug out by an Indian private channel, CNN-IBN, claims Indians are the biggest depositors of black money in banks located in Switzerland. Top five countries in terms of such deposits were:
India: $1456 billion
Russia: $470 billion
UK: $390 billion
Ukraine: $100 billion
China: $96 billion
India with $1456 billion or $1.4 trillion has more money in Swiss banks than rest of the world combined. This must be unaccounted money earned in India by wrong means as otherwise any Indian wanting to open a bank account abroad has to take permission of the Reserve Bank of India and records do not show any such permissions granted for deposits in Switzerland. In March 2005, the Tax Justice Network (TJN) published a research finding demonstrating that $11.5 trillion of personal wealth was held offshore by rich individuals across the globe. The findings estimated that a large proportion of this wealth was managed from some 70 tax havens. Source

The share prices of real estate companies have crashed. Yet, India has no mortgage crisis or financial sector crisis. Why not? Mainly because of the huge amount of black money in Indian real estate. This has saved the Indian financial sector in unexpected ways. This is because a large proportion, often half, of almost all home purchases is paid in black money. If a house is sold for Rs 100 lakh, the official registered value will typically be only Rs 50 lakh, with the balance paid under the table in cash. A bank may loan Rs 50 lakh, covering the entire formal price. However, the owner's contribution is not zero: he has paid Rs 50 lakh in black. To preserve that black investment, he will keep paying his installments even if house prices dip.Now, the Indian legal system is so slow that borrowers have little fear of even their mortgaged homes being seized, let alone other assets. Yet, they do not default, and India's financial system remains strong. The reason is that banks enjoy, without asking for it, a huge safety margin provided by the black money invested by every home owner. To preserve this black investment, borrowers will do their level best not to default and lose their property. Ironically, black money enforces loan discipline in India, far more effectively than formal contracts or legal processes. Source

Since the Middle Ages, Switzerland has stood for bank secrecy -- or bank privacy, as the Swiss would insist. In the past month, this foundation of Swiss banking has collapsed under calls for transparency, making Swiss banks seem as outdated as cuckoo clocks. The nearly universal condemnation of Swiss banking is a sign of how quickly our expectations about privacy have changed. Under pressure from the U.S., Germany, Britain and other high-tax countries, the Swiss agreed to abandon their longstanding protections for depositors accused by their home countries of tax evasion. Until now, countries had to present evidence of fraud, a more serious accusation, before Swiss banks would turn over information about their clients. Switzerland has long been the preferred location for private banking, with more than $2 trillion of the $7 trillion in all offshore deposits located in the country. For many years, the global consensus was that the benefits of banking secrecy outweighed the clear vices. It took almost 50 years before Swiss bankers agreed to look into deposits left by Jews killed by the Nazis, eventually creating a $1.25 billion fund for their heirs. The Swiss have taken other steps, including against terrorists and money launderers, but the hard line against tax complaints from other countries was considered unmovable. Source