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#SuitcaseTrend – Three incidents in as many as 2 days

December 10, 2019

The #SuitcaseTrend, sounds something interesting, right? However, the incidents that have happened in Mumbai and its adjoining areas are indeed spine-chilling crimes. Within 48 hours, the police have registered three cases related to dead bodies found in suitcases. As per a report, in the past two days, the police have received calls from different, locations of the city about the same kind of crime (body found in suitcases). All these incidents are both shocking as well as brutal.

List of incidents:

Panvel

An unidentified decomposed body of a man who would be around 35 year old was found inside a rexine suitcase near a stream that lies between Harigram and Panvel.

According to police, the incident came to light when a tribal boy, who had gone to catch crabs from the river, spotted a hand hanging out of a suitcase. The curious boy then called the Panvel police and informed them about the bag. On receiving the phone, the police immediately rushed to the spot and saw the decomposed body of a man inside the bag.

The senior police inspector Ashok Rajput of the Panvel police station said, “The suitcase was found in the bushes just seven feet below the road and a few feet above the river. This particular area is less frequented by people. The incident came to light when a local boy, who had gone to the river to catch crabs, noticed the suitcase. He informed the police about the incident.”

The police feel that the suitcase might have been thrown out from a moving vehicle as it was found among the bushes. Currently, the police have registered a case against an unknown person. Further information in this matter is awaited.

Thane

A-47-year-old man has been arrested by the police for allegedly killing and chopping the body of his
22-year-old daughter in Thane. As per the police report, the accused identified as Arvind Tiwari after killing his daughter, chopped the body and stuffed it into a suitcase. With the suitcase in his hand, Tiwari boarded a rickshaw. Getting a little curious, the driver asked Tiwari as to what he was carrying in the suitcase as it was emitting foul smell. Hearing this, the accused panicked and fled the scene leaving the suitcase behind. After that, the driver opened the suitcase and found the chopped body parts of the woman. Following this, he informed the police about it.

It is reported that, only the bottom part of the lady’s body was recovered. The body was chopped into three parts to fit into the suitcase.

The Kalyan police started the investigating the case with the help of a CCTV camera which is installed near the Kalyan railway station from where the accused had fled. The footage was recovered from Titwala railway station from where he boarded the train with the suitcase. The CCTV footage also showed the area from where the accused had boarded the rickshaw. And with the help of the CCTV footage, the police arrested the accused.

During the interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime. The accused admitted that the deceased was his daughter whose body he had chopped. According to the police, the accused killed the daughter as she was in relationship with a man of whom he disapproved. And this led to an altercation between him and his daughter and in fit of rage, he killed her.

Reportedly, the accused’s daughter had come from her native place in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh four months ago after completing her graduation. The accused and deceased stayed in Titwala while his four daughters and wife stayed in Jaunpur. The deceased Princey worked in a Bhandup-based private firm as a clerk. The accused said that despite repeated warnings, when his daughter did not listen to him, he killed her.

Mahim

Last Saturday, the Mumbai police arrested a teen and her boyfriend for killing and chopping a guitarist and stuffed his body in suitcase. After killing the man they threw the suitcase in a river.

Earlier on December 3, the police had recovered the suitcase that carried the body of the same man from Makhdoom Shah Baba Dargah in Mahim. Then they found the man’s leg, a hand and mutilated private part inside. Following this, police had started their investigation. Police on Tuesday recovered a suitcase from Mithi river in BKC area containing a limb and an arm of Benett Rebello.

The body of the deceased was covered with sweater inside the suitcase and that became a clue for the police in solving the gruesome crime. The sweater was stitched at a shop in Kurla called ALMO Men’s Wear. From there, the police found a receipt in the name of one Bennett and finally reached the accused.

Reportedly, the accused identified as Aradhya Jitendra Patil and her 16-year-old boyfriend killed Bennett Rebello on November 27 at his house at Dwarka Kunj in Vakola. They killed the 59-year-old man with a knife and bamboo stick.

The police said that the girl was adopted by Rebello. The girl and her boyfriend have alleged that Rebello had sexually assaulted her and opposed their relationship as the boy was younger than her.

Bar Bala and Betrayal

Vaidehi Taman

December 10, 2019

One night around fifty bar girls were paraded on highway between Dahisar checkpoint and Kashimira junction, the girls were picked from their workplace, and led to the police station at night. Although police officials shrugged off the action as routine, which was intended to deter illegal activities in the orchestra bars, the unusual ‘procession’ has ignited a major controversy. But this act of police has brought lot of a embarrassment for these females. The spectators were watching them; the cops were not even kind in their approach. Though dancing in bar is not illegal. The Supreme Court has already struck down a state government’s imposed ban on dance bars as it violated bar dancers’ right to earn a livelihood. So they drafted some rules, which have put bars in an awkward situation. The draft rules restrict the number of dancers on the floor and also prescribe a minimum distance between the performers and the audience, meaning customers can’t dance on the floor. Further, smoking would not be allowed inside dance bars, nor would flashing of currency notes be permitted.

The state government draft specified that every dance bar must have CCTVs with the feed beamed live to the nearest police station. Since dance bars were always a guilty pleasure, the rules were unlikely to attract any customers with cops watching the proceedings all the time. Striking down all these old rules now SC says alcohol is allowed, no CCTV in Maharashtra dance bars. While the Court set aside the condition to install CCTV cameras in the bars on grounds of privacy, it prohibited showering of currency notes on the dancers, which is likely to be impossible to follow. The bench also quashed the provision mandating that dance bars in the state should be located at least one km away from religious places and educational institutes.

With the ban on bar Mumbai was at peace for some years, suburban areas were clean. Crime ratio gone down and glamour and glitz city was limited to pubs, parties and movies. On the other hand, those who survived on bar dancing got into prostitution or sex slavery. More than a few hundred young women were migrated from Kolkata to Mumbai. After the Maharashtra government shut down Mumbai’s dance bars in the garb of curbing ‘immoral activities’ they all were sent back to their native place. Some went to foreign land. Pimps and flesh traders flourished exploiting these women. Mumbai is already cursed with many illicit activities. All former agents who switched to better jobs returned to their original profession and will be busy gathering bar dancers. After the dance bars reopened with fewer rules to follow, they’ll all be accommodated eventually. Relocation means occupying flats in Mira Road and Navi Mumbai like areas, where low-income middle class families reside. Return of bar dancers may hike the property prices. Estate agents prefer to allot houses to these dancers for more money. The common public may suffer. But looking at larger picture, even these bar professionals too hail from middle class community, who needs to survive.

Any law or ban made on a purely moral basis should be struck down. After all, morality is relative, and should not be enforced. Plus, banning these activities will lead to only further exploitation of the said women, as they would be pushed into illegal work options. What is really needed is the enforcement of law and order, which ensures that the women work in a secure environment. Legislature, Executive and judiciary are the three important structures of the government. I understand judiciaries stand, but why are they not equally prompt over other corruption and crime issues? If the logic is accepted then the government of India should start dance bars all over India and grant loans for this business to attract FDI. If the Supreme Court’s verdict of opening closed dance bars and having easy rules is applauded, but SC should now legalize prostitution. There is nothing wrong in working as a bar girl and making wealth and living lavishly. Bar girls have their way to sex trading, many men were cheated and looted by these girls.

We have seen many criminal cases in the past. The question here, is this the only way we can liberate poor women? Somewhere we are confusing issues. While women need right to work, safety and dignity at work place, dance bars surely don’t fall in that category. Bars are fronts for destructive men. Moreover, many of them are run on investments by the cops themselves supported by the sleaze money that flows through the system. The dancing women may be making gold jewellery but quite a few men who become addicted to these dancing beauties have pauperized themselves and their families. The need of the hour is to evolve a code of conduct for running the dance bars so that anti-social elements do not find the hide out a refuge for illegal activities with the connivance of the bar owners and staff. As long as the dignity of women is not violated there is no harm in pursuing the dancing profession in bars. But the harsh fact is that, no such profession is blessed with dignity. Both the woman who wants to earn quick money and man who wants to live so called happy lusty moments are aware this is not the dignified place. We talk morals and liberty when it comes to other woman and benefit to a man himself, but he will keep a tight eye on his own female family member if she wishes to pursue dancing in Bar as a profession.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Four fake doctors held for running illegal clinic in Sion

Hema Singh

December 10, 2019

The Crime branch of the Wadala police station arrested four fake doctors who were practicing allopathy in Sion on Tuesday. They were illegally running clinics without any medical degree. According to a press release of the crime branch, they got a tip from their sources and sent a dummy customer at a clinic for confirmation. Following this, they conducted raid at the four places in Sion.

The police said that the accused are only 12^th passed. The arrested four were identified as Rakesh Raghunath Tiwari (44), Dalsingh Sitaee Yadav (59), Motilal Videshi Maurya (59) and AnilKumar Jagdishprasad Bind (41). The cops also seized several injections and various tablets from them.

Sub-police inspector of Wadala crime branch 4, Santosh Rastogi said, “The three accused were running the clinic at Jaibharat Matangar which is besides the Dalda Company while AnilKumar was arrested from Omprakash Society in Sion West.”

Police have produced the accused before local Court which remanded them to police custody till December 12. They have booked all the accused under Section (336), (419), (420) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 33 of Maharashtra Medical Protection Act.

Judiciary has failed the people of India

Jayanthy Subramaniam

December 10, 2019

Justice cannot be immediate. But we must also stand beside the victims and those whose rights have been violated. One must also ask why in some cases, justice is slow to pronounce? Is it a question of organization? Or do other factors interfere with the functioning of judiciary? When freedom is threatened to say nothing else, can it be said that it takes time to decide about the verdict of a case.

There are circumstances that require justice to be pronounced quickly. Elsewhere in the world, constitutional Courts, have procedures for delivering justice in a timely manner. Criminal justice system is underfunded, behind times, too many Court holidays, public prosecutors offices and judges don’t attract the best talent and constant adjournment and delays of decades is unacceptable. Justice delayed is justice denied! Both the government and the courts are to be blamed. The public is helpless here. It is time to act in a fitting way.

I agree with the view that justice cannot be instant. However, it cannot be delayed too. It is not a job of the police or someone else to decide in what way punishment should be given to those accused of a crime. However, let us not overlook a few ground realities. During last seventy years after Independence, we have refused to implement legal reforms; we have not implemented police administration reforms; we have refused to have in place a judicial system and procedures which ensure speed and efficiency and which do not allow someone with right political connections to deny justice to victims of any crime.

It is time our lawmakers as also other important stakeholders civil society do some critical introspection and take self-correcting measures as suggested by Chief Justice of India. All bigwigs have to put their heads together and remove the red tape and sluggishness.

Otherwise, people will decide this way only.

Slow delivery system (both criminal and Civil), lack of seriousness about social evils, absence of spirit of the rule of law, unconcerned about economic impact are some of the lacunae in our Judiciary system that has led to citizens to take law into their hands. It will be really grave if Judiciary does not introspect and correct its functioning.

If justice comes after 10, 7 or 8 years what is the need of that justice. Strict guidelines should be framed by Court regarding delivering justice. At first if crimes have been proved against a person, then there is no need to grant him bail. Second, the whole appeal scenario from district to High Court and from there to Supreme Court and then review and mercy petitions further worsen the case. It is not the way good governance work. This whole exploitation of power by politicians, relatives of politicians further aggravates the situation. Setting of fast track courts is of no solution till process of appeal continues. Instead of that, when the victim on the death bed had disclosed the name of accused, a fast track court under supervision of High Court consisting of reputed and senior judges should be constituted whose orders remain unchallengeable.

One would agree that justice cannot be instant. But the Chief Justice of India should be aware that it should not take such a long time of over five to seven years for delivering justice. People have by and large lost faith in the way in which judiciary is functioning and cases prolonged for indefinite period. The administration of justice requires thorough overhauling. It should not take more than three months for delivering justice to the victims of heinous crimes like rape and murder. The judiciary has failed the people of India. People of the country are afraid of saying this lest they will be hauled up for contempt. Judiciary should remain sensitive to the feelings of the people.

Every citizen can understand that justice is never instant but government and judiciary should also understand that importance of time limit.

1) Even after 7 yrs, the Nirbhaya Case culprits are not brought to justice.

2) The main culprit of the Nirbhaya Case has escaped punishment by playing the juvenile card.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Letters to the Editor: 10 December, 2019

Web Team

December 10, 2019

There is no value of human life in our country

The Delhi Anaj Mandi inferno in which 43 innocent people perished and several injured does not come as a shock as we as a nation give scant respect for safety standards be it fire or on any other parameter. Human beings in our country are treated as cattles and do not get the respect associated with humanity. Delhi is the capital city of our country and if laws are not followed here, then less said the better about smaller metro cities and towns.

Corruption rules the roost in our country and laws are overlooked by accepting bribes for petty gains. Citizens too are to be blamed as bribes are accepted if somebody is willing to pay them and there is no value for human life in our country. Our legal and bureaucratic system needs reform and accountability is the need of the hour. Let us not be penny wise and pound foolish and come out with stringent laws to safeguard human lives.

S.N. Kabra

Varsities need a big revamp

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu at a convocation a few days ago lamented that very few Indian universities figured among the top 300 in this year’s Time World University Ranking and urged that a complete revamp is needed to enhance quality education in our higher education institutions so that our universities get into the top hundred in the world.
The vice president was addressing students at the 16th convocation ceremony at Symbiosis International University when he mentioned the plight of our universities.
The VP rightly said that, “We have to again make India a Vishwa guru and for that to happen, we have to improve the quality of education in Indian universities. We need to think about the factors responsible for this”.
Our nation stood proud as the education capital of the world in the past with excellent ancient universities like Nalanda, Taxila, Valabhi and Vikramshila and many others spreading its radiance around the globe. They perished with invasions and colonialism. The British era saw a number of Varsities sprout and though they did cater to standard education, these were based on the British educational system and sadly the rich traditional and heritage education of India went into oblivion. Post independence our nation saw the birth of many higher education institutions and they did produce a good number of intellectuals and academicians but somewhere in the line these have become just “degree producing factories ” moulding individuals sans intellectuality. A number of problems have resulted in our varsities losing their sheen. Faculty examination system, inadequate funds or funds not being used effectively, quota system, lack of infrastructure, laxity and sluggish attitude regarding the planning of curriculum are some of the main problems posing as hurdles in the progress of our varsities. Politics is another distraction creating unwanted chaos in the campus. Political interference must be stopped for the smooth functioning of Varsities. Varsities must cater to the need of the society. ! It is high time our Varsities go for a complete change and if this doesn’t happen now the educational scenario of India is bleak.

M Pradyu

Simplify CPGRAM web portal

It refers to modifications done in web-portal Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAM) wherein just 500 characters are allowed to be posted as complaints for six departments namely Post, Telecommunication, Banking, and Insurance attracting maximum use of web-portal. For rest others normal 3000 characters are allowed on posted complaints.

It is rather impossible to convey a complaint in just 500 characters. Department of Administrative reforms and public Grievances managing CPGRAMS portal should restore character-limit of 3000 for these important departments. Also web-portal should be further simplified by removing restriction of special characters in posted complaints. Portal should also incorporate feature to accept suggestions like exists on similar web-link available on website of Prime Minister.

Subhash Chandra Agrawal

Providing citizenship rights for only non-Muslims is discriminatory

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which was tabled by the government in Lok Sabha, is the most divisive and fissiparous move in the country’s legislative history. The Union cabinet has approved the Bill which has provisions that strike at the very idea of India envisaged in the struggle for freedom, ordained by the Constitution and lived by the people for decades, and even centuries. Last year also, the government had introduced the Bill but it was referred to a joint parliamentary panel. The Bill seeks to give citizenship to non-Muslims in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who have suffered religious persecution and have come into India. Citizenship of India is not based on religion and so providing for citizenship rights for only non-Muslims is discriminatory. It violates the right to equality and other rights and ideals, including secularism, which form the basic structure of the Constitution. But I sincerely request the parties which have promised support for the Bill should seriously consider what it means for the very soul of this country

T Anwar

Help Delhi fire incident victims

At least 43 people have died and around 50 wounded after a major fire broke out in Anaj Mandi area in Central Delhi. It is extremely tragic news for the country I think that this time we should help victims and order for magisterial probe into this incident. It is unfortunate that political parties began to play blame game with each other, the BJP holding the Kejriwal government responsible for the incident. But on the other hand, Delhi government ordered a magisterial probe and sought a report within seven days. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh and Rs10 lakh each, respectively, for the families of the deceased. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh for each deceased from Bihar.

M Qasmi Nadwi

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)

Decomposed body of man found in suitcase spotted in bushes at Panvel

Hema Singh

December 10, 2019

An unidentified decomposed body of a man who would be around 35 year old was found inside a rexine suitcase near the stream that lies between Harigram and Panvel.

According to police, the incident came to light when a tribal boy, who had gone to catch crabs from the river, spotted a hand hanging out of the suitcase. The curious man then called the Panvel police and informed about them about the bag. On receiving the phone, the police immediately rushed to the spot and saw the decomposed body of a man inside the bag.

The senior police inspector of the Panvel police station said, “The suitcase was found in the bushes just seven feet below the road and a few feet above the river. This particular area is less frequented by people. The incident came to light when a local boy, who had gone to the river to catch crabs, noticed the suitcase. He informed the police about the incident.”

Citizenship Amendment Bill Divides Hindu and Muslim?

Dipti Joshi

December 9, 2019

Lok Sabha voted in favour of the introduction of Citizenship Amendment Bill after a division was ordered, 293 MPs voted in favour of introducing the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha, while 82 MPs voted against it.

The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan escaping religious persecution there. The Lok Sabha voted in favour of introducing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill despite protests from Opposition which labelled the legislation “regressive”. The bill was introduced with 293 yes and 82 Nos. The Lok Sabha saw a war of words between Home Minister Amit Shah and the Opposition, with Shah insisting that the bill was “not even 0.001% against the minorities of the country”. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called it “nothing but a targeted legislation over minority people of our country”, while the TMC called it “divisive and unconstitutional”.

Shiv Sena has also slammed the Centre over Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and said it could lead to an increase in vote bank politics in India. The Shiv Sena also questioned whether the intention of the bill was to “create a vote bank” and said it is not good for the country. “Is it acceptable?” Sena questioned in its editorial mouthpiece Saamana. While it did not directly oppose the bill, it suggested Shah to revoke voting rights of new citizens for the next 25 years. Sena’s suggestion came just before Shah presented the bill in Lok Sabha on Monday. Sena also questioned the move as it fears that “selective acceptance” of Hindu illegal immigrants will act as a trigger for a religious war in the country. It also warned the Centre that the bill could lead to an “invisible partition” of Hindus and Muslims.

The Bill has triggered widespread protests in northeastern states with a large section of people and organisations opposing the Bill, saying it will nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985, which fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for deportation of all illegal immigrants irrespective of religion.

The BJP has issued a three-line whip to all its lawmakers to be present in the Parliament. “All BJP members in Lok Sabha are hereby informed that some very important Legislative Business will be taken up for discussion and passing in the Lok Sabha from Monday, the 9th December 2019 to Wednesday, the 11th December 2019. All members of the BJP in Lok Sabha are therefore, requested to be positively present in the House and support the government,” the letter reads.

Shah said he was ready to respond to all queries “but the Opposition must not walk out” when he does.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh Singh told Afternoon Voice, “The Citizenship Amendment Bill will protect non-Muslims from other countries; the bill is necessary to protect members of non-Muslim communities from India’s neighbouring countries. The women of the non-Muslim communities in our neighbouring countries are not safe. For the protection of non-Muslim communities from our neighbouring countries, the Citizenship Amendment Bill is going to be tabled in the Parliament. It is our duty to enact this law in the interest of our brethren across the borders.”

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi said that secularism is a part of the Constitution. He said that the Constitution was violated in the Sarbanand Sonowal and Chakma cases. In a democracy, everybody has the right to protest. But is it not true, that the country’s partition took place on the basis of religion? In India, we accepted the policy of equality of religions. “But in Pakistan and Bangladesh the non-Muslims are being exploited,” he added. Save India from such a law.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor stood to oppose the Bill, asking if religion should be a basis of nationhood. “Those who believed in this ideology formed Pakistan,” he said.

Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Ray rises to oppose the Bill, under rule 72(1) of the rules of the House. He said that the Home Minister being new to the House is not aware of the rules of the House. His statement invites uproar from the Treasury benches. Speaker reads out the names of all those who have opposed the introduction of the Bill on the basis of Articles 5, 10, 14, 15, 25, 26 of the Constitution. Ray called the Bill divisive and unconstitutional. He said that Shah had promised one nation, one law while abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, but the Bill excludes sixth schedule areas and Inner Line Permit areas.

While, leaders owing allegiance to the BJP or to the NDA as allies in the North East have expressed strong reservations against the bill, the BJP leaders in Assam, and those of its ally AGP, have completely chickened out in front of the central leadership of the national party.

It has been construed that those who will be granted citizenship via CAB are those who have either faced ‘religious persecution or fear of religious persecution’ in their parent country. Although the notification talks about ‘Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians’, it is the Bangladeshi Hindus who are residing in Assam without any valid documents who will benefit primarily.

Uniform Civil Code to divide people?

Vaidehi Taman

December 9, 2019

In India, Uniform Civil Code is always debatable, some believe this is need of the hour because in a diverse society like India the laws needed to deal with the disputes related to the issues of marriage, divorce, custody, adoption, inheritance needs to be same for all irrespective of religion, caste or sect. At a time when reforms for strengthening the position of women in the society are being given the utmost significance and attention, there is an urgent need for a new civil code to eliminate discrimination against women in the society. Others believe that in our country, where the principle of equality of all citizens is protected in the constitution, different sets of personal laws for different religious communities go against this very principal of the constitution. Different rules of civil law go against the secular credentials of the democracy and also challenge the concept of unity in diversity. And the concept of the Uniform Civil Code is defined in Article 44 of the Indian Constitution, and comes under the Directive Principle of State policy and Article 37 states that the Directive principle of state policy cannot be enforceable by law.

Almost all the countries of the world have a common civil code for all their citizens. The basic idea behind the formulation of a Uniform Civil Code is to end discrimination based on religions. Personal law of nearly all the religions have acted as a tool of oppression of the women through which they are suppressed most of the time citing religious and social obligations. Personal laws have always played a big role in causing the rise of gender discrimination. Uniform Civil Code guaranteed by the constitution has also become a very sensitive and controversial issue that has always been communalized by people having vested interests. BJP government to give justice to Muslim women at large scrapped one of the controversial religious laws, Triple Talaq. They have scrapped article 370 without keeping a chance for debate, under their rule Uniform Civil Code is also possible, but a country like ours needs to go through the pros and cons of it.

A Uniform Civil Code administers the same set of secular civil laws to govern different people belonging to different religions and regions. This does away with the right of citizens to be governed under different personal laws based on their religion or ethnicity. Uniform Civil Code will, in the long run ensure equality.

It is necessary that law is divorced from religion. With the presentation of a uniform code, secularism will be strengthened; much of the present day separation and divisiveness between various religious groups in the country will disappear, and India will emerge as a much more cohesive and integrated nation.

The crusade for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code should get the support of all progressive and right-thinking citizens of the country. It is the need of the hour. There is also a need for a political consensus to implement the Uniform Civil Code.

We have a secular government that says that all humans are equal, which protects the right of the citizens to practice their religion as it may. People will argue that both points are synonymous with each other but there are certain differences. You have personal law boards for religions, which put them in the grey area of constitutional law. Our Constitution has guaranteed that under Article 44, “The state shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India” and the honourable Supreme Court and its eminent jurists have noted on multiple occasions the need for a civil code applicable to all citizens [Shah Bano, Sarala Mugdal]. Article 44 is one of the many logical, rational, good-intentioned, pious doctrines enshrined in the Constitution, but only enshrined, as in a marble tomb. There have been no laws made by our Governments, rather, they have moved in the opposite direction many times. Why most of the feminist organisations have been pushing for this code to be created and implemented is because most of the Indian personal laws were (and are) patriarchal in nature that promotes the imbalance of powers between the genders. This is a very endemic problem that causes most of the surficial gender related issues that we see today being rampantly discussed by the media.

Indirectly fights vote-bank politics, by creating a unified civil law system that treats citizens the same regardless of religion. Every modern nation has it, and that will achieve the grand vision, which was envisioned at the time of framing our constitution. In Shah Bano Case Supreme Court held that the government should implement the Uniform Civil Code and in Sarla Mudgal case. Supreme Court has also advocated the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code and one of the major problems behind the implementation of Uniform Civil Code is that whether the directive principle of state policy can not supersede over the fundamental right because fundamental right is justifiable right. While Directive principle of state policy cannot be enforceable by a court but the Uniform Civil Code can be enforceable by legislature and according to Article 245 Parliament has the right to frame a law throughout the whole territory of India.

Directive principle of state policy can over ride over the fundamental right if it violates the other fundamental right of any individual for example if any tradition of any religion violates the Article 14, Article 15, Article 21 then these traditions cannot be defended as the name of right to freedom of religion.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the Uniform Civil Code is not against any religion. It is about gender justice, equality which has already been mentioned in our constitution and in the state of Goa there is one common law system irrespective of all religions which consists of 65 per cent Hindus and 25 per cent Christians. So if it can be implemented in Goa then why not whole part of the country. In a nutshell, the Uniform Civil Code is necessary to effect an integration of a country as diversified as India by bringing all the communities into a common platform which do not form the essence of a single particular religion. A Uniform Civil Code will also enforce the idea of secularism enshrined in the Indian constitution more forcefully. Now the problem where it comes is here:-

India is a secular democratic republic, which, by its definition means that one should treat all its citizens the same.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@www.afternoonvoice.com)

Man remanded in police custody till December 13, after killing, raping minor girl

Web Team

December 9, 2019

A 32-year-old man arrested by police for allegedly killing and raping a 5-year-old girl by smashing her head with a stone on December 8, police said on Monday. According to police, the minor girl was missing from December 6 found dead on an agriculture farm in Linga village in Kalmeshwar district.

The arrested accuse identified as Sanjay Dev Puri was remanded in police custody till December 13 by the local court

The police said, “The girl went missing on Friday evening. Initially, her parents assumed that she might have gone to the house of her grandmother. However, they lodged a missing person complaint on Saturday afternoon after realising that she was not traceable.”

Reportedly, the resident of Kalmeshwar organised rallies, and called for a “Bandh” to protest after the brutal murder and rape of the girl.The main markets of the area remained shut since morning after people has taken to streets to condemn the incident and demanded speedy justice.

The accuse has booked under Sections 376, 363, 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.

‘Unwell’ Pankaja Munde skips regional BJP meet in Aurangabad

Web Team

December 9, 2019

Maharashtra BJP leader Pankaja Munde, who is reportedly sulking since her defeat in the October 21 Assembly polls, on Monday remained absent for the party’s regional level meeting in Aurangabad.

According to State BJP president Chandrakant Patil , Pankaja remained absent with a prior permission as she was unwell. And he would meet Pankaja in her hometown Parli in Beed district after two days.

Patil told reporters, “I have spoken to Pankaja Munde before coming to Aurangabad for the meeting. She is ill. Moreover, preparations are going on for the December 12 rally. She remained absent with a prior permission.”

Pankaja, daughter of BJP stalwart late Gopinath Munde, had caused a flutter with her social media post on her future political journey in view of the “altered political scenario” in Maharashtra, where the Shiv Sena formed a government with the support of the NCP and Congress after snapping ties with former ally BJP.

Pankaja, a former minister, had also appealed to her supporters to assemble at Gopinathgad a memorial of her late father in Beed district on December 12 on the occasion of his birth anniversary.

Earlier Pankaja had also removed the word “BJP” from her twitter bio, triggering speculation about her future in the BJP. But the leader later clarified that she was not leaving the BJP and that defection was not in her blood.

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