LAW

“It has become a matter of routine for me to go to the police station once in every ten days,” says an inconsolable Kavita (name changed). Since this March, she has been desperately pleading with the cops at the Maduravoyal Police Station, asking them to do what it takes to ensure justice for her 10-year-old daughter. Kavita's daughter was raped and killed by their 29-year-old neighbour five months ago.  The girl who woke up in the middle of the night to go to the loo, which is detached from their house, never came back to sleep next to her mother. …

Ashok Raj, a resident of Vettuvankeni, was recently cheated of Rs 4,500 by a city-based manpower agency providing domestic househelp services. The help never turned up even after the money was paid and multiple calls made to the agency did not evoke a response. Ashok soon realised he had been cheated and came to know that the agency has been engaged in serial fraudulent activities over the past few years. He subsequently got in touch with other victims. Collectively, they visited J8 Neelankarai police station to file a case against a manpower agency under cheating/fraudulent charges.  The officials initially were…

For all outward appearances, Neelam (name changed to protect identity) has it all - a working husband, a couple of young and bright children, and a good job for herself. Look deeper, and one finds that her husband is an alcoholic who abuses her regularly.  Not having got his supply of booze since the lockdown started, he has become even more unbearable, screaming and shouting at her for little or no reason... He has also been encouraging their children to abuse her verbally.  Neelam is now worried that, with the government allowing sale of liquor, his abuse may take another…

சென்னையில் கொரோனா தோற்றால் மாய்ந்த மருத்துவர்களின் உடல்களை புதைக்க மற்றும் எரிக்க விடாது செய்த மக்களின் மூர்க்கத்தனம் தொடர்ந்து இருமுறை நடந்தேறியதானது சமீபத்தில் எல்லோரின் மனதிலும் வலியையும் வேதனையையும் ஏற்படுத்தியதும், அது பரபரப்பான செய்தியாகி அரசு நேரடியாக தலையிட்டு அதற்காக அவசர சட்டமியற்றும் அளவிற்கு சென்றதும் அனைவரும் அறிந்ததே. கொரோனா நோய்த்தொற்றால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்களின் எண்ணிக்கை உயர்ந்து கொண்டே வரும் தற்போதைய சூழ்நிலையில் மருத்துவர்கள் மற்றும் சுகாதாரத்துறை பணியாளர்கள் சேவைச் செயல்பாட்டின் முன்னணியிலிருந்து தம் உயிரைப் பணயம் வைத்து தம் சக மனித உயிர்களைக் காக்கும் அரும்பணியில் ஈடுபட்டு வருகின்றனர்.  குடிமக்கள் அனைவரும் அவரவர் வசிக்கும் பகுதிகளின் ஊரடங்கு விதிகளுக்குட்பட்டு வீட்டுக்குள்ளேயே இருக்க,  உயிர்காக்கும் உன்னத களத்தில் உணவு, உறக்கமின்றி, காலநேரம் குறித்த கவலையின்றி, தங்கள் குடும்பத்தினர் குறிப்பாக குழந்தைகளிடம் பேசக்கூட வாய்ப்பின்றி,  கடமையே கண்ணாகக் களமிறங்கி இவர்கள் பணியாற்றி வருகின்றனர்.  இந்த மகத்தானப் பணியில் ஈடுபட்டு  உலக அளவில் 200 க்கும்…

Imagine being alienated in the city where you live, when there is a nation-wide lockdown: You have no place to stay nor can you return to your hometown. There is a silent group of people in our city now, living in hostels and as PGs, who are going through this harrowing experience as landlords are asking them to vacate without prior notice. Vaishali* (25) stays in a women’s hostel in Chennai. While a majority of students staying in the hostel returned to their hometown when the educational institutions closed, she stayed back, as she works in a private firm. “Only…

It has come to our notice that this article has been forwarded on several chat and social media platforms with a MISLEADING introduction that the Disaster Management Act prohibits any citizen, apart from the government, to post any update or share any forward related to Coronavirus, making it a punishable offence. This is NOT what the article below says; it merely explains the provisions of the said law, and points out that **FAKE** claims and warnings may attract penalties under Sections 52 and 54 of the Act. Fake news peddlers may now face imprisonment of up to one year or…

Recently, a bug in Airtel’s mobile application put the personal data of 300 million users at risk. Ankita, a millennial, who has all her financial information saved on apps, was scared that her card details may have been leaked. In the age of the internet, where everything is available upon a click, data security and privacy have become important issues.  In order to ensure that India has a robust legal system governing and regulating data privacy, the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 (PDP) was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 11, 2019. The Bill is currently before a Parliament…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities With inputs from Raj Machhan, Shuriah Niazi and Sri Krishna In 2012, the Karnataka government set up ten special fast track courts for trying cases of rape and sexual assault under Section 376 of the IPC. In 2015, Karnataka was allotted a whopping amount of Rs 218.72 crore as part of the Government of India's plan to set up 1800 fast track courts (FTC) across the country. The primary intent behind setting up these FTCs was to ensure a speedier sentence and justice for crimes against…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities With inputs from Shuriah Niazi, Sri Krishna, J Jahanvi and Raj Machhan The beginning of the year saw an important step taken towards implementation of the Disha Act passed by the Andhra Pradesh legislature in mid-December. On January 3rd, two women officers were appointed to ensure effective implementation of the new law, which provides for tougher punishment and faster delivery of justice in cases involving crimes against women and children. This was when the country was still in shock over the brutal gang rape and murder…

Over the past week, the country has witnessed raging protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 that was passed in Parliament in the recently concluded winter session. Chennai too saw its share of protests led by opposition parties, citizen groups and civil society organisations and even a pro-amendment rally led by the BJP. In the aftermath of the Jallikattu protests at Marina, the beach has virtually become a no-go zone for any kind of protest in Chennai. This, coupled with the stipulations of the Madras City Police Act, means that protests in the city require prior written permission…