Month: July 2024

The NATO leaders have pledged to provide Ukraine with at least USD 43 billion in military aid within the next year to bolster its defences against Russia, which the 32 nations grouping sees Russia a growing threat to Europe,. reported Al Jazeera.

Moreover, the NATO leaders also formally declared Kyiv on an “irreversible path” to membership in the Western military alliance.

The decision has been included in a final communique following a NATO summit in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

It came as the alliance’s members also announced individual and joint steps to boost Ukraine’s and Europe’s security, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The United States, Netherlands and Denmark announced that they would provide the first NATO-provided F-16 fighter jets to the Ukrainian military pilots by this summer.

The US further said it will be deploying longer-range missiles in Germany in 2026, noting that it will be a major step aimed at countering what the allies say is Russia’s growing threat to Europe.

The move will also send Germany the most potent US weapons to be based on the European continent since the Cold War.

Moreover, it would have been banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed by the US and the Soviet Union in 1987, however, that collapsed in 2019.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to X and appreciated NATO’s effort to strengthen his air force, saying the new fighter jets “bring just and lasting peace closer, demonstrating that terror must fail”.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg underlined that Ukraine will not join the alliance’s ranks immediately, however, insisted that must happen after the war is over to ensure that Russia never attacks Kyiv again, reported Al Jazeera.

Highlighting the overall NATO assistance, Stoltenberg said, “We are not doing this because we want to prolong a war. We are doing it because we want to end a war as soon as possible.”

However, the US and a few other countries have opposed membership for Ukraine during the conflict with Russia to avoid an escalation of tensions that could lead to a larger war.

They have further stressed that Ukraine must take significant steps to address corruption as well as other systemic reforms, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Moreover, the NATO communique also strengthened past language on China, calling it a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine and emphasised that Beijing continues to pose systemic challenges to Euro-Atlantic security. (ANI)

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The main accused in the Worli hit-and-run case, Mihir Shah had consumed an excessive amount of alcohol at two different places on the night of the incident, said Mumbai police sources on Thursday.

According to the Mumbai police, “During the investigation, it was found that the arrested accused Mihir Shah consumed alcohol before the incidents. He consumed alcohol at two different places on the night of the incident.”

“The probe revealed that after drinking alcohol at Vice Global Tapas Bar located in the Juhu area, accused Mihir Shah drank alcohol at another place between Malad and Borivali,” the police said.

“The interrogation with Rajrishi Rajendra Singh Bidawat, accused driver, also revealed that these people had come to visit Marine Drive since the day of the incident fell on a Sunday,” said police.

Police said that the accused driver Rajrishi Rajendra Singh had taken the car from Borivali to Marine Drive, but once they reached there, Mihir had forcefully taken the car keys from the driver to drive the car near Girgaon Chowpatty.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day both accused in the Worli hit-and-run case reportedly confessed to their roles in the crime and are in the custody of the Mumbai police.

According to Police sources, the main accused, Mihir Shah and his driver Rajrishi Bidawat, were both confronted by the police during interrogation.

“Both accused confessed their roles in the crime and the police did a scene recreation from the night of the accident. With a similar sequence to the actual accident night, the scene was recreated from CJ House Worli to Sea Link Worli,” said police.

Earlier on Wednesday, a Mumbai court sent Mihir Shah to police custody until July 16.

Mihir Shah was arrested in Virar on Tuesday. He was brought to Sewri court in Mumbai on Wednesday. Shah had been absconding after the car he was allegedly driving hit a scooter on Dr Annie Besant Road in Worli on Sunday, July 7.

Fourteen teams were formed by Mumbai police to nab him. Police arrested Rajrishi Singh Bidawat and Mihir’s father, Rajesh Shah, for their alleged involvement in the case.

Following the tragic incident, the deceased woman’s husband, Pradeep Nakhwa, questioned the delay in the arrest of the accused and alleged that he dragged his wife from Ceejay House to Sea Link Road.

“It was due to ‘politics’ and the accused would not be arrested until the Vidhan Sabha session ends,” Nakhwa had claimed. He also alleged that the delay in the arrest was because the accused was the son of a political leader.

According to Mumbai police, the 45-year-old victim was a resident of Worli Koliwada. Her husband was riding the scooter while she was riding the pillion. The husband also sustained injuries in the incident.

“The couple was returning home after buying fish when the scooter they were riding on was hit by the luxury car. Both of them sustained injuries, and the woman died during treatment,” police added. Police also said that the luxury car belonged to a leader of a political party based in Maharashtra’s Palghar.

The incident in Worli follows less than two months after the Pune case in which a luxury car allegedly driven by a 17-year-old youth, who was allegedly under the influence of alcohol, rammed into a motorcycle, resulting in the deaths of two software engineers in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar area in the early hours of May 19.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed his “alarm” at the “rise in hit-and-run incidents” in the state and said that he has directed the police to take strict action against such cases, adding that the “guilty will not be spared.”

The Shiv Sena also removed Rajesh Shah, the father of the accused, from the party following his arrest. (ANI)

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath conducted aerial survey of flood-affected areas of Shravasti on Thursday.

CM Yogi also distributed relief material to the people in flood-affected areas of Shravasti.

He will also inspect the flood relief camp and leave for Balrampur at 1.40 pm.

Uttar Pradesh’s Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh on Thursday said that the administration and government are monitoring the flood situation in the state.

“CM Yogi has held many meetings virtually with the officials of the flood-affected areas. Due to the heavy rainfall in Nepal, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh over the past 4-5 days a flood-like situation has occurred in the area. The government and administration are on alert. The officials (SP, DM) are on alert and working day and night. Few people were affected because of the floods and two drowned in the water and later their bodies were found. The government is providing relief materials to the people,” Singh told reporters.

Earlier on Wednesday, Yogi Adityanath inspected the flood-affected areas in Lakhimpur Kheri. He also conducted an aerial survey, met the flood-affected people in Pilibhit, and distributed relief materials.

After conducting the aerial survey, the Uttar Pradesh CM said, “133 villages are flood-affected due to heavy rainfall in the first week itself of July. Thousands of hectares of cropland and crops have been affected. Public representatives and local administration are working. Near Sharada Barrage and other areas, due to timely precautions against flood, a large loss of life and property could be averted.”

The Chief Minister said that as of now 12 districts of the state are flood-affected. The rescue and relief operations are ongoing at war footing in all of these districts.

Notably, many villages in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri have been affected by the overflow of water from the Sharda River due to heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand. Houses have been damaged in affected villages and people have been forced to shift in makeshift houses. (ANI)

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The flood situation remains grim in Assam’s Nagaon district, affecting the lives of several people. The deluge has claimed 84 lives so far across the state.

Rita Sahani, a local resident, and her family members, residents of the Jakhalabandha area, have been living in a small makeshift tent on an embankment for the last 10 days after the flood waters of the Brahmaputra river inundated her house.

Speaking to ANI, Sahani said, “There is still floodwater inside our house and we cannot go there. When the floodwater entered our house, we could not take out any household items. The rain is continuing. We are facing a lot of problems. We have received some food items from the administration. In this situation, we cannot go out to do some work. We don’t know what we will do.”

Rita Sahani, who works as a daily wage labourer, also expressed concern since the rainfall and flood situation have kept them from work. She says, “In this situation, we can’t go outside to work something. We don’t know what we will do.”

Not only Rita Sahani and her family, but many people in the area have been facing similar problems as the flood waters submerged their houses and they have been forced to live in makeshift tents on the embankment.

Another resident, M Chouhan, also spoke on the same and said, “All the household items, clothes, everything got destroyed in the flood. We have a family of 15 members and we are living here now. We are facing many problems due to the flood.”

Kalipad Das, another victim of the flood, said that he doesn’t know when he and his family will be able to return to their home because the entire area has been flooded.

The flood situation in Nagaon district and other parts of the state has been marginally improving, but nearly 14.39 lakh people are still affected.

According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), in Nagaon district, nearly 79,000 people, including 20,612 children, are still affected by the deluge.

The flood waters inundated 184 villages under six revenue circles in the district and submerged 18231.8 hectares of crop area.

This year’s flood has claimed 84 lives so far across the state. (ANI)

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The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) will jointly contest the upcoming Haryana elections, Abhay Singh Chautala, Secretary General, Indian National Lok Dal announced on Thursday.

“In Haryana, we have decided to jointly fight the upcoming assembly elections. Today, the feeling of common people is to oust the BJP from power and keep the Congress party at bay, which looted the state for 10 years earlier,” Abhay Singh Chautala said in a press conference.

Chautala further called the Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda an “agent” of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“Former CM and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda is an agent of the BJP. He has proved that he works as an agent…We will fulfil all the promises,” he added.

Announcing the alliance BSP supremo Mayawati said the two parties had come together to uproot the anti-people parties the Congress and the BJP.

“Bahujan Samaj Party and Indian National Lok Dal will fight the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana together with the resolve to defeat the anti-people parties and form a new coalition government, which was announced in a joint press conference in Chandigarh today with my full blessings,” Mayawati said in a post on X.

“We have resolved to form a welfare government for all the sections of the society in Haryana. There has been complete unity and agreement in the distribution of seats etc. in this alliance by giving full respect to each other. I have full hope that this mutual unity will defeat the opponents with the blessings of the people and form a new government,” she added.

BSP national coordinator, Akash Anand said that the coalition government will be able to give very good results in Haryana.

“If you go to the villages and talk to the people, you will know how much anger and resentment is there among the people here, how their voices were not heard, how work was not done for them. We feel that the coalition government will be able to give very good results here. We are confident that we will form the government,” Akash Anand told ANI.

Earlier, Indian National Lok Dal Secretary General Abhay Singh Chautala had met BSP president Mayawati at the latter’s residence in Lucknow on July 6.

“In that meeting, it had been decided that out of 90 assembly seats in Haryana, the BSP will contest on 37 seats,” Akash Anand said.

In the 2019 Haryana Assembly polls, BJP won 40 seats, Congress won 31 seats, JJP won 10 seats and INLD won 1 seat. The Haryana Assembly Elections are to be held this year on 90 Assembly seats. (ANI)

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For the first time Bihar has appointed a transgender person Manvi Madhu Kashyap as a Sub- Inspector of Police.

Speaking to ANI, Manvi Madhu Kashyap said “I would like to thank the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Rehman Sir, Garima Ma’am and all the other people who helped me reach here today. I have struggled a lot in life. For a transgender to come here is very difficult and I have struggled a lot to come here. I am very happy that I am finally at this stage of life.”

Talking about not getting admission to other institutes because they believed that Kashyap would spoil the environment, she said “Initially, no other institutes were ready to give me admission and denied saying that I would hamper the environment in their institute. Despite insisting, they denied me several times. After getting admission to this institution, my life improved drastically. I got help from the government as well, and hence I have been able to reach here.”

“My family supported me a lot. My parents, brothers and sisters stayed with me in the tough days. They are the reason why I am sitting here.” Further, she said “Rehman sir, who helped me get admission in this institute has formed history today. He has proved that a teacher is the biggest gift. I owe all my wins in this training period to him,” she said talking about her family being supportive.

Additionally, on June 12, as a win for the transgender community in the country, the Social Welfare Department of Tripura requested all District Magistrates to constitute the transgender protection cells that will act as grievance redressal centres for the people belonging to the transgender community.

The Director of the Social Welfare and Social Education Department Lalfaktlinga Hragnchal said “We have already formed the state Transgender Welfare Board to look after the welfare and empowerment of the transgender community. All the district magistrates have been requested to constitute the transgender protection cells at the district levels. These cells will look after the safety and security-related issues of the people from the LGBTQIA+ community.” (ANI)

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Union Minister of Railways of India, Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday hit out at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal over unsolved issues of water scarcity and garbage in the city by Arvind Kejriwal and said ” The way the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Arvind Kejriwal have created a chaos in the country’s capital, Delhi due to their dishonesty has created chaos. Every citizen in the city is suffering now because of their irresponsibility.”

The minister’s attack came after several areas in Delhi’s Bawana area came under flood when the Munak Canal Barrage sustained a breach on Thursday morning.

Hitting out at the AAP government in Delhi the Union Minister said “They made false promises of cleaning the city and providing drinking water, closing drainages but they have not done anything. They could not provide the people with drinking water but focused totally on liquor.

Vaishanaw also hit out at Kejriwal on the liquor policy case and said that it messed up the entire country’s government system and has raised a huge question mark on his work ethic and responsibility. “His liquor policy messed up the country’s entire government and has raised a huge question on his work ethics and responsibility.”

“The scams he has done have made Congress a part of it, and now both AAP and Congress are looting the citizens. Kejriwal kept on denying any proof against him in the court, but now there are multiple proofs against him in the court,” he continued.

He asked the people of Delhi to re-think their decisions and think about whether Congress and AAP are good governments or whether a new and different government should be brought to Delhi. “It is now upon the citizens of Delhi to think whether the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are right for them or not or should a change be brought in the city,” he said.

The BJP’s Delhi Unit has also blamed the AAP government after the breach in the Munak Canal caused flooding in the Bawana area of the capital.

“Due to the incompetence of Kejriwal and his ministers, the people of Bawana are facing flood-like conditions today. They kept telling false stories in meetings and press conferences every day but Delhi neither got relief from waterlogging nor from such a disaster created by ‘AAP’,” the BJP’s Delhi unit posted on X.

“From cutting wires to picking pockets -Kejriwal has left no stone unturned in duping the people of Delhi,” the party said in another post. (ANI)

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Former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief RKS Bhadauria spoke about the settlement of ex-gratia to a deceased Agniveer soldier’s family, explaining that the process takes time due to comprehensive guidelines that usually span two to three months. He detailed the steps involved in the ex-gratia compensation process and addressed concerns regarding the time required to finalize payments.

“There is a process for ex-gratia and other amounts because if it is a battle casualty or physical casualty which is attributable, it is managed by the government and therefore it has to be established. That process of establishment follows certain guidelines. The post-mortem report should come, all the incident reports, the court of inquiry, and the report from the police–these are the major elements. This process needs to be completed. It is no different in the case of a normal soldier or an Agniveer. It is the same,” Bhadauria said in an interview with ANI.

Speaking about the time taken to settle all payments to the deceased soldier’s next of kin, he said, “Normally it takes two to three months because there is an inquiry involved.”

Bhadauria denied allegations that families of Agniveers are kept in the dark about the compensation process, saying that defence personnel in the unit take care of the family and explain the process in detail.

“Every unit takes great care. They are at pains to be in touch with the family. They are always in touch with the family and they explain at length,” he said.

Bhadauria reasoned that due to the trauma experienced by the family of the deceased, a sense of “confusion” might arise.

“You must imagine a family that has gone through this trauma. There are a lot of people interacting and advising. So it is that which leads to a sense of confusion to get created,” he said.

Bhadauria also pointed out that, in the event of a soldier’s death, a sizeable portion of the insurance amount is credited to the next of kin.

“Whenever such an incident happens and somebody loses their life, in all cases–whether it is a battle casualty, physical casualty, attributable, or non-attributable–the insurance amount gets credited straightaway. In the case of a normal soldier, they have their policies. They normally credit 50 per cent straightaway within 24 or 48 hours, and then they meet the family and ask how they would like the rest, whether in their name or children’s name,” he said.

Bhadauria stressed that there is no confusion about the next of kin for the soldier, as they are clearly defined in advance. He also said that the deceased soldier’s family is provided with financial guidance.

“The next of kin is clearly defined. There is no confusion. The money can only go to the account of the next of kin. There is a lot of financial guidance given to the family, which many of the soldiers’ families would need. This is also provided by the insurance company through our officers and men,” he said.

Sharing an attribute of the insurance payable to all enrolled under the Agnipath scheme, the Retired Air Chief Marshall said that unlike regular soldiers the Agniveers do not need to contribute any portion of their salary towards insurance and the entire amount is paid by the Government of India.

“In the case of Agniveer in particular, the insurance is paid by the Government of India. The Agniveers don’t even contribute. In the case of a regular soldier, every month roughly Rs 5000 is cut. You are into a contributory insurance scheme, in all three Services. Roughly Rs 5000 is charged for sepoys, which is Rs 60000 per year and you get insured. The insurance figures are a little different in the three services but of the order of around Rs 50-60 lakhs for sepoys. That is contributory. In the case of Agniveers, they do not contribute. Government of India pays the insurance, should something happen,” Bhadauria said.

Amid the ongoing controversy over compensation for Agniveer Ajay Kumar’s family, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria (Retired) has clarified the situation. He explained that while a portion of the compensation has already been disbursed, the remainder will be settled once the necessary paperwork is completed. Bhadauria addressed the controversy surrounding financial aid, explaining the current status of payments and the steps needed for finalizing the ex-gratia compensation.

“I think the recent controversy has been around financial aid or whatever payments have been made, whether they have been made or not. The Army has released a media brief stating that Rs 98.39 lakh have been paid. This is primarily the insurance from the Government of India, and there is a DSP account with the bank which ensures that the payment of Rs 50 lakh and Rs 48 lakh from the Government of India also goes through. That has already been cleared,” the Retired Air Chief Marshal said in an exclusive conversation with ANI.

Bhadauria said that unless the police report comes through and it is settled that the case is “battle casualty” attributable, the ex-gratia cannot be paid from the central welfare fund.

“You have to wait for the paperwork to be over for all the final settlement of account that takes place. For that, one of the critical things is the police report. Based on that final thing…whether it is battle casualty attributable unless the attributability comes, the ex gratia cannot be paid from the central welfare fund. That is a complete fund. The Ministry of Defence does it. It is also dependent on the reports that come from the police. In this case, the Jammu and Kashmir Police will send its report. I think those actions should have been completed. It was in the final stages as I knew last week,” the Retired Air Chief Marshall said.

Bhadauria said that Agniveer Ajay Kumar’s family will receive an additional Rs 67 lakh, and the total emoluments for his next-of-kin will amount to Rs 1.65 crore.

“Some more money will be transferred. That will be the ex-gratia from the Army central welfare fund and his balance of payment for the unserved portion and the Seva Nidhi package. So over Rs 67 odd lakhs further will go. So total emoluments that his next-of-kin will get is of the order of Rs 1.65 crores. So these are the hard facts,” he said.

Agniveer Ajay Kumar was killed in a landmine blast near the Line of Control in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir. The confusion over the financial compensation paid to the deceased Agniveer led to a political slugfest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition parties. (ANI)

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that Section 125 Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) applied to all married women including Muslim married women and they can claim maintenance from their husbands under these provisions.

The top court also echoed that time has come for Indian men to recognise the role and sacrifice of ‘homemakers’ who are strength and backbone of an Indian family and they must provide financial support to her by having having joint accounts and ATMs

A bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih ruled that Section 125 CrPC, which deals with wife’s legal right to maintenance, is applicable to all women and divorced muslim female can claim maintenance from her husband under it.

“Section 125 of the CrPC applies to all married women including Muslim married women. Section 125 of the CrPC applies to all non-Muslim divorced women,” the top court said.

“Insofar as divorced Muslim women are concerned, – i) Section 125 of the CrPC applies to all such Muslim women, married and divorced under the Special Marriage Act in addition to remedies available under the Special Marriage Act. If Muslim women are married and divorced under Muslim law then Section 125 of the CrPC as well as the provisions of the 1986 Act are applicable. Option lies with the Muslim divorced women to seek remedy under either of the two laws or both laws. This is because the 1986 Act is not in derogation of Section 125 of the CrPC but in addition to the said provision,” the top court said.

If Section 125 of the CrPC is also resorted to by a divorced Muslim woman, as per the definition under the 1986 Act, then any order passed under the provisions of 1986 Act shall be taken into consideration under Section 127(3)(b) of the CrPC, the court said.

The 1986 Act could be resorted to by a divorced Muslim woman, as defined under the said act, by filing an application thereunder which could be disposed off in accordance with the said enactment, the court said.

In case of an illegal divorce as per the provisions of the 2019 Act then, relief under Section 5 of the said Act could be availed for seeking subsistence allowance or, at the option of such a Muslim woman, remedy under Section 125 of the CrPC could also be availed, the court said.

Adding further to it, the top court directed if during the pendency of a petition filed under Section 125 of the CrPC, a Muslim woman is ‘divorced’ then she can take recourse under Section 125 of the CrPC or file a petition under the 2019 Act.

“The provisions of the 2019 Act provide remedy in addition to and not in derogation of Section 125 of the CrPC,” the top court said.

The top court’s ruling came on an appeal challenging the High Court of Telangana order dated December 13, 2023 which modified the family court decision. HC decreased the quantum of interim maintenance payable by the Appellant herein from Rs 20,000 per month to 10,000 per month.

Senior Advocate S Wasim A Qadri along with advocate Saeed Qadri appeared for the husband in the matter.The man has challenged the maintenance amount saying that the section 125 is not maintainable in the view of section 3,4 and 5 of muslim women ( protection of rights of divorce) Act 1986.

The top court said that the High Court of Telangana, while modifying the Order of the Family Court, was correct in upholding the maintainability of the petition filed under Section 125 of CrPC and therefore, there is no infirmity in its impugned order dated December 13 2023.

Senior Advocate Gaurav Agrawal, who appeared as amicus curiae, eventually went on to submit that the remedy under a secular statutory provision of Section 125 of CrPC 1973 is not foreclosed for a divorced Muslim woman by virtue of enactment of a personal law remedy under Section 3 of the 1986 Act to the limited extent of maintenance, as the latter does not in any manner, expressly or by necessary implication, bar the exercise of former remedy.

“Unequivocally, the most appropriate construction of these secular provisions of CrPC 1973 in regard to the right of maintenance is that the legislature would never intend that an undue benefit is derived after the end of the marital relationship between the parties concerned. Hence, the provision of Section 127(3)(b) of CrPC 1973 would act in the nature of a proviso to the right provided under Section 125 of CrPC 1973 only in such a circumstance where sufficient means of livelihood after the divorce, and the provisions contemplating the future needs of divorced Muslim women, stands provided to the satisfaction of the court concerned,” the order copy read.

“We are inclined to conclude that equivalent rights of maintenance ascertained under both, the secular provision of Section 125 of CrPC 1973, and the personal law provision of Section 3 of the 1986 Act, parallelly exist in their distinct domains and jurisprudence. Thereby, leading to their harmonious construction and continued existence of the right to seek maintenance for a divorced Muslim woman under the provisions of CrPC 1973 despite the enactment of the 1986 Act,” the order copy said.

In a concurring judgement, Justice BV Nagarathna pointed out the vulnerability of married women in India who do not have an independent source of income or who do not have access to monetary resources in their households particularly for their personal expenses.

In Indian society, it is an established practice that once a daughter is married, she resides with her husband and/or his family unless due to exigency of career or such other reason she has to reside elsewhere, Justice BV Nagarathna said

“In the case of a woman who has an independent source of income, she may be financially endowed and may not be totally dependent on her husband and his family,”

Justice BV Nagarathna said.

“But what is the position of a married woman who is often referred to as a “homemaker” and who does not have an independent source of income, whatsoever, and is totally dependent for her financial resources on her husband and on his family? It is well-known that such an Indian homemaker tries to save as much money as possible from the monthly household budget, not only to augment the financial resources of the family but possibly to also save a small portion

for her personal expenses. Such a practice is followed in order to avoid making a request to the husband or his family for her personal expenses,” Justice BV Nagarathna said.

“Most married men in India do not realise this aspect of the predicament such Indian homemakers face as any request made for expenses may be bluntly turned down

by the husband and/or his family. Some husbands are not conscious of the fact that the wife who has no independent source of finance is dependent on them not only emotionally but also financially,” Justice BV Nagarathna said.

“On the other hand, a wife who is referred to as a homemaker is working throughout the day for the welfare of the family without expecting anything in return except possibly love and affection, a sense of comfort and respect from her husband and his family which are towards her emotional security. This may also be lacking in certain households,” the top court said

“Therefore, I observe that an Indian married man must become conscious of the fact that he would have to financially empower and provide for his wife, who does not have an independent source of income, by making available financial resources particularly towards her personal needs; in other words, giving access to his financial resources. Such financial empowerment would place such a vulnerable wife in a more secure position in the family,” the top court said.

“Those Indian married men who are conscious of this aspect and who make available their financial resources for their spouse towards their personal expenses, apart from household expenditure, possibly by having a joint bank account or via an ATM card, must be acknowledged,” the top court said.

“Thus, both ‘financial security’ as well as ‘security of residence’ of Indian women have to be protected and enhanced. That would truly empower such Indian women who are referred to as ‘homemakers’ and who are the strength and backbone of an Indian family which is the fundamental unit of the Indian society which has to be maintained and strengthened,” the top court said.

“It goes without saying that a stable family which is emotionally connected and secure gives stability to society for, it is within the family that precious values of life are learned and built. It is these moral and ethical values which are inherited by a succeeding generation which would go a long way in building a strong Indian society which is the need of the hour,” the apex court said.

“It is needless to observe that a strong Indian family and society would ultimately lead to a stronger nation. But, for that to happen, women in the family have to be respected and empowered!,” the top court said. (ANI)

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