Section 377-decriminalizing homosexuality in India.

Section 377 of the Indial Penal Code was declared unconstitutional by the High Court of Delhi on 2nd July 2009. This judgment has been overturned by the Supreme Court of India in December 2013 leaving the matter to the Parliament to decide on the matter regarding the 150 year old provision of the Indian Penal Code.

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code dates back to 1861 which was introduced during the British rule of India which criminalizes sexual activities "against the order of nature," which include homosexual acts.

Section 377 regarding unnatural offences reads as follows: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

The United States Supreme Court in its decision in Lawrence v. Texas struck down sodomy laws of fourteen States.

Those opposing homosexuality in India have welcomed the Supreme Court Judgement.  Zoologists, researchers have discovered that homosexual and bisexual activity is not unknown within the animal kingdom.

Animal Homosexuality has been cited by the United States Supreme Court in its decision in Lawrence v. Texas which struck down sodomy laws of fourteen States.

In the animal kingdom, penguins at New York's Central Park Zoo have been found to indulge in homosexual activities while ignoring other female mates. Bonobo, an African ape which is closely related to humans have been noted to engage in such a behavour. Research shows that close to 1,500 species from animals to insects have been observed engaging in same sex activities.  

Some species indulging in homosexuality include black swans, penguins, pigeons, elephants, monkeys, lions, sheeps, lizards, Amazon dolphins, giraffes, dragon flies to name a few.  One species of domesticated sheep have been known to refuse to mate with females.

Now that the matter has been left to the Indian Parliament to pass a law on the matter, it remains to be seen if the matter will be solved by the parliament.

keywords: Section 377 Indial Penal Code, Supreme Court of India, Delhi High Court, US Supreme Court, Gay and Lesbian Rights, Minority Rights in India.

Divorce Rates Shoot up In India! Online Marriage Failure Reasons.

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The online matrimony market valued at over 500 crores with its aggressive marketing strategies is facing new challenges in the matrimonial market- namely increased divorce rates. 

The divorce rate in India has reached 100% with Kerala, known as God's Own Country recording the highest number of divorces in the Country.  The total number of divorces in Kerala in 2005 were 8456 which reached a whooping 38,237 in the year 2011. God's Own Country also has the largest alcohol consumption and the largest number of suicides in the country.

The rising number of “online marriages” have witnessed a new market boom for “second time marriages” and “remarriage market” which is growing by leaps and bounds. This is also a windfall for matrimonial sites these days.

The weakening of traditional family networks, vanishing of the traditional “human matchmakers or brokers”, have also become a windfall for online matrimonial sites to create their revenue.

TechLegalWorld spoke to Divorce Lawyers who admit that there has been a dramatic increase in matrimonial disputes in the past 5 years which they attribute to misrepresentation of facts like age, religion, qualification, salary so on and so forth which is made possible due to the “anonymity and faceless nature” of the Internet. 

The presence of fake or non-genuine profiles, non-disclosure of proper facts, distortion of facts, misrepresentation of facts like financial and job status contribute to increased divorce rate.

There is a tendency among today’s tech savvy new generation youngsters to resort to online matrimony as a means of “instant gratification” as they indulge in other forms of e-commerce like online shopping and banking which provides instant results and gratification. While marriages take a long time to succeed, there is no concept of immediate return in the matrimonial scenario – said one divorce lawyer who caters to NRI disputes and wished to remain anonymous.

In today’s fast moving environment, meeting someone online and marrying can be fast compared to the traditional mode of marriages with the assistance of a broker but such “online relationships” can also end up fast. 

The electronic media can never be a substitute for human relationship - says Advocate Jose A, a Senior Partner in MediationADRIndia, a Mediation firm which handles matrimonial disputes through mediation. Couples should take at least 6-10 months before they decide to “Say Yes” with someone they have met online and also conduct proper verification of facts disclosed and if necessary hire the services of a private detective and an online verification expert, says Jose.

The growth of the women’s liberation movement from the west, financial independence, gender equality movement, prolonged absence of one of the spouses from the company of each other due to job requirements especially in the IT sector, prolonged working hours, casual relationships at work spaces etc are also some of the contributory factors to the rising divorce rates in India.

keywords: online marriages, divorce rates in India, matrimonial disputes, mediation and counselling services for marriage disputes.

Cell Phone/Mobile Tower Radiation-Health Effects-Law

Photo Credit http://www.theepochtimes.com

Today Mobile Phones and Mobile/Cell Towers are the biggest single source of everyday exposure to electromagnetic radiation throughout the world. The electromagnetic fields produced by mobile phones are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as possibly carcinogenic to humans.

Cell towers can drastically reduce the property value where the Cell Tower is situated and also the adjacent property value. Insurance companies can legally dispute your insurance claim due to health hazards caused by the radiation emitting Mobile/Cell tower thereby denying you insurance claims. Check out your insurance clause for the same or contact your Cell Tower Attorney to consider your legal options and health insurance costs.

Developed countries have stringent rules regarding erection of CellTower/Mobile Towers in civilian areas. Any violation can result in damages in millions of dollars from the erring Mobile/Cell Companies. Health hazards caused to civilian population is directly linked with the Govt’s expenditure of the citizens’ health costs borne by the Governments in developed countries.  

Given the large number of mobile phone users especially in the poor, third world countries where rules are lax and are framed to protect the interests of the cell phone companies who bribe the corrupt government officials and rulers with a profit motive risking the health and lives on millions of people. Hence it is important to investigate, understand and monitor any potential public health impact.

In 2012, an Italian court issued a landmark judgment finding that a commerce manager was entitled to compensation from his company because of the brain tumor he had suffered that was caused by speaking on his mobile phone because his job demanded it.

The French health safety watchdog National Agency for Health and Environmental Safety said it would make a recommendation that children and heavy users of mobile phones limit their exposure to the devices to minimize the risk of health hazards. The various possible biological health effects in humans or animals include disruption to sleep, male fertility and cognitive performance due to mobile phone use.

France's Green party included in an education bill an amendment for French schools to use "wired" internet access rather than wi-fi based on the long-term effects of radiofrequency exposure among children. Use of wired access can prevent and reduce the impact of electromagnetic radiation and other health hazards.

The French watchdog recommends limiting the population’s exposure to radiofrequencies from mobile phones especially for children, intensive users, and controlling the overall exposure that results from relay antennas.

Cell phone companies try to circumvent or prevent authoritative study by way of poorly documenting communication protocols for 2G, 3G, and 4G networks which prevent or makes it difficult to prove linkage of use of mobile phones or radiation from mobile/cell towers to health hazards.

According to The WHO (World Health Organization), a large number of studies have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk.

Mobile phones have prohibited in hospitals, airplanes, and near patients wearing pacemakers and other medical devices which can interfere with its functioning and cause malfunction and death as the radiofrequency signals may interfere with certain electro-medical devices and navigation systems.

The need of the hour is to have stringent laws regarding the use of mobile phone, Mobile/Cell Tower erections in civilian areas especially in poor/developing countries due to the increasing medical expenses especially the lack of healthcare benefits and the fact that medical costs are not borne by Governments in poor countries unlike developed countries.

Read more about cell tower/mobile tower and its risks here.

Keywords: Cell Tower Radiation, Mobile Phone Radiation, Cell Tower Attorney, Cell Tower Insurance Law, Cell Tower Insurance Disclaimer.

One Person Company – Now possible in India!

Legal Risk Management Strategies for the Digital Era!

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One Man Company or One Person Company, a dream come true for Digital Age Solopreneurs!

“A man is known by the company he keeps”, goes the old saying. But now a man can start a company all by himself without having to search for a partner to fulfill the legal requirement that required two persons to form a company. The Companies Bill 2012 passed by the Indian Parliament allows for the creation of a Company by just one individual.    

So what is a One Person Company (OPC)?

As the very name indicates, it means a company which has only one person as a member of a company. An OPC can be floated by just one single individual.  In the past, two persons were required to form a company under the Indian Law. Thus previously an Entrepreneur had to tout for a suitable partner or a co-founder in order to start a company which could eventually create far reaching legal and financial implications in the event of a disagreement between the two.

Why OPC in India at this stage?

The One Person Company as a business concept has been popular in many developed countries including USA, UK, Australia, Singapore and even China. The OPC concept was long overdue in India especially taking into account today’s global economy which thrives on new ideas, innovation, be it product or services which can even come from a single individual anywhere. The recent past has seen many successful “Juvenile Entrepreneurs” and young millionaires in the high tech industry especially in the development of “Apps” segment in the mobile space. Thus an aspiring Entrepreneur can easily set up a One Man Company solo thereby protecting his Intellectual Property rights namely patent, design, etc. 

What are the advantages of an OPC?

The main advantage of an OPC is Limited Liability of its Founder. In an OPC, the legal and financial liability is limited to the company alone and does not make its Founder personally liable for the actions of the Company. 

What are the rules regarding the concept of Perpetual Succession in an OPC?

The person forming the OPC has to nominate a name with that person’s written consent as a nominee to the OPC who will step into the shoes of the founder in the event of founder’s death, incapacity or disability. This provision ensures perpetuity and continuity to the life of the Company. The golden rule of “members may come and go, but the Company must live on” still holds good. Every One Person Company should bear the letters “OPC” in brackets after it’s registered name, wherever it may be printed, affixed or engraved. 

Will the OPC gain popularity in India?

Well, only time will tell. The Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) which was allowed in India just over a year ago failed to gain popularity due to traditional “brick and mortar legal practitioners” still pushing the old fashioned and risky concept of Sole Proprietorship and Partnership in the Legal Market.

Until and unless the traditional legal practitioners shed their “Status Quo Mentality” and embrace change, adopt new methods, technologies in their traditional mode of practice and allow healthy competition in the Legal Industry by allowing foreign law firms to enter India, the traditional concepts will still rule the roost thereby stifling innovation and value added services in the Legal Market in India.

Conclusion:  An OPC is a dream come true for the high tech solopreneurs with new ideas who can start off a venture solo without the need of a co-founder. This would also benefit the increasingly growing number of Technology Evangelists, Digital Nomads who follow an Internet Lifestyle and work from anywhere being digitally connected 24/7 to include freelancers, developers, or juveniles who have no time to connect with fellow beings in a traditional manner. 

Tech Legal World is quite optimistic that this business concept is going to be a game changer especially in today's dynamic and ever changing digital environment where the stage is set for the return of the "One Man Show".  

Note: This blog can be read as a sequel to our previous one titled “ Legal Risk Management Strategies for Start ups.”

Please email us for a free copy of the Companies Bill, 2012 or leave a comment below.
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