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.

                                     Photo: www.techlegalworld.com   

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.