• NATIONAL NEWS

Law Commissions's 217th Report on "Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage-Another Ground for Divorice"

The Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Justice A.R.Lakshmanan, former Supreme Court Judge, forwarded the report to the Union Law Minister, Dr. Hans Raj Bhardwaj. Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 provides grounds for presentation of a petition for divorce. Section 27 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 similarly provides grounds for grant of divorce in the case of a marriage solemnized under the Act. However, the said Acts do not provide "irretrievable breakdown of marriage" as a ground for divorce. The Law Commission of India in its 71st Report title "The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 - Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage as a Ground of Divorce" recommended amendments in the Hindu Marriage Act to make irretrievable breakdown of marriage as a new ground for granting divorce among the Hindus. Recently, the Supreme Court also in Naveen Kohli V. Neelu Kohli (AIR 2006 SC 1675) recommended to the Union of India to seriously consider bringing an amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 to incorporate irretrievable breakdown of marriage as a ground for the grant of divorce. In view of the above, the Law Commission of India suo motu took up the study of the subject. The Commission examined the extant legislations as well as a number of judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts on the subject and has expressed the view that "irretrievable breakdown of marriage" should be incorporated as another ground for granting divorce under the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The Court before granting a decree for divorce on the ground that the marriage has irretrievably broken down should also examine whether adequate financial arrangements have been made for the parties and children.

Norms pertaining to gold import eased

The government has come out with the final guidelines making it easier to import gold. As per the new norms which were announced in last week, at least 10% of gold imported by an entity will have to be supplied to local exporters. This may help smaller exporters and jewellers in tier II cities who often find it difficult to procure gold. All nominated agencies are required to maintain records of precious metal imports, purchases by exporters and the extent of domestic consumption.

Other new agencies that have been included, As earlier, imports is permitted only through designated banks notified by RBI and agencies like MMTC, State Trading Corporation, Projects and Equipment Corporation of India, Handicraft and Handloom Export Corporation and export oriented units. The notification comes at a time when prices of gold are touching record highs and zero imports has been registered near in February and March.

Kasab shocks judge with legal acumen

There is more to Ajmal Amir Kasab than meets the eye.

Not only can the Std-IV dropout from a rural Pakistani school follow English, but he is also aware of what exactly goes into a chargesheet.

All this was evident when the 26/11 gunman was produced before special judge M L Tahaliyani via video-conferencing on Monday. The judge instructed jailer Swati Sathe in English that she make arrangements for Kasab's chargesheet to be sent to court so that it could be handed over to defence advocate Anjali Waghmare. Tahaliyani then asked Kasab in Hindi whether he had understood what he had told the jailer. "Yes sir,'' replied Kasab. " Aapko to English samajh mein aati hai (You understand English),'' the judge remarked. " Ji sir,'' Kasab replied.

Tahaliyani then asked him why then had he been asking for a copy of the chargesheet in Urdu. " Usme sirf reports English mein hain (Only the reports in it are in English),'' Kasab replied promptly, indicating that not only had he been going through the chargesheet in custody but was also well aware of its technical contents like the forensic "reports''.

Kasab also expressed a desire to meet Waghmare and was told that he could do so when the trial began in Arthur Road jail on April 15. Special prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam is expected to open arguments on behalf of the state that day.

Appointment of member to the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC)

The government announces the appointment of Chitra Gouri Lal as a member of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). She was holding the charge of Chief Commissioner of Central Excise& Service Tax in Delhi Zone before her elevation and has earlier served as director in the ministry of commerce, and ministry of programme implementation, and as joint secretary in the ministry of agriculture in the central government.

• INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Migrants win legal victory

In a significant victory for thousands of Indian migrants affected by controversial changes that were made recently to immigration rules and their retrospective application, the High Court here on Monday directed the U.K. Government to honour its original commitments under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP).

The Judge, Ms. Justice Cox, upheld the contention in a petition moved by the HSMP Forum, a campaign group, that the changes were unfair. She said she was "unable to identify a sufficient public interest" to justify a departure from the original rules.

She agreed with a judgment in which Sir George Newman ruled in April 2008 that "the terms of the original scheme should be honoured" and that "there is no good reason why those already on the scheme shall not enjoy the benefits of it as originally offered to them."

The petition related specifically to changes that affected the migrants' right to settle in Britain. Under the original scheme, highly-skilled migrants could claim British residency after four years. Later, the eligibility requirement was raised to five years and this was being sought to be applied with retrospective effect.

Byelorussia to cancel export duty on all merchandise

As claimed by the Byelorussian official document announced, government has decided to withdraw export duty imposed on all merchandise, including raw material like steel scrap, but excluded petroleum and relative products with the intention of enhancing export competitiveness under current world economic crisis. It has been stressed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the elimination of export duty would not affect their agreement of uniform import tariff with Russia and Kazakhstan.