[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

You are not legally responsible for the offence which has been committed by any of your relatives. Only the person who has committed the offence is responsible for that offence.

However, if that person has absconded and if the police has reason to believe that you know his whereabouts, it can question you about the location of such accused person. But, the police cannot arrest you for that offence.

At the same time, if there is a reasonable suspicion that a person has been harbouring (concealing from law) an accused person, then such person (who is alleged to be harbouring the absconding accused person) may be liable under Section 212 of the Indian Penal Code. But, harbour by husband or wife of the offender is not punishable under this section.

Other than the above situation, you are not liable for the offence committed by your relative and you cannot be arrested or prosecuted for that offence.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

Traditionally, Mumbai Police has been working mostly independently of the Maharashtra Police. In fact, previously, Mumbai Police personnel were having a separate cap (with yellow colour) and uniform. The Commissioner of Police of Mumbai used to be mostly operationally independent of the DGP (at that time IGP) of the State Police. It was way back in 1864 (about 156 years back) that a police commissioner was appointed for Mumbai Police.

It was only a few decades back that Mumbai Police got almost fully integrated with the Maharashtra Police.

The traditional logo / insignia of Mumbai still continues. There is nothing unusual in that. It happens in Army too, where different units may have their own insignias.

In fact, it is not uncommon for an organisation to have a separate logo from its parent organisation. Rather, it is quite common. For example, almost all central government departments have their own logo or insignia which is different from the central government itself. Even an organisation under another organisation (and, both under the Government) may have different logos.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

In the case of a Statute framed by the University or by the Government concerned, it is framed by the University or such Government only under the authority of the Act passed by the Parliament or the State legislature, as the case may be. There would be a section in the Act that authorises the Government or the University to frame such statute.

If there is no authority given to frame a statute in the law, i.e., the Act itself, then such statute may not have a legal sanctity.

Therefore, it should be clear that the statute made under the authority of an Act is like child of the Act (which is like a parent). In view of this, such a statute should be subordinate to the Act.

Thus, as a general rule, it is the Act which prevails over the statute in case of a conflict.

At the same time, in my considered view, if a favourable or beneficial provision in respect of a person (such as an employee) has been made in the statute, in that case the University may be compelled to implement that provision in respect of that person.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

I think it should be possible for the person authorized by the accused to approach police for copy of FIR filed against the accused.     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

As a general principle of law, the liability of the legal heirs to discharge debts of their parent extends only to the extent of the assets inherited by them from that parent. The children of a person cannot be made to pay the debts of their deceased father out of their own personal assets which are not due to inheritance.

This legal principle would also apply if such debt is created by the POA holder of the parent. The children will not be liable for such debt from their own personal assets or personal salaries, and their liability would be limited only to the extent of the assets inherited from such parent, if any.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

I have replied to some similar questions earlier, which may be relevant to your question as well. Please see: 

• Can departmental proceedings be initiated simultaneously with criminal case?
• Conducting departmental enquiry when criminal case is still pending in same case
• criminal case and departmental proceedings

Legally speaking, there is no prohibition for conducting departmental enquiry when criminal case on the same charge is still pending in the court. It is in the discretion of the competent authority.

As I have mentioned in answer to another question, sometimes, even though the charge in the departmental enquiry as well as in the criminal case may be the same, they may have to be looked at from different angles; for example, the charge in a criminal case is based purely on the legal definition of the offence, whereas the charge in the departmental enquiry may involve the ethical or moral questions also. A departmental misconduct has a much wider scope than an offence. But, it all depends on the facts of an individual case.

Having said that, it is possible for you to challenge the penalty imposed on you in the departmental enquiry on the merits of the case, and more so, if it depends on the outcome of the criminal case pending in the court.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

After a notice under Section 13(2) of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act), has been issued, sub-section (3-A) of Section 13 permits the borrower to make a representation or raise an objection to such notice:

“(3-A) If, on receipt of the notice under sub-section (2), the borrower makes any representation or raises any objection, the secured creditor shall consider such representation or objection and if the secured creditor comes to the conclusion that such representation or objection is not acceptable or tenable, he shall communicate within fifteen days of receipt of such representation or objection the reasons for non-acceptance of the representation or objection to the borrower:

Provided that the reasons so communicated or the likely action of the secured creditor at the stage of communication of reasons shall not confer any right upon the borrower to prefer an application to the Debts Recovery Tribunal under Section 17 or the Court of District Judge under Section 17-A.”

It can be seen that it is mandatory on the part of the secured creditor (the lender bank in your case) to consider such representation or objection. If the secured creditor comes to the conclusion that such representation or objection is not acceptable or tenable, it is binding on him to communicate within 15 days of receipt of such representation or objection the reasons for non-acceptance of the representation or objection to the borrower.

If the lender bank in your case has not given any reply to your representation under the above legal provision and has directly issued a notice of possession under Section 13(4) of the Act, then it appears to be a violation of the mandatory provisions of Section 13(3-A). In my opinion, you can seek your remedies by approaching the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) challenging the notice of possession under Section 13(4). You can further seek consultation from a local lawyer by showing the full documents, since my opinion is tentative as I have not seen the detailed documents.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

Though I am not an expert in the land-revenue-records related matters of a particular state, and you may have to consult some local expert, my simple search at Google showed that under Rule 121(X) of the Rajasthan Land Revenue (Land Records) Rules, 1957, the following provision exists in this regard:

“(x) All mutation cases must be disposed of by the Revenue Officer or the Village Panchayat, as the case may be, in accordance with the procedure laid down in these rules within twenty days of the receipt of the papers, and if any case is not disposed of within this period by a Village panchayat, the Sub-Divisional Officer shall arrange to transfer the same for immediate disposal to the Tehsildar of the Tehsil in whose jurisdiction the land is situated.”

This shows that the Revenue Officer is required to dispose of the mutation case within 20 days. You should contact the SDO office and file appropriate application, if no action has been taken after a long period.

You can search “Rajasthan Land Revenue (Land Records) Rules, 1957” at Google to see these Rules online for more details.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

FIRs in cross cases basically imply that in both the cases, there is a complaint which discloses a cognizable case against the other party. For example, if two parties fight with each other and cause grievous injuries to each other, in that situation, there can be two FIRs as cross cases; one filed by each of the two parties.

Even if there is a cross case filed by an accused person, he may have to apply for anticipatory bail, if he wants to avoid arrest. This is because both cases may be investigated on their own merits.

FIR can be filed by a third person also. It need not be filed by the victim. But, such third person filing the FIR should have knowledge about the incident.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

In my following YouTube video, I have explained that the accused person has a right to get a copy of the FIR as per a recent Supreme Court judgment (Youth Bar Assn. of India v. Union of India, (2016) 9 SCC 473 : AIR 2016 SC 4136):

In that video, I have explained that the Supreme Court judgment lays down as under:

• An accused who believes that his name finds place in an FIR, can submit an application for grant of a certified copy of FIR before the police officer concerned or to Superintendent of Police on payment of such fee which is payable for obtaining such a copy from the court. On such application being made, the copy shall be supplied within 24 hours.
• Once the FIR is forwarded by the police station to the Magistrate concerned or any Special Judge, on an application being filed for certified copy on behalf of the accused, the same shall be given by the court concerned within 2 working days.
• The copies of the FIRs, unless the offence is sensitive in nature, like sexual offences, offences pertaining to insurgency, terrorism and of that category, offences under the POCSO Act and such other offences, should be uploaded on the police website, and if there is no such website, on the official website of the State Government, within 24 hours of the registration of the first information report so that the accused or any person connected with the same can download the FIR and file appropriate application before the court as per law for redressal of his grievances.
• Due to genuine reasons, the time can be extended up to 48 hours. The said 48 hours can be extended maximum up to 72 hours and it is only relatable to connectivity problems due to geographical location.
• The word “sensitive” apart from the other aspects, would also include concept of privacy, regard being had to the nature of the FIR. The examples given with regard to the sensitive cases are absolutely illustrative and are not exhaustive.
• In case a copy of the FIR is not provided on the ground of sensitive nature of the case, a person grieved by the said action, after disclosing his identity, can submit a representation to the Superintendent of Police or Commissioner of Police, as the case may be. The Superintendent or Commissioner shall constitute a committee of 3 officers which shall deal with the said grievance within 3 days from the date of receipt of the representation and communicate it to the grieved person.
• In cases wherein decisions have been taken not to give copies of the FIR, regard being had to the sensitive nature of the case, it will be open to the accused to file an application for grant of certified copy before the Court to which the FIR has been sent and the same shall be provided in quite promptitude by the court concerned not beyond 3 days of the submission of the application.

For more details, you can watch the above YouTube video.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

 

During the pendency of the investigation, you can get copies of the FIR and remand application filed by police.

Copies of the arrest memo and seizure memo are already given to the accused by the police at the time of preparing these documents if they relate to arrest of that accused and if the seizure is from the premises of the accused. Copies of other seizure reports may not be given to him during investigation.

If the Magistrate has recorded statement of the accused under Section 164 of Cr.P.C., then it is required to be read over to the accused and also to be signed by the accused, at the time of its recording itself. So, the accused may already be knowing the contents of such statement under Section 164 of Cr.P.C. Therefore, I think it should be possible to get a copy of it.

Statements of other witnesses recording during the investigation are not disclosed to the accused person during the process of the investigation. He is entitled to get copies of such statements only after completion of the investigation when charge sheet is filed. Such statements are not submitted to the court during investigation in the normal circumstances; but, if the court wants to see them, then the investigating officer would show these statements to the court; however, even in such a situation, the accused would not be shown the statements of other witnesses during the investigation stage.

But, generally speaking, it may not be a big problem. This is for the simple reason that a copy of the remand application of the investigating officer submitted to the court is given to the accused; and, this remand application contains the gist of the evidence / circumstances against the accused on the basis of which remand of the accused is sought. Therefore, it should be possible for the accused to file bail application on the basis of such facts which are disclosed in the remand application, FIR, etc.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

The executive magistrate does not have the power to take cognizance of the non-cognizable offences. This power is vested in the court of the judicial magistrate.

So, the complainant from the remote village will have to approach the court of the judicial magistrate having jurisdiction over that village for filing the complaint about the non-cognizable offence.

For that matter, even for a cognizable offence, the complainant has to approach the police station which may be at a distance, since such remote village may not have a police station too; and, likewise, the cognizance of such cognizable offence would also have to be taken by the same judicial magistrate whose court may be at a distance from such remote village.

Jurisdiction of courts will not change merely because of distance from the court.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

What I suggest is to contact the jail authorities where the delinquent employee is in custody. Ask them for permission to conduct the enquiry in jail premises since the presence of the employee would be necessary. If they permit, well and good. If they don’t permit (or if they ask you to approach the court), then you can approach the court where case against that employee is pending, for permission to conduct the enquiry in the jail premises.

If such permission is granted, then the rest of the procedure would be the same as is used for the normal departmental enquiries, with the difference that the place of enquiry may be inside the jail premises or wherever the court permits the enquiry to be conducted.

You can also consider the enquiry to be conducted through video-conferencing of the employee from jail. Of course, this may need permission from the authorities in the department as well as from the jail / court authorities. Nowadays, even the Supreme Court is conducting its hearings through video-conferencing due to Covid-19; so, there is a likelihood that you may get permission to conduct the departmental enquiry through video-conferencing.

     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

It is not possible for me to recommend a lawyer in Mumbai. Please use your own local contacts or personal visits to court to engage some local lawyer.     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

[Dr. Ashok Dhamija]

If you demand a higher level of maintenance from your husband, he may come out with his income details and expenditure, trying to show that he does not have that much of money.

Otherwise, it may generally be difficult to know, under some law, the exact details of his income / expenditure.

You can file an application under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act to get protection / residence order for restraining the husband from indulging in domestic violence and for staying in the same house with the husband. There is also a provision for monetary relief being given to wife under this Act. You can see Sections 18, 19 and 20 of this Act. This Act is available online at this link.

It is better for you to contact some local lawyer to clear all your doubts and for legal help.     

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Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.

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