Birth on high Sea or in an Aircraft

 

he other day after reading and talking to me on my article on citizenship, where said I can not legally prove that I am an Indian citizen, one of my dear friend had an unusual query. He asked me a theoretical question as to which country a child of Indian parents will belong to if the birth takes place in an aircraft while flying or on a ship in high seas or in the consulate while waiting for her visa interview or present in a function.

If the birth takes place in an aircraft or on a ship then the child will be the citizen of the country by birth where the aircraft or ship is registered and if information is provided to the central govt or by the consulate or personally then he will acquire the dual citizenship of India also. This will continue till he become major or attains the age of 18 years where he will have to renounce one citizenship within six months of his becoming major. In case of birth within the consulate premises then also the same condition as above will apply to the child.

But how does on proves that he is an Indian Citizen.Well there are a host of identity cards, documents like Aadhar card, Voter' I card,Passport , bank accounts, property papers but these do not prove that I am an Indian Citizen but as  per various judgements of high courts and also Supreme courts these are merely proof of identity or at best in case of passport a proof of nationality accepted outside India but not proof of citizenship. AS per the citizenship act which ha been amended at least four times but what has remained common is that the accepted proof of citizenship is the birth certificate issued by the registrar of birth and death. So what happens in case of oldies like me who are born before 1968 ,that is before the registration of birth and death act came into being. So far for all practical purposes my school leaving certificate or high school or higher secondary certificate where date of birth  is mentioned was accepted but as per courts this is not a primary evidence but needs to corroborated with the gazattee  notification. The same apples for all birth certificates issued by other government agencies.

Hit And Run-Road Accident

 

Government has recently notified enhanced compensation to be paid to victims which will be effective from 1 Apr 2022. The procedure has been simplified , made time bound and to be done at a local taluk level by submission of a half a page of application in the given format to the tehsildar or SDM. Fund has been created which will cater to this requirement. The payment authority is the DM.

The application is to be given to local tehsildar or SDM called the enquiry officer who will also obtain the copy of FIR from police and decide the case within 15 days and give to the DM for payment. If claim is rejected then intimation and reason will be communicated.

The amount in hit and run cases will be Rs.50000/= for grievously hurt and Rs. 2 lacs for death. In case the vehicle or owner is traced then the amount will be Rs 2 lacs for grievously injured and Rs.5 lacs for death to be paid by insurance company but with a condition that one can not approach the MACT for enhanced compensation later. Free treatment if given at hospital will be deducted and paid to hospital directly.

Right Question or Right Answer

 

While I was discussing Business Ethics in my management class one of the bright student asked me a question

" What is more important asking the right question or giving the right answer?"

This was quite sometime back and at that time the only answer I could logically think was this is like asking which is more important the chicken or the egg. But instead of answering I just gave the issue back and asked the student to decide which is more important.

If one asks the wrong question then even if you give the wrong answer then still the answer is wrong as the question was wrong and if one gives the right answer to a wrong question then still it would be wrong because the question was wrong.

But if one asks the right question then the answer can be wrong or right hence there is still a 50% probability that one would get the right answer. So decide for yourself as to what type of question one wishes to ask.

But in the modern age of social media where news travels faster than light I would tend to somewhat agree with Vinod Sujanji that even if you know the correct answer to a right question then one should deliberately give a wrong answer because then there will be hundreds of people who will point out your mistake and correct you and reaffirm your faith in your correct answer. Wrong gets more answers than the correct answer. So the end remains the same that ask the right question even though both are two sides of the same coin and one can not logically answer as to what is more important the chicken or the egg.

Drink Etiquettes

 

This incident took place a couple of years ago but i was reminded about again when i visited my friend who was enjoying his daily evening drink.

After a long interactive session which ended late in the evening I was invited to some drinks and later dinner. Being a non drinker I was enjoying my cool fruit juice which as usual I was holding it in my left hand when the organizer brought over two senior managerial staff from a reputed company to talk to me who as usual were holding drinks in their right hand. In my experience this holding drinks in right hand is a norm in most of the parties/functions. While being introduced I offered my hand for a hand shake but strangely the other person first shifted his glass from right to left hand and offered me his damp hand. It was embarrassing for me to take the damp hand but reluctantly I took it and later used my hankie to dry my hand.The other person on seeing this first dried his hand using his hankie and then offered me his hand all the while I was waiting for him. Of course I lost all interest in the conversation with them and they left a poor impression on me..

This incident showed that most of us probably do not know that you neither give a damp hand nor wipe your hand while the other person is holding his hand out for you. We are also not aware of the correct etiquette of shaking hands.The correct etiquette is to hold your drink in your left hand so that you right hand is always free, dry and clean to offer and shake hands with others. But probably we learned the art of drinking but did not learn the art of holding glass properly .

Herd Behaviour

After a long time I received a wedding invitation card, beautifully designed and very appealing. In fact the card struck me as a unique one. In the end of the card on the left hand side it was written RSVP with a name and mobile number.

Nowadays almost all cards whether wedding or birthday or any celebration have this RSVP written. We also use it in our invitations but I do not know how many of us know that in English language there is no abbreviation as RSVP or it has no full English version.

In fact it is short form of a French phrase "Repondz S'il Vous Plait". Meaning reply please . It is therefore expected that the person receiving the invitation will inform the person whether he is attending the function or not and also his meal choice and number of persons.This will help the organizer to plan the function in a better and more organized way. If after accepting the invitation one has a change of plan then again it is expected that you intimate the person.

But this part of the invitation is mostly or almost never followed but the RSVP continues to be printed even by those who never adhered to it in the first place without knowing or understanding its meaning. Typical of herd behaviour.

 

Erasing Old Memories from Digital Medaia

 

Can one erase information, opinions, intentions, instructions or any other personal information posted in social media so that a third party cannot track or use it.? Well at present it is not possible except by an order from the court but if the bill pending in the parliament since 2019 gets passed and becomes the law then it would be possible to do with certain riders, such as the data has served its purpose for which it was collected. There are number of cases in public domain where a person has suffered financially or in employment or in public life even after being acquitted by the court or after the information has lost its relevance. At present any information in digital form in public domain or otherwise is like an arrow shot from a bow which cannot be recalled or destroyed and put back in the quiver. It is also imperative that the right to privacy should not be allowed to override public interest hence the right to erase the information available in public domain needs to be balanced with the information that is required in public interest

 Supreme Court in their judgement, in the case of Justice Puttuswamy and another V/S Union Of India in 2014 (WP number494 of 2012), given by the nine judge bench declared that right to privacy is a fundamental right under article 21 of the constitution of India. A five judge bench on 26 Sep2018 while delivering its final judgement in the above case impressed upon the government to bring about a robust data protection regime. The Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB) of 2019 is a step in this direction.

 The bill, as given in preamble, aims to provide the protection of the privacy of individual relating to their personal data and aims to specify the flow and usage of personal data, create a relationship of trust between persons and entities processing the data, protect the rights of individual whose personal data are processed,  to create a framework of organizational and technical measures in processing of data, laying down norms for social media intermediaries, cross border transfer accountability of entities processing the data, remedies for unauthorized and harmful processing  and to establish the data protection authority of India for the same purpose and for matters connected there with or incidental  thereto.

The act will apply to a host of agencies where the data has been or is being collected, disclosed, shared or otherwise processed within the territory of India. This will include state, company, body of persons or the entities not present in India which process these data. It will also lay down that no personal data shall be processed  by any person except for clear, specific and lawful purpose and it shall be collected only to the extent that is necessary. No personal data shall be processed without the consent and the burden of proof of that consent will be that of the entity.  The person to whom the data belong shall have the right to restrict or prevent the continuing disclosure of his personal data by an entity under certain conditions.

The critical personal data shall be processed in India .If any person has suffered harm as a result of any violation of any provision under this act or rules or regulation made there under by any entity then the aggrieved person will have a right to seek compensation form the entity. The offense under this act shall be cognizable and non bailable. A complaint can be made to the adjudicating officer under the act. There is a provision that in case it is committed by a company then every person who at that time was responsible to the company for the conduct of business of the company as well as the company shall be deemed to be guilty of the offense and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. Harm as defined under the act has a very wide meaning and includes besides bodily or mental injury, financial or loss of identity, humiliation, loss of employment, any discriminatory treatment , subject to blackmail and extortion, denial or withdrawal of service, benefit or good, any restriction placed or suffered directly on speech or  movement or placed under surveillance . Under this act the word data has also a wide meaning and includes besides personal data any representation of information, facts, and concepts, opinions or instructions in a manner suitable for communication, interpretation or processing  by human or by automated mans.

Inter Faith Marriages

                          Inter Faith Marriages-Some Issues

AS per an Independent non religious organization there are about 4300 religions in the world in practice. Out of these five religions together are practiced by about 75% of the population and 20 religions combined together cover about 93% of the population. As per law the Hindu religion also includes Sikhs, Jains and Buddhist. In India Buddhism is legally not considered a spate religion as it originated from India but outside India it is regarded as a separate religion.

Now every religion other the Hindu and Bahai expect that the marriage is between two persons belonging to the same religion and the marriage is considered valid or legal only if both the persons belong to the same religion or conversion takes place if it is between two persons belonging to different faith. In India the Christian marriage is governed by Indian Christian marriage Act 1872 and the Muslim marriage under the Shariat Act. In both the religions the marriage is to be performed only between persons belonging to same religion otherwise it is illegal unless before marriage conversion takes place.  Muslim law prohibits marriage between Kitabia( Those who believe in divine book)and a non kitabia (This includes idol, fire or sun worshipers) but a Muslim can marry a  Christian or a Jew.

As per the personal laws of other religions once you go through the marriage ceremony as prescribed in their law then it implies that one has accepted the religion as his religion, whether knowingly or unknowingly, and the marriage ceremony is between two persons belonging to the same faith. Therefore, by undergoing Nikah or a church marriage means that one has converted to that faith. In India by law it is the first marriage ceremony which is given legal acceptance and recognition, other ceremonies or marriage rituals as per other religion after that are only considered ceremonial.

Once you convert from being a Hindu to any other religion then the Hindu succession, Inheritance, Adoption and other Hindu related laws do not apply to you and you are legally debarred for any share in your parent’s or ancestral property but will be governed by the personal law of that religion. If you married first under the religious rituals of a particular religion then the personal law of that religion will apply to you  unless you first married under the Special Marriage Act 1954 and then as per your other spouse’s religious practices. In this case both will be governed by Indian Succession Act and not as per the personal law of each other’s religion in respect of marriage, divorce, succession, adoption, etc. Even after conversion you may still like to retain your old name and other related documents but your religion will be that to which you converted whether knowingly or unknowingly. To avoid this dilemma it would be better if after changing religion one take a gazette notification for the public to know that you have changed your faith.

Hindu marriage act contains no such clause of debarring marriage between persons belonging to different faith and persons belonging to different faith can legally marry as long as the main ceremony of sath phere or saptpadi or similar ceremony is performed as per Supreme Court judgement. It is possible that some priests may refuse to perform the marriage. But again as per the personal and marriage laws of other religions except Hindu and Bahai the marriage is illegal. Hence it is very much likely that the girl or boy may face issues connected to their faith and even may be refused funeral rights as per their religion and may lose connection with their family and community. But it all depends on the individual and families. Allahabad and Tamilnadu high court have held that marriage is void or illegal if the conversion was for the sake of marriage only. They have observed that there is no need for conversion as the marriage between two persons belonging to different faith can easily take place under the Special Marriage Act 1954 and conversion for the sake of marriage is not required. But however if a person wants to convert to Hindu faith then no ceremony is required as per Supreme Court and only a declaration by the person that he is a Hindu and follows Hindu practices is sufficient. Even if a person wishes to convert from any faith to another faith then it is his right to do so by following the practices of conversion to that faith.  If one coverts to another religion then it would be better to take out a gazette notification that one has changed his religion and now his religion and name will be such and such.

Therefore in the end the conclusion is clear and is also opinion by various courts that in case of inter faith marriage the best option is the marriage to be performed under Indian Special Marriage Act 1954.also referred to as court marriage first and later as per the individual’s religious practices if required as a social obligation.