Bareilly woman accuses BJP MLA from Badaun of raping her for two years

A woman from Bareilly has accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Badaun Kushagra Sagar of allegedly Raping her.

The victim claimed that Sagar raped her for two-year on the pretext of marrying her.

"My mother used to work in his house and I used to accompany her there. The BJP MLA promised to marry me and raped for two years. Now when he has become an MLA he has refused to marry me," the victim said.

The woman has filed a complaint with the police and has threatened to commit suicide if justice is not served to her.

"Will commit suicide if I do not get justice, I have been receiving threats as well and have become a subject of ridicule in society," she said.

Meanwhile, the police said the case has been registered in the matter and they have begun the investigation.

Marriage of two adults can't be annulled just because man is under 21: SC

An adult couple has a right to live together without marriage, the Supreme Court said, while asserting that a 20-year-old Kerala woman, whose marriage had been annulled, could choose whom she wanted to live with.

The top court held that live-in relationships were now even recognised by the Legislature and they had found a place under the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

The observations came while the apex court was hearing a plea filed by one Nandakumar against a Kerala High Court order annulling his marriage with Thushara on the ground that he had not attained the legal age of marriage.

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act states that a girl can't marry before the age of 18, and a boy before 21.

Nandakumar, who had approached the top court, will turn 21 on May 30 this year.

The high court had also granted the custody of Thushara to her father after noting that she was not Nandakumar's "lawfully wedded" wife.

A bench of justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said their marriage could not said to be "null and void" merely because Nandakumar was less than 21 years of age at the time of marriage.

Marital rape is not a criminal offence yet, but it should be: Gujarat HC

The Gujarat High Court on Monday ruled that marital rape is not a criminal offence under Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code. As such, a man can't be prosecuted to have raped his wife. The High Court, however, underlined the importance of criminalising it, saying the "destructive attitude" that promotes rape in a marriage can be removed only by making marital rape "illegal".

Justice Pardiwala, however, said that a wife can initiate proceedings against her husband for unnatural sex under Section 377 of the IPC. Subjecting his married partner to have oral or unnatural sex was akin to cruelty, the judge concluded.

Quoting and citing previous judgments, the court observed that though a husband had the right to have sex with his legally wedded wife, she was not his property and it should not be without her consent.

However, Justice Pardiwala cited Section 375 of the IPC as an exception: “(A man is said to have committed rape) With her consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband and that her consent is given because she believes that he is another man to whom she is or believes herself to be lawfully married.”

Airtel, Telenor file joint application for merger approval before NCLT

Bharti Airtel and Telenor India today filed a joint application before National Company Law Tribunal for approval of their merger following nod from the market regulator SEBI and stock exchanges -- BSE and NSE.

"Telenor India and Airtel have today filed the joint company application before the New Delhi Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal for approval of the proposed Scheme of merger. The merger is inter alia subject to other statutory approvals including from the Competition Commission of India," Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

The company said that it has received the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), BSE Limited (BSE) and National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) for the proposed scheme of merger.

Airtel and Telenor signed the agreement for merger on February 2017 under which Airtel will acquire Telenor India's running operations in seven circles -- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam.

"These circles represent a high population concentration and therefore, offer a high potential for growth. The proposed acquisition will include transfer of all of Telenor India's assets and customers, further augmenting Airtel's overall customer base and network," the statement said.

It will also enable Airtel to further bolster its strong spectrum footprint in these seven circles, with the addition of 43.4 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band -- widely known as 2G spectrum but it is now being used for 4G services as well.
READ MORE