Indian maid gets relief from US Court

1
inShare

Share on Tumblr

An Indian maid, who had accused her former employer, an IFS officer, and her husband of harassment and "slavery", has received a favourable ruling from a US court, which approved her petition that she be awarded $ 1.5 million as compensation by the couple.In his order, US District Judge Victor Marrero "adopted in entirety" the report of US Magistrate Judge Frank Maas in which Maas had recommended that Shanti Gurung be paid 1.5 million dollars as compensation for the "barbaric treatment" and "emotional distress" Neena Malhotra and her husband Jogesh Malhotra caused her when she was employed as their domestic help for three years since 2006.

"The application of plaintiff Shanti Gurung for an award of damages is granted; accordingly, judgment is entered in favour of Gurung and against defendants Jogesh Malhotra and Neena Malhotra in an amount of $ 1,458,335 in accordance with the calculations and breakdown of that amount set forth in the report," Marrero said in his ruling on Tuesday. He also ordered that the case is now closed. Marrero said the Malhotras did not file any objections to Maas' report even though they had 14 days to do so. He said the court is not required to review any portion of a magistrate judge's report that is not the subject of an objection. After a thorough review of the documents submitted, "the Court concludes that the findings, reasoning and legal support for the recommendations made in the report are not clearly erroneous or contrary to law and are thus warranted.

"Accordingly... the court adopts the report's factual and legal analyses and determinations, as well as its substantive recommendations in their entirety as the Court's ruling as to Gurung's application for an award of damages," Marrero said. In his recommendation filed on February 21, Maas had said Gurung should be awarded the compensation as she was a victim of "outrageous and shocking conduct." Gurung was employed by the Malhotras when Neena was serving as a counsellor at the Consulate General of India in Manhattan. Gurung had alleged that she was treated like a slave by the Malhotras and forced to work long hours without adequate compensation.

Marrero's ruling came just days after the Delhi High Court restrained Gurung from pursuing her lawsuit in the US. The Delhi court had also accepted the argument that Neena is a diplomat in the services of the Government of India and was sent in official capacity to the US and thus enjoys sovereign immunity.Any order passed by a court there would tantamount to interfering with the right of the Indian government to determine terms and conditions of employment of its diplomatic officers abroad, Justice Kailash Gambhir had ruled.

A message left with Gurung's lawyer Mitchell Karlan seeking comment on the development in the case was not immediately answered. Neena, an Indian Foreign Service officer, served as a Press and Culture Counsellor at the Indian Consulate in New York from 2006-2009. When she came to New York in 2006, Neena brought Gurung from India to serve as her house maid. In July 2010, Gurung filed a complaint before the US court accusing Malhotras of ill-treating her.

Read more...

Justice Katju appointed Chairman Press Council

In exercise of the powers conferred by the sub-section (2) of section 5 of the Press Council Act, 1978 (37 of 1978), the Central Government today notified the nomination of Justice Markandey Katju, retired judge of the Supreme Court of India as the Chairman of the Press Council of India.

Justice Markandey Katju was born on Sept. 20, 1946. His background is noteworthy because of his family’s achievements in the fields of Law and Politics. His father late Justice S.N. Katju, was a former judge of the Allahabad High Court and his grandfather Dr. Kailash Nath Katju was one of India’s leading lawyers and participated in the country’s freedom movement. Dr. K.N. Katju was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, the Governor of West Bengal and Orissa, as well as the Union Law, Home and Defence Minister.

After practicising law in the Allahabad High Court, Justice Markandey Katju was appointed Judge of the Allahabad High Court in 1991, as its acting Chief Justice in Aug. 2004, as the Chief Justice of Madras High Court in Nov. 2004. He became the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in Oct. 2005. He was appointed as the Judge of the Supreme Court of India in April 2006 and he retired on Sept. 19’ 2011.

Justice Markandey Katju has written several books which include publications such as ‘Law in the Scientific Era’, ‘Interpretation of Taxing Statutes’, ‘Mimansa Rules of Interpretation’, ‘Domestic Enquiry’.

Read more...

Is this the Justice?

Vachathi verdict has demonstrated that the poor in India cannot hope for early relief, particularly when hit by the law enforcers. And with all those convicted most certainly readying appeals to the high court, the last word in this ugly case is still miles away. “The Vachathi verdict is raw proof that justice in India takes several years to reach the poor and downtrodden”, said advocate Bhavani Mohan, pointing out that 54 of the accused persons had died during the pendency of the case.

“It seems that the law will take its own cool time when it comes to a poor adivasi community. The mental agony and trauma underwent by the victims cannot be described. And these victims can never be comforted”, the rights lawyer said. Mr Mohan added that the 20- year- long wait was equal to a life term punishment that the victims were subjected to, while the culprits went about free.

The Vachatchi verdict would be “the first ever judgment on mass rapes by police officers prior to and after Indian independence.” NCW member Ms. Charu Wali Khanna said she was shocked to hear about the time span of the case.  “This 20 year old case shows that women always remain sufferers. These tribal women fought for two decades in the district court. Definitely the accused persons will now resort to an appeal and the case may go on further. This case demonstrates the abuse by the officials on helpless women,” she said.

On an optimistic note, PUCL state secretary S.Balamurugan said the verdict 'is a historical event' demonstrating the courage of the underprivileged and their hopes on judiciary and democracy.  “The victims were tired, yet would not give up the fight against injustice. These tribal women put up such a brave fight using democratic tools,” he said.

Read more...

Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju retires

Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju retired on Monday 19th September 2011 after a career that will be remembered not only for his bold judgments, which some found controversial, but also for his frank, strong views on a wide range of subjects.

“The corrupt should be hanged from the lamp post as that is the only way of getting rid of corruption in the country,” he once said, long before Anna Hazare demanded a death sentence for the corrupt. Other issues he had expressed views on included Mirza Ghalib the poet, Indo-Pak prisoners, honour killings, extra-judicial killings and corruption in the judiciary. At the farewell today, Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia said Justice Katju has lost neither the courage to speak the truth nor his concern for the common man.

When he was Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Markandey Katju, while ruling on a constitutional question of the relationship between the judiciary, the legislature and the executive, had emphasised judicial restraint and the impropriety of the judiciary trying to infiltrate into the other two domains.

Read more...