Interpol’s colour-coded notices

Red Notice, Yellow Notice, Blue Notice, Black Notice, Green Notice, Orange Notice, and Purple Notice. Each has a different implication.

Red Notice: To seek the location and arrest of persons wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence.

Yellow Notice: To help locate missing persons, often minors, or to help identify persons who are unable to identify themselves.

Blue Notice: To collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation.

Black Notice: To seek information on unidentified bodies.

Green Notice: To provide warning about a person’s criminal activities, where the person is considered to be a possible threat to public safety.

Orange Notice: To warn of an event, a person, an object or a process representing a serious and imminent threat to public safety.

Purple Notice: To seek or provide information on modus operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals.

Colour-coded notices are issued by the Interpol’s General Secretariat at the request of a member country’s Interpol National Central Bureau, and are made available for all member countries.

The International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol, facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control. Based out of Lyon, France, it is the world’s largest international police organisation.

Duration of life imprisonment in India

What is the duration of life imprisonment in India? How long is life imprisonment? 

There is a general misconception among people that a prisoner serving life sentence has a right to be released upon completion of either 14 years or 20 years’ imprisonment.

The 14 year misconception comes because there is a provision for remission in the Code of Criminal Procedure. The state government can consider releasing someone on remission if they have fulfilled certain conditions after completing the minimum required term of 14 years. Because this provision is widely used that there is a common belief that life imprisonment actually means 14 years.

The state government decides whether the convict will stay in jail for 14 years or more, or a lifetime. The length of sentence is decided keeping in mind the person's behaviour, health, and also the family situation. 

To reduce the period of incarceration, a specific order under Section 432 of the CrPC has to be passed. However, the reduced period cannot be less than 14 years as per Section 433-A of the CrPC.

In order to reduce the prisoner's duration, under the CRPC Section 432 of the Constitution, the appropriate government must pass a specific order.

Under the Constitution 433-A of the CRPC, the State Government has got this right that it can reduce or suspend the sentence of the prisoners. The State governments have the complete discretion to request it to be reduced.

Since the prisoner is under the supervision of the state government, it been entrusted this responsibility. If the state government appeals for the reduction of punishment, it is heard. The state government should ensure that the person convicted for life imprisonment is not released before 14 years.

Constitution of India

The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution for a country, containing 444 articles, 12 schedules, 94 amendments and 117,369 words. It is the longest written constitution of any country on earth. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26 November 1949 and became effective on 26 January 1950.

The constitution declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizens justice, equality and liberty, and endeavours to promote fraternity.

The document lays down the framework demarcating fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens.

It imparts constitutional supremacy (not parliamentary supremacy, since it was created by a constituent assembly rather than Parliament) and was adopted by its people with a declaration in its preamble. Parliament cannot override the constitution.

IPC - The Indian Penal Code is the official criminal code of India

The Indian Penal Code is the official criminal code of India, which was drafted in 1860. It’s objective is to provide a general penal code for the country. It has 511 sections across 23 chapters, providing the list of crimes along with their definitions and punishments.

History of Indian Penal Code

The First Law Commission prepared the draft of the Indian Penal Code which was chaired by Thomas Babington Macaulay in the year 1834. Elements were also derived from the Napoleonic Code and the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825. The drafting was completed in the year 1850 and was presented to the Legislative Council in the year 1856. The draft became law and came into operation on January 1, 1862.

Overview

The objective of the Indian Penal Code is to lay what is right and what is wrong and to lay down the punishment for committing such wrong. In criminal law, the “intention” of committing the crime plays a huge role in deciding the liability of the offense.

There are usually five stages of committing the crime: Motive, Intention, Preparation, Attempt, and Commission. Liability in crime arises when one goes beyond the stage of preparation and attempts to do the illegal act.

Broad classification of crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC):

Crime against the body – Murder, Culpable homicide not amounting to murder, kidnapping, etc.

Crimes against property – Theft, dacoity, burglary, etc.

Crimes against public order – Riots and Arson

Economic crimes – Cheating and Counterfeiting

Crimes against women – Rape, dowry death, cruelty by husband and relatives, molestation, sexual harassment and importation of girls

Crimes against children – Child rape, kidnapping, and abduction of children, selling and buying of girls for prostitution, abetment to suicide, infanticide, foeticide.

The Indian Penal Code (IPC) covers the substantial part of criminal law in India. It defines various common criminal offenses. For example, it lays down the definition of murder, theft, assault and several other offenses and also stipulates appropriate punishments for each one of them. For example, the offense of “theft” is defined under Section 378 of the Indian Penal Code. It says that if any person dishonestly intends to take away any movable property out of the possession of any person without his/her consent, and moves that property, then he/she is said to commit the offense of theft.  Mere intention to take somebody’s property without actually going ahead with the later process does not constitute theft.

The Act further provides for an explanation of various sections. These explanations further elaborate on the sections. For example, Section 378 provides five explanations to the definition of theft:

Explanation 1: A thing so long as it is attached to the earth, not being movable property, is not the subject of theft; but it becomes capable of being the subject of theft as soon as it is severed from the earth. 

Explanation 2: A moving effected by the same act which affects the severance may be a theft.

Explanation 3: A person is said to cause a thing to move by removing an obstacle which prevented it from moving or by sepa­rating it from any other thing, as well as by actually moving it.

Explanation 4: A person, who by any means causes an animal to move, is said to move that animal, and to move everything which, in consequence of the motion so caused, is moved by that animal.

Explanation 5: The consent mentioned in the definition may be express or implied, and may be given either by the person in possession or by any person having for that purpose authority either express or implied.

The Punishment for theft is stipulated in Section 379 which prescribes punishment for imprisonment extendable up to three years, or with fine, or both.

Different crimes carry different punishments according to the severity of the offense committed. For example, the punishment for murder is either death or life imprisonment.

First, the definition of the offense is laid down, and then the punishment for the offense is provided. In addition to the Indian Penal Code, there is other special legislation such as the Information Technology Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act, Indecent Representation of Women Act, the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act, etc. which also enable classification and punishment of criminal acts.

The definition only gives an idea of what the offense is. It does not tell us what we should do if someone has stolen our property, or whom should we seek justice from? Or, what can the police do in this regard? In other words, the Indian Penal Code is only concerned with substantive criminal law and not with procedural criminal law. Procedural Law is spelled out in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.

What are the objectives of criminal law?

What are the objectives of criminal law?

Every crime is composed of criminal elements. Criminal law informs and then covers the serious, potential consequences or sanctions for failure to abide by its rules. Capital punishment may be imposed in some jurisdictions for the most serious crimes. Physical or corporal punishment are now prohibited in much of the world. Individuals may be incarcerated in prison or jail in a variety of conditions depending on the jurisdiction. Confinement may also be solitary. Government supervision may be imposed, including house arrest, and convicts may be required to conform to particularized guidelines as part of a parole or probation regimen. Fines also may be imposed, seizing money or property from a person convicted of a crime.

Five objectives are widely accepted for enforcement of the criminal law by punishments: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and restoration. Values placed on each of them depends on different jurisdictions.

Retribution: Criminals Must Be Punished in some way. This is the Goal. Criminals have taken improper advantage, or inflicted unfair detriment, upon others and consequently, the criminal law will put criminals at some unpleasant disadvantage to "balance the scales." People submit to the law to receive the right not to be murdered and if people contravene these laws, they surrender the rights granted to them by the law. One who murders may be executed himself. A related theory includes the idea of "righting the balance."

Deterrence: The aim of deterrence is to impose a sufficient penalty to discourage the offender from criminal behavior now and in future. General deterrence aims at society at large. By imposing a penalty on those who commit offenses, all the other individuals are discouraged from committing those very offenses.

Incapacitation: Keep criminals away from society so that the public is protected from their misconduct. This objective is achieved through prison sentences. Death penalty and banishment are no longer preffered for this purpose.

Rehabilitation: The main and primary goal of rehabilitation is to prevent further offense by convincing the offender that their conduct was wrong. Rehabilitation Aims at transforming an offender into a valuable member of society.

Restoration: The goal is to repair, through state authority, any injury inflicted upon the victim by the offender. For example, one who embezzles will be required to repay the amount improperly acquired. Restoration is commonly combined with other main goals of criminal justice and is closely related to concepts in the civil law, that is, returning the victim to his or her original position before the injury. Restoration is a victim-oriented theory of punishment.

TRADEMARKS BASICS

Fundamental Rights

The Fundamental Rights

Right to Equality

Towards this end, the Constitution also abolished Untouchability and Titles.

Right to Freedom

freedom of speech and expression;

assemble peaceably and without arms;

form associations or unions;

move freely throughout the territory of India;

reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and

practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

Right against Exploitation

This right prohibits traffic in human beings and forced labor. It also lays down that no child below the age of 14 years will be employed in factories, mines, or other hazardous sectors.

Right to Freedom of Religion

This right lays down that all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, propagate, and propagate religion. This is, however, subject to public order, morality, and health and to other relevant provisions laid down in the Constitution.  This Fundamental Right gives every religious denomination the freedom to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes and to manage their religious affairs.

Cultural and Educational Rights

This right protects the interests of the minorities. It says,” Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.” It prohibits any educational institution maintained by or aided/funded by the State from denying admission to any citizen only on the basis of religion, race, caste or language. The right also gives minorities the freedom to establish and administer educational institutions.

Right to Constitutional Remedies

This provides for remedies for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights provided by the Constitution, including the right to move the Supreme Court of India.

Right to Education

Incorporated through the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, it says that the state shall provide free and compulsory education between the age of six and 14 years “in such manner as the State may, by law, determine”.

One of the Fundamental Rights originally included in the Constitution, the Right to Property, was omitted through the Forty-fourth Constitutional Amendment in 1978. It was instead recognized as a “legal right”.

Fundamental Duties

Along With Fundamental Rights Come Fundamental Duties.

Abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem.

Cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom.

Uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.

Defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so.

Promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic, and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.

Value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.

Protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures.

Develop the scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

Safeguard public property and to abjure violence.

Strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavor and achievement.

India’s Constitutional Bodies

India’s Constitutional bodies refer to a number of bodies or institutions which help in governance and act as watchdogs in specific spheres.

Election Commission of India (ECI)

The Election Commission of India is responsible for ensuring the conduct of free and fair elections in the country. These include elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and state legislatures. The commission also conducts the election of the President and the Vice-President.

The commission is headed by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) who is assisted by one or more Election Commissioners as appointed by the government. Besides the actual conduct of elections, its responsibilities also include scrutinizing election expenses and registration of political parties.

 

Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)

The CAG of India plays the role of a watchdog when it comes to scrutinizing the expenditure by the government under different heads and projects. Over the years, its annual reports have brought to light many anomalies in the manner in which finances allocated for specific purposes were used and losses caused to the state exchequer due to faulty implementation of projects and programs.

CAG reports on the accounts of the central government and its departments, including Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), are tabled in Parliament every year. Similarly, CAG reports detailing the accounts of state governments, their departments and state undertakings are tabled in the state assembly each year.

The founding father of the Indian Constitution, Dr B R Ambedkar, had told the Constituent Assembly that the CAG was possibly the most important officer in the country as he kept a close watch on how government money was being spent.

Attorney General of India

The Attorney General (AG) is the Indian government’s senior-most legal officer. It is the duty of the AG, who holds the rank of a Supreme Court Judge, to advise the government on legal matters on which his or her opinion is sought.

The Attorney General appears in the Supreme Court in cases involving the Indian government. He can, however, appear in all courts across the country depending on the government’s requirements.

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)

The UPSC is responsible for recruitments to All India Services, Central Services and services of Union Territories. It is headed by a Chairman and has 8-10 other members as decided by the President of India.

The commission is tasked with framing and amending recruitment rules for different government services and posts. It also looks into disciplinary issues relating to government services.

The All India Services whose members are selected under the examination and interview process conducted by the UPSC include the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS), the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) to name a few.

Finance Commission of India

The Constitution provides for a Finance Commission of India to decide on the distribution of taxes between the central and state governments in keeping with the country’s federal structure. It is headed by a chairman and has other members appointed by the President of India.

Indian Constitution And Rights Of Married Women

The Indian Constitution And Rights Of Married Women.

1. Right to Streedhan – A wife has ownership rights to all her streedhan, that is the gifts and money given to her before and after marriage. The ownership rights to streedhan belong to the wife, even if  it is placed in the custody of her husband or her in-laws.

2. Right to residence – A wife has the right to reside in the matrimonial household where her husband resides, irrespective of whether it is an ancestral house, a joint family house, a self-acquired house or a rented house.

3. Right to a committed relationship – A Hindu husband cannot have an affair or marry another girl unless he is legally divorced. A husband can be charged of adultery if he is in a relationship with another married woman. His wife also has the right to file for divorce on the grounds of his extra-marital relationship.

4. Right to live with dignity & self respect – A wife has the right to live her life with dignity and to have the same lifestyle that her husbands and in-laws have. She also has the right to be free of mental and physical torture.

5. Right to maintenance by husband – A wife is entitled to claim decent living standards & basic comforts of life by her husband as per his living standards.

6. Right to child maintenance – Husband and wife must provide for their minor child. If the wife is incapable of earning a living, the husband must provide financial support. If both the parents are financially incapable, then they can seek help from the grandparents to maintain the child. A minor child also has the right to seek partition in ancestral property.

Amortization, Depreciation, And Depletion: An Overview

Amortization, Depreciation, And Depletion: An Overview
The cost of business assets can be spread and expensed each year over the life of the asset. The expense amounts can be used as a tax deduction reducing the tax liability for the business.

Amortization

Amortization is the practice of spreading an intangible asset's cost over that asset's useful life. Intangible assets are not physical assets. Examples of intangible assets that are expensed through amortization can include:
Cost of issuing bonds to raise capital
Organizational costs
Franchise agreements
Copyrights
Patents and trademarks
In amortization, the same amount is expensed in each period over the asset's useful life. Assets that are expensed using the amortization method typically don't have any resale or salvage value, unlike with depreciation.
An amortization schedule is also used to calculate a series of loan payments consisting of both principal and interest in each payment, as in the case of a mortgage.
The term amortization is used in accounting and in lending with totally different definitions.

Depreciation
Depreciation is the spreading and expensing of a fixed asset over its useful life. Fixed assets are tangible assets, meaning they are physical assets that can be touched. Examples of fixed or tangible assets that are commonly depreciated include:
Buildings
Equipment
Office furniture
Vehicles
Land
Machinery
Depreciation is calculated by subtracting the asset's salvage value or resale value from its original cost. The difference is depreciated evenly over the years of the expected life of the asset. The depreciated amount expensed in each year is a tax deduction for the company until the useful life of the asset has expired.
The cost of the building is spread out over the predicted life of the building, with a portion of the cost being expensed in each accounting year.
Vehicles are typically depreciated on an accelerated basis.

Depletion
Depletion refers to the allocation of the cost of natural resources over time. An oil well for example, has a finite life before all of the oil is pumped out. The oil well's setup costs are spread out over the predicted life of the well.

Section 375 Indian Penal Code

Section 375 Indian Penal Code
Except in the case hereinafter excepted, A man commits rape if he has sexual intercourse with a woman under circumstances falling under any of the six following descriptions.
Against her will.
Without her consent.
With her consent, when her consent has been obtained by putting her or any person in whom she is interested in fear of death or of hurt.
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.
With her consent, when, at the time of giving such consent, by reason of unsoundness of mind or intoxication or the administration by him personally or through another of any stupefying or unwholesome substance, she is unable to understand the nature and consequences of that to which she gives consent.
With or without her consent, when she is under sixteen years of age. Explanation.—Penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual intercourse necessary to the offence of rape.
An exception to Section 375 exemplifies the great tragedy of Indian law: "sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape." Though a fifteen year old girl may be psychologically a baby. To think of it, a man can grab his wife, even when she pleads to be left alone.
Section 375 IPC And #MeToo movement.
The Me Too movement, or #MeToo movement, is a movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault. As the #MeToo tsunami gathered strength, terms such as flirtation, sexual harassment, molestation, assault, predator and womanizer were used frequently. There were some instances of women genuinely confusing flirtation with harassment. As per the 2013 amendment of Section 375 IPC, forcing a victim to perform sexual acts with your own self or someone else is also rape. All rapes are sexual assault though the converse is not true.

Murder Charges

Murder charges fall under two broad categories:

First-degree murder: The premeditated, unlawful, intentional killing of another person.

Second-degree murder: The intentional, unlawful killing of another person, but without any premeditation. 

A homicide that occurs during the commission of a dangerous crime may constitute murder, regardless of the actor's intent to commit homicide. In the United States, this is known as the felony murder rule. Murder and culpable homicide are covered under Sections 299 to 311 of the Indian Penal Code.

WHAT IS HOMICIDE?

A report issued by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime in July 2019 documented that nearly 464,000 people around the world were killed in homicides in 2017, a number significantly in excess of the 89,000 killed in armed conflicts during the same period. Cornell University Law School defines homicide as the act of one human killing another. a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no intent to cause harm. Homicide includes murder, manslaughter, justifiable homicide, killing in justified war or as a war crime, euthanasia which is assisted suicide, and capital punishment. The circumstances of the death is decisive. Homicides are treated differently in human societies. Some homicides are considered crimes, while others are justified by the legal system.

Common Law And Legalese

Common Law is the body of law derived from judicial decisions of courts and similar tribunals. Common Law arises as a precedent. A Common Law court looks to past precedential decisions of relevant courts and synthesizes the principles of those past cases as applicable to the current facts. If a similar dispute has been resolved in the past, the court is generally bound to follow the reasoning used in the prior decision, a principle known as stare decisis. Common Law, as the body of law made by judges, stands in contrast to and on equal footing with statutes which are adopted through the legislative process.

Legalese is a pejorative term associated with a traditional style of legal writing that "lay readers cannot readily comprehend." Legalese describes poor legal writing that is cluttered, wordy, indirect, and includes unnecessary technical words or phrases. Legalese is language a lawyer might use in drafting a contract or a pleading but would not use in ordinary conversation. The traditional style of legal writing has been labeled reader-unfriendly. Whatever lawyers write must be Clear, Correct, Concise, and Complete." These characteristics of good legal writing style are recognized in the United States. My publisher could not sell the book I wrote on drafting, pleading and conveyancing in the early nineties.