category

Under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, if any person with sufficient resources refuses to maintain or ignores parents who are unable to maintain themselves, then a Magistrate of the First Class can order them to give monthly allowance for maintenance.You can consult a lawyer about the process to file a complaint andRead more

Biological/Adoptive parents who are Hindu, Buddhist, Jain or Sikh and are aged or infirmed can seek maintenance from their grown children under a special law called the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 if they are unable to support themselves from their own earnings or property. In addition, even when the son or daughter isRead more

Indian law requires all persons to maintain and support their parents – biological, step-parents as well as adoptive children have to take care of their parents depending on the circumstances. The Maintenance and Welfare Of Parents And Senior Citizens Act, 2007 is a special law under which a senior citizen (above 60 years) can applyRead more

Certain organisations like the security and intelligence agencies are excluded from giving information under the purview of this law. A list of these excluded organisations is provided in the Second Schedule to the RTI Act. However, information relating to corruption or human rights violations in such organisations can be asked for and provided after theRead more

The Central or State Information Commission can impose a daily penalty of Rs. 250 on the PIO who has withheld information or provided wrong information. This has to be paid until the information is provided. However, the total amount of the penalty should not exceed Rs. 25,000. The PIO has to be given a chanceRead more

If you do not receive a decision from the PIO within 30 days, you can file an appeal against the decision of the PIO before an officer who is senior to the PIO. You need to file this appeal within 30 days. This time period may be extended if the officer feels that the delayRead more

If you have a complaint with the way in which the PIO handled your RTI application, you can approach the higher authorities established under this Act – the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission. They have a duty under this Act to inquire into your complaint. You can make a complaint in theRead more

If your application requests for the following kinds of information, the public authority can lawfully refuse to give you: Information that affects the security and economic interests of the government with another countryInformation that is banned from being published by any court or tribunalInformation that would result in a breach of privilege of the LegislatureInformationRead more

When the PIO refuses your RTI application, they have to tell you: Why the request was refused.Details of whom you can approach to appeal against this refusal.How much time you have to file this appeal. If the PIO has not replied with information or has refused to give you the information unlawfully, you can appealRead more

The PIO can take 30 days to process an RTI application and provide the information that is requested. If the application is made to an APIO, the information must be provided in 35 days time. If the information has some serious consequences on a person’s life and is needed urgently, the PIO should give theRead more

There is an application fee which varies for the Centre and for States. For public authorities under the Central Government, this is Rs. 10. For public authorities under the State Governments, please check rules applicable to each state here. In addition to the application fees, there is also a fee for the information to beRead more

The RTI application can be in either English, Hindi or the official language of the area. The application should be in writing. It can be submitted personally, through post, e-mail or through online portals. For public authorities under the Central Government, there is an online forum where RTI applications can be made directly. You canRead more

If the critique was made in good faith regarding any public performance, then you will not be held liable for an act of defamation. For example, if the author of the performance, has given permission for her performance to be reviewed by the public, then anyone making a statement against the same will not beRead more

By printing or engraving something you know is defamatory to a person’s reputation, you can be punished with jail time of up to 2 years and/or with fine. Generally, newspapers are prosecuted under this provision. Selling or trying to sell printed or engraved material which is defamatory can be punished with jail time of upRead more

To prove a defamation case, you have to show the following things: That the person who said or wrote things about you conveyed a defamatory message.That the material was published, meaning that it was conveyed to someone other than you.That you could be identified as the person referred to in the defamatory material.That you sufferedRead more

You can be punished if you say or write something to insult the reputation of a person, group of people or a company. However, it is important that this class or group of people can be identified. You can be punished even if the person whose reputation you harmed is dead. What the Court willRead more

Slander is a form of defamation that is spoken and heard. It is in a verbal form. For example, Rahul says bad things about the character of Seema which results in Seema losing her job. The act Rahul has committed is the crime of defamation in the form of slander.Read more

 Censorship on the internet can be done in two ways: The Government can block any content that it considers either a threat to national security. It can even block content which can disrupt public order or which would encourage people to commit a crime. When the Government blocks online content, they follow a procedure underRead more

A different set of laws deal with censorship on TV. The Government can: censor channels or even entire cable operators like Star TV as a whole. block any content which may cause hatred between groups or public unrest. block content if it violates the code followed by all channels. They have a broadly worded setRead more

Showing a film without a certificate to the public is punishable in the following ways. For showing an uncertified film, the punishment is: a minimum prison of 3 months and maximum of three years, and a fine between ₹20,000 and ₹1,00,000.  The fine will be ₹20,000 per day if the person continues to show theRead more

If you want to show a film/movie to the general public in a theatre, you have to apply to the Censor Board for a certificate. Rule 21 of the Cinematograph Rules details the process for filing the application. The Board examines the film, and it also has to hear from you. Then, it can doRead more

Censorship of films/movies are common in India. For films/movies to be shown to the general public, they must be certified by the Censor Board. This is more or less government censorship, since the government is blocking or hiding content from the content’s intended audience. The law says that the Censor Board can refuse to certifyRead more

A candidate or their agents cannot cannot ply voters to the polling station i.e. provide conveyance to voters to or from a polling station on voting day. This punishment for doing this is a fine of up to Rs. 500. 1 For example, a party or a candidate cannot hire a bus and give ridesRead more

The use of any official vehicles for campaigning or election-related travel from the date of announcement of elections till the completion of elections is not allowed.1 But, if a political leader is under threat of extremist and terrorist activities and requires security, they can request the Election Commission for the use of an official vehicle.Read more

Government advertisements usually inform the public of their rights, duties and entitlements and also explain government policies, programmes, services and initiatives. In order to prevent achieve this purpose, government advertisements should be objective, politically neutral and should not promote the political interest of the ruling party. For example, while advertising the mid-day meal scheme offeredRead more

Political parties and candidates are not allowed to use public properties/places for political advertisements. They cannot write on the walls, paste any posters/papers, erect/display any cutouts, hoardings, banners, flags etc as a part of election campaigning. Some examples of public properties are1: Railway stations, railway flyovers, bus stands, airports, bridges,Government hospitals, post offices,Government buildings, municipalRead more

The MCC applies to all social media platforms. There are five categories of social media that are regulated under the MCC1: Collaborative projects (like Wikipedia).Blogs and microblogs (like Twitter).Content communities (like YouTube).Social networking sites (like Facebook).Virtual Game worlds like (Gaming applications). There are some rules that have to be followed by political parties and candidatesRead more

Newspapers All print media including newspapers have to follow the rules under the MCC. The Press has a duty to1 : Be Objective Give only objective reports about elections and the candidates. Not any exaggerated reports. For example: The press cannot publish any fake news about a candidate’s election campaign. Not Spread Hatred Refrain fromRead more

Radios are also a medium for advertising by political parties and candidates and the Media Certification and Monitoring Committee(MCMC) in every district and state monitors all radio activity. They monitor the radio jingles of all political parties being transmitted on the FM channels so as to take appropriate steps to ascertain whether they are violatingRead more

Television broadcasts on elections must be on general events which are relevant and of common interest to the country, without supporting or criticizing and mocking any other candidate or political party. It is then it is not a violation of the MCC. Some examples are1: If there is a live telecast of a cricket match,Read more

The content of posters, billboards and hoardings can display general information like family planning, social welfare schemes, etc. but they cannot display the achievements of political parties, photos of politicians and party symbols during campaigning. 1 No political party or candidate can use your land, building or compound wall without your permission to erect billboards,Read more

Advertising which is in the nature of political propaganda or pursues a political agenda, is known as political advertising. Political advertising is allowed, but regulated by the MCC. If political parties or candidates misuse advertisements to further their prospects in the elections, they are violating the MCC. The MCC prohibits candidates and political parties fromRead more

The political parties or candidates are not allowed to use public places like maidans, helipads, etc for holding public meetings. For this purpose, political parties and candidates are allowed to use public or government-owned spaces such as playgrounds of schools, colleges and other educational institutions or other such public properties, provided that1: Academic calendar ofRead more

One cannot use defence forces for campaigning purposes i.e. no political party or candidate should use the photographs of any defence forces or army staff during their campaign. Their photographs or functions cannot be mentioned in advertisements. 1 Some examples of violations of MCC by using armed forces for campaigning are: If a candidate campaigns byRead more

A party or candidate cannot campaign in any manner which would result in creating tension or hatred between different castes and religious communities. The MCC does not allow anyone or any organization to use religion to further the prospects of a candidate or a political party during an election, irrespective of their relationship to theRead more