Advocate Vinay Vats

Questions Answered by Advocate Vinay Vats

Q: Legal implication in case not standing in movie for national anthem

If i chose not to stand for national anthem when it is played in movie hall before movie start, am i breaking any law? Can i be punished? As per law i can be punished only if i cause interference or disruption to anthem, but if i simply sit during anthem without causing interference to others, is it ok by law?

Advocate Vinay Vats answered
There are two implications under law, One is "act" and another is "omission". Former deals with a wrongful act and later deals with an lawful act which was supposed to be done. In present case you are supposed to stand during national anthem and and by not standing you are inviting contempt of court because you are violating a court's order. Article 129 and 215 of the Constitution of India empowers the Supreme Court and High Court respectively to punish people for their respective contempt. Section 10 of The Contempt of Courts Act of 1971 defines the power of the High Court to punish contempts of its subordinate courts. Power to punish for contempt of court under Articles 129 and 215 is not subject to Article 19(1)(a). EssentialsThe elements generally needed to establish a contempt are:1. the making of a valid court order,2. knowledge of the order by respondent,3. ability of the respondent to render compliance, and4. wilful disobedience of the order.

Q: Internet service provider sending fake bill. Connection already cut

 I had taken internet connection way back in 2012 till last year Sep-2016.I was using their services and paying them regularly. Their billing cycle start from 8th to 7th of next month In the month of Sep -2016. I have used their services for only few day after that I stop using their services till now since I have used their internet services for few days in Sep so I had paid them Rs;-211 in the month of Oct-2016 after that I had never used their services till date because I have switch to a different service provider for my internet usage. Issue:- From Oct 2016 till now they are sending me the full bill amount which is Rs:862 however in the month of Jan -2017 they have send me a bill amount of Rs;- 725.85. When I m not using their services for more than 4 month then why they are sending the bill for the whole month

Advocate Vinay Vats answered
You should file a complaint in the District Consumer Forum. The consumer protection Act has provided a very simple procedure to file the complaint that even a layman who is not from the law background, can file the complaint of its own.Even there is no requirement of any court fee to be paid at the time of filing any complaint in the Act.Steps, which has to be followed is as under:STEP 1: At first identify the Jurisdiction of the Forum where the complaint is to be filed. This issue needs to be identified from two angles of jurisdiction i.e. Territorial and Pecuniary.Territorial Jurisdiction of the Consumer Forums :- A complaint shall be instituted in a District Forum or State Commission or National within the local limits of whose jurisdiction,—a) the opposite party resides or caries on business or has a branch office or personally works for gain, orb) If there are more than one opposite aprty, then any one of the opposite parties resides, or carries on business or has a branch office, or personally works for gain,Provided that in such case the permission of either District Forum, State Commission or National Commission as the case may be, or the opposite parties who do not reside in such place or carry on business or have a branch office or personally works for gain as the case may be, must be obtained , orc) the cause of action arose.PECUNIARY JURISDICTION OF CONSUMER FORUMS Sr No. Forums Amount1 District Forum Upto Rs. 20 Lakhs2 State Commission Rs. 20 Lakhs to Rs. 1 Crores3 National Commission Exceeding Rs. 1 CroresStep 2: You will be required to pay a prescribed fee along with your complaint before the District Forum, State Commission & the National Commission as the case may be.Step 3: Then you have to draft your complaint stating facts necessary to establish a cause of action.Step 4: At the end of the complaint you have to put your signatures. In case any other person is authorised to file the complaint then complaint has to be accompanied with authorisation letter.Step 5: Don’t forget to mention the name, description and address of the complainant and the name, description, address of the opposite party or parties against whom relief is claimed.Step 6: Copies of all the documents supporting your allegations. In this you can put on record the copy of the bill of the goods bought, warranty and guarantee documents and also a copy of the written complaint and notice made to the trader requesting him to rectify the product.Step 7: You can also ask for compensation costs which should be specifically alleged in the complaint. Besides compensation, a consumer can also ask for the refunds, damages, litigation costs, and interest amount. You must give the breakup of amount claimed under different heads but do remember to claim compensation or other relief as per the pecuniary value of the forums.Step 8: Explain in your complaint as to how the case falls within the jurisdiction of this forum.Step 9: Complaint must clearly state as to what relief is sought against the opposite party.Step 10: The Act provides for limitation period of two years from the date of cause of action. In case there is delay in filing the complaint, please explain the delay which can be can be condoned by the Tribunal.Step 11: You are also required to file an affidavit along with the complaint that facts stated in the complaint are true and correct.Step 12: The complainant can present the complaint in person or by his/her authorised representative without engaging any advocate. The complaint can be sent by registered post. A minimum of 5 copies of the complaint is to be filed in the forum. Besides this you have to file additional copies for each opposite party.

Q: Marriage against parents will. Threat from wife's family. what to do?

I got my marriage registered on 22 feb 17 at Ghaziabad. I am seeking the protection from bride family since her father deny. We basically belongs to Meerut. Please advice what to do?

Advocate Vinay Vats answered
You can file a complaint under THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, 2005 against your in-laws to get relief as per the provisions of the act.What can a woman get by filing a complaint under this law?A woman can get reliefs from the court. This includes much needed support and compensation. The orders the court can direct are as follows:A. “Protection orders” under Section 18 in The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005This can also be termed as a “stop violence” order. Through this order the court can direct the other party to immediately stop the acts of violence. The following incidents can also be prevented through the “Protection Orders”:i. Preventing the perpetrator from entering the woman’s place of employment and causing harassment.ii. Preventing any communication with the woman from the perpetrator.iii. Preventing any violence being caused to a person related to the woman.iv. (iv). Preventing any financial action from being taken by the perpetrator to the woman’s detriment.B. “Residence orders” under Section 19 in The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005i. A residence order may be passed by the court in cases where the:ii. Woman apprehends being thrown out of the house (shared Household) or in cases where she has been thrown out and wants to return to her house. The aim of this order is to ensure that women have a shelter that is safe.iii. In cases where a woman does not feel safe living with the maleiv. Perpetrator of violence, she can apply for an order seeking his removal from the shared household. Or else the court can direct the perpetrator to provide alternate accommodation for the woman.v. No orders for removal from a shared household can be obtained against female relatives under the PWDVA.C. “Monetary reliefs” under Section 20 in The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005This order can be sought to meet any expenses the woman may have incurred as a result of the violence faced. This may include payment of medical bills, any loss of belongings, etc. The amount claimed under this provision is to take care of actual expenditure incurred by the woman.D. “Compensation orders” under Section 22 in The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005A compensation order can be asked for by the woman for injuries (mental and physical) sustained. This is over and above the actual expenditure that can be obtained by a monetary order explained above.E. “Interim and ex parte orders” under Section 23 in The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005An interim order can be given by the court at the time the proceedings are initiated under the PWDVA and before a final order is passed. This is to ensure that women are not detrimentally affected during the course of the legal proceedings. In order to get interim orders, a woman has to show that she has or she is facing violence, or fears violence. An ex parte order means an order that is passed in the absence of the other party to the dispute. Such orders are interim in nature and passed only if there is an immediate danger to the person making the application or when the other party refuses to appear in court despite prior intimation given by the court.

Q: Restaurant charged more than the MRP

I was in a restaurant and I ordered a water bottle, which was of Rs.20. But they charged me Rs.38. And after raising objection they refused and said these are the rates. I have the receipt where they charged Rs. 30 for bottle and Rs. 8 for other taxes. What legal action can I take ?

Advocate Vinay Vats answered
In such case you can file a complaint with District Consumer Forum against the restaurant for charging more than MRP. The move follows a recent judgment of the Thane District Consumer Redressal Forum, which ordered a lodging hotel in Thane city to pay compensation to a consumer for charging 10 times more than the MRP for three bottles of a branded mineral water.In a similar ruling National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has imposed an exemplary cost of Rs 1.56 lakh on a Gujarat-based hotel for charging customers Rs 5.5 above the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of a soft drink. At present, the law provides for imposing fines on shopkeepers overpricing than the stated MRP.The Weights and Measures Act-2011 gives rights to inspectors to take action against such shopkeepers. However, given the wide scope of the work that the inspectors have to do, the state government has constituted state-level and municipal corporation-level vigilance committees.The duties of these committees include alerting the inspectors about incidents of overpricing, referring the complaint against shopkeepers to the competent authority and displaying the telephone numbers of vigilance committee members for the knowledge of everyone.

Q: Being harrased by wife and her family what to do

Me n my wife got married 1 yr back after 7 yrs of relationship...4 months back we were blessed with a daughter.. Everything was going smooth until interference from my wife s family started..Now she s at her paternal home with the child n refuses to return until I fullfil her demands.i tried to to compromise but she forces me to agree on watever she says.wen I say that now it's evident that we can't stay together we can go for a mutual divorce she says neither I ll return to u nor I ll give u divorce.we both re doctors by profession n she s South Indian n I m north Indian...Her family also sometimes pressurise me to leave my place n live with dem in South India as my wife doesn't Ve any son

Advocate Vinay Vats answered
In such cases you can file an application under section 9 of HMA for restitution of conjugal rights. However it is enforceable on wife to adhere with the decision of that application. But you should give it a try because her refusal to come back will help you in your divorce petition. The wife has a right to turn down a divorce; she can refuse to divorce even after filing a petition for divorce through mutual consent. Following this, the court will typically dismiss the petition for divorce through mutual consent.In such a case, as the husband wishes to divorce, he will have to separately petition to the court to grant the divorce. Such a petition can be made by the husband only on certain grounds, listed below.The court will call upon the husband to prove the ground sought by him for the divorce; the wife will be called to disprove the allegations. If the husband's allegations are proved, the court would award a divorce, even if the wife does not wish to divorce. If the allegations are found unsubstantiated, the court will dismiss the divorce petition. GROUNDS OF DIVORCE IN INDIAN LAWIf the husband and wife both are Hindus, the husband may seek a divorce claiming that his wife:1. Has committed adultery after marriage2. Has shown cruelty to him or his family3. Has deserts him for a period of over 2 years4. Has converted her religion and has ceased to be a Hindu5. Suffers from an incurable mental disorder6. Suffers from an incurable form of leprosy7. Suffers from a communicable venereal disease8. Has renounced the world by entering any religious order9. Has not been heard of as being alive for a period of seven years or moreHowever there are few judgments which shows that if a husband is asked to live away from his parents then that also amounts to cruelty and husband ask for divorce on that ground.However, you should consult me personally so that i can suggest you proper course of action.