Latest news with #FamilyCourt
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
Woman hides divorce settlement, court acts
New Delhi: A Delhi court recently initiated suo motu proceedings against a woman for filing a criminal case against her estranged husband despite receiving half of the agreed-upon settlement under the divorce proceedings. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Anam Rais Khan of Mahila Courts in Saket courts observed that such conduct cannot be left unchecked and has to be nipped in the bud. "This is prima facie not only the violation of the order of the learned Family Court and the undertaking given by the complainant on oath before the said court but also an attempt to deceive this court by filing the present petition without making any mention of the settlement arrived at between the parties and the benefit derived by her under the said settlement. This also amounts to the filing of a false affidavit before this court by active concealment of material facts and is a sheer abuse of the process of law and misuse of provisions enacted for the protection of women," the judge said. The court will hear the matter next on June 30. The court noted that she accepted 10 lakh as part of the settlement and benefited from it without fully complying with the terms agreed upon by the family court. Therefore, it ordered that separate proceedings under sections 340 (inquiry by court) read with 195(1)(b) (power of court to take cognizance) of the CrPC be initiated against the complainant-woman. The couple filed for divorce through mutual consent, and an order was passed on the first motion on Nov 22, 2022. Under the settlement, the woman was to receive a total of 19 lakh. She was paid 10 lakh initially, and the husband said he would pay the rest of the amount as well.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Babies for sale: New Zealanders commissioning illegal surrogacy in Thailand
By Jeremy Wilkinson, Open Justice multimedia journalist of Oranga Tamariki has identified a trend where Kiwis are travelling to Thailand to commission illegal surrogacy arrangements. Photo: NZME / Paul Slater New Zealanders are travelling overseas to illegally commission surrogate babies from Thai women, and bringing them back home to adopt them despite opposition from Oranga Tamariki. It's a practice the agency has labelled a "concerning trend" and it said there had been five cases where surrogate parents have flouted international law to have children in recent years. In one of those cases a gay man paid a Thai fertility clinic worker to subvert the country's strict surrogacy laws, which prohibits foreigners from commissioning children from surrogate mothers. The man paid a "significant" sum of money, according to a Family Court ruling, to find a surrogate and then his sperm was used to fertilise a donor's egg. Once back in New Zealand, the man applied to the Family Court to adopt his son so he could be legally recognised as his father. Under the current legislation, which was written in 1955, every parent of a child born by surrogacy, whether the practice is illegal in the country of birth or not, must effectively adopt their own child even if they have a genetic link to them. This is because when the law was written more than 70 years ago lawmakers didn't foresee the advances in fertility medicine such as in vitro fertilisation. That legislation is currently before a select committee after the Improving Arrangements for Surrogacy Bill was first tabled before Parliament in 2022. The proposed law would effectively create a mechanism that accounts for these changes in science, technology and culture and mean that parents, lawyers and judges won't need to rely on a piece of legislation that was never intended to account for surrogacy. However, it's unlikely to change things for people who commission surrogacy arrangements in countries where it's illegal. They will still come under scrutiny from the courts when they attempt to bring their children back into New Zealand. It's a practice that Oranga Tamariki says is occurring more frequently, at least in Thailand, and there's a possibility New Zealanders desperate to have children will look further abroad to other countries as well. In the case of the gay man who paid a Thai surrogate, which made its way through the Family Court last year, Judge Belinda Pidwell noted that the law around surrogacy was complex and there was no statute in New Zealand to provide clarity. "A number of illegal steps or breaches of laws occurred in the creation of [the child]. However, he has now been born, and as a result, has the right to grow and thrive, to have a nationality, and the right to know and be cared for by his parent," her ruling reads. "The irregularities in his creation, or the sins of his father, should not be visited upon him." However, Oranga Tamariki objected to the adoption being granted by the courts, despite finding that the father was the only real parental option for the child and that, barring the illegal way in which the baby was created, he was an otherwise suitable parent. Lawyers for the agency tabled a report from a senior adviser in its Intercountry Adoption Team, which identified a "concerning trend where New Zealanders have engaged in surrogacy around involving Thai surrogates, despite the illegality". "The concern is if children born of illegal surrogacy arrangements are allowed entry into New Zealand, and their parentage is then endorsed by an adoption order, that could be seen as an endorsement of unlawful actions," the report read. Oranga Tamariki says the release of its report could cause diplomacy issues, but didn't give the courts any evidence about why. Photo: NZME / Supplied Oranga Tamariki refused to release the full report to NZME under the Official Information Act, and then opposed its release through the Family Court claiming that it could impact New Zealand's diplomatic relations with other countries. However, it didn't provide any evidence about that specific impact. Judge Pidwell recently released the full report to NZME, which outlines how there has been an increased demand for women to become surrogates, and this demand has caused an increase in the number of women being trafficked from countries where the practice has been banned. The report found that between 2015 and 2020 the agency wasn't aware of any evidence New Zealanders had been involved in these situations, but from 2020 it had encountered five cases where a commercial surrogacy arrangement had been commissioned by Kiwis involving Thai surrogates. Three of these cases have involved the transfer of the surrogate across international borders for the purpose of an embryo transfer. In the other two cases, the mothers were transferred to another country to give birth. "Not only do these emerging trends demonstrate New Zealanders are breaching and demonstrating disregard to Thailand's domestic laws, but there are also significant concerns about the risks these practices pose for the safety and wellbeing of surrogates and the children born via the arrangements," the report reads. "Whilst we have noticed these examples of illegal practices have occurred in Thailand, we are mindful to the possibility of surrogacies being commissioned in other countries where it is illegal and would place similar scrutiny on New Zealanders engaging in illegal surrogacy arrangements in any jurisdiction." In New Zealand there is currently no legal pathway for a surrogate child to obtain residency except via an exemption from the ministers of immigration or internal affairs, or through the antiquated Adoption Act. Oranga Tamariki receives referrals from commissioning parents, private lawyers or requests from the Family Court to complete reports under the Adoption Act, which assesses their suitability to adopt. Since international surrogacy was outlawed in Thailand in 2015, Oranga Tamariki as well as the Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Immigration New Zealand and the Department of Internal Affairs have all published advice for New Zealanders about the law change. Those agencies held a meeting in January 2024 to discuss the trend where New Zealand was flouting these rules. Then in May, Oranga Tamariki effected a policy to refuse to provide pre-court adoptive applicant assessments for people who commission surrogacy in a country where it is illegal. NZME asked Oranga Tamariki questions about whether it had liaised with the Thai Government about its concerns, about other countries where New Zealanders were commissioning illegal surrogacy and about its submissions to the new bill. New Zealand First MP and Children's Minister Karen Chhour says she hasn't received advice from Oranga Tamariki about the report. Photo: NZME / Mark Mitchell In an emailed statement the agency did not respond to those questions, instead noting that following an inter-agency meeting in 2024 Oranga Tamariki put in a formal policy to not support an immigration exemption for anyone commissioning an illegal surrogacy. "As outlined, we do not undertake any pre-court assessments of adoptive applicants who commission an international surrogacy in a country where it is illegal but will undertake such an assessment if we are required to do so by the court once an adoption application is received," the spokesperson said. "Oranga Tamariki has contributed along with other agencies to the review of surrogacy that has been led by the Ministry of Justice. "Through the course of that work, discussions were held about the issue of illegal surrogacy actions." A spokesperson for the Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, confirmed her office had not received any reports or advice from Oranga Tamariki about the illegal surrogacy its staff had identified. The Thai Embassy in Wellington did not respond to questions about whether it had seen the report, and was concerned by it. Domestic surrogacy, where someone volunteers to carry a baby for someone else, is legal in New Zealand, as long as no money changes hands. However, there's also no legal pathway to enforce this arrangement meaning that if the birth mother wants to keep the child, she can. If in vitro fertilisation needs to be done to get a surrogate pregnant then it has to be approved by the Ethics on Human Assisted Reproductive Technology committee (ECART). Oranga Tamariki will also assess the intended parents for their suitability. According to official information released by Oranga Tamariki there were 89 domestic surrogacy adoptions in New Zealand between 2020 and 2024, and over the same period there were 69 from international surrogacy arrangements. Barrister Margaret Casey, KC, says not much will change under proposed new legislation when it comes to illegal surrogacy. Photo: NZME / Supplied Margaret Casey, KC, is one of three legal experts who assist with surrogacy arrangements in New Zealand and told NZME under the new proposed surrogacy law, people would no longer have to adopt their own genetic children, rather it would become a parenting order. "The courts will still be juggling the same kinds of issues, it will just be through a different lens," she said. "Illegal surrogacies will still come before the court, and the court will still look at the background and make a decision about whether or not when you balance it all out it can make a parentage order." In terms of illegal surrogacy, Casey said not much would change under the new legislation, and there were already checks and balances in place that served to disincentivise people deliberately pursuing illegal arrangements. "You may not get to live where you want or with your child for a long time, you may have to give detailed evidence at a court hearing, be subject of further reports from Oranga Tamariki ... you will live in this state of uncertainty and probably panic for a long period of time," she said. In all five cases in recent years where New Zealanders have commissioned babies in Thailand, the New Zealanders who had paid a surrogate claimed that they didn't know it was illegal, despite clear advice from agencies in New Zealand to the contrary. Casey said this was likely born from optimism, rather than wilful blindness. "People are paying too much attention to the process of creating the baby and not concentrating on whether they can bring the child home and how long it will take, and is there anything I'm doing that will be a problem," she said. "Do your research and ask questions. If you don't do that and rely on an agency whose business is reproductive optimism, then you might not look as deeply as you should." Associate Minister for Justice Nicole McKee said the Improving Arrangements for Surrogacy Bill won't prevent people from seeking illegal surrogacies abroad. "It will expressly enable the Family Court to scrutinise these arrangements. The court will be able to consider whether it is in the surrogate-born child's best interests for the intended parents to become the child's legal parents," she said in a statement. Another expert in New Zealand surrogacy law is Jennifer Wademan, who agreed that in her experience there's nothing Machiavellian in parents seeking out illegal surrogacy. "I've never come across a case where someone has had the knowledge that it is illegal and still gone ahead. We simply point them in a direction where people can do it legally," she said. Wademan said she primarily gets two kinds of clients; those who work with her from the start, and those who only come to her once they realise their baby's foreign birth certificate won't get them through the border in New Zealand. "By the time these families are turning to international surrogacies they've been through hell and back and their desire to have a child is so great, it's optimism rather than deliberate avoidance of research," Wademan said. "I think for many it's putting the blinkers on. As human beings we can all understand that." As for Oranga Tamariki identifying cases of this happening, Wademan said that while the numbers might appear small, a spike of five is quite significant in the world of international surrogacy. "It's enough for me to go, hmm, I don't like that," she said. In terms of the proposed law change, Wademan doesn't see it changing much in the way of illegal surrogacy, but for domestic parents she predicts it will change the landscape altogether for an area of law that is particularly ad hoc. "Every day we get a new challenge," she said, "We're having to be innovative about legislative process about science and culture because our legislation doesn't provide for it. "The international landscape will always be more complex because we're dealing with another country's laws that we have no control over. "At the end of the day, these are overwhelmingly New Zealanders who just want to be parents so badly." -This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
India.com
3 days ago
- India.com
Bomb Threats At Jaipur Hotels: Ministers Among Evacuated Guests As Police Investigate
Two prominent hotels in Jaipur, namely Holiday Inn and Raffles, received bomb threats on Saturday, prompting immediate evacuation. Notably, three Rajasthan ministers, including Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham, were attending a private event at the Holiday Inn when the threat was received. The Holiday Inn, located at 22 Godown Circle, received a threatening email at 10:30 AM, and during the programme, Ministers K.K. Vishnoi (Entrepreneurship) and Gautam Dak (Cooperation) were also present. Upon being informed by police officials, Minister Bedham addressed the gathering and announced the evacuation. All three ministers safely exited the premises. Shortly after, at 12:05 PM, the Raffles Hotel on Delhi Road also received a similar threat via email. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and bomb squad teams quickly reached both locations. Guests and staff were safely evacuated, and senior officials were deployed to the scenes. This incident follows a bomb threat received on Friday at Jaipur Metro Court and Family Court. The email, sent from three different IDs, claimed explosions would occur by 2 PM and was allegedly from a self-proclaimed former Naxalite. Both court premises were evacuated and searched. The Family Court was scanned for four hours, while the Jaipur Metro Court was cleared after an hour, but no explosives were found. Jaipur has seen a series of bomb threats recently. On May 13, 12, and 8, threats were given to Sawai Mansingh Stadium. On May 9, a threat to bomb Jaipur Metro stations and trains were given after the success of 'Operation Sindoor.' In all cases, thorough investigations were conducted, but no explosives were found. Authorities continue to investigate the source of these repeated threats, treating each incident with utmost seriousness.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Bronx boy, 13, arrested for April stray bullet murder ordered to juvenile facility
A 13-year-old boy arrested for fatally shooting a 28-year-old man with a stray bullet outside a Bronx convenience store was ordered held in a juvenile facility without bail as the Bronx District Attorney's office builds a case against him, officials said Friday. Instead of being sent to Family Court, the pre-teen was arraigned on murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, and weapons possession charges as a juvenile offender at Bronx Criminal Court. A Bronx judge ordered the teen held in a juvenile facility as the case wends its way through the courts. The teen, who is not being named because of his age, surrendered on Tuesday for the April 23 killing of 28-year-old plumber Daoud 'David' Marji. Marji was walking back to Unk Candy and Grocery on University Ave. near W. Kingsbridge Road after grabbing a vape pen from his car when he was struck in the head by the stray slug about 4:55 p.m., surveillance video obtained by the Daily News shows. He collapsed in front of the store where he used to work. 'He was just walking then it looked like he turned around and that was it,' said a convenience store worker who identified himself only as Ray. 'Flash. Gone.' A second victim, Tania Tubon, 33, was also struck by a stray bullet in the hip during the same incident, cops said. The teen gunman and three accomplices, all wearing ski masks and dark-colored sweatsuits, fled north on University Ave. in a gray Honda Civic, cops said at the time. The accomplices are still on the loose. The teen was the third adolescent under 14 this month to be arrested in the Bronx for killing a bystander with a stray bullet to the head. Two weeks ago, two boys ages 13 and 14 were arrested and held without bail for the stray bullet killing of 16-year-old Evette Jeffrey just three and a half miles south of the April 23 shooting scene. So far this year, 28 kids younger than 18 have been shooting victims citywide, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. At the same time, 17 adolescents have been arrested for pulling triggers. 'These are babies killing babies and it has to stop,' Tisch said at the time.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Leading men speak out on family violence
Family Court produced a video to feature at half-time of Friday's Collingwood v Hawthorn match, with famous Australian men calling on men to act on family violence.
