Himachal Pradesh HC rules birth registration cannot be denied for children of invalid marriages
In a recent judgment, the Himachal Pradesh High Court ruled that children should not be denied birth registration due to their parents’ unregistered or legally invalid marriage. Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua emphasized that a child’s rights must be considered independently of the legal status of their parents' relationship.
The court’s decision came in response to a petition filed by a woman on behalf of her three children. Despite being born to parents who lived as husband and wife since 2011, their marriage was deemed invalid due to the husband’s pre-existing marriage. The State authorities subsequently refused to register the births of the children under the Panchayat records.
Citing Section 16(3) of the Hindu Marriage Act, which states that a child born out of a null and void marriage is still considered legitimate, Justice Dua noted that the legal status of parents’ marriage should not affect a child's rights.
The court also pointed out that the Special Marriage Act and Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj General Rules do not prohibit birth registration for children from unregistered marriages.The court ruled in favor of registering the children’s births in the Panchayat records and directed the State to complete the registration promptly.
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Manipur: Autopsy reports reveal multiple bullet wounds, lacerations on bodies of 3 killed in Jiribam
Imphal, Nov 24: The autopsy reports of three of the six persons killed in Manipur's Jiribam district by suspected Kuki militants revealed multiple bullet injuries and lacerations on various parts of their bodies, officials said on Sunday.
The report of three-year-old Chingkheinganba Singh showed that his right eye was missing and he had a bullet wound in the skull, they said.
The report also noted cut wounds, fractures in the chest, and lacerations on the forearm and other parts of his body. Signed on November 17, the report indicated that the child's body was in a "state of decomposition", they added.
The report said the cause of death would be pending until the receipt of the chemical analysis report of viscera from the Directorate of Forensic Sciences in Guwahati, officials said.
The post-mortem examinations were conducted at the Silchar Medical College Hospital (SMCH) in Assam's Cachar district.
The report also detailed the injuries sustained by his mother, L Heitonbi Devi (25), who had "three bullet wounds in the chest and one in the buttock", officials said.
According to the report, her body was brought to SMCH on November 18, around seven days after her death, they said.
The child's grandmother, Y Rani Devi (60), suffered five bullet wounds -- one in the skull, two in the chest, one in the abdomen, and one in an arm, officials said.
Her body was brought to SMCH on November 17, at least three to five days after her death, the report noted.
The autopsy reports also showed deep lacerations on many parts of the bodies of the two women.
The cause of Rani Devi's death is also yet to be known, awaiting the chemical analysis report of the viscera, officials said.
The post-mortem reports of one more woman and two children are still pending, they said.
The six persons belonging to the Meitei community had gone missing from a relief camp in Jiribam after a gunfight between security forces and suspected Kuki-Zo militants that resulted in the deaths of 10 insurgents on November 11.
Their bodies were found in the Jiri river in Jiribam district, and the nearby Barak river in Assam's Cachar over the next few days.
