Possibility of wife contesting polls is BJP's imagination: J'khand CM Hemant Soren
Ranchi, Jan 2: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Tuesday dismissed speculations of his wife Kalpana Soren contesting from Gandey assembly constituency in the state and termed it as a "complete imagination" of the BJP.
There is not an iota of truth in the speculations, Soren told PTI.
"Possibility of my wife contesting in near future is a complete imagination of the BJP... Speculations about handing over reins to her is a fabric woven by the BJP to build a false narrative," he said.
The speculations were triggered by the Enforcement Directorate's recent summons to the chief minister coupled with the sudden resignation by the ruling JMM's Gandey MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad on Monday.
The opposition BJP has claimed that Ahmad was made to quit so that the chief minister's wife Kalpana Soren could contest from the Gandey seat in case of any eventuality in connection with the ED summonses.
Elections to the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly are due later this year.
The ruling JMM-led coalition has convened a meeting of its legislators here on Wednesday to discuss the present political situation in the state.
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Where is question of offence when there is consensual relationship? SC asks
New Delhi (PTI): Where is the question of an offence when a relationship is consensual? the Supreme Court on Monday asked a woman who had challenged an order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court that had quashed an FIR against her former live-in partner in a case of alleged sexual assault on a false promise of marriage.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that the woman lived together with the man and also had a child from him.
"Where is the question of offence when there is a consensual relationship? They were living together and she also had a child from him and then there is no marriage and now, she says sexual assault? For 15 years they lived together," Justice Nagarathna remarked.
The woman's counsel told the court that she had lost her husband earlier and was introduced to the accused by her brother-in-law.
The court was also told that the accused had promised to marry her and sexually exploited her.
Justice Nagarathna then asked, "Why did she go and live with him before marriage?"
"She lived with him. She had a child from him. He walks out because there is no marriage bond. Legal bond is not there. He walks out, that is the risk in a live-in relationship. So once he walks out, it does not become a criminal offence," she said.
The woman's lawyer submitted that the accused was already married and had concealed this fact.
"See, if there was marriage, the question of her rights would have been better. She could have filed regarding bigamy. She could have filed for maintenance. She would have got those reliefs. Now since there is no marriage, they live together, this is the risk. They can walk out any day. What do we do?" Justice Nagarathna said.
She suggested that the woman could pursue remedies, such as maintenance for the child, and asked the parties to go for mediation.
"Even if he goes to jail, what will she gain? We can think of some maintenance for the child. Child is now seven years (old). At least, some monetary compensation can be made for the child," Justice Nagarathna said.
The apex court issued a notice in the matter and asked the parties to explore if a settlement could be reached between the petitioner and the accused.
