Senior diplomat Randhir Jaiswal assumes charge as MEA spokesperson
New Delhi, Jan 3: Senior diplomat Randhir Jaiswal on Wednesday assumed charge as the new spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) succeeding Arindam Bagchi.
Bagchi has been appointed India's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) and other international organisations in Geneva.
Jaiswal, a 1998 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, was serving as India's consul general in New York in his previous posting.
In his over two decades of service, Jaiswal served in Cuba, South Africa, Portugal and at India's permanent mission to the UN in New York.
He also served as a joint secretary at the MEA's headquarters in New Delhi looking after India's relations with countries in western Europe.
"The baton passes on! Shri Randhir Jaiswal assumes charge as the Official Spokesperson of @MEAIndia as Shri Arindam Bagchi proceeds on overseas assignment," a post on X by MEA spokesperson said.
Jaiswal, who hails from Bihar, was serving as the consul general in India's mission in New York from July 2020.
Bagchi, a 1995-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) official, took over as spokesperson of the MEA in March 2020 and handled a number of critical issues and developments including the eastern Ladakh border row, India's COVID-19 response and New Delhi's G20 presidency.
In Geneva, Bagchi, an additional secretary, succeeds Indra Mani Pandey who is returning to New Delhi.
The baton passes on!
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) January 3, 2024
Shri Randhir Jaiswal assumes charge as the Official Spokesperson of @MEAIndia as Shri Arindam Bagchi proceeds on overseas assignment. pic.twitter.com/Iqn9TGj00V
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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.
