Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns
Colombo(PTI): Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday, hours after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters outside embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office, leaving at least 78 people injured and prompting authorities to impose a nationwide curfew and deploy army troops in the capital.
At least two Cabinet ministers have also announced their resignations.
Prime Minister Mahinda, 76, sent his resignation letter to the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after violent scenes were witnessed in Colombo.
The violence occurred as pressure mounted on the embattled government led by his younger brother and President Gotabaya to form an interim administration to overcome the worst economic crisis facing the country.
Sri Lanka is currently in the throes of unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948. The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.
Thousands of demonstrators have hit the streets across Sri Lanka since April 9 seeking resignation of President Gotabaya and Prime Minister Mahinda, as the government ran out of money for vital imports; prices of essential commodities have skyrocketed and there are acute shortages in fuel, medicines and electricity supply.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Married person cannot enter into live-in relationship without obtaining divorce: Allahabad HC
Prayagraj (UP) (PTI): The Allahabad High Court has ruled that a married person cannot legally enter into a live-in relationship with a third party without first obtaining a decree of divorce.
With this observation, the court dismissed a writ petition seeking protection filed by a couple in a live-in relationship.
Justice Vivek Kumar Singh observed that the freedom of personal liberty is not absolute and cannot infringe upon the statutory rights of an existing spouse.
The petitioners had approached the court with a prayer that both petitioners are major and living together as husband and wife and they have apprehension of a life threat from the respondent.
On the other hand, the state counsel opposed the prayer made by the petitioners and submitted that the act of the petitioners is illegal as petitioner no. 1 is already married to one Dinesh Kumar and has not obtained a decree of divorce.
The court observed in its judgment on Tuesday, "No one has the right to interfere in the personal liberty of the two adults, not even the parents of two adults can interfere in their relationship, but the Right to Freedom or Right to Personal Liberty is not absolute or unfettered: it is qualified by some restrictions also. The freedom of one person extincts where the statutory right of another person starts."
A spouse has the statutory right to enjoy the company of his or her counterpart and he/she cannot be deprived of that right for the sake of personal liberty and no such protection can be granted to infringe statutory right of the other spouse, the court said, adding hence, the freedom of one person cannot encroach or overweigh the legal right of another person.
"If the petitioners are already married and have their spouse alive, he/she cannot be legally permitted to enter into a live-in relationship with a third person without seeking divorce from the earlier spouse," the court said.
With the above observation, the court said that it is not inclined to issue any writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus for protection to the petitioners who are in a live-in relationship without obtaining a decree of divorce from a competent court.
