“It is rather disheartening to see married couples seek divorce for petty reasons. It is also saddening to see women being subjected neglect and atrocities by their own families,” the Judge said adding that a committee should be formed to take note of cases of atrocities on women in families and provide solutions to them.
“When such a move is done then probably such cases will not come to the courts. The legal system and various laws exist to prevent atrocities on women and empower them,” he said delivering presidential address at the one-day district-level legal workshop for women jointly organised by Dakshina Kannada District Legal Services Authority, Mangalore, Dakshina Kannada District Administration, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, Mangalore Bar Association, Information and Publicity Department, Women and Children Welfare Department and District Health and Family Welfare Department, Mangalore, was inaugurated at Zilla Panchayat premises here on Saturday.
DK far better
Earlier, delivering the inaugural address, Member-Secretary of Karnataka State Legal Services Authority Viswanath V Angadi said that Indian population accounted for 17.31 percent of the world's population, out of which a total of 591.04 billion were women. According to the 2011 census, the district of Dakshina Kannada has a population of 20,83,625, and the sex ratio of the district was slightly better at 1,018 females per 1000 males, as compared to Bangalore Urban which was 908 females per 1000 males. The sex ratio of Udupi district stands at 1093 females for every 1000 males. Efforts should be made to create legal awareness among women, he said.
Prevailing laws
Speaking at a session on 'Domestic Violence Prevention Act, 2005', advocate and resource person Rekha Shetty said that in criminal law, atrocities on women could not be merely limited to the boundaries of physical violence. The Act makes it possible for a woman to get justice even when her conscience is affected or takes a blow within the confines of a dwelling. It should be used when a woman is subjected to real domestic violence, and not misused, she stressed.
Further elucidating, she said that based on the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, a complaint could be filed by a victim only on a male person who caused the violence, and not on another woman. Apart from the police, there are two protection officers in Mangalore, who are empowered by the Act to register a case of domestic violence and produce it before the court. The Act can also facilitate relief to the victim in cases of being ousted from home, she said.
Speaking on the occasion, President of Mangalore Bar Association Ashok P Ariga said that the legal solution should be sought as the last resort in disputes, when finding a mutual solution becomes impossible. Referring to the recent Delhi gang-rape incident when people demanded capital punishment for the perpetrators of the crime, he said that this could not be allowed to be implemented in a democracy.
Zilla Panchayat CEO Dr K N Vijayaprakash also spoke on the occasion.
District Reproductive and Child Health Officer M Rukmini and chairperson of Child Welfare Committee were present among others.
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