‘Surrogate mom has no right over child’    (DNA, 11-04-2013, p.16 http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=43263&boxid=16654&ed_date=2013-04-11&ed_code=820009&ed_page=16)

New Delhi: A surrogate mother and her husband cannot have any right over a child conceived and delivered through artificial means, the Delhi court has ruled. “Definition of term ‘surrogacy’ in guidelines laid down by Indian Council of Medial Research/National Academy of Medical Sciences itself recognises that the intended parents are parents genetically related to the child and not the surrogate mother or her husband,” said additional senior civil judge Sonu Agnihotri. Agnihotri’s remarks came while declaring a single woman from the United Kingdom as the biological mother of a boy delivered by an Indian woman acting as a surrogate mother as it held that a surrogate mother is not genetically related to the child. The court made it clear that neither the surrogate mother nor her husband shall have any right over the boy conceived and delivered through Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) or In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF). It also noted that since the child was born by way of in-vitro fertilisation, “it was clear that the boy born to the surrogate mother was gentically related to the plaintiff (UK resident).” The court passed the order on a suit initiated by the foreign national who, after having received the custody of the child from the surrogate mother, moved the court praying for a decree declaring her as the “genetically/ biological mother of baby boy” to put to rest her apprehension that in future, the surrogate mother or her husband might claim custody of the boy and stake their claim. The petitioner is a single woman holding dual citizenship of United Kingdom and Australia and had come to India in March 2012 looking for a surrogate mother after learning that IVF is not illegal here.

Undergrads, study economics, design at IIT-B

Kanchan Srivastava @kanchanDNA

IIT Bombay has decided to offer an undergraduate course in economics for the first time.  Another undergraduate course, Bachelor of Design, is also on the cards. If things go as planned, both the courses will be launched from 2014 -15.  The move aims to meet the huge demand for these undergraduate courses, especially in the commercial capital. “The proposal will be placed in the senate for its approval,” said Prof Devang Khakhar, director of IIT-Bombay.  The details of eligibility, admission procedure and the number of seats for economics course are yet to be finalised. Discussions are on whether it should be a four-year undergraduate course or a five-year integrated PG course, said Prof Khakhar. “We need not create new infrastructure and faculty as we have the humanities department which runs many short-term courses,” he added. The IIT Bombay currently offers only post-graduate courses in design. For the four-year B Design course, the homework is almost complete. Prof Gaur Gopal Ray, head of the industrial design centre at IIT Bombay, said: “The course is high in demand among students as well in the industry. An IIT course would definitely have an edge.”  The curriculum for the course is ready. To finalise the admission process (test pattern), a committee of IIT-B, IIT Delhi, IIT Kanpur and ISc Bangalore will meet later this month to consider a proposal to incorporate a separate paper of Design at JEE (Advanced) to test the basic skills of students for this creative course. JEE (Advanced) is the second stage of the ‘One India One Test” (JEE) conducted by IIT for admission to their undergrad courses. Currently, IIT Guwahati is the only IIT which offers B Des and admission is done through a common JEE test. “IIT Guwahati has observed that some students take the course only because they failed to get the admission in engineering courses of their choice. We are evaluating a separate exam so that only those candidates who really aspire a future in design get admission,” said Ray. The lack of space might delay the course at IIT Bombay for another year. A new building is underway on the Powai campus. Source::::::: DNA, 11-04-2013, p.06, http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=43319&boxid=16404&ed_date=2013-04-11&ed_code=820009&ed_page=6

BEST WISHES!!!!

Principal and all the Staff of G J Advani Law College wishes BEST OF LUCK to all the students of the College in the forthcoming University Examination to be held in April - May 2013.

Select court in marital dispute as per wife’s convenience: HC

Shibu Thomas TNN

Mumbai: Convenience of the wife to attend legal proceedings should be considered while deciding on which court will hear a case of matrimonial dispute, the Bombay high court has ruled.
    Citing apex court judgments, HC Justice Sambhaji Shinde said, “In the proceedings filed by the husband, it is the convenience of the wife that should be looked into.”
    The court was hearing an application filed by Sheela Patil (27), who had urged for the shifting of a petition filed by her estranged husband Anil from Dhule to Shirdi, where she was staying with her parents. “It is not in dispute that the (couple’s) two minor daughters are staying with (Sheela) and it is very difficult for the applicant to travel from Shirdi to Dhule. There is no dispute that the distance between Shirdi to Dhule is approximately 200 km,” said Justice Shinde. “(Since Sheela) has to maintain (her daughters aged five and three), in my opinion, the balance of convenience would lie in favour of the applicant.”
    Anil and Sheela were married in 2006 in Rajasthan and the couple later shifted to Dhule. According to Sheela, she was harassed by her husband and in-laws after she gave birth to her first daughter. In 2010, she came to her parental home in Shirdi to deliver her second child. Sheela said that after she delivered her second daughter, Anil abused her and refused to take her back to their matrimonial home in Dhule.
    She filed an application seeking maintenance for her and the daughters, saying that Anil had neglected and failed to maintain them. Anil, too, filed a petition in Dhule. Sheela sought a transfer of the petition to Shirdi, saying it was difficult for her to travel to Dhule for the hearings as she had to take care of her young daughters. Anil opposed the plea, saying he was ready to reunite with his wife and maintain her.
    The court ruled in Sheela’s favour and ordered that the petition be transferred to Shirdi. It told the trial court judge, “since the proceedings in hand are matrimonial proceedings”, an endeavour should be made to dispose it off within a year.
    (Names changed to protect identities)

Source:::::  The Times of India, 10-04-2013, p.02, http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&AW=1365570427881

HIGHER EDU BOOST

Decks are cleared for pvt varsities

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: Clearing the decks for private institutions to enter the field of higher education in Maharashtra, the state cabinet on Tuesday approved model guidelines for opening private varsities.
    Following the approval, the government will now shelve the Private Universities Bill in August.
    The bill got mired in controversy over caste reservations. Reservation of a fixed percentage of seats of socially backward class students was not stipulated in the Act.
    This led to opposition from leaders and representatives of backward classes, after which the state cabinet proposed 25% reservation in the Act and forwarded it to
Governor K Sankaranarayanan for assent. But the bill was rejected by the governor on the reservation issue.
    Keen not to lose more time over the move, the government decided to imbibe a model adopted in some other states by framing guidelines. Sources said separate bills will now be drafted for each such private university, which will have to submit a proposal on the basis of the model guidelines.
    The new guidelines stipulate 50% reservation for backward classes. The new guidelines allow a private organization to set up the university on a no-profit, no-loss basis, along with any trust or society. Officials said top corporates were interested in setting up the universities.

Source:::::  The Times of India, 10-04-2013, p.04, http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&AW=1365570427881

TISS offers law course

T he Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is commencing a one-year full-time Masters in Law in Access to Justice. Citizens and activists who are law graduates and want to work as community lawyers, research, advocacy for the people and community can apply. Asha Bajpai, dean, TISS Law School, said the course will train the graduates to provide access to justice to the vulnerable and marginalized in society. The last date for submitting applications is April 13 and the entrance exam is on April 28. Visit www.tiss.edu for details. 

 

 

Source:::::  The Times of India, 10-04-2013, p.05, http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&AW=1365570427881

Admission to LL.M in Access to Justice (One Year Full Time Degree Programme), 2013-201Mar 28, 2013 - Apr 13, 2013

Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai has announced One Year LL.M course, the admission for the same will start from the academic year 2013-14, hence, interested candidates may access the following URL for further information: http://www.tiss.edu/