 I would like to invite the next speaker, Mr. Mandara, to the stage. I would like to request the Dr. Inavi Rekha to kindly investigate the search for Mr. Mandara. He is an illustrious and distinctive advocate of Guwahati High Court. Mr. Mandara has the experience of practicing law since 1997, going to his expertise in excellence in the domain of legal services. He has been designated as senior advocate by the Guwahati High Court in the year 2017. It is indeed much of an achievement and a matter of pride that he has been the youngest designated senior advocate. In the year 2017, Mr. Mandara was also officially recommended as the judge of the High Court which he declined. He has represented several high-profile cases and is well-acclaimed as a team for his formidable service, especially in criminal justice. Welcome, Mr. Mandara. Good afternoon, everybody. It is a pleasure for me to be a part of this national seminar. It is always a pleasure for me to be a part of this. I have seen some probably Guwahati students, though I am not a teacher. Neither I am here to teach you anything. I am here just to share my 25-year experience in the field of law. I started buying the carrier in 1997. Now I have completed more than 25 years. A little bit of experience probably I have also gathered during this time. So I am just here to share my experience in the field of law, particularly the subject which I have been given today to address before you. My subject is definitely, and before I start, everybody is talking about the inequality before the law in case of the woman and the child. But the one thing I must first of all, I must share with you today morning when I have opened up the newspaper, the first news what I have said today was that the BCCI, that the Board of Cricket Council of India, has decided to give the same remuneration to the human beings. The same remuneration, though it is not connected to any legal thing, but the whatever, so the necessity that the topic I have been given, the necessity to see what are the necessities in the case or in the field of the woman, the probably the Board of Cricket, they have felt that there is a necessity to enhance the remuneration and equal payment to remain. Now, and you probably know also, now the BCCI also changed the term batsman. They are no longer calling it batsman, they are calling it as a better. Because it's also, if you call it better, it gives the Board the gender, it represents both the gender. So BCCI nowadays, they don't call it a batsman, now they call it a better. That's how I feel that definitely one day it will come that everybody will be equal before the law. Though we call it to be that everybody is equal, but it's not that, that's not that the issue. For the first time, I will say the what are the inequalities? The first of all, it is always, what is my feeling, it is my personal feeling, that it is always difficult for the woman or the students, basically the women students were pursuing the law. The difficulty not in the subject matter, not in the brilliance, difficulty is the practical problems. Because as a law student, I am also a law student, what are the problems? As a male, I have some advantages in this particular field. What are the advantages I am having that I can travel in the mid-nights? If my senior asks me, go and collect this paper, go and collect this book from another chamber, or if my senior retains me till 12 o'clock, I can be there to assist him. But for a girl, it is always difficult. We are talking about gender equality, but practically it is always difficult for her to remain in the chamber till 12 o'clock in the mid-nights. It is true. There are other things also. If she is married, she has to look after the families, she has to send her daughter on the child in the morning to the school, then she has to attend the chamber, the senior is waiting, in the night also after the coat hours, she can't rest, she has to attend the chamber in the initial years till she is not independent. So it takes about 7 to 8 years to be an independent lawyer to start her own practice. I was 12 years under a senior, then I started my own practice. It took me 12 years to start my own, to stand up on my own feet. This is the reality, and we can't ignore it also. So that's how the inequality in the justice system starts in the beginning itself. But we have to seek, we have to, these are the reasons. Now, let us not waste time. The main topic was the impact of the need analysis of the judicial system in the context of protecting women and girls' child. Look, in India or India, we have lots of statutes or enactments to protect the women and the children. No doubt about it. Lots of statutes have been given, but whether we are following it in true sense, whether the judicial system is following it is in the true sense. For instance, as a woman, can you go to a police station in the midnight? But you have an apprehension. I have the same deal. Ladies have an apprehension. To go in the midnight in the police station, but they don't have that apprehension. But why? Why a woman needs to, if she wants to file a case, suppose something had happened in the midnight. She was assaulted by somebody, maybe her husband also. She wants to file a case immediately in the midnight to protect herself. But she will wait till this morning. She will discuss with the other members. She will take a shelter. She will take the other male company. Why she will not go to the, immediately to the, because she needs the protection immediately. Then why a woman needs to go to a police station to lodge a complaint in the midnight? Can they file it from the home? Is there any possibility? Is there, now the communication has reached another stage? Why do I need to go to a police station to lodge a complaint? Whether I can directly file it from my home? Can I email it? Can I WhatsApp it? These are the provisions that can be tomorrow. These are the provisions that has to be incorporated in the CRPC, so that these inequalities we can always bypass. That is just an example. If you go to a police station in the midnight, they will refuse to give you the copy of the FIR and the FBI. You are entitled otherwise. If you are male, you can insist. But if you are female, the police person will say, no, no, come tomorrow, come tomorrow morning. We don't have the papers, we don't have the photo states. You take your complaint, come tomorrow morning. Come in two copies. In the DV Act, also Domestic Violence Act, protection for the women under the Domestic Violence Act, every woman is entitled for the free copy. I have never seen in my 25 years' experience that the free copies are supplied immediately to the litigants, to the women. But in the act, there is a provision itself. Neither the lawyer knows it, neither the deputy deputy deputy the victim will always see it. It doesn't have that knowledge that she is entitled for the free copies. Nobody, even I think we are. You are also not aware of the fact that if you are an advocate, if you are an informant in a case, you are entitled for the free copy of the FIR, sealed and signed by the officer in charge. Nobody knows, but it is there. So what I am saying, that yes, the law is there, but whether the spirit is there or not. Whether we are following the law in particular way, where we have to follow it. A long before in 1937, the DV council has said, if the law is there, we have to follow it straight away. There is no deviation. There can't be any deviation. If law is provided, this right to you, it has to be. There cannot be any deviation. So why? There are lots of deputized in the laws also. For example, what is the use and misuse? Both you have to balance. The use of law and the misuse of law also sometimes creates problems for the litigant. I am giving you an example. You know with one step at a time, there is a provision called 498A, Cruelty Against Women by the husband or her family. It's called the 498A section under IPC. But it was so misused by the certain people. Now what happened? It has been diluted by the Supreme Court. The students have lost it. Why? Because of the misuse. But because of the misuse of some women, the other women were really victim of these. They are suffering. So I am always saying that you have to balance both. That the use and the misuse. Similarly, that's why now it was originally. Still today, the 498A is non-payable of provision. If you register a case against the husband or the family members, if you register a case, it's a non-payable offense. The police can arrest you without the warrant. That is non-payable. Without the warrant, the police can arrest you. Only the court can grant you this. The police can't grant you the bail also in the police station. Now what happens? Because there are so many false cases as initiated by so many people, basically in the interior places it's happening. Now the Supreme Court has passed a judgment and the judgment says, now before arrest you have to give a notice to the husband or what. The moment he got the notice, he has an option for the anticipatory bail. Whatever may be the seriousness of the crime. It's entirely. But initially it was not there. Now because of the issues of the provisions, the Supreme Court has to put his judgment on it to make it balanced. But when it makes it balanced, sometimes it also creates problems for the genuine litigants who are suffering. Similarly, what happens again? When it's become non-payable, what happens? The police picked up the husband immediately. If you lost the complaint, maybe very small issues are involved, but you lost the complaint. But we have lost the complaint and the police picked up the husband and he was put inside the chain. The once the mail goes to inside, then the mail ego comes. The generous mail ego that you have put me under the custody. Now I'm not going to settle. So this is the dichotomy. If you make it non-payable, then sometimes it creates problems. If you make it non-payable, that also creates problems. So you have to balance both ways. So if the mother-in-law goes to jail because of the daughter-in-law's complaint, do you think that the son has the audacity to settle the issues subsequently? The mother-in-law definitely poke her nose. No, no, you can't. She has put me behind the bar. I'm not going to settle it. No, no, no. That's enough. To settle with the undergown. Not this girl again. These are happening. These are reality. What I have seen. I have been a human's commission for five years. I have seen lots of problems. Initiating. Do I? Similarly, the delay of the... I'll just... Because of the paucity of time, I'm not going into the details. Because the delay in the trial and whatsoever, there are... The laws are there, 155 proceeding, where the woman can ask for money for her maintenance. During the... If the woman is deprived or she was thrown out of the husband's residence, or when this is not given the maintenance, then she can approach the court under 155 proceeding. Law is there. Protection is there. But what happens in reality, I'll tell you. The husband will definitely... He will initially go to the court. Then sometimes he'll absent. Then again the proceeding will restart. Again the summoning will start. The lawyer, the calling lawyer will take the day again. Then again and again and again. So what happens? That the lady is deprived of his legal rights because of the judicial procedure. Why not? On the first day, there's a provision for the... given the maintenance in the first day itself. But if you hardly see, then the next case is, the next problem is that it's a very prolonged one. And if the husband refuses to pay, what happens? If he decides, no, I'll not pay, rather I'll go to a civil imprisonment. There is no criminal imprisonment in case of the 155 proceeding. It is a civil imprisonment. So he'll decide, okay, I'll go to the civil imprisonment because the civil imprisonment doesn't have any other consequences. He's not going to lose his job and other things because it's a civil imprisonment. So he decides to go into the jail. So who will take care of the woman who's suffering? The next thing is that the woman has to prove that the wife is the income of the husband. First of all, why not it's otherwise? Why not it's otherwise? The moment the woman files a case, it is the abundance of the law, can be abundant duty for the husband to provide his income immediately to the court without any further dates. The moment he files a case, 155, there's no need for the appearance of the woman. No need to fix a date for the appearance of the party. The notice will go directly to the husband. Notice will go directly to the wife. There will be notice that the husband will be directed by the court that you provide your income, either the ID or if you're doing a job in the official, the government job, then you provide the seller certificate. That can be done. The moment the seller certificate comes to the court, through email or whatsoever, the court can decide immediately by going through his income immediately that his income is Rs. 10,000 and his woman is suffering, so let us give him Rs. 4,000 immediately. Otherwise what happens? She files a case, 155, next day will come for the appearance of the husband, next day both the parties will file, then the woman has to bring that the wife is his income, she doesn't know what is his actual income, whether he files in the income tax or not, if he's a businessman, then he has to go, she has to find out whether he files in income tax, she has to collect it or she has to go to his respective office, collect the seller certificate, then has to place it in the record, then the court will decide, yes, his seller is so much, so we can deduct this much to her. So he creates the deal, it's delayed, he won't proceed but we can fast study, it's not, today's technology is so fast, we can do it within a fraction of a second, we can write it later to his theory, he's working in an official capacity, we can write, the court can assure that he give us his seller certificate, that how much he is taking, why not? So these are the things needs to be, the analysis has to be there, the judicial analysis where we can change the whole scenario immediately, so that nobody suffers, nobody suffers, the law is always has to balance, so that nobody suffers, then similarly in the Domestic Violence Act also, you need to go to a protection officer or you need to go to, take a lawyer, then you have to collect all the information, then the protection officer will file the case on your behalf, then if the court is generous, then the court may exploit to give you some amount, if the court feels no, let us hear the husband, then again he will officially go to the husband, then he will appear, he will find he is common, that is called WS, so these proceedings will go on and go on and go on, and similarly, if you are again here, the court can pass on a protection order, there are different kind of protection order under the act, it can be passed, it can be a monetary protection, it can be a shelter protection, there are different kind of protection order, it has been provided in the act itself, I am talking about the monetary protection only here, even the shelter, if the husband refuse to give the shelter, because the court may issue a direction to the husband, you provide the shelter, he will decide the case, they are saying it is any matter, but the husband refuses, he will give you a shelter, though you will give you a shelter, you say that yes, I am giving you the shelter, she can stay in my garage, is it a shelter, it is not a shelter, the shelter, you have to define what is the shelter, what is she entitled for, how she, how she stays with you, these are the shelters, the husband can play trick, the family members can trick, then the next stage is there, but if he refuses, then the court has to again, has to make an enquiry, whether there is an actual refusal or not, whether the court direction is followed or not, there has to be an enquiry, court directly cannot say that he has refused it, court has to give him a chance also, because it is a natural right, so you definitely come up with some defence, that these are the problem I have faced, so I could not do it, so again, if he defies also, then you have to go to the police station, now they complain again, that he is defining the court order, then the police again enquire, whether he is actually defining the court order, so it will prolong the whole thing, so that's why we need a need-based, judicious scrutiny, all these issues relating to child and human, and regarding the child protection, we have the central houses, and what is actually happening inside the central houses, do you know? Have you ever visited the central houses in your lifetime? In some central houses, it is horrible, it is horrible, some people are taking advantage of the central houses, so how to protect those children in the central houses? I am not named, I am not named in one central house, a very famous person is looking after that central house, but he is misusing every bit of it, he is sexually harassing the inmates, though he was a very renowned person, I don't want to name him, but this is what is happening, finally somebody, one lady has come up with an elevation, with a courage, this is what is happening in the central house, then there is an inquiry by the state, legal services authority, then there is an FIR, then thereafter he has been booked, but in most of the central houses, the conditions of the children are not so protected, though we have a lot of them, but who is looking after the central houses? Is there specific laws to look after the central houses, how it should, the children act is there, the child act is there, but having an act and doing it, and following it is true spirit, is a different, but the problem in India is there, following it in true spirit, that is always the difficulty in all these kind of enactments, these are beneficiary enactments, it is only for the benefit of the people of the country, but even in the beneficiary registration, we don't get the actual benefit, because we don't have that spirit, the people are not having that spirit, that's the problem, in the police station or in the court, is there any child friendly or woman friendly place to sit on, have you ever seen in the court, since some corner has been maintained for the woman and the child, there it comes, there you will see, the child and the woman has to stand there, even she is a complainant, she will be standing there for the whole day, which is small baby on land, she has to stand, there is no water, there is no feeding place, only providing the loud loud do, but this friendly atmosphere is need-based, the friendly atmosphere everywhere, in the mind-contentioning which should be in the court, also in the police station also, the friendly atmosphere for the litigant to suffering has to be there, if a woman goes, she suffers, if the doctor is not there, she will take him to a place in a midnight to a hospital, is far away, if she is alone, will take her to police constable, is she safe, then in the hospital, in the midnight, there may not be any doctor available, in the far away places, I am not talking about the Guwahati situation, not talking about the town or a township, I am talking about the rural areas, where these are the happenings, the doctors are not available, she has to immediately, she has to be examined by the doctor, but doctor is not available, the one of my friend, few years back, this can happen in India, that a victim of rape, he find an FIR, the father find an FIR, the first requirement is that the medical examination, then in the medical examination, the doctor will determine her age, because in case of the rape, the age is the one vital factor, the most vital factor is the age of the victim girl, whether she is above 18 or she is below 18, now how to determine that age, if she does not have the certificate, she may not be educated, she may not have that certificate at the time, school certificate, how to determine that age, then there has to be an ossification test, who will do the ossification test, is the doctor, so she will take into the hospital, in the hospital, the X-ray is not necessary to do the ossification test, because the doctor has to take the X-ray of the hands, this bone, bone can determine her actual age, bone and the teeth, so ossification test is related to her bones, so X-ray is necessary, but there is no fund in the hospital, for the X-ray, so the J. S. Dami, the superintendent of the hospital, he has to write it to the government, that I need so much fund, because there is a victim, waiting for the ossification test and the other related test, so in the meantime the sanction comes, already 48 hours, 24 hours gone, if the 48 hours, 24 hours gone, after the medical is done, after the 48 hours, as per the law, that the medical exam, whatever the report, you can't take it as an absolute uncontroverted document, because in case of a rape, it has to be done within 24 hours, the medical examination, because of the mostly of the fund, the father has to pay, so that the medical examination can be done within 24 hours, we don't have fund, but we have the law, we have the law and we don't have the fund, but these are the things, the legislation has to see, the court has to see, there are other problems also, now the husband is having the relationship with the other woman, how the woman can prove it, it's very difficult to prove it, the adult is the most difficult, nowadays no doubt, no longer exists as a criminal offense, but for the other purpose, for the purpose of the civil law, for divorce, adult is one of the factors, adult is not a criminal offense, that's a different issue, but the adult tree is otherwise relevant for the purpose of divorce, but it is always difficult to prove adult tree, why adult tree has been, no longer exists because of the the judgement of the Supreme Court, the Justice Chandrachud, who is now very much available just few hours from here in the Kaji Ramya today, because of him now the adult tree is no longer the criminal offense, but why because the segregated, because of the old laws, there is a discrimination, you can charge a mail for adult tree, but you cannot charge a woman for the adult tree, that was the one reason for questioning the whole section, because it gives an inequality between two genders, if the mail can be charged for adult tree, definitely women also can be charged for the adult tree, but in our law, it was created by the British, we have not changed after the British has gone, we have continued with the IPC, there are minimum changes in the IPC, apart from the IT offenses, there is no father, but in that case, the women are not, they cannot be charged for adult tree, that's how Chandrachud said, this is an inequity, this thing the law itself, that can't be, now the problem is that the moment the adult tree goes, now it is very difficult to prove a case against the husband or to get the divorce, these are the factors of the judicial, then now we get one more act has come up for the protection of the child, probably my time is over, I can understand, there are two minutes left, within two minutes, Hakimari Gurukar Gurwakar is the same, I can't do it, so let us conclude it, there is a new act called POSCO, that's also, that's very deconium, somebody says it's very tough laws, and what is happening today is that, the fact is that, today POSCO is now also misused by some people, now what will happen tomorrow, I can give you in writing, after few years you will find it, that the Supreme Court again will dilute the process, because the people are misusing the laws, whenever there is a misuse of the law, because I have seen in my experience, there is a dispute between two neighbors, regarding the land, land dispute is there, but there is a small child, the father has taken the advantage of her burden, he has filed an FIR, that the mine child has been abused by my neighbor, there is no, actually there is no abuse, it's a false case altogether, because there is a protection given to the child, protection given to the informant, in these kind of offenses, if you file the false case also, there is no problem, where is the inherent protection given in the act itself, so in the village areas, some communities are using it, as a tools for revenge, to settle their own dispute, land dispute, it's going on, it's rampant now, and forget about it, we have a notion that the woman doesn't, regarding his destiny, woman doesn't come up in the court, they don't tell, they are absolutely trustworthy, that was the law, now that notion is changing, there is no longer that notion exists, that the woman is absolutely truthful, regarding her destiny, that idea, that notion, degrading that, so tomorrow there may be a law, then what will be then, then the genuine cases, the genuine victim will suffer, so hopefully I have not exceeded 2 minutes, thank you once again for bearing me for this. Thank you so much for being here, this program, and also for the legal system, that we have in our country.