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Child marriage a reality, Parliament will take call: Centre tells SC

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New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS) The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that though Parliament was conscious of its social obligations and would take a call to put an end to child marriages, the social evil was a reality and that society needs were “inescapable”.

Senior counsel Rana Mukherjee told a bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta that different statutes that can have a bearing on marriage of children between the age of 15 and 18 have to be read cohesively.

Justice Lokur expressed concern over child marriage despite law prohibiting it, and said, “It is not marriage, but mirage.”

However, the bench disagreed with Mukherjee when he sought to dub the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, as “harsh”.

“The Act is not a harsh law. It just provides for a (jail) punishment of 15 days,” the bench said.

When the senior counsel said that the punishment prescribed was two years, the court said: “It is nothing. If it was death, we could have described it as a harsh law.”

The court was hearing a petition challenging Exception 2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code which says that “sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under 15 years of age, is not a rape”.

Petitioner-NGO Independent Thought said the exception was “discriminatory” and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution that guarantees equality before law.

Pointing to the dichotomy in the provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Justice Lokur said that while under the former a girl married at the age of 15 can move court to get it annulled at the age of 20, in the case of the 1955 Act, a girl married before attaining the age of 15 can repudiate the marriage only up to the age of 18.

Hearing on the matter will continue on Wednesday.

–IANS
pk/tsb/vt

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Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok

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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.

The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.

Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.

Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.

For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.

During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.

Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.

Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .

Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.

In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.

In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.

He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.

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