i am sure you heard of butterfly effect. did u know that it has a role to play in the tort law. The concept of remoteness of damages talks about the effect of one act on another person’s rights even if the person is nowhere related to the tortfeasor or his acts.

DOCTRINE OF NATURAL OR PROBABLE CONSEQUENCE

The doctrine remoteness of damage is also called doctrine of natural or doctrine probable consequence. It proved that a plaintiff is not to be entitled to get damages if the damage sustained by him is too remote a consequence of the defendant’s conduct. The chain of causation between the defendant’s act and the plaintiff’s injury must not be too indirect for no man is liable in law “ad infinitum” for the consequences of his act.

For example, the plaintiff’s dredger was negligently damaged and was sunk by the defendant.

At that time the plaintiff was into a contract and he needed the dredger to discharge his labilities as a part of his contract. The damage of the dredger effected the plaintiff indirectly.

It was held that the plaintiff cannot claim for damages for additional contract hire expenses because the defendant could not have foreseen the loss caused to the plaintiff.[1]

TESTS OF REMOTENESS OF DAMAGE

The problem of remote and proximate damages can be solved using the following tests: –

1. The test of reasonable foresight

According to this test, the consequences of an act can be foreseen be a reasonable man, then they are not too remote and the plaintiff can claim relief under those circumstances.

This test was upheld in Pollock C. B in Rigby v. Hewit[2] and Greenland v. Chaplin[3].the

• The Test of directness

According to the test of directness, a person will only be liable for the direct consequences of his act, whether he could foresee them or not, because consequences which directly follow a wrongful act are not too remote to the act.

            The test of reasonable foresight was rejected and the test of directness was upheld to be more appropriate. In the case of Smith v. London and south Western Company[4], It was held that the railway company had breached their duty and were negligent and in allowing the heap of trimmings of grass near a railway line during such weather conditions. Therefore, the damages are not too remote.

PRINCIPLES AND RULES INVOLVED IN CONSIDERING THE OUESTION OF REMOTENESS OF DAMAGE.

Lord Rodger developed these principles of remoteness of damages. He summarised it into 5 main principles as explained below: –

1. The respondent will not be held liable for consequences that he/ she cannot foresee as the consequences of the act.
2. The circumstances will decide weather the respondent is liable or not and it may not be the same for all cases.
3. Considering the second principle, if the injury to the plaintiff is foreseeable, the respondent will be liable, even if the damage to a greater extent was foreseeable or it could not have been foreseen.
4. The respondent must take his victim if he finds him.
5. Where the personal injury to the pursuer is reasonably foreseeable by the tortfeasor, he will be held liable for personal injury. The injury suffered by the pursuer as a result of wrongdoing may be physical or psychiatric.    

 RULES RELATING TO REMOTENESS OF DAMAGE

• Egg-shell skull Rule

This rule is an exception to the rule in Wagon Mount. This rule proves that “to the effect that the amount of damage need not be foreseen at least so far as the physical condition of the victim is concerned, abnormal existing at the time of wrongful act do not negative casual connection.”

 This rule is called the egg shell rule because egg shell is fragile and it should be moved from one place to with care and similarly the defendant cannot cause any harm to a person who is week.

• Novus Actus rule

This rule talks about human intervention between the wrongful act and its consequences. This rule says that if there is an intervention of a third party

And the plaintiff sufferers a loss due to this, then the defendant will not be held liable for the damage caused. A consequence will be considered too remote if the chain of causation between the wrongful act and plaintiff’s damage is broken by an intervention of a new act by the third party.

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[2] (1850) 5 Ex.240.

[3] (1850) 5 Ex. 243.

[4] (1870) L R 6 C.P 14.

DAMAGES AND REMEDIES

to understand the concept of remoteness of damages, it is important for one to understand the basic meaning and definition of remedies and damages.

Remedy is a means employed to enforce a right or redress an injury.

According to Tomlin “Remedy is the action or means given by law for the recovery of a right; and it is a maxim of law that whenever the law gives anything, it gives a remedy for the same.”  

In simple terms we can say that a remedy is the action or means given by the law for the recovery of a right.

There are mainly 2 kinds of remedies under torts namely: –

1. Judicial
2. Damages
3. Injunctions
4. Specific restitution of property
5. Extra – judicial.

Damages means loss or injury. When plaintiff suffers loss or injury due to the wrongful act of the defendant then he/she is entitled to receive damages from the defendant or respondent.

Black’s law dictionary states that “By a damage we understand every loss or diminution of what is a man’s own, occasioned by the fault of another. The definition of damage extends the notion beyond a man’s goods. His life, his limbs , his liberty an exemption from pain, his character or reputation, are all his own in a strict and proper sense; so that the loss or diminution of any of them gives him a right to demand reputation from those by whose fault they have been lost of diminished.”

The damages can be classified into the following categories; –

1. General damages
2. Specific damages

The primary object of awarding damages in an action of tort is to offer pecuniary compensation to the party injured. The nature of damages is generally compensatory.

LATIN MAXIM AND DEFINITIONS
To further understand the concept of remoteness of damages, we can use the legal maxim behind this concept and the definitions or views of great scholars about the topic.

LEGAL MAXIM- “injure non remota causa sed proxima spectator”

This means that in law, the immediate and not the remote cause of any event is regarded.

The consequences of wrongful act may be endless but the defendant or tortfeasor cannot be held liable for all the consequences followed by the wrongful act. The defendant is only liable for consequences that are not too remote or proximate. The consequences of the act must me foreseeable and only then plaintiff can claim for relief from the respondent or defendant.

For example, if a dog escapes from the possession of its owner and gets into the neighbour’s house and bites the neighbour and the dies because of a rear disease that he had. Here, the owner of the dog will only be liable for negligence and not for the dearth of the neighbour because that is an unforeseen circumstance and this is too remote for the tortfeasor or defendant to estimate.

Lord wright- “the law cannot take account of everything that follows a wrongful act; it regards some subsequent matters outside the scope of its selection, because it was infinite for the law to judge the causes of causes, or consequences of consequences. In the varied web of affairs, the law must abstract some consequences as relevant, not perhaps on ground of pure logic but simply for practical reasons.”

Lord Campbell- “the damage is too remote,” when the damage and loss are not sufficiently concatenated as cause and effect.”

Salmond and Houston- “while dealing with the doctrine of remoteness of damages the following conclusion with both on principle and authority seem to be indisputable.

In the first place, an event may be the consequence of several causes.

Secondly, the doctrine of remoteness of damage is not limited to wrongs of negligence but also applies to wrongs of all kinds.

Thirdly, a consequence cannot be held to be too remote if it was actually intended by the wrong doer.

Fourthly, the question of remoteness of damage, arises only after it is established that the defendant has been guilty of wrongful act.

 Fifthly, remoteness of damage is one of fact.” 

Doctrine of severability says that all those pre-constitutional laws that are not inconsistent with the post constitutional laws will not be legally valid according to this doctrine. the case will help us in understanding this concept in a better way.

STATE OF BOMBAY AND ORS. Vs. F.N. BALSARA

Citation – AIR 1951 SC 318, (1951) IIMLJ141, [1951]2SCR682

Bench–

 Saiyid Fazl Ali, M. Pantanjali Sastri, B K. Mukherjea, Sudhi Rajan Das and Vivian Bose.

Facts–

 Balsara filed petition in the Bombay High Court. He requested for passing an order for forbidding the state and the prohibition commissioner from enforcing the provisions of the Bombay prohibition act,1949. He prayed for granting him the assent to (a) allow him to have the right to consume, possess and use and import and export through the customs certain goods like whisky, brandy, wine and other alcoholic products and medical preparations using these products. (b) to not interfere and restrain him from exercising his rights and he should not be penalised for the same. The petitioner requested for passing an order under the specific relief act.

Issues–

 1) whether keeping and selling the alcohol mixed medicines and other products can be prohibited or not?

2) whether the act fell under Entry List II of the Government of India Act, 1935  namely, “intoxicating liquors, that includes, the production, manufacture, possession, transport, purchase, and sale of intoxicating liquors”, or under Entry 19 of List I  namely, “import and export of liquors across customs frontier”, which is a Central subject?

3) whether the act as a whole must be declared void or only the provisions that are unconstitutional must be declared void?

Arguments of Parties:

The petitioner Balsara requested the Court to pass an order to allow him to have the right to consume, possess and use and import and export through the customs certain goods like whisky, brandy, wine and other alcoholic products and medical preparations using these products and to not interfere and restrain him from exercising his rights and thus wanted the government not to object under the Prohibition act in the use of his personal rights and may not take any action against them.

But the respondent opposed it as the right to consume or possess alcoholic products is prohibited by the Bombay Prohibition Act.

This case was challenged on the ground that it incidentally encroached upon import and export of liquors across custom frontier- a Central subject. It was contended that the prohibition, purchase, use, possession and sale of liquor will affect its import

Judgment:   

Decision in High Court:

The High Court, agreeing with some of the Petitioner’s allegations and not agreeing with some others, declared some provisions of the Bombay Prohibition Act as legal while some others as illegal. Aggrieved with the decision of High Court both the State Government as well as Balsara, with the permission of High Court, file appeals before the Supreme Court, against the Decision. 

Decision of Supreme Court:

The Supreme Court held that if any act passed by the State Legislature, prohibits or controls the export of the things mentioned in Entry 27 or 29 of List (II) outside the boundaries of the State, then the Act is illegal, but that Act has been passed on the basis of the Entry 31 of the List, Section 297(1)(a), therefore does not apply to it. It also held that the provisions of the Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949 which were declared as void did not affect the validity of the entire act and therefore there was no necessity for declaring the entire statute as invalid. The Supreme Court gave weight to Article 47 which directs the State to bring about prohibition of consumption of intoxicating drink except for medical purposes- to support its decision that the restriction imposed by the Bombay Prohibition Act was a reasonable restriction on the right to engage in ant profession or carry on ant Trade.

The Supreme Court declared illegal those provisions of the Bombay Prohibition Act which were regarding keeping alcohol-mixed medicines and toilet goods, selling and buying them and also using them etc as violation of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution and the rest of the provisions, legal. It was also decided that an Act, by declaring certain provisions thereof as illegal, cannot be wholly declared as illegal. Hence, selling and keeping of alcohol mixed medicines and other products are not prohibited and are legal.

Analysis:

This case explains that the law is void only to the extent of the inconsistency or any action which offends against a law (contravention). The word “to the extent of the inconsistency or contravention” makes it clear that when some of the provision of a statue when some of the provisions of a statute becomes unconstitutional on account of inconsistency with fundamental rights, only to the contradictory or conflicting provision of the law in question shall be treated by the courts as void, and not the whole statute. This Separation of provisions that are unconstitutional is called as Doctrine of Severability. In this case, it was held that the provision of the Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949 the provisions which are unconstitutional are declared as void and it did not affect the rest of the part hence, the whole statue is not declared as void. The Doctrine used in this case is Doctrine of Severability.

Violence against women is not uncommon in Turkey. The recent killing of 27-year-old student Pinar Gültekin at the hands of her former boyfriend, however, sent shock waves through the country. The woman from Turkey’s southwestern Mugla province was beaten and strangled to death by the man. He then tried burning the corpse in a nearby forest. After failing to do so, he disposed of her corpse in a bin, which he then filled with concrete.

Several days after the murder, the man was apprehended thanks to CCTV footage captured at a gas station where he was loading a fuel canister into his vehicle. The police say the man acted out of jealousy. According to the We Will Stop Femicide online platform, this year alone, 27 women were murdered for similar motives; a further 23 suspected femicides were recorded as well.

Violence against women and so-called “honour” killings are deeply rooted and prevalent issues in Turkey. According to a 2009 study on prevention strategies, 42% of Turkish women aged between 15–60 had suffered some physical or sexual violence by their husbands or partners.

Every year, the problem is getting worse: in 2019, 474 women were murdered, mostly by partners and relatives, the highest rate in a decade in which the numbers have increased year on year. The figures for 2020, affected by coronavirus lockdowns, are expected to be even higher.

“Violence against women is a problem everywhere. In Turkey we have a strong women’s rights movement but we also face a lot of opposition,” said Fidan Ataselim, We Will Stop Femicide’s general secretary. “In the last 20 years society has changed a lot: more women are demanding their right to work and go to university. The more choices we have, the more intense the backlash gets.”

Turkey was the first country to adopt a 2011 Council of Europe convention on gender-based violence and domestic violence, a groundbreaking legal framework designed to protect victims and effectively prosecute offenders, known as the Istanbul Convention.

Since then, however, even basic rights and protections won by Turkish women have come under threat as Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s conservative Justice and Development party (AKP) has tried to roll back legislation politicians say threaten traditional family values.

Satyabrata Ghose v. Mugneeram Bangur &co.

 DATE OF JUDGMENT: 16/11/1953

BENCH: MUKHERJEA, B.K. BENCH: MUKHERJEA, B.K. BOSE, VIVIAN BHAGWATI, NATWARLAL H.

Facts

Satyabrata (plaintiff), assignee of Bejoy Krishna Roy, sued defendant alongwith Bejoy as party defendant, for wrongfully repudiating the contract of developing the lands which were sold to the plaintiff, and asked for specific performance of the same. Defendant took the defence of frustration as the lands which needed to be developed were temporarily requisitioned by the Govt. under the defence rules such that for unspecified period of time, any development work if executed on the land would be illegal. The contract was made at a time when war conditions were prevailing and any such requisition was imputed to be in contemplation of the parties while forming contract. Further, no time was specified in the contract.

Issue– Whether the doctrine of frustration will be applicable in this case?

Whether the plaintiff can seek relief under sec.56 of the Indian contracts act, 1847 ?

Held

Impossibility’ u/s 56 doesn’t mean literal impossibility to perform (like strikes, commercial hardships, etc.) but refers to those cases where a supervening event beyond the contemplation and control of the parties (like the change of circumstances) destroys the very foundation upon which the contract rests, thereby rendering the contract ‘impracticable’ to perform, and substantially ‘useless’ in view of object and purpose which the parties intended to achieve through the contract. Therefore, this is not a case applicable under the sec.56 of the Indian contracts act,1872 and a defence of frustration of contracts cannot be claimed under this case.

In the present case, Firstly, war condition were known to the parties while entering into the contract such they were aware of the possible difficulty in performance of the contract, in such circumstances, the requisition of property did not affect the root of the contract; Secondly, no stipulation as to time was provided in the agreement such that the work was to be completed within a reasonable time, but having regard to the nature of the development contract and the knowledge of the war conditions prevailing during the contract, such a reasonable time was to be relaxed. Therefore, the contract had not become impossible of performance u/s 56.

Caldwell v. Taylor

Facts. 

Plaintiff and Defendant entered into a contract, in which, Defendant agreed to let the Plaintiff use The Surrey Gardens and Music Hall on four certain days. After the signing of the contract, but before the first contract, the concert hall was destroyed by fire. The destruction was without fault of either party and was so extensive that the concerts could not be given.

Issue. 

Whether the loss suffered by Plaintiffs, is recoverable from the Defendant?

 Held-
The Defendant was discharged from performing, and his failure to perform was not a breach of the contract. When the contract is absolute, the contractor must perform it or pay damages for nonperformance although in consequence of unforeseen events the performance of the contract has become impossible. However, that occurs only where the contract is absolute. The contract here is subject to an implied condition that the parties shall be excused if performance becomes impossible from the perishing of the thing without fault of the contractor. The parties regarded the continuing existence of the hall as the foundation of the contract, and the contract contained an implied condition that both parties would be excused if the hall did not exist. Therefore, the destruction of the hall without fault of either party excuses both parties, the Plaintiff from taking the gardens and paying the money and the Defendant from performing their promise to give the use of the hall.

Conclusion– This is the case where the doctrine of impossibility through destruction of the subject matter was established by the queen’s bench.

Introduction

Discharge of contract by impossibility of performance. The section 56 of the Indian contract act 1872 deals with doctrine of frustration. Under this doctrine a promisor is relieved of any liability under a contract, in this case the contract will be deemed to be void.

Legal marme” less non – cogit ad impossibbilla. (law will not compel a man to do what he cannot possibly perform). Doctrine of frustration results in making a contract void and this means that a contract becomes void due to impossibility of performance of obligations by either of the parties because of unforeseen situations in the process of fulfilling the obligations.

The doctrine of frustration is applicable in 2 cases:

1. If the objective of the contract has become impossible.
2. An event has occurred making the performance of the contract to be impossible beyond the control of promisor.

Sec 56 of Indian contract act, 1872

56. Agreement to do impossible act — An agreement to do an act impossible in itself is void.

Contract to do an act afterwards becoming impossible or unlawful —A contract to do an act which, after the contract is made, becomes impossible, or, by reason of some event which the promisor could not prevent, unlawful, becomes void when the act becomes impossible or unlawful.

Compensation for loss through non-performance of act known to be impossible or unlawful.— Where one person has promised to do something which he knew, or, with reasonable diligence, might have known, and which the promise did not know, to be impossible or unlawful, such promisor must make compensation to such promise for any loss which such promise sustains through the nonperformance of the promise.

 Applicability of Doctrine of Frustration:                                                                                                                              (1) there should exists a valid and subsisting contract between the parties                                                (2) there must be some part of contract which is yet to be performed                                                   (3) the contract after it is entered into becomes impossible of performance.

Causes in which Frustration of Contract can be Applicable:                                                                          (i) Death or incapacity of a party.                                                                                                                       (ii) Frustration by virtue of legislation.                                                                                                              (iii) Frustration due to change of circumstances.

     Literature review–  

AVATAR SINGH-

Frustration is an act outside the contract due to which the completion of a contract becomes impossible. After the parties have concluded a contract, events beyond their control may occur which frustrate the purpose of their agreement, or render it very difficult or impossible, or as even illegal, to perform. An example of this is where a hall, which has been booked for the performance pf a play, is destroyed by fire, after the contract has been concluded, but before the date of performance of the play.

The origin of the ‘Doctrine of Frustration’ as many other laws has been from the roman laws. It was part of the roman contract law which extinguished obligations of innocent parties where the ‘thing is destroyed without the debtor ‘s act or default’, and the contract purpose has “ceased to be attainable”. It was applied in roman times, for instance, to save, from liability, a man who promised to deliver a slave by a certain day if the slave died before delivery.   

      VANDANA JAISWAL-

The doctrine of frustration in contract law was initially defined by two points, namely: (i) the doctrine was to be only permitted where it was raised as a defense to a primary assumption on which the agreement was reached; and (ii) the parties were entitled to insert provisions as a contingency measure to provide for the occurrence of the same.

    Scope of the study-

   the scope is this study is limited to understanding the doctrine of frustration. This is done with                                      the help of 2 cases. One Indian case and one foreign case have been taken into consideration    while studying this topic. The research paper is mainly based on basic knowledge about the   doctrine of frustration and sec. 56 of the Indian contract act,1872.

Research methodology-

this study is done using the doctrinal method of research. It is mainly based on secondary data. This data explains about the doctrine of frustration with the help of case laws. The application of sec.56 of the Indian contracts act, 1872 is given importance in this study. This data and information is from articles, websites, books, journals and from the Indian contracts act, bare act. Analytical study method was adopted in the process of research.

Objectives of the study-

1. To study the doctrine of frustration.
2. To understand the applicability sec.56 of Indian contracts act,1872.
3. To analyse the conditions for applicability of doctrine of frustration.
4. To examine the causes of doctrine of frustration.

 

Significance and benefits of study-

1. Basic understanding of the doctrine of frustration.
2. Analysing sec.56 of the Indian contract act.
3. Application of topic in various cases.
4. Understanding the impossible and unlawful acts.

This is an important case analysis on environment law. we have had such incidents in Delhi and recently in Vishakapatnam. this is an incident that changed the lives of many people. The supreme court of India recognized the need for supporting the victims and compensating them.

CASE NAME– Union Carbite Corporation v. UOI.

CITATION- 1990 AIR 273, 1989 SCC (2) 540

BENCH – R S Pathak, (CJ), Venkataramiah E S, , M N Venkatachalalliah, Ranganath Misra, N D Ojha.

FACTS-

Union Carbite Corporation India Ltd. manufactured batteries, chemicals, and other similar products in their manufacturing unit in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. This was set up in the year 1970. On the night of 2^nd December, Methyl Isocyanate is a poisonous gas that leaked from the plant. This effected more than 800000 people in total. The government of India enacted The Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act,1985 to give an easy was of presentation of the victims by invoking the doctrine of Parens Paraie.

ISSUES- 

• Whether tort was committed by the defendant?
• Whether UCC can be criminally held liable?

ARRGUMENTS OF BOTH PARTIES

The central government filed a complaint before the southern district court in New York saying that the Indian judiciary will not be able to handle such a complex issue because of lack of expertise in the law of torts. It was also said that the delay in Indian judicial proceedings will delay the justice. The jurisdiction was refused by the court saying that there can be a more appropriate court to handle this issue.

Later the central government filed a case against the corporation in the district court of Bhopal. The court said that 350 crore rupees must be given by the UCC in compensation to the damages caused to the victims. The respondents appealed to the high court of Madhya Pradesh and the compensation was reduced to 250 crore rupees. The UCC filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of India.

JUDGEMENT-

Justice R S Pathak said that it was the duty of the court to secure immediate relief to the victims of the MIC leak and while doing that the court did not entered into any virgin territory. He applied the polluters pay principle and decide the compensation to be US $470. the majority opinion was given by Justice Venkatchaliah on behalf of himself and K.N. Singh and N.D. Ojha JJ. CJ Mishra concurred with him and Ahmadi J. it was also held that criminal proceedings must be initiated against the UCC and later they were quashed. A compensation of 750 crore rupees was to be given to the victim by UCC as per the judgement.

ANALYSIS-

The judgement was criticised mainly on the ground that the criminal proceedings were dismissed. It was also said that the Indian judicial system must have a speedy redressal mechanism and it was compared with the other countries saying that if such an incident had happened in any other countries then the authorities would have reacted in a completely different way. This incident also lead to enactment of several acts like the Environmental Protection Act, 1986; Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 and etc. to ensure public welfare.

Even though UCC was a multinational corporation it was held liable for the tort committed by one of its subsidiary.  However, the victims were compensated and justice was delivered to the maximum extent.

we know that the Parliament is the law making authority and also has the power to amend the constitution but it is important for us to understand that the parliament cannot amend all the provisions of the constitution. this is is because of the basic structure doctrine.

The doctrine of basic structure is a judicial made doctrine. It is understood that this is not a part of the constitution of India and was propounded on 24^th of April 1973 in the famous case Kesavananda Bharati Sripadagalvaru and Ors. v. State of Kerala[1] and Anr. In this case, the term basic functions of the constitution were used. The term basic structure was used in the case of Minerva Mills Ltd. and Ors. vs Union Of India and Ors.[2] Which was decide on 3st July 1980.

 I support the basic structure doctrine because this doctrine is brought in with the intention that the power of the parliament to amend the constitution must be restricted and the fundamental idea of the constitution must not be allowed to be amended. It is understood that the basic features like equality, secularity, Judicial review, rule of law and etc are not only a part of the preamble or the fundamental rights but also the fundamental idea of the constitution makers behind the drafting of the constitution. Though all the contents of the basic structure are not declared on any document, various cases (Waman Rao And Ors vs Union Of India (Uoi) And Ors.[3] ,  Indira Sawhney & Ors v. Union of India[4], and many other cases) give us an idea of what could be the contents of basic structure doctrine. The fundamental rights (Part 3) of the constitution must be restricted from being amended because it will result in being a thread to the basic principles of not only the constitution but also democracy and therefore, they can be amended to widen the scope but not narrow it down.

 In my opinion if there is no restriction on the amending power of the constitution, then the parliament will have unlimited power. It may start amending all the provisions of the constitution. For example, if the parliament amends the constitution by removing the right to seek judicial review then it will stop the people from going to courts for relief and eventually the judiciary will loose complete power. This will indirectly lead to the supremacy of the parliament and not supremacy of law which is against the principle of rule of law. This gives an unfair opportunity to amend any provision of the constitution and the preamble. This may also lead to demolition of the basic idea of democracy which including equality and principles of separation of powers and rule of law. It is not only India but many other countries do not allow the parliament or legislature to amend the essential or basic features of their constitution. 

It is important for us to remember that precedents are an important source of law. As explained in the cases, the doctrine of basic structure is a law and holds value even though it is not a part of the constitution or it is an unwritten doctrine. 

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[1] Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, (1973) 4 SCC 225: AIR 1973 SC 1461.

[2]  Minerva Mills Ltd. v Union of India (1980) 3 SCC 625.

[3]  Waman Rao And Ors vs Union Of India (Uoi) And Ors.(1981) 2 SCC 362, 1981 2 SCR 1

[4]  Indira Sawhney & Ors v. Union of India AIR 1993 SC 477, 1992 

Fraud, we listen to this word very often in our day to day life.it is used in various statutes. in this article, I have tried to briefly cover what exactly it means in contract law.

consent given by a party is not said to be free when it is caused by fraud. Fraud is defined under sec. 17 of the Indian Contract Act as the following: –

“17. ‘Fraud’ defined. — ‘Fraud’ means and includes any of the following acts committed by a party to a contract, or with his connivance, or by his agent1, with intent to deceive another party thereto or his agent, or to induce him to enter into the contract: —

(1) the suggestion, as a fact, of that which is not true, by one who does not believe it to be true;

(2) the active concealment of a fact by one having knowledge or belief of the fact;

(3) a promise made without any intention of performing it;

(4) any other act fitted to deceive;

(5) any such act or omission as the law specially declares to be fraudulent. Explanation.—Mere silence as to facts likely to affect the willingness of a person to enter into a contract is not fraud, unless the circumstances of the case are such that, regard being had to them, it is the duty of the person keeping silence to speak2, or unless his silence, is, in itself, equivalent to speech.”

The Essentials of fraud: – 

1. It should be done by one party of the contract
2. There must be a representation
3. The representation must be false
4. The fraud must be committed before completion of the contract
5. The misrepresentation should be made by the will of the party
6. There should be an intention to deceive the other party
7. The other party must actually be deceived
8. The other party has suffered a loss due to this misrepresentation with a mala fide intention.

A famous English case House of lords in Derry v. Peek[1] is an example under this concept. In this case, A company’s prospectus said that it was authorised by a special act of Parliament to run trams by stream or mechanical power. This was however not true. The plaintiff was a shareholder and sued the directors for fraud. The defendants were not held liable in this case.

An Indian case is, Haji Ahmad Yarkhan v. Abdul Gani Khan [2], the plaintiff could not recover the expenses incurred for the engagement of his son. the marriage was broken because the girl’s family hid the facts about her health. Silence or non-disclosure of essential facts may not amount to  a fraud.

Sec.19 of the Indian Contract Act,1872

“19. voidability of agreements without free consent.—When consent to an agreement is caused by coercion, 1[***] fraud or misrepresentation, the agreement is a contract voidable at the option of the party whose consent was so caused.

A party to contract, whose consent was caused by fraud or misrepresentation, may, if he thinks fit, insist that the contract shall be performed, and that he shall be put in the position in which he would have been if the representations made had been true.”

The contract is not voidable : –

1. When the party who consent was caused by silence amount to fraud and be has the means of discovering the truth with ordinary diligence.
2. When a party gives the consent by ignoring the fraud.
3. When the party takes a benefit after getting the knowledge about the fraud.
4. When the parties cannot be restored to their initial position.
5. When the interest of a third party is intervened before the contract is avoided.

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[1] House of lords in Derry v. Peek (1889) LR 14 AC 337 (HL)

[2] Haji Ahmad Yarkhan v. Abdul Gani Khan AIR 1937 Nag 270.

Ambedkar, B. R. (1891 – 1956): A leader of the depressed classes throughout his life, he worked for the moral and material progress of the untouchables. He was jurist by profession and equally a great social worker, politician, writer and educationist. He launched a number of movements for securing equal status for the lower castes. He was appointed the Law Minister in the Interim Government and also Chairman of the Constituent Assembly’s Drafting Committee.

Ansari, M.A. (1880 – 1936): Qualified as a physician, he organised the All India Medical Mission of Turkey in 1912-13. Later took a leading part in the Home Rule League agitation. Elected President, Muslim League in 1920. Participated in the Khilafat, the Home Rule and Non-Cooperation Movements. He was the founder of the Nationalist educational institution, Jamia Millia Islamia in 1920.

Azad, Chandra Shekhar (1906 – 31): One of the most famous revolutionaries from the present day Uttar Pradesh. He was arrested during Non-Co-operation movement, and was flogged for ridiculing the court during trial by declaring his name as Azad, his father as Swatantra and his home as prison. From this he became famous as Azad. He shot himself dead with the last bullet he had in his pistol, while fighting alone with the police.

Asaf Ali (1888 – 1953): Started his legal career at Delhi and later joined the Home Rule movement, in 1945, took up the Secretaryship of the INA Committee and he was India’s first Ambassador to Washington.

Badruddin Tyabji (1844 – 1906): First Indian barrister at Bombay High Court.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1857 – 1920): Remembered as Lokmanya, he played a leading part in popularising the cult of patriotism; first nationalist leader who sought close contact with the masses and he was also a forerunner of Gandhiji. He started akharas, lathi clubs, Shivaji and Ganapati festivals to inculcate among the people the spirit of service to the nation, the first congress leader to suffer several terms of imprisonment for the sake of the country. He openly declared, “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it”.

Bhagat Singh (1907 – 1931): Born in a Sikh Jat family of Lyallpur district, joined the Hindustan Socialist Republician Army in 1925; in 1928 shot and killed Saunders to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai who received injuries during the anti-Simon Commission agitation at Lahore. He was the main accused and received the death sentence; executed on 23 March, 1931.

Bhulabhai Desai (1877 – 1946): Established the Swadeshi Sabha for promoting the boycott of foreign goods. His last and perhaps the greatest contribution to the national cause was his brilliant defence of the INA prisoners in 1945.

Bipin Chandra Pal (1858 – 1932): Entered into the Brahmo Samaj and founded the English weekly, New India; initially follower of Surendranath in politics; founded Bande Mataram in 1906 and was imprisoned for refusing to give evidence in the Bande Mataram Sedition case in 1907.

Chakravati Rajagopalachari (1878 – 1972): Participated in the anti-Rowlatt Bill Satyagraha in 1919 and gave up his legal profession in 1920, to join the Non-Co-operation Movement; a chief organiser of the Congress in the South; involved a formula for the solution of Indian Constitutional tangle in 1944 and assisted Gandhiji in his negotiations with Jinnah, served the Interim Government as Minister for Industry, Supply, Education and Finance and then as the Governor of West Bengal. In 1948 succeeded Lord Mount Batten as the first Indian Governor General of the Indian Dominion till 26 January 1950 when India became a republic, between 1952 and 1954 Rajaji was the Chief Minister of Madras. Founded the Swatantra Party in 1959.

Dadabhai Naoroji (1825 – 1917): The Grand Old Man of India, associated with the Indian National Congress right from its inception. The Indian to become a Member of the House of Commons on the Liberal Party’s ticket, President of Indian National Congrees thrice, in 1886, 1893 and 1906, first Indian to draw the attention of the Indians as well as the British Public to the drain of wealth from India to great Britain and the resulting poverty of the Indians; “Poverty and un-British rule in India”, a book written by Naoroji was published in 1901, proves his thesis of Drain of wealth.

Gopal Krishna Gokhle (1866 – 1915): A follower of Mahadev Govind Ranade, popularly known as the socrates of Maharashtra; Gandhiji became Gokhle’s political pupil, in 1905 laid the foundation of the ‘Servants of India Society’ for the trainning of national missionaries for the service of India, and to promote, by the constitutional means, the true interest of the Indian people.

Gopinath Bordoloi (1980 – 1950): One of the builders of modern Assam; imprisoned in 1941 and 1942 for taking part in the individual satyagraha and the in the Quit India Movement.

Jatindra Mohan Sen Gupta (1885 – 1933): Renounced his legal practice during the Non-Co-operation Movement, organised the strike of the employees of Assam Bengal Railways, led the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Kamala Nehru (1899 – 1936): She was married to Jawaharlal Nehru in 1916, joined her husband in the Non-Cooperation Movement, and the Civil Disobedience Movement.

Kasturba Gandhi (1869 – 1944): Endearingly married to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in 1882, one of the first of a group of Indian women to be imprisoned in the Transvaal, arrested for participating in the Quit India Movement in 1942, died while serving imprisonment at Poona.

Sarojini Naidu (1879 – 1949): Educated in England, showed a marked flair for literature at an early age which later found expression in beautiful English verses and earned her the title “Nightingale of India”. She joined Home Rule League in 1916; first Indian lady to preside over the Congress, led the salt raid at Dharsana in 1930, at the beginning of the Quit India Movement in 1942 arrested and detained with Gandhiji; the first Indian lady to become the Governor of Uttar Pradesh in free India, fought all her life against poverty, ignorance and social taboos.

Narayan Malhar Joshi (1879 – 1955): He was a member of the Central Pay Commission in 1947, an important leader of the Indian trade union movement; organised creches, dispensaries for women and children and industrial training schools and co-operative societies.

Swami Sahjanand Saraswati (1889 – 1951): He was President of the “All India Kisan Sabha”. He pioneered the peasants cause and became the Founder-President of the Bihar Kisan Sabha in 1927.

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900 – 1990): Sister of Jawaharlal Nehru, a prominent national leader, was imprisoned thrice in connection with Civil Disobedience Movement in 1932, 1941 and 1942; played an important role as India’s representative in San Francisco during the first meeting in UN where she challenged the might of the British.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890 – 1988): Born in a village of Peshawar district of the British India, joined the national movement at very young age and inculcated the ideas of nationalism into the minds of the Pathans; plunged into the agitation against the Rowlatt laws, the Khilafat, Non-Cooperation and Civil Disobedience movements, never saw eye to eye with the fanatical ideology of the Muslim League and was committed to secularism. He opposed to the Partition of India. He was popularly known as Frontier Gandhi.

Mahadev Desai (1892 – 1942): In 1917 came in close contact with Gandhiji pledged himself into the Champaran Satyagraha, editor of Motilal Nehru’s periodical, Independent.

Ram Manohar Lohia (1910 – 1968): A socialist, in 1934 became a founder member of the Congress Socialist Party and edited its journal’. ‘The Congress Socialist’, in free India. A forceful journalist who promoted the cause of Hindi as national language.

Sachchidananda Sinha (1871 – 1950): A distinguished lawyer, journalist, politician and educationist, joined the Congress in 1899, actively participated in the Home Rule movement, from 1936 to 1944 Vice-Chancellor of Patna University.

Vallabhai Patel (1875 – 1950): Born in an agriculturist family of Nadiad in Gujarat; entered politics by joining the Gujarat Sabha in 1915, of which Gandhi ji was the President; joined the Non-Co-operation Movement; led the famous peasants agitation against in increase in land revenue at Bardoli and won a signal victory; joined the Quit India Movement in 1942; in free India became the Deputy Prime Minister; a man of iron who never allowed personal sentiment to confuse his duties.

Acharya Vinoba Bhave (1895 – 1982) : Close associate of Gandhiji; leader of Sarvodaya and the Bhoodan Andolan; was a staunch advocate of cow protection.

Rajendra Prasad (1884 – 1963): As a student he took interest in the anti-partition agitation in Bengal and established the Bihari Students ‘Conference’ in the fore-front of the salt Satyagraha and the Civil Disobedience Movement in 1930 and 1932 and suffered imprisonment; on failure of Cripps Mission undertook a tour of his province and prepared the masses for the Quit India Movment; joined Interim Government as Minister for Food and Agriculture in 1946; the first President of the Constituent Assembly, became the first President of the Indian Republic.

Abdul Kalam Azad (1888 – 1958): Known as the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, born in Mecca where his ancestors had migrated from India during the revolt of 1857; in 1898 accompanied his parents to India and settled in Calcutta, associated himself with the revolutionaries during the Swadeshi Movement; in 1929 he came in close contact with Gandhiji and supported the Non- Cooperation programme; Chief of the Khilafat Committee, elected President of the special session of the Congress at Delhi in 1924, he led the negotiations with British Cabinet Mission (1946), a member of the Constitutent Assembly; joined the Interim Government as Minister of Education and Arts, in free India he became the Education Minister and later took charge of the portfolios of National Resources and Scientific Research, he established the University Grants Commission.

Ghosh, Aurobindo (1872-1950): A leading Bengali revolutionary who later turned yogi. For about ten years, he remained active in the political field, particularly during the partition of Bengal, and was one of the propounders of the programme of Swadeshi and boycott. He expressed the view that political freedom was “the life and breath of our nation”. In 1910, he retired to Pondicherry, where he spent his life in mediation and spiritual pursuits.

Hume, Allan Octavian (A.O.Hume) (1829 – 1922): A British Civil Servant in India, who after his retirement for service in 1882 worked for India’s political claims and is known as the ‘father and founder’ of the INC. Hume was the guiding spirit during the formative years of the INC. He had studied medicine and surgery and was a great naturalist and botanist.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820 – 1891): He was an upcompromising social reformer and put up a valiant fight for introduction of widow remarriage and stamping out polygamy from society.

Jinnah, Mohammad Ali (1875 – 1948): A leading lawyer, leader of the Muslim League and founder of Pakistan.

Besant, Annie (1847 – 1933): An Irish English woman, who came to India in 1939 to work for the Theosophical society. She ardently worked for India’s independence. In 1915 she founded the Home Rule League to launch the Home Rule Movement and was made President of the Calcutta session of the Congress in 1917.

Bose, Subhash Chandra (1897 – 1945): He was the supreme commander of Azad Hind Fauj (the Indian National Army). In January 1941, he escaped out of India and reached Berlin. He died in a plane crash on August 18, 1945.

Sanskrit word ‘Sangha’ means a group of persons or an association. The Tamil Sangam was an academy of poets and bards, who flourished in three different periods and in different places under the patronage of the pandyan kings. The Sangam literature speaks highly of three south Indian Kingdoms—Chola, Pandya and Chera. The earliest reference that we find about this era is preserved in three forms: Ashokan inscriptions, Sangam literature and Magasthenese accounts. The three important kingdoms of the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Cheras, combinedly was known as Tamilakam. The ancient literature of Tamils, known as the Sangam literature, is very massive, but it hardly fulfill is the demands of history and chronology.

THE CHOLAS

The kingdom of the Cholas with its capital at Kaveripattanam was started from Kavery delta to the adjoining region of modern Tanjore and Trichinopoly. One of their early kings, Karikala (A.D. 190), who figures very prominently in ancient literature, is credited with victories over the rulers of the neighbouring Pandya and Chera kingdoms and is believed to have even extended his authority over Ceylon. Towards the beginning of the fourth century A.D., the power of the Cholas began to decline mainly because of the rise of Pallavas on one hand and the continuous wars waged by the Pandyas and the Cheras on the other.

THE PANDYAS

The kingdom of the Pandyas with its capital at Madurai extended to the modern districts of Madura, Ramnad, Tinnevelly and the southern parts of Travancore. References to the Pandyas occur in ancient literary works like the Mahabharata and the Jatakas as well as in Indica of Megasthenes. According to Ashokan edicts, the Pandyas were independent people living beyond the southern border of the Maurya empire. A Pandya king is also known to have sent as embassy to the court of the Roman emperor Augustus and Trojan.

THE CHERAS

The earliest reference to the Chera (Keralaputra) kingdom can be traced in the Ashokan inscriptions. It comprised the modern districts of Malabar, Cochin and Northerm Travancore. Its capital was Vanji, which is identified by some with a site of Periyar River, by others with Karur or Karuvur located in the western most Taluq of the Trichinopoly district. The people of Chera Kingdoms were a sea-faring people who, established close commercial relationship with Egypt and the Roman Empire. Tondi, Musiri, Kaveripathanam and Korkai were among the well-known trade centres of Peninsular India.

SANGAM LITERATURE

Sangam was an association or assembly of Tamil poets held probably under chiefly or royal patronage. But we do not know the number of Sangams or the period for which they were held. The Sangam literature was compiled in circa A.D. 300-600. But parts of this literature look back to at least the second century A.D. The Sangam literature can roughly be divided into two groups, narrative and didactic. The narrative texts are considered works of heroic poetry in which heroes are glorified and perpetual wars and cattle raids frequently mentioned. The didactic texts cover the early centuries of the Christian era and prescribe a code of conduct not only for the king and his court but also for various social groups and occupations. All this could have been possible only after the fourth century A.D. when Brahmanas appeared in good numbers under the Pallavas.

Sangam literature consists of the earliest Tamil works (such as Tolkappiyam), the Ettutogai (Eight Anthologies) the Pattuppattu (Ten Idylls), the Padenenkilkanakku (Eightten Minor works) and the three epics. Earliest Tamil Works were the Agattiyam (a work on grammar of letters and life) by Rishi Agastya, Pannirupadalam (a grammatical work on puram literature) by 12 disciples of Agastya the Kakkipadiniyam (a work on prosody) and Tolkappiyam (a treatise on grammar and poetry). It is divided into three sections each consisting of nine sub chapters and has a total of 1,612 sutras) by Talkappiya. The last epic shows the dominance of Sanskrit style over the indigenous style of the previous epics.

SANGAM POLITY

The Tamils during the Sangam period were ruled by powerful kings. The kings were regarded as Vendar while the local chieftains were called Mannar. The form of government was hereditary monarchy. The eldest son usually succeeded the father. The crowned king held impressive courts to which the subjects were allowed. There was conspicuous absence of Privy Council or a Council Chamber. The king was regarded as God. The theory of divine right of kingship was accepted. But he was always assisted and guided by wise men whether a minister, or a poet or a purohitar. These wise men were divided into two categories—Aimperukulu consisting of Purohita, the army chief, the ambassador, the spies and the ministers; and Enperayam consisting of accountants, executive officials, treasury officials, palace guards, and the leading men among his subjects. Wars occurred on the pretext of cattle-lifting.

LAW AND JUSTICE

Sangam literature does not describe any posts of Judge disputes were settled by learned men of high character, and the judgement was based on integrity and impartiality. The Cholas have gained great respect because of this. The king was the supreme magistrate. The town court was called ‘Avai’ and the village court was knonw as ‘Manrams’ which might have been pachayats, were distributed across Mandalam (kingdom) in Nadu (districts) and Ur (town).

SOCIAL LIFE

The Sangam society was based on binary fission, i.e.

1. Vyarntoc (high born people),
2. Ilipirappalar (low born people)

However, Tholkappiyan mentions, about four categories of castes–

1. Andanar (Brahmanas)
2. Arasar (kings)
3. Vaisiyar (Traders)
4. Velalar (Farmers)

Moreover, these were communities, called parciyas experienced untouchability among higher classes.

Position of Women
Women took part in various fields like–
• They contributed in literature, evidence is from their poetry.
• Women were allowed to choose their life-partners, i.e. love-marriage was permitted.
• Widows lived a miserable life and sati system was practiced in higher classes of society.
• The kings and nobles patronised dancers for their entertainment.

ECONOMY

The Sangam economy was most prosperous. The common people were included agriculturists or cow-herders, hunters and fisherman. Indigenous industries such as textile, weapon making, ship-building, carpentary, metal smelting, etc. There were also a large number of merchants who indulged in comprehensive trade with foreign countries particularly with Rome. Roman coins of Augustus Caesar’s period have been found in a large number in South India. But, South Indians did not have a system of coinage and they bartered their goods. Examples of honey and roots exchanged for fish-oil and of sugarcane and cornflakes for venison and toddy find its mention.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

The temples of South India had a distinct Dravidian style which is different from the Nagara style of the North Indian temples. The Kailash Temple at Ellora, Hoysala temple at Belur and Halebid, Chennakesava temple at Belur, the Hoysaleswara temple at Halebid, Ratha and Shore temple at Mahabalipuram, Brihadeshwara temple at Tanjavur, Vithala temple at Hampi, and Meenakshi Temple at Madurai are fine examples of architecture.

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life it sometimes becomes impossible to do everything ourselves and hence it becomes necessary to employ people to perform our acts. The person employed is the “agent” and the contract by which he is appointed is called “Agency”. In an agency, an agent acts on behalf of his principal and often uses his name and his acts in that capacity are attributable of the Principal. The law of agency is based on the maxim “qui facit per alium facit per se” i.e. he who does an act through another does it by himself.

“Agent” and “Principal” defined: Section 182

Section 182 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 defines an “agent” and “principal” as follow: An ‘agent’ is a person employed to do any act for another, or to represent another in dealings with third persons. The person for whom such act is done, or who is so represented, is called the ‘principal’.

The concept of “agency” has been thus explained by Ramaswami J. of the Madras High Court in Krishna v. Ganapathi, AIR 1955 Mad 648. In legal phraseology, every person who acts for another is not an agent. A domestic servant renders to his master a personal service; a person may till another’s field or tend his flocks or work in his shop or factory or mine or may be employed upon his roads and ways; one may act for another in aiding in the performance of his legal or contractual obligations to third persons…….In none of these capacities he is an “agent” within the above meaning as he is not acting for another in dealings with third persons. It is only when he acts as representative of the other in business negotiations, that is to say, in the creation, modification, or termination of contractual obligations between that other and the third persons, that he is an “agent.”…… Representative character and derivative authority may briefly be said to be the distinguishing features of an agent.

The essence of the matter is that the principal authorised the agent to represent or act for him in bringing the principal into contractual relationship with a third person. Representative capacity is the test of agency relationship, merely because the respondent had undertaken to supply machinery for certain period did not make him an agent to the petitioner.

Existence of Agency relationship

The test of determining the existence of agency relationship has been explained by Dhawan J. of the Allahabad High Court in the following words: “Agency depends on true nature of relationship. The use of the word “agency agreement” and “agent” by the parties in a contract does not necessarily establish the relationship of agency is not conclusive; if the incidence of this relationship as disclosed by evidence does not justify a finding of agency and that the Court must examine the true nature of the relationship and the functions and responsibilities of the alleged agent.

Co-agents and Co-principals

When the authority given to co-agents is joint, it would be necessary for them to act jointly and only then their principal would be bound. When the authority is joint and separate, any one of them would be competent to act for the principal. An agent who represents more than one principal in one and the same transactions, he should account to all of them jointly, for an account given to one may not absolve him from his liability.

This article tries to explain briefly the emergency provisions of our constitution. The emergency provisions include Art.352 to Art.360. emergency is a situation which arises due to the failure of the government authority that causes immediate action from the authority.

The power of imposing all three types of Emergencies is vested upon the President of India. The concept of Emergency was borrowed from the Constitution of Germany. The three types are as follows –

Article 356 – President’s Rule

Article 352 – National Emergency

Article 360 – Financial Emergency.

Article 352 discusses about the Proclamation of Emergency.

During the times of such emergency the executive, legislative and financial power rests with the centre whereas the state legislature is not suspended. National emergency has been imposed thrice in the country- in 1962 at time of Chinese aggression, in 1971 during the India Pakistan war, in 1975 due to internal disturbances.

Article 353 discusses about the Effect of Proclamation of Emergency.

the power of Parliament to make laws with respect to any matter shall include power to make laws conferring powers and imposing duties, or authorising the conferring of powers and the imposition of duties, upon the Union or officers and authorities of the Union as respects that matter, notwithstanding that it is one which is not enumerated in the Union List is explained in this article.

Article 354 talks about the Application of provisions relating to distribution of revenues while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation which is by the President not extending in any case beyond the expiration of the financial year in which such Proclamation ceases to operate, as may be specified in the order, have effect subject to such exceptions or modifications as he thinks fit. Every order made shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each House of Parliament.

Article 355 discusses about the Duty of the Union to protect States against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the Government of every State is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Article 356 Provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in States that is the President’s Rule.

 If the President, on receipt of a report from the Governor of a State or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the Government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution, the President may by Proclamation assume to himself all or any of the functions of the Government of the State and all or any of the powers vested in or exercisable by the Governor or authority of the State other than the Legislature of the State and can also declare that the powers of the Legislature of the State shall be exercisable by or under the authority of Parliament.

The President can make such incidental and consequential provisions as appear to the President to be necessary or desirable for giving effect to the objects of the Proclamation, including provisions for suspending in whole or in part the operation of any provisions of this Constitution relating to anybody or authority in the State, Provided that nothing in this, shall authorize the President to assume to himself any of the powers vested in or exercisable by a High Court, or to suspend in whole or in part the operation of any provision of this Constitution relating to High Courts. Article 357 deals with the Exercise of legislative powers under Proclamation issued under article 356.

Article 358 says about the Suspension of provisions of article 19 during emergencies.

Nothing in article 19 shall restrict the power of the State as defined in Part III to make any law or to take any executive action which the State would but for the provisions contained in that Part be competent to make or to take, but any law so made shall, to the extent of the incompetency, cease to have effect as soon as the Proclamation ceases to operate, except as respects things done or omitted to be done before the law so ceases to have effect. Article 359 deals with the Suspension of the enforcement of the rights conferred by Part III during emergencies.

Article 359A that is about the Application of this Part to the State of Punjab is Repealed from the Constitution of India that was inserted in the 63^rd amendment , 1989.

 Article 360 deals with the Provisions as to financial emergency.

The president under this Article 360 of the constitution has the power to declare financial emergency if he is satisfied that the financial stability or the credit of India or any part of its territory is threatened. It has to be laid before both the Houses of Parliament and ceases to operate at the expiration of two months unless meanwhile approved by the resolution of Houses.

During the operation of financial emergency, the executive authority of the union extends to the giving of directions to any state to observe certain specified canons or financial propriety and such other directions that the President may find necessary. The directions may include reduction of salaries or allowance of those serving a state, of all those in connection with the affairs of union including judges of high court and Supreme Court. There has been no occasion of financial emergency in India.

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citizenship has become a controversial topic in all the heated debates in all forums and news channels by the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act that was passed in 2019. In this Article, I have tried to throw light on the citizenship provisions of our constitution.

The Part II of the constitution of India explains about citizenship. It includes articles 5 to 11.

Art. 5 “5. Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution At the commencement of this Constitution every person who has his domicile in the territory of India and

(a)who was born in the territory of India; or

(b) either of whose parents was born in the territory of India; or

(c) who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years preceding such commencement, shall be a citizen of India”

The article 5 of the constitution of India says that citizenship of an individual at the commencement of the constitution of India. It can be decided on the grounds as mentioned in the Art.5.  

The Art. 6 of The constitution of India 

“6. Rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to India from Pakistan Notwithstanding anything in Article 5, a person who has migrated to the territory of India from the territory now included in Pakistan shall be deemed to be a citizen of India at the commencement of this Constitution if

(a) he or either of his parents or any of his grandparents was born in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 (as originally enacted); and

(b)

(i)in the case where such person has so migrated before the nineteenth day of July, 1948 , he has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India since the date of his migration, or

(ii) in the case where such person has so migrated on or after the nineteenth day of July, 1948 , he has been registered as a citizen of India by an officer appointed in that behalf by the Government of the Dominion of India on an application made by him therefor to such officer before the commencement of this Constitution in the form and manner prescribed by that Government: Provided that no person shall be so registered unless he has been resident in the territory of India or at least six months immediately preceding the date of his application.”

The article 6 of the constitution of India talks about the citizenship of persons migrated to India from Pakistan. This is mainly because there was a migration of a large number of people after the division of India and Pakistan after 1947.

The Art. 7 of The Constitution of India

“7. Rights of citizenship of certain migrants to Pakistan Notwithstanding anything in Articles 5 and 6, a person who has after the first day of March, 1947 , migrated from the territory of India to the territory now included in Pakistan shall not be deemed to be a citizen of India: Provided that nothing in this article shall apply to a person who, after having so migrated to the territory now included in Pakistan, has returned to the territory of India under a permit for resettlement or permanent return issued by or under the authority of any law and every such person shall for the purposes of clause (b) of Article 6 be deemed to have migrated to the territory of India after the nineteenth day of July, 1948 “

This Art. Of the Constitution of India talks about the citizenship rights of people who migrated to Pakistan from India after the Division of the two nations.

The Art.8 of the Constitution of India states

“8. Rights of citizenship of certain persons of India origin residing outside India Notwithstanding anything in Article 5, any person who or either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents was born in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 (as originally enacted), and who is ordinarily residing in any country outside India as so defined shall be deemed to be a citizen of India if he has been registered as a citizen of India by the diplomatic or consular representative of India in the country where he is for the time being residing on an application made by him therefor to such diplomatic or consular representative, whether before or after the commencement of this Constitution, in the form and manner prescribed by the Government of the Dominion of India or the Government of India”

This Art. Talks about NRI’s (Non-Resident Indians) and the rights that they possess in the Indian Territory.

The Art.9 of the Constitution of India

“9. Person voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State not to be citizens No person shall be a citizen of India by virtue of Article 5, or be deemed to be a citizen of India by virtue of Article 6 or Article 8, if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of any foreign State. “

This Art. talks about the persons who are acquiring citizenship of a foreign state are not considered as the citizens of India. India does not allow citizens to have dual citizenship unlike other states.

The Art.10 of the Constitution of India

“10. Continuance of the rights of citizenship Every person who is or is deemed to be a citizen of India under any of the foregoing provisions of this Part shall, subject to the provisions of any law that may be made by Parliament, continue to be such citizen”

This Art. talks about the rights of people who are the citizens of India under the part 2 of the Constitution Of India will not restrict the parliament to make laws on citizenship.

The Art.11 of the Constitution of India

“11. Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Part shall derogate from the power of Parliament to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship PART III FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS General.”

This Art. talks about the power that the parliament has the power to make laws and amend the laws made regarding citizenship.

We always claim our fundamental rights but we often tend to forget our fundamental duties. This article will give a brief explanation on our fundamental duties and help us in understanding what they say and who should follow them.

The fundamental duties are written In the part 4A of the constitution.

These are the duties of every person residing in the territory of India.

They are written in the Art. 51A which was Inserted as the 42^nd amendment in the year 1976 of the constitution of India. The Article states the following:-

“51A. Fundamental duties It shall be the duty of every citizen of India

• to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the national Flag and the National Anthem;
• to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom;
•  to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
•  to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
•  to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
•  to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
•  to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures;
• to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
• to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
•  to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement PART V THE UNION CHAPTER I THE EXECUTIVE the President and Vice President.”

  The first fundamental duty of every citizen of India is to respect the national flag, national anthem and all the institutions of national significance and follow the constitution of India.

The second fundamental right is to follow the ideals and revolutionaries and ideas which inspired our national struggle for freedom.

The third fundamental duty is to uphold the principles that include sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.

The fourth fundamental duty is to defend the nation and render national service when required.

The fifth fundamental duty is to promote harmony and brotherhood of India transcending religious and sectional diversity.

The sixth fundamental duty to value and preserve the rich culture and heritage. 

The seventh fundamental duty to value and protect environment and wild life and to have compassion for living creatures.

The eighth fundamental duty is to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform of the nation.

The ninth fundamental right is to safeguard public property.

The tenth fundamental right is to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual to achieve that helps in the constant rise of the nation.

We don’t have to be nationalists to follow out duties we just have to have the correct mindset and responsibility towards our fellow beings. So it is important for every citizen to know and follow these duties.

It is very important for us to understand our rights. the Fundamental rights are a part of the Part III of the Constitution of India. It is one of the most important parts of the constitution. The Art.12 of the constitution defines state as the only element that can violates the fundamental rights of an individual. Therefore, if one has to file a case foe violation of fundamental rights, the respondent will be state. the Art.13 of the constitution talks about those laws that are inconsistent with the fundamental rights. the clause 1 of the article talks about the laws that were in existence before the constitution came into force. It says that those laws in contradictory with the fundamental rights will be declared void. The second clause of the article says that the state or the parliament will not make any laws that are inconsistent with or are going against the fundamental rights and any law made so will be considered void. The clause 1 of the article talks about the pre- constitutional laws and the clause 2 of the article talks about the post constitutional laws. The clause 3 of this article attempts to define laws. Those laws under Art.13(3) are considered under Art.13(1) and Art.13(2). The fourth clause of this article states that the provisions of this article do not apply to those constitutional amendments made under Art.368 of the constitution. This part of the constitution covers Art. 12- Art.35 of the constitution. There are mainly 6 fundamental rights and they are: –

1. Right to equality (art.14- art. Art.18)

the Art.14 of the constitution states” 14. Equality before law The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.”  This article talks about 2 main elements that is equality before law equal protection of laws.

Art.15 of the Constitution talks about prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religion, sex, place of birth, rase or place of birth.

Art.16 of the constitution talks about equality of opportunity in in matter of public employment. This article talks about reservation of appointments of backward classes.

Art. 17 of the constitution talks about abolition of untouchability shall be an offence.

Art.18 of the constitution talks about abolition of titles which includes titles like sir and does not include educational titles like Dr. 

1. Right to freedom (Art. 19- Art. 22)

Art.19 of the is a part of the golden triangle. It talks about freedom of speech.

Art. 20 talks about protection in respect of conviction for offences.

Art.21 in also part of the golden triangle. It talks about protection of life and personal liberty.

Art.21A talks about right to equality.  The Art.22 of the constitution talks about protection against arrest and detention.

1. Right against exploitation (Art. 23- Art.24)

Art.23 talks about human trafficking and forced labour of people.

Art. 24 of the constitution talks about prohibition of child labour.

1. Right to freedom of religion (Art. 25- Art. 28)

Art.25 of the constitution talks about freedom of profession, practice and propagation of religion.

Art.26 talks about freedom to manage religious affairs.

Art. 27 talks about freedom as to payment of taxes foe religious affairs.

At.28 says that everyone has the right to religious worship and it cannot be forced upon anyone in any educational institutions.

• Cultural and educational rights (Art. 29- Art. 30)

The Art.29 protects the interests of minorities and art. 30 gives the right to minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.

• Right to constitutional remedies (Art. 32- Art. 35)

Art. 32 is called the heart and soul of Indian Constitution because it gives the remedies foe enforcement of rights conferred by the part 3 of the Constitution.

Art. 33 gives the parliament the power to modify the provisions of this part.

Art.34 talks about the restriction of fundamental rights when martial law is in force.

Art. 35 talks about legislation to give effect to the provisions of this part.

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The National Register of Citizens is an official record of those who are legal Indian citizens. It includes demographic information about all those individuals who qualify as citizens of India as per the Citizenship Act,1955. It was first started in Assam where citizens were asked to submit the proof of citizenship themselves to NRC seva kendras and it was mandated through a special exception for the state in the Citizenship Act,2003

  The Assam Accord was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed between representatives of the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement in New Delhi on 15 August 1985. A Six-year agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants was launched by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) in 1979 concluded the signing of the Assam Accord.

Under Sec.5 of The Citizenship Act,1955

Citizenship by registration. —1

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section and such other conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed, the Central Government may, on an application made in this behalf, register as a citizen of India any person not being an illegal migrant who is not already such citizen by virtue of the Constitution or of any other provision of this Act if he belongs to any of the following categories, namely:—

(a) a person of Indian origin who are ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration;

(b) a person of Indian origin who is ordinarily resident in any country or place outside undivided India;

(c) a person who is married to a citizen of India and is ordinarily resident in India for seven years before making an application for registration;

(d) minor children of persons who are citizens of India;

(e) a person of full age and capacity whose parents are registered as citizens of India under clause (a) of this sub-section or sub-section (1) of section 6;

(f) a person of full age and capacity who, or either of his parents, was earlier citizen of independent India, and has been residing in India for one year immediately before making an application for registration;

(g) a person of full age and capacity who has been registered as an overseas citizen of India for five years, and who has been residing in India for 2[one year] before making an application for registration. 3[one year] before making an application for registration.”

Intention is to safeguard the art and culture

Article 29 of the Constitution states

29. . Protection of interests of minorities

(1) Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same

(2) No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them

Art 142[1] of the COI states that enforcement of decrees and orders of Supreme Court and unless as to discovery, etc 

( 1 ) The Supreme Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction may pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it, and any decree so passed or orders so made shall be enforceable throughout the territory of India in such manner as may be prescribed by or under any law made by Parliament and, until provision in that behalf is so made, in such manner as the President may by order prescribe

(2) Subject to the provisions of any law made in this behalf by Parliament, the Supreme Court shall, as respects the whole of the territory of India, have all and every power to make any order for the purpose of securing the attendance of any person, the discovery or production of any documents, or the investigation or punishment of any contempt of itself

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[1] Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) 4 SCC 225: AIR1973 SC 1461

The CAA, 2019 was enacted by parliament and came into force. The CAA, 2019 was enacted by the parliament under the power given to the parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law under Art. 11 of the COI.

11. Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law

Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Part shall derogate from the power of Parliament to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship PART III FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS General.

The sec. 2, sub section (1), clause (b) of the citizenship act 1955 was amended to state the definition of an illegal immigrant.

“Provided that any person belonging to Hindus, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December, 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made there under, shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act;”.

The above amendment shows that the persons belonging to 6 religions(Hindus, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian) and from 3 countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan) and entered India before a stipulated time (31st day of December, 2014) will not be considered as illegal migrants which means they will be given the citizenship of India.

 1 Whether CAA violates the Art. 14 of the COI?

14. Equality before law The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.

The Art. 14 of the Indian COI talks about equal protection of laws and it says that all the equals are treated equally. The same principle is used while drafting The CAA, 2019. The act treats equal equally.

The CAA decides the citizenship of any person who was an illegal migrant according to the results of NRC (august 2019) on the following 3 grounds: –

1. Religious basis

The act declares to give citizenship to give citizenship to illegal migrants (as per definition of citizenship act,1955) belonging to 6 religious groups namely Hindus, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian and it does not include Muslims because people of these 6 religions are religiously persecuted minorities in the neighboring countries of India and Hindus are the majority religion in these countries and therefore they would not face religious prosecution and thus they are exempted from getting the citizenship of India.

• On the basis of the country of origin

The CAA includes migrants from only 3 neighboring countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh) and does not include the migrants from the other neighboring countries.

• On the basis time

The CAA only includes the people, who have migrated on or before the 31st day of December, 2014 and the act does not include any person who has migrated after 31^st of December 2014.

The Art. 14 of the Indian constitution says that the law only treats equals equally and not everyone equally.

2 The test for applicability of Art.14

 It is important for the government to classify the people into different categories for the public welfare. 

The 2 conditions of the test[1]are as follows

1. intelligible differentia

This condition says that if any provision of any law is differentiating between people, then there should be a valid reason for the differentiation.  In this case the illegal migrants are differentiated on the basis of religion and there is a valid reason for this depreciation as it is explained below.

• Rational nexus

This condition says that a provision of law should have a reasonable objective. In this case the objective of CAA is to give an identity to those who don’t have it and give the religiously persecuted minorities of the neighboring countries of India a home.

it is understood that CAA is not arbitrary and it ensures fairness and equality.

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[1] 1 The State of Bombay Ors.. v. F.N. Balsara [Supreme Court of India] 25 May, 1951 AIR 318 1951 SCR 682

The CAA,2019 was enacted by parliament and came into force. The CAA,2019 was enacted by the parliament under the power given to the parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law under article 11 of the COI.

11. Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law

Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Part shall derogate from the power of Parliament to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship PART III FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS General.

The sec. 2, sub section (1), clause (b) of the citizenship act 1955 was amended to state the definition of an illegal immigrant[1].

“Provided that any person belonging to Hindus,Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian community from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan, who entered into India on or before the 31st day of December, 2014 and who has been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any rule or order made thereunder, shall not be treated as illegal migrant for the purposes of this Act;”.

1 violation of article 14 of the constitution of India

The article 14 of the COI states

14. Equality before law The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.

It is understood that art. 14 is applicable to all the persons in India and not only the citizens of India but all the people residing in India have the access to right to equality under the constitution. Since right to equality under article 14 in a fundamental right, it is a part of the basic structure of the COI and therefore no law can be framed in the violation of art. 14.

The CAA violates the right to equality of any person in India on the following 3 grounds: –

1. Religious basis

The act does not include people of all the religions and therefore this is the violation of right to equality under article 14 which is a fundamental right given to all the people within the territory of India.

• On the basis of the country of origin

The CAA includes migrants from only 3 neighboring countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh (Pedra)) and does not include the migrants from the other neighboring countries. This is a violation of article 14 because it does not treat all the migrants in India equally.

• On the basis time

The CAA only includes the people who have migrated on or before the 31st day of December, 2014 and the act does not include any person who has migrated after 31^st of December 2014 and this is also a violation to the concept of equality before law under article 14 of the Indian constitution.

Therefore, CAA is less inclusive in nature.

The article 14 talks about 2 main aspects namely equality before the law and equal protection before the laws. When these aspects are applied to the CAA, we understand that the act does not treat Balkis (majority religion of ) and Shirazis (minority religion of ) equally because the act does not consider Balkis who entered the territory of  before 31st day of December, 2014 as illegal migrants.

• violation of the basic structure doctrine of the COI
• The idea of secularism which means that the people of all the religions are treated equally by the law.
•  The principle of equality and quintessence of equal justice is a part of the basic structure of the constitution.

Both these principles of the basic structure doctrine of the COI are violated in by the CAA. The CAA is against the idea of secularism because it does not provide equal rights to the people of all religions. The does not treat people of all the religions equally and it differentiates migrants on the basis of religion and creates religion as a ground for citizenship. This clearly violates the concept of secularity under the basic structure doctrine of the COI.

The principle of equality is also clearly violated by the act as explained under contention 2.1.

• violation of article 29 of the COI in the state of Assam

The Art. 29 of the COI says the following

29. Protection of interests of minorities

(1) Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.

Art. 29(1) of the COI gives the rights to the citizens residing in the territory of India to protect the language, script or culture of its own and they have the right to conserve the same. This is a fundamental right under part 3 of the COI.

Assam is a state that had illegal migrants for 7 decades and the people of Assam have always opposed this illegal migration. This led to the gradual depletion of the art and culture in Assam. This was a matter of serious concern to the people of Assam and it was important for them to protect their culture and arts. The CAA allows a part of these illegal migrants to be considered as the citizens of  and this would result in depletion of the art and culture of Assam and therefore indigenous Assam (a youth organization) can claim for the fundamental rights under Art. 29(1) of the COI.

13. Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of the fundamental rights

(2) The State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by this Part and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void.

 Art. 13(2) of the COI says that laws that violate the fundamental rights of the COI are held void. The concept of doctrine of eclipse can be applied to the CAA,2019 since it is violating the fundamental rights.

However, there are counter arguments regarding the same. That is explained in another article.

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did you ever think what of you after you? I think it is really important for every one to think of what would happen not only to their money but also to their knowledge skill and body after they pass away. I always think of this story that was written by my teacher and this is how it goes,

Venkatapuram is a village having the temple of Lord Venkateswara. People who Could not go to Tirupati, would go to that temple give their offerings. There was a big oak tree under the shade of it, a very old woman beggar manned Anandamma. Devotees visiting the temple

used to give her some as money, food etc., after seeing her position. The beggar woman every day early in the morning finished her bath at a well nearby, plucked some flowers in the garden and offered them to Gods photo there and sat at the foot of the tree. She used to wear the old Sarees given to her and prepared a soft bed with them and spend life by eating whatever others given and never stretched her hand to anyone. Always she spent her time by chanting the name of God and by wearing Vibhuthi on her forehead. She used to keep all the old sarees given to her in a small bag and used it as a pillow. She uses to through a smile when others advised her to sleep on a platform inside the temple instead of in the open-air suffering chill.

As days passed by the management of the temple wanted the Construct a choultry for the benefit of pilgrims and the works started slowly due to paucity of funds. They wanted to complete the work as early as possible, as they decided to celebrate functions as was done in Tirupati. Devotees started giving funds according to their might. No one left the place without giving anything to that old woman. The construction work picked up speed and some rooms were completed. One of the woman there asked that old woman to go and sleep in one of the completed rooms for some time instead of spending in the open air. The old woman replied that it would be a sin for her to stay inside the rooms constructed for the benefit of pilgrims in the evenings of her life, and did not want to make the temple unholy by her death inside. She already spent most of her life under the shade of that holy tree and requested the woman to do some work for her as a token of her goodness. She said that she stored some money inside the soft bed she made and requested that woman to bury her body under that tree keeping her head towards God as it was a little away from the temple premises and also do some poor feeding with money she saved. The woman accordingly promised the old woman for the job.

To every one’s surprise, the beggar woman died that holy night of Ekadashi. Next day morning the temple priest who came early noticed the old woman’s lying dead under the tree and at once sent a message to all the Committee members of the temple. They assembled there and the lady to whom the old woman entrusted the work also joined the. Asper the be wish of the old woman, the lady requested the committee members to bury the dead body under the same tree. She took the soft bed and bag of the old woman and turned upside down. To their surprise a lot of rupee coins slipped down and piled up as a heap.  All of them were surprised at that. The Priest said that he that the reason for her not accepting the suggestion for sleeping inside the room perhaps might be the same one not leaving her old soft bed and bag containing money. The Sarpanch of the village suggested to complete the work of funeral first clean the temple before opening the doors and then only count the money piled up there and do the work as requested by the dead woman. Accordingly while they were digging the grave they heard a big sound and to their surprise they found a very big old and rusted iron box with a lock. As the lock was rusty, it was broke open in front of the Sarpanch and all other members and found old gold coins full of box. All of them

decided to use those coins joyfully for the construction of the choultry and name it with the name of the dead woman as Ananda Bhavan. They also built a Samadhi on her name. This is the result of the act of previous birth in which she did not do any charitable work or use it for herself, but stored it as a treasure. That is why elders always say to use some of our earnings in charitable works.

the old women who was not educated had a noble thought and she could think of others not only when she was alive but also when she was no more. organ donation is one such aspect that we should think of. this will give a new life to people even after our death.

To explain what I mean by smartness lies within and it is up to us to find out, I would like to quote a story that my teacher told me. here is how it goes,

Kaveri is a 8th Class girl student recently joined in kamalapur high school. Her father is a government employee transferred to that place as per governement orders and policy. He always prefers governement schools for his children. Kaveri is a very sharp girl, grasps things instantly. In the very first week of her joining she observed a very Strange thing in the school.

All the children used to gout for a shot break every day and after their return to class they found that one of their lunch boxes and water bottles got emptied. As a result, that student would be without lunch. To avoid this, other students would help him sharing from their lunch boxes. The students were in a confusion to know the secret behind this and & started fearing of a ghost’s act. This fear of students prompted Kaveri to unearth the secret and started bringing an extra lunch box and water bottle separately in a bag daily and take it with her when she goes out,

Kaveri understood from the conversation of students that they were fearing of a ghost’s act and noticed that some children even getting fever. She also noticed that even teachers were also started fearing of the ghost’s entry into the classroom and as a result teaching and learning became dull. Kaveri decided to put an end to this at any cost.

One day Kaveri came to school half an hour early. While talking to the servant maid she noticed a lot of dust covering the window and understood the problem there. The next morning, she along with other children went out of the classroom during the short break and walked towards her class window from behind the school building and started looking inside her class room hiding from behind a tree. To her surprise she saw the real ghost emptying the lunch box in a hurry and at once decided to catch the ghost redhandedly to show the teachers as proof. That day evening, she had a secret talk with the headmaster and he immediately agreed to whatever Kaveri said since he observed her smartness from the day of her joining. The next morning all the children kept their lunch boxes in the Headmasters’ room as advised by Kaveri and went out for the short break as usual. Kaveri also went out along with them and after some time she came to her class window from behind and hid behind a tree bush. The headmaster also stood a little away from the window and both of them kept watching. As usual the same ghost entered the room and started searching every bag for lunch box, but could not find any lunch box. Finally the ghost opened Pramila’s box and started eating the lemon rice hurriedly. After Eating five spoons, the ghost started feeling very spicy with the sixth spoon and shouted spicy, spicy. With an indication from Kaveri the headmaster came near the window and saw what was happening in the room. Both of them came inside the room and saw the ghost searching the bags for the water and lunch boxes.

The Headmaster then identified of the ghost boy as Praveen, one of the students of the same class and shouted out to the other children that Praveen from their class was the same ghost whom they were fearing off and who was emptying the boxes daily. On instructions from the Headmaster, Pramila went and brought a bottle of water for Praveen who drank it later.

The Headmaster then told Praveen how generous was Kaveri in saving him by giving drinking water in times of need Ignoring all his unwanted acts. He also told that It was a great shame for him to spoil all the books and other material of the students all these days and the present act of the lunch box episode. He also warned that children would look him down if he continued the same to further. He also warned that he would call his parents and give them his TC and send him away from the school.

Kaveri requested the Headmaster to forgive Praveen and told him that he would prove himself a Good boy thereafter. Then Praveen told her that the main reason for doing becoming like that was that the main reason for becoming like that was other classmates daily insulted him and heckled at him as a timid boy. Kaveri offered him help in understanding subjects and in doing homework as and when he required and Praveen promised her that he would consult her frequently, and become a good boy. He also said that all he did till now was only to teach other students a lesson and not with any mollified intention. The Headmaster praised Kaveri and said that the name Kaveri was very apt for her as her actions which would encourage friendship.

from this story we can understand that everything including smartness is within us and it is important for us to realize and recognize the same and implement it in our lives to solve the problems that we come across and make our lives more satisfactory and happy.

A contract is any agreement between two or more parties that is enforceable by law. Knowingly or unknowingly, we get into a lot of contracts in our day to day activities, for example, we get into a contract with the restaurant when we go to the restaurant and order food. We are obligated to pay the restaurant bill. similarly, we are getting into a contract with the shopkeeper when we go to the shop to buy some goods, we are obligated to pay for the foods purchased. The law that governs all such contracts is called contract law. Contracts are an inherent part of our life. The contract law was officially enacted through the Indian Contracts Act,1872 in India. It came into force on the first day of September 1872. The Indian contracts act earlier contained the partnership act and sale of goods act within itself.  Contract was defined by Salmond as an agreement creating and defining obligation between the parties. Halsbury defined contract as an agreement between two or more persons which is intended to be enforceable at law and is contracted by the acceptance by one party of an offer made to him by the other party to do or abstain from doing some act. The major intention behind entering into a contract is to gain some sort of benefit. If there was no benefit then why would any one what to get into a contract. It is also understood that all the parties are gaining some kind of benefit from the contract. One can wonder that contracts are for the benefit of two or more parties and what does law have to do with it? It is important to know that all agreements do not become contracts. This means that only those agreements that are legally valid are considered to be contracts. For example, if A enters into an agreement with B to sell Drugs (in a country where drugs are considered illegal), then this agreement will be considered illegal and will not be considered as a contract because it is not enforceable by the law of the land. The first provisions of The Indian Contracts Act,1872 says that it is applicable to the whole of India. The Indian contracts act gives various steps to explain the process of entering into a contract. The second section of the Indian Contracts act says that one person makes an offer by conveying his/her willingness to do or abstain from doing anything, to obtain the assent of the other party/partiers (section 2(a)). Then the person to whom the assent is made, responds to the offer made by the offeror by accepting the offer (section 2(b)). After accepting the offer, the parson who makes the proposal or offer is called the promisor and the person Accepting it is called promisee (section 2(c)). As explained earlier both the parties enter into a contract to gain some benefit from the contract and this is called quid pro quo, which means something in return for something. The parties give something or perform an act to receive something in return. This is called as the consideration for the act. It is explained in the section2(d) of the Indian Contracts ac,1872. Consideration is the one of the most important elements of a contract. An agreement is a promise or a set of promises having a consideration for each other (section 2(e)). Section 2(h) of the Indian contracts act,1872 defines a contact as an agreement enforceable by Law. and if the agreement is not enforceable by law, it is considered to be void (section 2(i)). If an agreement in enforceable by law as to one or more parties and not enforceable by law as to the other parties, then it will be considered as a voidable contract (section 2(j)). A contract may initially be valid and may become void.

 An agreement must have some essential elements to make it a valid contract. these elements are written given in the Section 10 of the Indian Contracts Act,1872. There are five elements that are called essential elements of a contract. the first element is consent. It is important for the parties to willingly enter into a contract and not with any external force or pressure or any other reason. The consent of the parties must therefore be freely granted by their will. This also means that both the parties are agreeing to the same aspects of the contract in the same sense. Consent is explained in the section 13 of the act and further elaborated in the section 14, section 15, section 16, section 17, section 18, section 20, section 21 and section 22 of the Indian Contract Act ,1872. The parties must be competent to contract to enter into a valid contract. this means that a minor or a person who is of unsound mind or a person disqualified by the law to contract cannot enter into a contract. this concept is explained in the section 11 and section 12 of the Act. As explained under section2(d) there must exist a valid consideration between the parties. The consideration may not be unlawful of illegal. this is explained under section 24 and section 25 of the act. There must be a lawful object behind the contract and if not, the contract will not be considered void. Another essential element is that the contracts must not be expressly declared to be void by the law. This is explained under section 26, section 27, section 28, section 29, section 30. The chapter 3 of the Indian contracts act,1872 talks about contingent contracts. This includes sections 31 to 36. The chapter 4 of the Indian contracts act,1872 explains the performance of contracts. This includes sections from 37 to 67. The chapter 5 of the Indian contracts act,1872 explains about certain relation that resemble those created by contracts. This includes sections from 68 to 72. The chapter 6 of the Indian contracts act,1872 talks about the consequences of the breach of contracts. This includes sections from 73 to 75. This is the general contracts. Special contracts are contained in Sections 124 to 238 of the Indian Contract Act. The special contracts are guarantee, bailment, pledge etc.. and such contracts may not strictly follow the essentials of contract as according to sec.10 of the Indian Contract Act,1872.

The term secular was not included in the original constitution. But, the spirit of secularism was ever found in the constitution. The Preamble declares that the constitution secures ‘to all citizens liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship’. The 42 Amendment Act, 1976 inserted the term ‘secular’ in the Preamble.

Secularism: Western View

The concept of secularism refers to guaranteeing every individual the liberty of managing his religious affairs, embracing a religion and worship. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, ‘secularism means being non-spiritual and having no concern with religious matters. It is used in the sense of being opposed to religion. However, secularism and religion are not hostile to each other but are mutually exclusive. Secularism does not oppose religion or advocate the abandonment of religion. Religion and secularism can perfectly coexist. It refers to being neutral to religious affairs.

Secularism in India

The western view of secularism is not acceptable in the Indian context. The founding fathers of the constitution sought to establish India as a secular state. It is ‘the state that is not going to make any discrimination whatsoever on the ground of religion or community against any person professing any particular form of religious faith. This means, in essence that no particular religion in the state will receive any state patronage whatsoever. The state is not going to establish, patronize or endow any particular religion to the exclusion of or in preference to others and that no citizen in the state will have any preferential treatment or will be discriminated against simply on the ground that he professed a particular form of religion. In other words, in the affairs of the state the professing of any particular religion will not be taken into consideration at all.’

The constitution guarantees the following freedoms to all persons in India:

1. Freedom of conscience and the right to profess practise and propagate a religion of his faith
   (Article 25).
2. Freedom to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes and administer their affairs (Article 26).
3. Freedom to own and acquire properties (Article 26).
4. The right not pay any tax for the promotion of any particular religion (Article 27).
5. Prohibition on imparting religious instructions in the state-run/state-funded educational institutions (Article 28).
6. Prohibiting discrimination with regard to places of public importance (Article 15).
7. Providing equal opportunity in matters of public employment (Article 16).
8. Right of the minorities to conserve their language, script and culture (Article 29).
9. Right of the minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice
   (Article 30).

This clearly indicates that secularism in Indian context is based on ‘freedom, equality and tolerance’. The constitution does not erect a wall separating state and religion. It requires the state to be non partisan. The state will not identify itself with any religion. The state is neither theistic nor theocratic nor an atheistic state. The state is envisaged as an ‘Irreligious State’. Moreover, the constitution guarantees the right to religion subject to reasonable restrictions so that equality is established. Thus, Indian secularism is a ‘progressive’ concept.

Every individual is guaranteed with the right to conscience that is, one can embrace any religious faith, or remain agnostic or even atheistic. The state shall keep itself away from ‘man–God’ relations and shall only regulate the ‘man–man’ relations. The Supreme Court has held that the right to conscience is an absolute right and must not be subject to regulation. Irrespective of this the state shall treat every individual equally and must not treat any one preferentially or discriminate any of them. The state must keep equidistance from all religions. In case of any privilege or patronage accorded to any religion shall be available to all religions equally. All religions must be provided with equal opportunity for development. The provisions of Articles 14, 15 and 16 guarantee equality by prohibiting any discrimination on the ground of religion. Towards promoting equality, Article 44 directs the state to secure a uniform civil code for all citizens.

The religious denominations/groups are guaranteed the freedom to manage their religious affairs and establish institutions for that purpose. They also have the right to acquire and own property as a fundamental right even after the constitution (44 Amendment Act) which repealed the right to property as a fundamental right. On the same lines the educational institutions established by the minorities also enjoy the right to property as fundamental right. Further, the constitution guarantees the right not to pay tax if the proceeds of such tax are to be used for the promotion of any particular religion. This is a towering feature of Indian secularism. Tax is compulsory exaction of money and the power to impose tax is an important feature of sovereign power.

The state-run or state-funded educational institutions are prohibited from imparting any religious instructions. However, the institutions set-up by the religious groups, imparting religious instructions are permitted but no one should be compelled to receive them. In case of minors, the consent of their parents or guardians is essential for imparting religious instructions. This is fully in conformation with the Preamble and Article 25 (1) which guarantees the right to conscience as an absolute freedom.

Given the complexities of Indian culture, the debate on secularism is different from that in other countries. In India the religion happens to be the basis for the caste and the associated discriminatory practices. Traditionally the social evil practices such as untouchability, gender disparity, etc., were justified on ground of religion. Hence, the restrictions on this right are essential. Further, the state needs to be empowered to regulate the right in order to promote social reforms. It is also essential to regulate the economic, financial, political or other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice. Similarly, the educational institutions established by the minorities are also subjected to the regulation of the state with respect to the quality of education. The state must prevent any regressive education in the garb of religious freedom.

The constitution guarantees the right to the individuals and conferred power on the state to create conducive conditions for the smooth and harmonious exercise of the same. Thus, the concept of secularism in India is a progressive one.

‘Parliamentary democracy, democratic form of government in which the party (or a coalition of parties) with the greatest representation in the Parliament (legislature) forms the government, its leader becoming Prime Minister. Executive functions are exercised by members of the Parliament appointed by the Prime Minister to the cabinet. The parties in the minority serve in opposition to the majority and have the duty to challenge it regularly’. It is also known as Cabinet Form of Government with ministerial responsibility. The Constitution of India sets up parliamentary form of government to both the union and the states. Indian system is a legacy of the British rule and follows the English Parliamentary System.

Characteristic Features of Parliamentary Democracy

Parliamentary democracy has certain important features which are:

1. Dual Executive
   In the parliamentary democracy, there are two executives namely, the titular head and the real executive head. The former is the head of the state and the latter is the head of the government. In India, the President is the titular head and the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers is the real executive head. Constitution regulates the relationship between the two.
2. Bicameral Legislature
   In the parliamentary democracy, there are two Houses namely, the Council of States and the House of the People.
3. Responsible Government
   A responsible government is one which is responsible to the people. It is essential that the government enjoys the confidence of the Parliament for making laws to govern the country. Responsible government refers to two elements of parliamentary government in British derived parliamentary systems. First, the government— Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, is accountable to the Lower House of Parliament. Hence, the government must maintain majority support in the Lower House; loss of that support means that the government must resign. In this sense, responsible government is another term for parliamentary government; a ministry is ‘responsible’ to Parliament for the activities of government and must resign if it loses the confidence of the lower house. Thus, a government whose accountability to people is ensured through the answerability to the Houses of the Parliament for all its acts, is a ‘Responsible Government’.
4. Ministerial Responsibility
   The parliamentary form of government is otherwise known as ‘Cabinet Form of Government with Ministerial Responsibility’. The collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers to the House of People for all acts of commission and omission of the government and the individual minister being answerable to the Houses of Parliament for the performance of the ministry/department in his charge are two dimensions of ministerial responsibility.
5. Weak Separation of Powers
   Montesquieu, a French social and political philosopher coined the term ‘separation of powers’ in his book ‘Spirit of the Laws’. According to him, the political authority of the state is divided into legislative, executive and judicial powers in order to promote liberty most effectively. Separation of powers is an essential element of the Rule of Law and limits one branch from exercising the core functions of another and prevents the concentration of power and provides for checks and balances. The legislature enacts the laws, the executive implements and administers the law and public policy and the judiciary interprets the constitution and laws and decide disputes. In the presidential form of government there is a complete separation of powers. However, this arrangement is weak in the parliamentary system. ‘The parliamentary government has a sort of link between the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.’ In the parliamentary system there is a strong executive branch government but answerable to and controlled by the legislature.
6. Continuous coordination of Legislature and Executive
   ‘The presidential government has complete separation of powers of the three principal organs of the state, each embodying the sovereignty of the people in the different aspects of the state’s activities and there is no link between them.’ Hence, in this form the executive is pivoted on the President and he is the chief executive and the source of all executive power. In such a system the imminent danger of personality cult is unavoidable. As a consequence, there is a need for continuous coordination of the executive and legislature. This is a natural feature in the parliamentary form of government as there is no complete separation of powers. Furthermore, given the low rate of literacy and low level of political socialization in India it would be difficult to resolve any conflict between the three organs of the government. The coordination system inherent to the parliamentary form helps resolving such conflicts by itself without the citizen playing a role. To quote Shri K. Hanumanthaiya, ‘Instead of having a conflicting trinity it is better to have a harmonious governmental structure’.
7. Complete and Continuous Responsibility of Executive to Legislature
   The founding fathers wanted to establish a responsible and accountable government; they wanted the government to be sensitive to public expectations, hence, they had chosen the parliamentary form of government. The ‘complete and continuous responsibility’ of the executive to the Parliament is the most distinctive characteristic feature of a parliamentary democracy. Hence, the parliamentary system of government is also known as cabinet form of government with ministerial responsibility. According to M. V. Pylee, the parliamentary system works under the ‘principle of concentrated authority under strict control’. This on the one hand enables an ‘intimate cooperation’ between the Council of Ministers and the Parliament and on the other fixes’ responsibility of the council to the Parliament. Hence, the council is under the constant vigil of the Parliament which is the ‘real merit’ of the Parliament system.

Twenty years, 10 months and two weeks after her daughter vanished, Cynthia Haag was inside the row house she refused to abandon – lest her missing child come back – when her phone started to ring. Her other daughter was on the line, saying she’d just gotten an unexpected message on Facebook.

It was from Crystal. The long-lost child.

Haag steeled herself for yet another disappointment. But when she saw the Facebook profile picture later that day in March last year, she knew immediately. Same white straight teeth. Same crinkled eyes. Same luminous smile. The daughter whom she’d last seen as a 14-year-old girl: now a mature adult.

Questions started tumbling in her mind. Why did Crystal leave? Where had she been? Why had she come back? And, most basic of all, was she OK?

Within a half-hour, Haag’s older daughter, Bianca Davis, was in the car, driving north to New York City, where Crystal was living north of Harlem. Late that night, after word had spread throughout the West Baltimore neighborhood, and the house had filled with people, Crystal finally appeared.

Her hair was now short. She spoke Spanish somehow. And she was no longer Crystal Haag, who would have been 35, but had adopted the alias of Crystal Saunders, who was 44. In that moment, however, none of those changes mattered.

“Still my pretty girl,” Cynthia said, hugging her.

Her missing daughter was finally home, but the hard part was just beginning.

‘I cried every day’

Roughly half a million children are reported missing every year, the vast majority of whom are soon found or return. For a small number, however, it can take months before they’re with their families again, and for a smaller number still, it can take up to a year, possibly even two. But it’s extraordinarily rare that a missing child who eventually comes back is away for as long as Crystal. Between 2011 and 2016, only 56 children were gone longer than 20 years and returned, according to a report by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

There’s a conventional narrative to how these reunions play out – with tears and hugs and the promise of a new and happier beginning. “The fairy tale ending,” is how Meaghan Good, the curator of The Charley Project, a database of the long-term missing, described it. But in many cases, experts say, the situation is significantly more complicated.

“It’s not as simple as being found and restarting your life,” said Robert Lowery, an official with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children who edited its report on long-term missing children. “There are feelings on both sides that they’ll have to reconcile, but that takes a lot of time and patience and understanding.”

The longer someone is gone, the more difficult that can become.

Lori Peterson, 60, a mother in Colorado Springs, Colorado, learned that a decade ago when her son, Derek, reappeared after four years. A troubled teen who ran away from a residential treatment facility at age 16, he’d spent much of the four years either homeless or living on the other side of the country, in North Carolina. Meanwhile, back in Colorado Springs, Peterson deteriorated. Convinced he was dead, the family started doing DNA tests to see if he matched any cadavers. “I cried every day on the way to work, and then cried all the way home,” she said.

Then for him to suddenly come back, after everything they’d been through, after they’d held a candle service to finally put him to rest? It was at first challenging to forgive him. And in some ways, the damage was irreversible. “It’s not really a mother-son relationship,” Peterson said of her bond with her son. “I missed those years of him going from a teenager to a man, and there are things I don’t know about him.”

The majority of kids who go missing are runaways like her son. But not all who vanish had behavioural issues. Some simply disappear without their family having any indication of why. Some are like Crystal.

Had she been abducted?

It was April 26, 1997, a Saturday. Cynthia was working as a cashier at the local grocery store. She wasn’t making much in those days, just a few bucks per hour, but felt proud that food was always on the table and her children had clean clothing. She was busy all of the time, working and parenting, but she was making it as a single mom.

That morning, she looked up at work to see 14-year-old Crystal, her fourth child, smiling as usual. Cynthia knew her as a burst of light – “a sweet girl” who won an award in the fifth grade for always complimenting others, who liked school, and who got along with everyone, classmates and three siblings included.

Crystal got some milk and cereal, and came over to her mom. “Stay around the house today,” Cynthia recalls saying, and her daughter said she would. That was the last time she saw her for 21 years. In the first few hours after Cynthia returned home and found Crystal was gone, she called friends, relatives, anyone who might know where Crystal was before finally contacting the police.Her mind ran through possibilities. Had she been abducted? Did she run away? She refused – then and later – to think that her daughter had been killed or had somehow died.

From then on, she looked for Crystal in the face of every brown-haired girl. One day, she was going down Baltimore Street in the back of a taxi, and thought she saw her outside one of the clubs, on the sidewalk, but by the time she ran over, the girl was gone. Another time, there she was again, this time on the back of a bus, pulling away, to who knew where.

“She always wore a baseball cap,” Cynthia said. But that clue wasn’t enough to find her. Cynthia stopped celebrating Christmas – it just seemed wrong without Crystal – and years went by, with intermittent Baltimore police reports charting the passage of time:

April 29, 1997: “Crystal Haag has not returned.”

Aug. 19, 1999: “Investigation continues.”

May 3, 2006: “Crystal’s case is still open.”

Sep. 20, 2010: “All efforts to locate [her] have been exhausted.”

A new identity

Crystal remembers those years differently than her mother. She said she barely got along with her siblings. She said she sneaked out all of the time. And she said she was not the happy kid her mother recalled. In fact, she was so miserable and so scared that the only plan that made sense to her was to escape.

When she was 9, she recalled, a neighbour began sexually assaulting her, and for the next few years, it happened so much that it seemed to be almost normal. She never told anyone about it, but when she became a teenager, she began to suspect there wasn’t anything normal about it. The abuse by then had gone on for so long that, she said, she’d begun to think her mother had to have known – a suspicion that solidified into belief. Her mother called it ridiculous and untrue. “What kind of mother would do that?” Cynthia said.

After getting her milk and cereal from the grocery store that spring Saturday in 1997, Crystal did not stay at home as her mother had requested. She went to hang out with friends for hours. She knew her mother would be mad, so decided to stay out even longer. “And then it was 12 [a.m.], and I wasn’t going back,” she said.

She boarded a bus to New York, she said, and recalls walking the streets of the city as morning broke, seeing Statue of Liberty license plates. She didn’t have anything with her, but remembers feeling little fear. Those first few nights, she slept outside, homeless, until she made it up to Upper Manhattan, where she introduced the world to a new person: Crystal Saunders, a 23-year-old woman, though she now doesn’t remember why she chose that name.

Soon she was cleaning houses and apartments, living in a heavily Dominican neighborhood, pregnant with her first child by a local man and equipped with a fake drivers’ license. Later, she said, she even acquired a Medicaid card, which for pregnant women in New York City is relatively easy to obtain without official documentation.

The new identity at first was easy to remember, she said, because she had changed only small details. The last name. The age – believable because she looked so much older than she was. As for her family? She told people she didn’t have one, and often they didn’t press the issue. “It’s not a rare thing to not have a family,” she said.

But over time, as Crystal learned fluent Spanish, birthed four children, immersed herself in the Dominican community and even adopted new relatives – people she referred to as “grandpa,” “grandma” and “cousin” on social media – she didn’t have to remember anymore. Her new identity had subsumed the old.

And so on Jan. 29, 2014, the date Crystal actually turned 31, she posted an image on Instagram. It showed her holding a birthday cake. “Happy 40th to me!!!!!!” wrote Crystal, who was by then working in the food industry.

“We have seen this before,” said Lowery of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. “Some of these kids don’t want to be found, and they assume new identities.”

In the national records database, Nexis, Crystal Marie Saunders, now 45, is a fully-realized person, with a list of New York addresses, a 2010 lien against her in the amount of $1,282, and a felony conviction for criminal sale of a controlled substance. But for Crystal Marie Haag: nothing.

‘I just want to love her’

When her oldest child, Bryan, now 20, reached his late teens, he started asking questions. Where was her family? Everyone has at least some family, he said. At first she didn’t tell him what she’d been doing regularly since Facebook came into existence: furtively checking in on her family back in Baltimore.

She badly wanted to reach out to them and often thought of Cynthia. But she was terrified to contact her relatives, ashamed by what she’d put them through. Only after her son started urging her did she write her sister, Bianca. And then it all happened so fast. Bianca was coming to get her. Crystal was walking through the door of a home she’d left 21 years ago. And Cynthia was so overjoyed to see her – even asking Crystal to sleep in her bed that night – that Crystal decided to stay.

The joy at the reunion, however, soon gave way to uncertainty, even resentment.

Crystal: “She treats me like a child … but I have kids myself.”

Cynthia: “It’s like meeting a whole new person. She leaves as a child, and comes back as a grown adult.”

Crystal: “It’s been very difficult, and sometimes it’s easier to just stay away.”

Cynthia: “I just want to love her.”

But in addition to that, Cynthia had to know why she had left for so long. Crystal, after equivocating for months, finally came out with it. She’d been raped continuously as a child. And she’d thought that Cynthia had known.

Cynthia said she was shocked. She said she’d had no idea that had happened, but no matter how many times she says it, Crystal said she still isn’t certain it’s the truth. She loves her mother – that’s why she came home, why she wondered about her for so many years – but there are so many issues weighing down their relationship that it seems stuck at times.

Still, both keep trying, as months go by, 2018 turning to 2019. Crystal these days lives with an aunt in the same neighbourhood, and often sees her mother, who’s on disability. They’re in each other’s lives, each wanting more. “I just wish we were a bit closer,” said Cynthia, now 61.

But it’s a start. It’s also the end of something else: With her daughter back home, Cynthia will finally move out of the house that she’d refused to leave all of these years.

“Within the next year,” she said. “I’m gone. It’s time to go.”