Knowledge is wealth and information is sacrosanct. There is never a full stop to anything you learn and when it comes to the laws you need to remain abide, I guess we all should at least know them for once. Indian Constitution is an amalgamation of laws from different constitutions and hence some laws are unbelievably weird. Governments have changed but some eyebrow raising laws aren’t!

Well, some are good for the citizens though and you never know when you may have to use your country’s laws for yourself? We have researched a bit for all of us, the Indian Laws which we might read it for the first time:

Image Source: insec.in

Weird Laws They Are:

• Adultery, Section 497 states that a man can be sentenced to jail for adultery if reported; however, the women of the country are exempted from the same law
• Suicide is legal, attempt is not! Though hardly this law is been considered, if some day you try to commit suicide and you fail, be ready for a period of imprisonment.
• According to Indian Aircraft Act, 1934 a kite, like a balloon is an ‘aircraft’, are not made, possess or fly in the sky until you have a permission equivalent to that of possessing a Plane.
• Indian Treasure Trove Act, 1878, whenever any treasure exceeding in amount or value 10 rupees is found, the finder shall, as soon as practicable, give to the Collector. Should also notice in writing the place where it is found, the nature of amount with date. So, it isn’t finders keepers!
• According to the Juvenile Justice Law, if the criminal happens to be a juvenile (under 18 years of age), he can be sentenced to be admitted to a special home for a maximum period of three years. The law treats a heinous gang rape on the same scale as a petty theft
• Oral Sex and Anal Sex are considered ‘against the laws of the nature’ and hence illegal
• If a husband/wife refuse sex post marriage, it can be considered as ‘mental cruelty’ and is a valid reason for divorce

Image Source: www.npr.org

Some Serious One’s:

• According to Seditious Meetings Act, 1907 government prohibits any unauthorized meetings or events by more than twenty persons in any province. So, one has to inform/acknowledge the district magistrate or the Commissioner of Police prior 3 days to the event
• Indian Serais Act, 1887, allows you to walk into any hotel to drink water and use washrooms for free
• Official Secrets Act of 1923, The law states that the disclosure of any information that is likely to affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, or friendly relations with foreign States, is punishable by this act that too on mere suspicion.
• Live in Relationship in India are not illegal, couples living together for years can be considered as married and a child born in this case, have complete right to inherit their property.
• Section 294 of the Indian penal code states that whoever commits obscene acts in public places will be punished for a term which may extend up to 3 months. A Kiss, A goodbye hug however, doesn’t fall into this category
• Political Parties can solicit your motor vehicles for their usage in rallies, provided they have government orders.
• LPG consumers are entitled to a risk cover of up to Rs 40 lakh in case of loss of life or damage to property due to cylinder explosions
• Any private citizen (not necessarily a law enforcement personnel) can arrest or cause the arrest of an offender if he is a witness to the crime
• In Income Tax Act, if Tax Recovery Officer arrests you, he is the person to release you, the commissioner is the judge for deciding how many days you will be in custody of department. There is no law or obligation of TRO to produce the arrested person before Magistrate
• If a woman commits a crime, only a female police officer can escort her to police station. Also, she can refuse to go with male police in anytime between 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM
• There are no traffic-violations laws for non-motorized vehicles such as Bicycles and Pulling-Rickshaws
• If you have already paid a fine to traffic police, you can skip the next fine of the same day by showing the receipt given earlier
• You can pay less than MRP (Maximum Retail Price), that means you can bargain to pay less but the retailer cannot increase above the MRP
• 1861 Police Act, says that, a police officer is always on the duty no matter whether he/she is in his/her uniform

After compiling all of these, I realised though laws are made in an intend to protect and maintain peace, some of the laws are lame and some are hardly even considered. But for us knowing them was essential, as I am sure no women or men would ever like to be in a situation, wherein they are unaware of these laws. Do you?

Image Source: www.lawyerchennai.com