Lawfully yours: By Retd Justice K Chandru

Chennai

Foreigners won't get Indian citizenship through marriage

I am a Hindu. I want to get married to a girl who is a Belgian citizen. She is very keen on having a temple wedding and is prepared to convert to Hinduism. Will this be enough for our wedding to be legal? Are there any other documents required? Will she be able to get Indian citizenship after our wedding?

­­— Nilesh Kumar, Tambaram

Without your girlfriend (Belgian citizen) getting converted to Hinduism, you can still marry her under the Special Marriages Act, 1954. Even otherwise, with her conversion to Hinduism, you can have your marriage in a Hindu temple. Some temples are also having powers to record the marriage and are keeping registers. Your marriage with the Belgian citizen will not automatically get her Indian citizenship. She will have to apply for the same and wait eternally for the nod from the Govt of India.


If not challenged properly, Waqf Board regularisation stands

In Tamil Nadu Waqf Board, illegal regularisation of temporary and contract employees is always an ongoing process. The staff of Tamil Nadu Waqf Board are misleading the chairman and CEOs as if regularisation is legal and in accordance with the law. Uma Devi case judgment of the Supreme Court has become a law and binding precedent. There can be no regularisation after 2006, with only one-time relaxation. Can I file a contempt petition in the Supreme Court directly since the Uma Devi case judgment is a judgment in rem of the Supreme Court?

— Name withheld on request

No doubt, in Uma Devi Vs. State of Karnataka, the Supreme Court deprecated the practice of making temporarily appointed employees as permanent in the name of regularisation and that judgment is binding on all, but that will not give you any right to file a contempt in the Supreme Court. Unless the regularisation made by Waqf Board is challenged properly, the action taken by the Board will continue to be valid perpetually.


Right to challenge layoff remains despite vow to HR

I was called to the office by the HR department and told that I will be laid off. I was also told that I will have to sign a paper saying I would not challenge this layoff legally, otherwise they would not process three months’ severance pay due to me. I signed the document, but am very much upset and feel I have been blackmailed. Do I have any legal recourse in the case of such a layoff? —Name withheld on request

By signing a letter that you will not challenge an order of severance, the HR department is not in any advantageous position. Notwithstanding giving any such letter, your right to challenge any illegal action still remains with you. As to whether you can challenge your severance from your employment, it depends on the nature of action taken by your employer.


Adoption has an emotional quotient as well

My sister passed away recently. She has a five-year-old daughter. Myhusband and I are willing to take care of my niece as my brother-in-lawworks abroad and he says he cannot take care of the child. We believethat he may be planning to get married again. We don’t have children butwe may plan to have our own child after a couple of years. Will it bebetter for us to adopt my niece legally or bring her up as our niece?—Niranjana

Adoption is not a mere legal exercise. It has an emotional quotient as well. Unless your brother-in-law agrees, you cannot adopt the child in terms of Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act on your own. As of now, the best course open to you is to file an application for appointing you as a guardian under the Guardians and Wards Act in the High Court of Madras. By this method, you do not get any direct relationship with the child, but yet you are legally authorised to deal with the child. This also will not in any way obstruct you wanting to have your own biological child.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed here are of Justice K Chandru, who is providing guidance and direction based on his rich experience and knowledge of the law. This is not a substitute for legal recourse which must be taken as a follow-up if so recommended in these columns