Response To The Petition For Private Child Custody Recommending: Fill & Download for Free

Well, SOMEONE will have to know their identity in order to transfer custody. Probably the best way to do this, although much more expensive, is to have the legal parents contact an adoption agency and let the agency know that you have agreed to adopt the child. Once the adoption agency has accepted the child for placement, they will contact a lawyer who will initiate termination of parental rights (TPR) proceedings, get the parents to sign a consent to termination and adoption, and have legal custody of the child transferred to the adoption agency. The agency will contact you and begin to process your application and get you approved by the state to adopt. You will need your own attorney to guide you through the adoption process. Once the state approves you to adopt the child, and the parents’ parental rights have been terminated, the baby may be placed in your home by the adoption agency pending the final adoption judgment.Your attorney will file a Petition for Adoption. Depending on the requirements of your state, a guardian ad litem may be appointed to represent the best interests of the baby. The state will file a confidential report with the court recommending that the adoption petition be granted, and the guardian ad litem will also file a report stating that the best interests of the child will be served by permitting you to adopt him or her. A final hearing will be scheduled once all reports are in the record and all the legal requirements for your adoption have been met. And there you have it.A word about expenses: This is considered a private, or independent, adoption, which means that the state will not be the placing agency and therefore no adoption subsidy will be paid by the state. You will be responsible for paying all the costs associated with the adoption, including a processing fee to the state, the fees of the adoption agency, the fees of the TPR attorney, the fees of the guardian ad litem, your own attorney’s fees and the filing fees and process server costs. Depending on the jurisdiction and the requirements of your state, this can cost thousands of dollars, sometimes more than $10,000. Before you make a decision about whether to go forward with this adoption, you should consult an experienced adoption attorney in your community to get a good idea of how much you will be expected to pay. If the costs of this process are prohibitive for you, you may want to explore other options to adopt. There are state agencies that place children for foster care and adoption and there is funding available in most states to pay all or part of your adoption expenses. Also, in cases involving special needs children, there are funds available to pay a monthly adoption subsidy to you until the child turns 18.But if you choose to pursue the adoption of this particular baby, heed this warning: do not agree to pay the parents anything in exchange for agreeing to adopt the baby! This is considered buying a human being, which is illegal in every state. You are permitted to pay the parents’ expenses for the adoption, however.Finally, the one thing that concerns me a little bit in this case is that the baby is in the physical custody of someone who does not have legal custody. If the baby needs medical attention, I worry that the physical custodian does not have legal authorization to seek medical care for the child. Whether you choose to go ahead with this adoption or not, you should urge the current custodian to ensure that they have a power of attorney, signed by the legal parents (so they will have to disclose their identities in order to authorize the power of attorney) to permit them to take care of the baby’s needs.Good luck creating your family!

I have read a number of the responses, and many are highly amusing. Many seem to take a judgemental stance on the father, rather than addressing the reality of the situation as it stands in the US.So let me describe how I dealt with this situation.There was a sizable difference in income between my ex and I. We also had 3 kids between us, the oldest one was autistic/PDD/nonverbal and was quite a handful, which involved a lot of my time, and required constant 24/7 intervention. You have no idea. We eventually had to make arrangements with that kid, which had grown older and had actually gotten quite violent, due to no fault of his own. He was severely PDD and non-verbal. It was a tragedy in and of itself.At the time of the divorce, the remaining 2 kids were 6 and 12. The ex took off with the 6-year-old, but the 12-year-old didn’t wish to go with her and stayed with me. The 6-year-old also didn’t want to go, but an issue arose that I won’t get into here.The ex was a stay-at-home, because I deemed it extremely important that at least one parent are with the kids, particularly while they are very young, and so that was the agreed-upon arrangement early on. As the kids got older, there was less of a need for this, of course, and the ex could have availed herself going back to school to further her education if she desired, but she never expressed any interests in doing so.So that’s enough background for now, which could go on for another 8 or 9 paragraphs or more, easily.The ex filed for divorce and disappeared with the younger kid. I had not heard from her for 3 months. When I finally did, she had moved 2000 kilometers away to a different State — where her folks lived. Her folks are wealthy and paid for her attorney. I was not born so lucky, so I had to pay for my own lawyer.The divorce was extremely bitter and contentious. I had wanted both kids to be in the same city so they could grow up with each other and see each other frequently. My ex had other things in mind and could care less.And she played a loophole in the law, because you are supposed to not move so far away with the child — but that rule only goes into effect when the court gets around to processing the paperwork and sends out notices. She filed and immediately left the State before that happened. I could have brought her up on parental kidnapping charges, but I didn’t want to put the kids’ mother in jail for obvious reasons. In retrospect, I should’ve done that, because I would’ve automatically gotten custody of the other child, and the progress of the divorce would have been completely different.As it turned out, I was saddled with paying $1500 a month in “Child Support”, and another $1500 in Alimony. $3000 in total per month. And I had custody of one of the kids!!!!The area we lived in was expensive, and my income at the time was only $100k. So you can do the math on this. 1/3 of my income going for taxes, another 1/3 going for CS, leaving 1/3 to cover the needs and care of of the kid I had custody of, to keep a roof over our heads, utilities, and commuting costs.That situation could not continue. It was causing a lot of stress on me and impacted my performance at my job. To sustain that situation I would’ve had to move into a trailer park and make some other deep changes in lifestyle, while my ex would have collected from me more money than she was making from her job, and with the backing of her wealthy family would’ve been living quite nicely.Many fathers in divorce situations wind up committing suicide, and I’d be lying if I stated that those thoughts never crossed my mind. There was no way to keep up with such draconian levels of payment, and I would’ve been arrested and thrown in jail for non-payment in and out all the time, meanwhile the arrearages would keep ticking up and up to astronomical levels. And being in and out of jail means your employment prospects would become limited, while the courts would have absolutely no sympathy and not reduce the requirements.Lose-lose situation.Now, grant you, I’ve been in tough situations before, but nothing like this. I had to take action, and so I did. And here all can learn from my example.I fired the lawyer who messed up my divorce case, and went pro-se. I spent time learning the legal procedures, court rules, how to do petitions, file motions, serve summons, all of it.I got organized with the paperwork to come. Mind you, I absolutely despise paperwork, but this was a matter of survival for not only myself, but my son. So I loaded up on the stamps and envelopes I would need, kept accurate track of everything on the computer, and would even scan in documents I got from the court.I filed an appeal in my case. That immediately put a kibosh on the divorce decree, delaying its implementation for a year. It is tough to win appeals, but sometimes the delay is useful, allowing you to get other things into place. I continued to pay CS, of course, at a smaller rate — one that I chose to cover the reasonable expenses of the child. The court saw that I was at least making an attempt, and that kept me out of jail.The stress affected my performance at work, which was already pretty stressful in its own right. Plus, the owners of that company was looking to shed a million in expenses. I was a manager at the time, and I knew precisely what that meant.So eventually I was — along with half of my team — fired. I immediately applied for unemployment compensation, and took that to the court, which then nuked the alimony altogether and greatly reduced the child support requirement from $1500 a month to just $300. Phew! It is, alas, important to do this because the courts want to see it. I rarely apply for unemployment, and had done it only once before, a couple of decades back. So the ego had to be sucked in and I did what I had to do.Later the higher court ruled on my appeal, and didn’t grant it. But no matter. New rulings were in place with the lower court!I wanted to win custody of my other kid back, so I continued the legal proceedings pro-se. My ex was not smart enough to do pro-se, so she continued to rely on her wealthy folks paying her legal fees. I think it went up to 30–40K or so. Drop in the bucket for them, but that would’ve bankrupted me. I was holding my own in court, and I was better off not using a lawyer anyway.And that is how I survived a particularly nasty situation. There is more to this story, but I have already gone on at length, so I hope you can glean something from this to help you out in your situation.The courts can be brutal, but it is not hopeless if you play your cards right. Don’t use a lawyer. Lean the law and legal procedure and court rules yourself, and be civil, graceful, never losing your cool, and even more importantly: never miss a court date. I cannot stress that last bit strongly enough, because the court will crucify you as a man if you do. Out of 8 years dealing with this divorce, in and out of courts, I missed a date once — and only because I got the date wrong. My mistake, but it didn’t matter. I was crucified at that point. Just a lost battle in a long war.To recap and summarize my situation, by firing my lawyer and going pro-se:I reduced the horrible $3000 a month payout to just $300.I avoided the huge legal fees my ex incurred.Even though I didn’t get custody of the other kid, I was able to better take care of the kid I did have custody of.I avoided having to live in a trailer park!Your situation will be different from mine, no doubt. But now you have a good idea of how to proceed. And that’s all white hat approaches, completely legal.And now for some of the grey hat tactics I had to use. I urge extreme caution here, because you could be in a world of trouble if you are ever found out. Keep in mind this was a matter of survival against incredible odds for my case. And I can tell about this now because the Statute of Limitations has run out for my ex. My kids are all adults now.The “Child Support Nazis”, as I like calling those who enforce CS, can be a tricky bunch to deal with in their own right. They love to garnish your wages and the like. Ńow I’ve worked for a number of small companies, and something like this would’ve been embarrassing. Maybe even have lead to me being fired. Who knows?So how did I deal with this? Simple. Well, maybe not so simple, but hear me out.I created my own corporation. You have a number of options here -C-Corporations, S-Corporations, Limited Liability, etc. You’ll have to do your own research. I strongly recommend the C-Corporation, but understand the tax issues with that arrangement. Then you must open a bank account in the name of that corporation. If at all possible, keep your name off that account, but in most cases they will insist on it. I will leave it to you to figure on a work-around.Establish a separate address for your corporation. This can be a bit tricky these days with Google Maps. But then, you can register your corporation on Google! I strongly recommend this. The bureaucrats do use Google Maps, and will ask uncomfortable questions if your “place of employment” doesn’t show up, which might render this arrangement useless. I do not want you to lie. The trick here is to avoid the question being raised at all.I did my freelancing in the name of the corporation, so that the corporation was paid, not me. The money went to the corporate account, not my private account.I used a payroll service to “pay” myself into my private account. I recommend using ADP, as they are geared to doing this for small businesses at reasonable rates. They will generate all the W-2 and paystubs and the like. Since they are well-known, these will not raise any eyebrows.I also rented an apartment in the name of that same corporation as well!!! This also kept my personal name off the lease, and thus makes it much more difficult for someone to “track you down”. If I were you, I’d be doing as much in the name of that corporation as possible. And, there is nothing stopping you from filing for more than one corporation as well. I strongly suggest filing them either in Delaware or Nevada, and use Registered Agents. Filing in other states can be extremely messy.So when the CS Nazis insisted on contacting my “place of employment” and garnishing my wages, finding out way my wages really were, etc., they sent that request to my corporation. It was utterly strange to see that, and also other letters trying to strong-arm the corporation to any up on details of my employment, AND just how much information about my situation they disclosed to the corporation. Stuff you never would know otherwise. Creepy.There are other details you’ll need to attend to, but those will become apparent to you as you proceed. This will put you back in control of your affairs. You can obviously “pay” yourself as much or as little as you like, and even present this to the courts, etc. Just make sure you pay yourself just enough to cover your actual living expenses, and maybe a bit more. Again, the idea here is to avoid raising eyebrows.Danger here if your spouse still lives locally, because obviously she can tail you or hire a “private eye” to do the same and to check out this “new” corporation, etc. For this to be truly effective and trouble-free, it is better you live far from your ex. Or make some arrangements with a willing friend that actually does run a real business. Just be extremely careful because this could be counted as “fraud”, but technically it isn’t, really. Many do it this way as a matter of course. Business owners for tax reasons will pay themselves from the corporation on payroll. That aspect is completely legit, even expected.The “grey” area comes up with how you present this to the courts. It is best they not ask you questions about whether you own the business or not. You do not want to be caught directly lying to the courts. If they don’t ask, you are not required to reveal. If they do ask, you could be screwed. So make sure you implement this in a solid manner that the question is never even raised.Good luck. Obviously my approaches here will not work for everyone, but you may now see new avenues to create your own “approaches” and white-hat — or even grey-hat — yourself out of a sticky quagmire and put your own fate back into your hands.Disclaimer: This is intended for educational and entertainment purposes. Under no circumstances do I encourage anything that might be construed as “fraud”. I only speak of what is legal here and is commonly done. It is too easy for someone to get something wrong and wind up in trouble. I hold no responsibility nor do I offer any guarantees on the outcomes in any specific cases. Nor do I advocate these techniques as a means to avoid personal responsibility to one’s children. A father should always support his children. But we also recognize that the system in the US, as it is in place today, can sometimes be unjust or unfair. So it is prudent for one to have all legal options on the table. Not only understand the rules, but the rules behind the rules. The welfare of not only you, but your kids, may depend on it. This is only applicable to the US, and you may be able to do something similar on other countries, but the laws and rules can be tricky to impossible to do it the way I suggest here. Just find what works for you and go with it. I think most countries are not as draconian with CS and alimony as the US is, so you may never need to resort to guerilla tactics such as this.

Please read Swarna Bharat Party's detailed policy on Justice systemEfficient and effective justice systemSwarna Bharat Party’s justice policyIn its 117th Report (1986), the Law Commission observed: “The Indian Judicial System is admittedly colonial in origin and imported in structure. Without even a semblance of change in the last four decades since independence, in its mode, method of work, designations, language, approach, method of resolving disputes, it has all the trappings of the system established by the foreign rulers.”All freedom must necessarily be bound by accountability. We are free to do what we please, so long as we do not harm others. The justice system ensures accountability. If we harm anyone, justice must be quick and proportionate so everyone involved can get on with their life. But today there are about 3.80 crore pendencies/arrears/backlogs and cases drag on for years altogether, depriving many citizens of justice and violating their fundamental rights to life and liberty.We will commission a first-principles review of the justice system, to report in two years. In the meanwhile, we will implement a suite of reforms, some of which are outlined below.1.1 An impeccably honest and high quality judiciaryOur judiciary must be above board and above suspicion. It is crucial that the judiciary be perceived to be absolutely honest, unbiased, and accountable. Unfortunately, influential people are able to manipulate the ‘justice’ system to avoid jail. Petitions of rich and influential people are heard within days (even hours), while matters related to the poor languish for years, often never being completed in an entire lifetime. Chief Justice P. Sathasivam of the Supreme Court has acknowledged in July 2013 that the judiciary is not untouched by corruption.[1] A strong stench of corruption is arising from the courts. Bribery and perjury have destroyed the roots of the justice system, making it less a justice system than a system of ‘match-fixing’.We will create systems to ensure an honest and unbiased judiciary.1.1.1 CRIME PUNISHABLE WITH DEATH TO BRIBE A JUDGE OR FOR A JUDGE TO TAKE A BRIBEBribing judges (and judges accepting bribes) is perhaps the worst of all crimes – since it can lead to the innocent being punished and the guilty going scot-free. There is no more heinous offender of liberty than a judge that is not impartial.We will make it a crime punishable by death to bribe any Sessions Judge, High Court Judge or Supreme Court, or for a judge to accept a bribe. Other – lower – judges too, shall be sternly punished, likewise.The government itself is a litigant in many cases and should be punished if it bribes the judiciary. A judge should receive only his salary and associated entitlements; no more. It will become a crime punishable by death of the relevant Chief Minister or Prime Minister for any government to give any additional pecuniary benefits to any judge – such as the allocation of government land at a subsidised cost – over and above the contractual amount.1.1.2 NON-DISCRETIONARY ENFORCEMENT OF PERJURY LAWSThe lackadaisical attitude of many judges towards perjury is a systemic abuse that is destroying the very foundations of the justice system. People submit false affidavits with impunity today, as judges do not seem to care. False statements and evidence are often recorded under the very nose of trial judges. ‘Witnesses’, who are bought, appear in multiple cases before the same judge, with impunity. As a result, only the honest now fear the judiciary. There is a deep sense of despair at the breakdown of the rule of law.We will legislate to require judges to mandatorily impose stiff penalties for perjury, with a minimum six month prison sentence. It will also become a criminal offence for judges to not penalise perjury. Repeat offenders – who are proven to have accepted false statements as true – will be cautioned through the senior courts and further failures will invite formal complaints and FIRs. Judges need to be held to account for the truth of any evidence they rely upon for a judgement.1.1.2.1 TRANSPARENCY IN THE APPOINTMENT AND TRANSFER OF JUDGESThe existing system of appointments to the superior judiciary, through a collegium of senior judges in High Courts and the Supreme Court suffers from perceived deficiencies in quality, being an in-house process.We will seek to discuss with the Supreme Court Chief Justice to identify and action any opportunities for improving the system of appointment of judges, including (if necessary) through reforms such as the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill and the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill. A key to judicial appointments should be the deep held commitment of judges to liberty, including freedom of speech.NO ONE TO BECOME A JUDGE WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE AS A LAWYERCurrently there is no minimum practice requirement for becoming a judge in the district courts. People can directly appear after their law degree for an exam to become a judge. We will seek advice from the Supreme Court regarding imposing a requirement of significant case practice as a necessary pre-condition to appear in the exam in order to become a judge.1.1.2.2 INDEPENDENT COMMISSION FOR REMUNERATION OF JUDGESWe believe that most judges are poorly paid today relative to their private practice capability, creating incentives for corruption. But any corruption in the judiciary is fatal to the purpose of a justice system. We will establish an independent commission for remuneration of judges to advice on a market-comparable compensation framework. The framework should include incentives for quality, accuracy and speed of judgements. Given the extreme significance of this matter, we intend to accept without any delay the recommendations of such a commission. The people of India cannot be penny-wise and pound-foolish in relation to such a critical requirement as justice.1.1.2.3 FREEDOM (JUSTICE) MINISTER TO BE PAID BASED ON QUALITY AND SPEED OF JUSTICEThe Justice Minister, like all Ministers, will be paid partly according to results. KPIs for the Minister would include targets for resolving the case backlog, as well as indicators of speed and quality.1.1.2.4 TRAINING TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY OF JUSTICEWithout a commensurate strengthening of training and orientation among judicial officers / judges and lawyers, a rapid increase in the number of judges can put a strain on the quality of judgements. We will significantly upgrade the existing training systems of judges with a focus not merely on any changes to the law, but on best practice court procedures, such as that:arguments should be heard soon after the close of evidence, as they take much less time than arguments advanced after a long interval (recommendation of the 77th Law Commission);trial courts judgments should be brief and not a show of learning, and yet deal with inconvenient contentions and crucial arguments by appraising the evidence, relevant statutory provisions and such authorities that have direct bearing;Order 17, Rule 1, CPC (which does not allow more than three adjournments) should be followed and dilatory tactics including frequent adjournments, delays in filing documents, delays in serving or evading service be firmly curbed;judgments should be pronounced within 30 days (Order 20, Rule 1, CPC) and decrees within 15 days; anda time limit should be enforced on unnecessary details, such as over-proving allegations or unduly prolix examinations and cross examinations of witnesses.1.1.2.5 INTERNAL REVIEW SYSTEM: ACCOUNTABILITY FOR TIMELY JUSTICEWe will discuss with the Supreme Court options to introduce an internal review system to deal with complaints against judges and any unnecessary delays by judges.1.2 Timely, efficient and effective delivery of justice1.2.1 RAPID DISPOSAL OF CASES OF UNDER-TRIAL PRISONERSIt is a shame that thousands of under-trials are in jail for over ten years without their guilt having been established. We will cause a review of all cases of under-trial prisoners. Except for alleged crimes against person, they will either be freed on bail or permanently released if the time they have served is more than half the maximum statutory sentence.1.2.2 SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF JUDGESIndia currently has a ratio of around 13.5 judges for every one million persons. In developed countries, there are 130-135 judges for every one million persons. A judge needs to go into the details of the evidence and the law before deciding a case. Quality justice takes time. Without dramatically increasing the number of judges, we cannot deliver timely and quality justice to the people of India. The Supreme Court has directed an increase in the strength of judges to 50 per million in the subordinate judiciary. We believe this is an essential governance reform. We are committed to increasing the strength of judges to at least 50 judges per million within three years. Funds for this will be raised from recovery of efficient costs of the justice system through appropriate fees, and from rationalisation of the tax system.1.2.2.1 TRIPLING THE EXPENDITURE ON JUSTICE IN THREE YEARSKorea spends more than 0.2%, Singapore 1.2%, and the U.S. 1.4% of its GDP on justice. India, however, spent only 0.01% of the GDP on justice in 2000. What can be more absurd than this, that a core function of the government has been given such short shrift by successive governments in India? By cutting out unnecessary functions, we will redirect savings into core functions, one of the most important of these being justice. A quantum increase in expenditure on the justice system will be considered, at least tripling the current spending within three years, and much more in the future.1.2.3 FAST-TRACK OPTIONS1.2.3.1 FAST-TRACK COURTS TO DEAL WITH CORRUPTION/ CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST MPSThis policy has been detailed earlier, and is a critical part of our commitment to ensure that only good people are able to become elected representatives.1.2.3.2 FAST-TRACK COURTS FOR CRIMES COMMITTED AGAINST PERSONWe will create a fast-track system for crimes against person, with a maximum judgement time of 12 months from the date of reporting such crime, including a maximum of six months for investigation. Exceptions to this timeline will be investigated by a Judicial Commission and any necessary extensions given only in exceptional cases. Officials responsible for unnecessary delays will be punished.Terrorists and those who potentially pose a grave threat to the nation would be tried even more quickly through special courts.1.2.3.3 OTHER CASES REQUIRING TO BE FAST-TRACKEDWe will request the Supreme Court to strengthen its normal prioritisation mechanism. Cases requiring urgent attention/priority should be fast-tracked. This could include cases involving the death sentence; habeas corpus petitions; where orders have been passed staying other proceedings, or against orders of remand; cases involving senior citizens (whose timeline for justice is necessarily shorter); cases affecting custody of children; and motor vehicle accidents.1.2.4 MEASURES TO REDUCE PROCEDURAL DELAYS AND THE TIME AND COST OF JUSTICEWe will undertake a range of reforms to reduce justice system delays and costs. Illustratively, these include:1.2.4.1 PRE-LITIGATION MEASURESSection 89 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) provides for alternate dispute redressal mechanisms (ADRs). After issues are framed, cases can be referred to appropriate ADRs. Streamlining this process can reduce the time and other costs of justice.We will enhance the process to refer parties for counselling prior to commencing litigation, especially when there is scope for settlement. In general, all cases between two or more government agencies/departments should be settled outside courts – or through the inter-governmental machinery.We will create a regulatory regime that supports any private online dispute resolution initiatives for minor issues. In a competitive market, such systems are likely to be cheaper and quicker than comparable government systems.1.2.4.2 PLEA BARGAININGChapter 21 A of The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provides for pre-emption of trial for petty offences punishable with imprisonment up to 7 years, through a mutually satisfactory disposition where the court directs the accused to pay an agreed compensation to the victim, and may either release the accused on probation or sentence the accused to up to half the minimum punishment prescribed for the offence in question.Unfortunately, plea-bargaining is rarely used in local courts. We will review the use of plea-bargaining and streamline it, excluding certain offences such as those committed against a woman or a child below the age of fourteen. This will significantly increase its use.1.2.4.3 STERN PUNISHMENT FOR FRIVOLOUS LITIGATION AND APPEALSThe government itself is a huge contributor to justice system delays. In matters where it is a party, it is common for the government to evade notices, reply to notices without application of mind, and unnecessarily appeal even when the laws are clearly in favour of the other party. Parties with deep pockets also waste a lot of judicial time, with vicious and frivolous cases and appeals, each of which is ultimately lost with strictures.The 192nd Report by the Law Commission (2005) outlined the concept of a vexatious litigant and proposed a draft bill, The Vexatious Litigation Prevention Bill. We will enact strong legislation to impose costs on parties engaging in frivolous litigation. In particular, we will make laws to stringently punish the senior-most government functionaries found responsible for vexatious litigation.Such penalties will also apply to police officers whose parking or other tickets are dismissed by courts.1.2.4.4 STOPPING ENDLESS APPEALSDue to slack judicial action, cases in India are often disposed without deciding the real issue. This results in endless appeals. Lawyers are also paid on a per-court appearance basis, and hence have little incentive to resolve cases. Procedural laws allow lawyers of clients who oppose the resolution of a case to submit endless interlocutory appeals. We will review and streamline civil and criminal procedures, to avoid such obfuscation of justice. We will regulate legal fees to require a cap on costs to be declared for each case by litigating lawyers to prevent their incentive to lengthen proceedings.1.3 Structural reforms of the judicial system1.3.1 MAKING THE SUPREME COURT MORE ACCESSIBLEGiven the heavy caseload and backlogs, as well as the time and costs imposed on litigants to travel to Delhi from distant states, there is much merit in decentralising the Supreme Court. The 2009 Law Commission recommended that the Supreme Court be split into a Constitution Bench in New Delhi and Cassation Benches in the four regions to deal with all the appellate work arising out of high court decisions. Though the Supreme Court has expressed reservations about any such radical re-structuring, we believe that one additional branch of the Supreme Court, initially in Bangalore, should be piloted in the first instance. Any concerns of the Supreme Court about capacity to govern the Cassation Benches can be addressed through close-circuit video conferencing, so regular private meetings can be held with the Chief Justice.1.3.2 INDEPENDENT PROSECUTING AGENCYWe will create an independent prosecuting body to ensure that police and investigative agencies have collated sufficient evidence and have reasonable prospects of securing conviction, before filing a charge sheet. This will also apply to cases filed by the government in civil matters and help minimise unnecessary government-created litigation. Internal review of processes and of any complaints received, and external audit of its performance would support other governance processes in place to ensure integrity and competence of this organisation.1.3.3 COMMERCIAL COURTSGiven the costly and time-critical nature of large commercial and contractual cases (such as IPR, mergers and acquisitions), we will set up Special Commercial Courts to fast-track such litigation, with a significantly higher fee. We will also appoint experienced and qualified judges on contract for technically complex cases. Such contractual judges could be hired from anywhere in the world.These actions will also empower our judicial system to increasingly take on the role of a global hub for arbitration and legal process outsourcing.1.3.4 MOBILE COURTS, LOK ADALATS, FAMILY COURTSFor relatively minor civil matters, we will set up mobile courts and encourage people to use the services of private arbitrators. We will increase Lok Adalats to one per 50 villages, and increase the number of Family Courts.1.3.5 PANCHAYATS TO JUDGE SIMPLE CIVIL AND CRIMINAL MATTERSToday, even petty cases tend to go before judges. We will pilot the use of panchayats for some minor civil and criminal issues, and minor land disputes. If successful, this would be rolled out, while always ensuring that panchayats abide by the norms of liberty and justice.1.3.6 PILOTING THE JURY SYSTEM IN CRIMINAL TRIALSAfter first speeding up criminal trials, we will consider ways to improve the quality of judgements, including by adopting a jury system in certain trials. There are some risks to a jury system, with many prevalent citizen prejudices that could distort justice. However, a jury system respects citizens’ judgement and can, in the longer run, result in fairer judgements as citizens’ education and the ability to assess evidence improves. We will pilot this system in relatively minor criminal matters and evaluate it before considering a broader rollout.1.3.7 PRIVATE COURTS FOR CERTAIN CIVIL MATTERSWe will enact laws to enable private (including online) arbitration and courts. Citizens will be able to choose in advance the use of such private courts as part of contracts such as for the construction of a house. Upon activating a dispute, the losing party will be required to pay penalties, including reasonable legal costs. This will create competition for justice (thus also keeping government courts on their toes) and lead to innovative, quicker justice. This will also, by reducing government court caseloads, ease justice system backlogs and save taxpayers significant amounts of money.1.4 Making the justice system more humane1.4.1 FREE HIGH QUALITY LEGAL AIDThe poor (those eligible for an NIT-type payment) will also be eligible for free high quality legal aid, the costs of which will be partially met through penalties imposed on the losing parties. No aid will be provided where it is determined by the legal aid system that the party is guilty.1.4.2 EASIER ACCESS TO BAILWe will make the option of bail for most charges (excluding crimes against person) mandatory and easier, to minimise unnecessary harassment of potentially innocent people.1.4.3 PRISON REFORMS INCLUDING REHABILITATION AND REDUCED RECIDIVISMPrison should be a place for a prisoner to repent the crime and to reform, to facilitate re-integration with society upon their release. We will introduce privatized prisons (with appropriate regulatory oversight) to be partly paid on reduced recidivism ratesImprisonment, being a restriction on freedom of movement, is itself a major punishment. There is no need for further cruel and degrading treatment of prisoners. We will also take measures to look after prisoners’ families, particularly of their children, to ensure that any ill-effects on their upbringing and self-confidence due to their parents’ imprisonment are minimized.1.4.4 REVIEW OF PRIVATE COSTS OF REPORTING CRIME AND REDUCING THESE COSTSThe effects of reporting certain violent crime, such as rape, on the mind, career, marriage prospects and social status of the complainant are often enormous. The victim thus gets further victimised. These reporting and social obstacles create incentives for significant under-reporting, thus emboldening criminals.We will review the private costs of reporting violent crime and introduce a range of laws and supports that make it easier to report and reduce the distress and costs (including social costs, such as through appropriate confidentiality) involved.1.4.4.1 LOOKING AFTER THE VICTIMS OF SERIOUS CRIMESWe will strengthen systems (largely through civil society institutions) to support and rehabilitate victims (and victim families), to ensure that they are reintegrated back into society at the earliest.1.5 Modernisation of lawsWe will modernise laws, particularly the penal laws. Some of the key modernisation issues are outlined below. Some others are mentioned elsewhere in this document, such as in relation to freedom of speech and property rights.1.5.1 GOVERNMENT TO BE LIABLE FOR HARM CAUSEDWe will legislate a duty of care that all government employees must ensure in their interactions with their clients. This will allow the government to be sued for damages where government servants, through their acts of commission or omission, harm citizens.1.5.2 REVIEW OF CONTEMPT OF COURT PROVISIONSJudges need powers to enforce decorum and demand discipline as part of the judicial process. However, there is a countervailing requirement to require constitutionally consistent restrictions on the exercise of these provisions, to limit any wilful misuse. Contempt of court provisions will therefore be reviewed and appropriate rules created to ensure these powers are deployed only in extremely limited cases.1.5.3 CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR HEINOUS CRIMESFor heinous crimes (including serious cases of corruption, child abuse and rape), judges would be required to specifically justify any exception to capital punishment, once proof beyond reasonable doubt has been adduced. Capital punishment in such cases would create a deterrent effect.1.5.4 MINIMUM STANDARDS, NOT A UNIFORM CIVIL CODEArticle 44 of the Constitution contains a directive principle that the state shall endeavour to secure for citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.[We believe that a Constitution should not include policy mandates. Policy must remain the prerogative of elected governments. We respectfully do not agree with the policy outlined in this Article and will commend a more refined approach to the country, consistent with liberty.]In relation to the substantive content of Article 44, it is to be noted that most religions specify some level of details regarding marriage and divorce. These are personal matters involving the most intimate unit of human existence: the family. Religious obligations on families are outside the scope of a government’s jurisdiction. Even in non-religious personal arrangements about marriage, there is fundamentally no role for government. Families should be able to structure themselves without violating the life or liberty of family members or others. A marriage contract or sacrament is a matter of personal taste on which the state can have nothing substantial to say.The only role a state can have in this regard relates to establishing norm-setting minimum standards, such as a minimum age of marriage, minimum maintenance requirements upon divorce and minimum inheritance requirements in absence of a will. All that would be required would be for citizens to abide by the legislated minimum standards while complying with the mandates of their individual faiths.More broadly, since there is no role for the state in religion, we will review all religious (e.g. Hindu/ Muslim) legislation on the statue books and replace it with generic rules of accountability applicable to all citizens.1.5.5 STRONGER ACCOUNTABILITY: PRISONERS TO PAY FOR THEIR UPKEEPWe will introduce innovative methods and technologies to ensure that society doesn’t pay unduly for the upkeep of prisoners. In general, prisoners will be billed all costs of their upkeep. Where they have known resources and assets, payment will be required before they are released. For prisoners without any identifiable resources, the amount will be converted into a loan and recovered through the tax system.Wherever appropriate, prisoners will be required to serve the family or community they have harmed.1.5.6 MANDATORY IMPRISONMENT FOR GANG CRIMES AND VIOLENT SEXUAL CRIMESWe will enact mandatory minimum prison sentencing for gang crimes, violent or sexual offences against children, rape, robbery, murder, and all assaults involving serious injury to law enforcement officers. We will create a national registry for convicted child abusers so they can be readily tracked. Parole will be minimized for dangerous or repeat felons.1.5.7 STRONG LAWS AGAINST TORTUREDespite signing the Convention against Torture in 1997, India is yet to enact a law to ratify the treaty. We will introduce such a Bill at the earliest.1.5.8 REVIEW OF VICTIMLESS CRIMESUnder various victimless crime laws, people are punished even when they have not directly harmed anyone. Typically, this relates to dealing with, or consuming illegal drugs. In general, victimless crimes should not prompt punishment (even assuming that analysis demonstrates the value of such punishment) comparable with punishment for violent crime. We will review laws regarding victimless crimes for necessity, and where considered necessary, for appropriateness of punishment.1.5.9 SEXUAL ORIENTATION NOT A CRIMEWe object to Section 377 of the IPC, which criminalises homosexuality. This is proven to have a significant hereditary/ biological origin, and therefore is not only a matter of personal choice. We will abolish this ‘crime’, particularly also as it is victimless. Non-consensual gay sex will be captured by the normal provision regarding rape.We agree that gay couples that wish to live together in a marriage-like relationship, can legally and contractually do so. We also note that the state has a very limited role in determining the nature and form of marriage. To the extent customary, at present, this relationship will not be called marriage, to distinguish it from heterosexual marriage. The right to bring up adopted children will, however, not be available to this form of cohabitation, given the need to assess this issue further in the best interests of children. Such an evidence-based assessment, including extensive consultation with the community, will be commissioned in the second term of our government.1.5.10 ADULTERY NOT A CRIMINAL OFFENCESection 497 of the IPC, a provision drafted in the Victorian era, treats adultery as a crime, which can be complained against only by the husband and never by the wife. We will move adultery from a criminal into a civil offence. Adultery is a form of breach of trust and should remain a ground for divorce, but is not a criminal matter. All sexual acts between consenting adults will be removed from the IPC.1.5.11 REFORM OF CHILD PROTECTION, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND DOWRY LAWSMost marriage-related complaints in India are considered to be criminal in nature. This is inappropriate. Except for matters involving physical violence and abduction, all other marriage issues will be moved into civil law.While many women face an oppressive environment at home and domestic violence needs to be punished, enough evidence has now accumulated that s.498a of the IPC, which addresses domestic violence and dowry deaths, is often misused due to the absence of checks and balances and its inbuilt stereotypical assumptions about gender roles. But no assumption of guilt should be inbuilt into the law. We will make offences under s. 498a bailable and compoundable, and require that any party that files a false case be mandatorily imprisoned for a minimum of three months, with all legal costs borne by the party that filed the false case.Since India is not a signatory of Hague convention on Private International Law, any marriage-related dispute between a foreign and Indian citizen is dealt as per Indian law. Further, current laws are unclear about the rights of the other marriage partner when one spouse takes away the children without consent. We will legally endorse the international convention to ensure international standards for child protection.1.5.12 STRONG ANIMAL PROTECTION LAWSWe will review and strengthen existing laws for animal protection. Animals consumed as food should be killed in as painless a manner as the state of knowledge permits. International best practice currently requires stunning before killing large animals. We will make humane killing mandatory in all abattoirs, with transitional provisions for local butchers that currently use customary (often brutal) techniques. Punishment for repeated inhumane killing of animals can extend to jail. The laws will also apply to temples and other religious places, bringing an end to animal sacrifice that is not assisted by modern technology.1.5.13 MAKING LAWS ACCESSIBLE AND CLEAR, THUS SUPPORTING TRANSPARENCY1.5.13.1 LANGUAGE OF THE PEOPLE TO BE USEDWe will require the language of the people to be used in courts as far as ordinary civil and criminal matters are concerned.1.5.13.2 DEFINITIONS ACTAll legal definitions will be rationalised, stripped from existing legislation, and brought under a single Act. This will ensure consistency in the use of specific words in all legislation. All such terms will then be hyperlinked in electronic versions of the laws, so ordinary citizens can quickly identify their meaning.1.5.13.3 INDEXATION OF FINES, FEES AND PENALTIESWe will index fines, fees and penalties to the CPI. All such imposts will be converted into units, with the current unit values reflecting the changing value of the rupee.As part of this process, fines, fees and penalties that are set at outdated levels will be increased to reflect the current value environment, based also on cost recovery principles (with costs set at an efficient level).1.5.13.4 COMPUTERIZATION OF LAWS AND JURISPRUDENCEReady access to past judgements can help improve the quality of justice. In addition to computerization and publication of all relevant laws, all relevant jurisprudence will be digitised and published on the internet (making it fully searchable), to help improve the quality and speed of judgements. This would facilitate much shorter arguments and enable judgments to be expedited. More broadly, all modern technology will be actively used to support the justice system.1.5.13.5 TELECASTING COURT PROCEEDINGS ON CONSTITUTIONAL MATTERSExcept where matters of state security are involved, the Supreme Court will be required to telecast court proceedings on any Constitutional matter free of cost on social media and any private TV channel that wishes to broadcast these proceedings, so the people of India can better understand the framework and structure of our Constitution.1.5.14 REPEAL OF REDUNDANT LEGISLATIONA vast amount of irrelevant legislation remains on the Indian statute book. All laws, particularly pre-1947 laws will be reviewed for relevance and where found unnecessary, will be repealed within three years.1.6 Consumer protectionIt is bad business to be deceitful. ‘A habit of deceit is a mark of bad character, and bad character has a way of revealing itself no matter how cunning the individual. Deceit is both bad karma and bad business. Commerce [therefore] elevates manners and probity’. Information about a business’s character spreads across the society through gossip, newspapers and electronic media, legal case law, or even information that consumers may pay, for such as Consumer Reports in the USA. Strong business competition is a driver of good behaviour.However, there are cases where businesses cause a loss to buyers and either deny these losses, or ignore them, or themselves disappear. Such cases require specific action by the government. Where such losses are relatively minor, judicial remedy can be costly to everyone. We are committed to establishing a government led consumer protection agency that will deal with minor cases of misdemeanour by businesses and use persuasion and public shaming in cases of obvious damage. Where necessary, we will prosecute such businesses in the court of law on behalf of consumers.We will also regulate the minimal contractual requirements for various services so companies do not use the ‘fine print’ to exclude themselves from liability where they must take responsibility.