"LegaL fraternity" shocked on Magistrate arrest @TN!! they were NOT shocked when lakhs of husbands, mothers, sisters arrest!! *....."Giving criminal tinge to a personal relationship in order to make it a non-bailable crime is the worst form of offence, and it will not help simplify the complex live-in concept," said M Antony Selvaraj, vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Advocates Association...."*; Question : Wasn't the "SYSTEM" giving a criminal tinge !!! to personal relationships and arresting and or harassing mothers and sisters and brothers in law in every 498a case ??

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Quote : *....."Giving criminal tinge to a personal relationship in order to make it a non-bailable crime is the worst form of offence, and it will not help simplify the complex live-in concept," said M Antony Selvaraj, vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Advocates Association...."*

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Question  : Wasn't the "SYSTEM" giving a criminal tinge !!! to personal relationships and arresting and or harassing mothers and sisters and brothers in law in every 498a case ??

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**Magistrate's arrest on woman sub-inspector's rape charge draws flak**

A Subramani, TNN | Jun 30, 2013, 11.25 PM IST


 CHENNAI:Morality and criminality are not co-extensive, said the Supreme Court in April 2010. But the Tamil Nadu police do not think so.

On Saturday, it shocked the state's legal fraternity by arresting a 31 year old judicial magistrate, who chose to walk out of a two-year live-in relationship with a woman sub-inspector of police. Among other things, the woman cop has slapped rape and dowry demand charges on magistrate S Thangaraj, who presided over a fast track court in Coonoor in The Nilgiris at the time of his arrest.

According to her, she and Thangaraj had a relationship since the days when he was an advocate and she was working at Palladam station. However, after his appointment as judicial magistrate, he started avoiding her, and also got married to another woman on June 20, she alleged in her complaint. Besides cheating her, the magistrate had raped and intimidated her, she said, adding that she had about 8,000 SMSs and teletalk lasting 14 lakh seconds to buttress the allegations.

While advocates were up in arms against the arrest and remand of a judicial officer, police told media that they had obtained due consent from the high court, as required by an apex court ruling.

Even while jurists were discussing the correctness of his detention, another magistrate remanded him in judicial custody for a period of two weeks, triggering another round of debate on mechanical remand orders by judges. Thangaraj has since been lodged at the Coimbatore Central Prison.

An office-bearer of the Tamil Nadu Judicial Officers Association terming the arrest 'wholly unwarranted' and asked, "if they had known each other intimately for nearly two years, where does the question of rape arise? Allegations of rape, criminal intimidation and dowry demand have been included only to criminalize an informed intimacy between two consenting adults," he said.

Citing the April 2010 apex court ruling by a bench headed by the then chief jutice of India K G Balakrishnan, the Tamil Nadu Advocates Association president S Prabakaran said: "Notions of social morality are inherently subjective and the criminal law cannot be used as a means to unduly interfere with the domain of personal autonomy." He recalled a similar case of IPS officer Varunkumar, who was alleged to have had a relationship with a civil services-aspirant and then refused to marry her after he was selected for IPS. "We had to fight two rounds of litigation just to get a case registered against him. He has not been arrested as yet. In the case of the magistrate, police have shown so much alacrity. What purpose would his arrest serve?"

P S Amalraj, vice-chairman of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, said the woman SI's complaint is full of anomalies. "Allegations arising out of live-in relationships must be analysed on case-by-case basis. Failure of such a relationship to fructify into a valid wedding, should not necessarily lead to rape and harassment allegations," he said.

"Prolonged sexual interaction, even according to the latest high court order, entitles her to certain rights such as maintenance. Criminalising such relationships is wholly unacceptable," said Amalraj said.

"We have an apprehension that police are playing out a hidden agenda against the entire legal fraternity, including subordinate judicial officers," he said.

**"Giving criminal tinge to a personal relationship in order to make it a non-bailable crime is the worst form of offence, and it will not help simplify the complex live-in concept," said M Antony Selvaraj, vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Advocates Association.**