HC: Daughter-in-law is not legally bound to maintain parents-in-law

 

HC: Daughter-in-law is not legally bound to maintain parents-in-law

Mar 29, 2026, 22:10 IST

Prayagraj: The Allahabad high court has ruled that a daughter-in-law is not legally bound to maintain her parents-in-law under Section 125 of CrPC (now Section 144 of BNSS), stating that moral obligations do not translate to legal ones without statutory backing.

The court observed that the right to claim maintenance is a statutory right and is confined only to the categories of persons expressly mentioned therein. Parents-in-law do not fall within the ambit of this provision, Justice Madan Pal Singh said in his recent order.Dismissing a criminal revision petition filed by an elderly couple — Rakesh Kumar and his wife against their daughter-in-law, he observed, "The legislature, in its wisdom, has not included parents-in-law within the ambit of the said provision. 

In other words, it is not the scheme of the legislature to fasten liability of maintenance upon a daughter-in-law towards her parents-in-law under this provision."An elderly couple had challenged an Aug 2025 order passed by the principal judge, family court, Agra, which rejected their application seeking maintenance under Section 144 of BNSS. The parents submitted that they were old, illiterate, indigent and wholly dependent on their deceased son during his lifetime.They contended that their daughter-in-law, who is employed as a constable in the Uttar Pradesh police, has sufficient independent income and has also received all service benefits of their deceased son. 

They also contended that the daughter-in-law's moral obligation to maintain her aged parents-in-law should be treated as a legal obligation.The court, however, rejected this contention, noting that there was nothing on record to indicate that the daughter-in-law's police employment was secured on compassionate grounds.The court also clarified that submissions regarding succession to the deceased son's property do not fall for consideration in these maintenance proceedings.

NMC allows inclusion of seats for counselling without formal nods

 NMC allows inclusion of seats for counselling without formal nods 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 01.04.2026

New Delhi : In a move that could ease anxiety for thousands of medical aspirants, National Medical Commission (NMC) has allowed newly approved super-specialty postgraduate seats to be included in counselling process without waiting for final approval letters. For students, this means faster counselling, fewer delays and greater clarity on available seats. The regulator has said that seats cleared by its First Appeal Committee will be treated as valid for the ongoing counselling process, removing a key procedural hurdle that often slows down admissions. 

The decision comes at a crucial stage of the admission cycle, when delays in approvals typically hold up seat allocation and leave candidates uncertain about their options. Under the latest directive, counselling authorities can now include these seats on the basis of the approved list, instead of waiting for formal Letters of Permission (LoPs) from institutions. The order follows appeals filed by medical colleges against earlier seat allocations, which were reviewed and cleared by First Appeal Committee under provisions of the NMC Act. 

The seats cover high-demand super-specialties such as cardiology, neurology, nephrology, urology and gastroenterology, across medical colleges in several states. NMC has directed all state authorities and counselling bodies, including Medical Counselling Committee, to update their seat matrix and proceed with admissions, ensuring that the counselling process continues without procedural hold-ups

NEWS TODAY 31.03.2026

 

DA Hike January 2026: Central Govt Employees Likely To Receive DA Hike Soon; How Much Increase Expected?

DA Hike January 2026: Central Govt Employees Likely To Receive DA Hike Soon; How Much Increase Expected?

Curated By : Business Desk News18.com Last Updated: March 30, 2026, 12:46 IST Based on past trends and available data, the DA hike announcement is now expected in April 2026.

DA Hike January 2026. Central government employees and pensioners are still awaiting the announcement of the January 2026 Dearness Allowance (DA) hike, which has been delayed this year. While the revision is usually announced around Holi, no official decision has been taken so far. Based on past trends and available data, the announcement is now expected in April 2026.

Whenever notified, the revised DA will be effective from January 1, 2026.

How Much Is DA Hike Expected? Calculations using the All India Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) suggest that DA may increase by 2 percentage points from the current 58% to 60%.

The CPI-IW stood at 148.2 in December 2025, the latest available data point. As per the 7th Pay Commission formula, this translates to DA of around 60.34%.

Following the government’s practice of rounding off, the final DA and Dearness Relief (DR) are likely to be fixed at 60%.

The revision will benefit over one crore central government employees and pensioners.

Why the Announcement Is Getting Delayed The delay has drawn attention as the January DA hike is typically cleared in March or early April. However, this year coincides with a transition phase between two pay commissions. The tenure of the 7th Pay Commission ended on December 31, 2025, while the 8th Pay Commission has come into effect from January 1, 2026.

The new commission is yet to submit its recommendations and has been given 18 months from its constitution in November 2025 to do so. Until then, salary and pension revisions under the new framework will take time.

First DA Hike After 7th Pay Commission Period The upcoming revision will be the first DA hike after the conclusion of the 7th Pay Commission period.

Despite the rollout of the 8th Pay Commission, employees will continue to receive DA under the existing formula until the new recommendations are finalised and implemented.

DA Revised Twice a Year The government revises DA twice annually:

First revision: March/April (effective January 1) Second revision: October/November (effective July 1) DA is paid to employees, while DR is paid to pensioners.

How DA Is Calculated Under the 7th Pay Commission framework, DA is calculated using the formula:

DA (%) = (12-month average CPI-IW – 261.42) ÷ 261.42 × 100

The CPI-IW data released by the government forms the basis for each revision.

Why This DA Hike Is Important 

Even though the expected increase is modest, the January 2026 DA revision carries added significance due to the transition to the 8th Pay Commission.

Typically, when a new pay commission is implemented, the prevailing DA is merged with basic pay and reset to zero. This makes the DA level before the transition an important factor in determining future salary and pension revisions.

NEWS TODAY 31.03.2026

 

MBBS limbo: BRD medical college 3 Students stuck for upto 20 years as NMC's 9-year cap clashes with MCI-era admissions

MEDICAL DIALOGUE

MBBS limbo: BRD medical college 3 Students stuck for upto 20 years as NMC's 9-year cap clashes with MCI-era admissions 

Written By : Adity SahaPublished On 27 Mar 2026 5:48 PM  |

 Updated On 27 Mar 2026 5:48 PM

Gorakhpur: While the National Medical Commission (NMC) rules now mandate that MBBS students must complete the course within 9 years from the date of admission, three students of BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, admitted during the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI) era have remained stuck in the course for over 20 years after failing in certain subjects.

Recently, the college released the results of one student following a High Court order, while two others are still awaiting their results.

The three students belong to the 1998, 2009 and 2010 batches and had enrolled in the MBBS course at BRD Medical College. However, due to failure to clear certain subjects in examinations, long delays in pending examinations, result declaration and regulatory hurdles, their academic progress remained stalled for over two decades.

According to the National Medical Commission Regulations, a student who joins the MBBS course must complete and pass the entire degree within 9 years from the date of admission. Apart from this, the commission also specified that the students shall not be allowed more than four attempts for the first year.

However, the admission of these three students falls under the erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI) time, which was replaced by NMC in 2020 and did not strictly limit or specify the duration of the course. Because of this regulatory transition, the students are in academic limbo.

Until recently, one of the students approached the High Court seeking the release of his pending result, as per India Today media report. Acting on the court’s direction, the college declared the result, but the student failed again in two subjects. He has now been allowed to appear in supplementary examinations.

Meanwhile, the results of the other two students are still pending. According to college authorities, discussions are ongoing with the university, and official communication is underway to resolve the matter and declare the results.

Officials indicated that once the results of the remaining two students are released, they will either be declared to pass or allowed to appear in supplementary examinations, which could finally determine whether they can complete the course after years of uncertainty.

Speaking to India Today, BRD Medical College Principal Ramkumar Jaiswal said the institution is bound by the new regulations of the National Medical Commission (NMC).

Medical Dialogues had also reported that the BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, approached the National Medical Commission (NMC) seeking clear directions in an unusual case of an MBBS student who had remained in the first year for over 11 years after failing the exam in 2015.

NMC seeks anonymous feedback from MBBS students on teaching, training and campus support

 NMC seeks anonymous feedback from MBBS students on teaching, training and campus support

The NMC Secretary said an online “student feedback form” is being sought from Undergraduate Medical Students of Medical Colleges and Institutions under the purview of NMC.

Kavita Bajeli-Datt

Updated on:

29 Mar 2026, 5:00 pm

NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has sought feedback from MBBS students on various aspects of their medical education, including the quality of their lectures, faculty availability, clinical training, patient exposure, anti-ragging measures, student safety, and mental health support on their campuses.

The NMC has promised that these responses will be anonymous and confidential, and that they are being sought for academic review and quality improvement purposes.

In an advisory, NMC Secretary, Dr Raghav Langer, said an online “student feedback form” is being sought from Undergraduate Medical Students of Medical Colleges and Institutions under the purview of NMC.

“This feedback aims to gather your valuable anonymous feedback on various aspects of your medical College and medical education experience,” the advisory, dated March 26, said.

The form covers aspects such as quality of teaching and lectures, faculty availability and adequacy, clinical training and patient exposure, labs, dissection halls and practical training, community medicine and rural training, ragging and student safety, campus culture/student welfare, anti-ragging measures and grievance redressal, mental health support, extracurricular activities, curriculum, college administration and governance, etc.

“Your response will be anonymous and confidential. The feedback is being collected solely for internal academic review and quality improvement purposes,” said the advisory, addressed to all states, deans of all medical colleges, the medical education department of the Union Health Ministry, among others.

The online form can be accessed through the NMC website.

The NMC requested the MBBS students to “wholeheartedly participate in filling the online student feedback form.”

Speaking with this paper, Kerala-based RTI activist, KV Babu, said, “Getting feedback from the students is a welcome move. But the track record of NMC regarding follow-up action based on feedback is not very convincing. Few years back, NMC had done a survey about stipend for interns and PGs without any follow-up action. They didn't even disclose the names of medical colleges which took back the stipend from PGs.”