NEWS
DIGEST, MID-DAY
19 April 2018:02 Shaban 1439:Vol:10, No:02
INDIA
Judge Loya case: SC rejects probe demand into
his death, says petitioners tried to ‘scandalise’ judiciary
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed
petitions seeking an independent probe into the death of special CBI judge
Brijmohan Harikishan Loya. The top court, ruling that the death was due to
“natural causes”, observed that the petitioners tried to scandalise the
judiciary. A 3-judge bench, headed by CJI Dipak Misra and comprising Justices A
M Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, pronounced its verdict after hearing a clutch
of petitions.Records show that Loya died of a heart attack in Nagpur,
Maharashtra, on Dec.1, 2014. The petitioners, however, had moved the top court
alleging he died under “mysterious” circumstances. At the time of his death in
2014, he was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh “fake encounter” case, in which BJP
president Amit Shah was named an accused. Shah was later acquitted in the
case.There were heated exchanges between the counsels for the petitioners and
the state of Maharashtra during the hearing. While the petitioners raised
questions on the circumstances surrounding Loya’s death, the state had called
the claims motivated.The Supreme Court, in its judgment, said there were increasing
instances of PILs being misused and referred to the present petitions as a case
in point. It added that courts should not be a venue to settle political
scores. It noted that even the two judges of the SC bench which heard the
petitions were not spared by the petitioners.The Supreme Court said it has no
reason to disbelieve the words of the four judicial officers whose statements
were recorded during a discreet inquiry conducted as part of the Judge Loya
case. It also thrashed the theory that the Judge did not stay at Ravi Bhavan.
The Supreme Court has said the petitions seeking a probe into Loya's death were
a “veiled attempt to launch a frontal attack on the independence of judiciary”.
It added that the petitioners’ conduct prima-facie constitutes criminal
contempt. The bench, however, said it was sparing them of any contempt
action.Congress says the Supreme Court's judgment will raise more questions.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi tweets, "Dispassionate analysis of
Loya judgement must await its full reasoning. But unless logical reasons found
in it, it will raise more questions and leave many unanswered."Tehseen
Poonawalla, an activist, outside the Supreme Court on Thursday. He is one of
the petitioners who moved the top court seeking an independent probe into the
death of Judge B H Loya. Ahead of the verdict, he had tweeted, "Pls
remember we are not fighting for an individual named Loya we are fighting for
an institution called #Judge."Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan calls the
SC order very unfortunate. He adds that it is unfortunate that the court is
believing four judicial officers who had not signed affidavits. Bhushan had
alleged foul play in the death of the Judge.indianexpress
Judge Loya case: Petitions for death probe
veiled attempt to attack judiciary, says SC
National panel for Minority Educational
Institutions has original jurisdiction to decide minority status of existing
educational institutions: SC
The Supreme Court has ruled that National
Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (Minority Commission) has
original jurisdiction to decide on the minority status of an existing
educational institution. The judgment rendered by Justices AK Goel and Rohinton
Nariman thereby overturned the decision of the Calcutta High Court in this
regard.The Calcutta High Court had held that the jurisdiction of Minority
Commission was limited to hearing appeals against the decision taken by the
“competent authority” under the National Commission for Minority Educational
Institutions Act, 2004.It was the High Court’s reasoning that the Act does not
provide for a mechanism where the Minority Commission can grant declaration of
minority status and will have power to hear appeal against orders of the
competent authority. This, the High Court had held, would result in two fora
having original jurisdiction. This decision has now been set aside by the
Supreme Court.It held that the Section 11(f) is a very wide provision which
empowers Minority Commission to decide all questions relating to the status of
an institution as a minority institution.“Section 11(f) is a very wide
provision which empowers the NCMEI to decide all questions relating to the
status of an institution as a minority educational institution and to declare
its status as such. The expression “all questions” as well as the expression
“relating to”, which are words of wide import, clothe the NCMEI with the power
to decide any question”However, one power was carved out from the ambit of Minority
commission and vested in Competent Authority by Section 10(1) – the power to
grant of a no objection certificate to a minority educational institution at
its inception.Thus, the Court concluded that the power to grant a no-objection
certificate to a new education institution is vested with the competent
authority while for the declaration of status of an existing institution as a
minority educational institution at any stage post establishment, the Minority
Commission would have the power.“Thus, any person who desires to establish a
minority educational institution after the Amendment Act of 2006 came into
force, must apply only to the competent authority for the grant of a no
objection certificate for the said purpose….On the other hand, for the
declaration of its status as a minority educational institution at any stage
post establishment, NCMEI would have the power to decide the question and
declare such institution’s minority status.”barandbench
NCMEI can grant minority tag to education
institutions: SC
Law commission set to examine Uniform Civil
Code as Muslim leaders blast Modi govt
After preparing a draft working paper entitled
Simultaneous Elections – Constitutional and Legal Perspective and considering
that in its 14th meeting on Tuesday, the Law Commission of India is set to
examine perhaps the most contentious social and political issue: Uniform Civil
Code (UCC). The fact that in past month, the commission and law ministry issued
three public notices on the UCC indicates that it is under active
consideration.The latest public notice dated 10 April, issued by member
secretary Dr Sanjay Singh says: “Law Commission of India is examining the
subject matter of UCC. Commission requested individuals, organisations
(governmental and non-governmental) to send their submissions in form of
consultation, discussion, working papers on any of the issues pertaining to
uniform civil code, except issue relating to triple talaq, which is pending
before Parliament, through its public appeal dated 19 March, 2018. Further, the
Supreme Court in case of Sameena Begum vs Union of India & others has
admitted a petition pertaining to the prevalent practice of polygamy, Nikah
Halala, Nikah Mutah and Nikah Misyar”.The commission said that since it is overwhelmed
by the responses it received and continues to receive, it is extending dates
for submission of suggestions for another 30 days:Until 6 May, 2018.When
Firstpost spoke to commission secretary Dr Sanjay Singh, asking how long it
would take for the commission to scrutinise the responses, and subsequently
hold a meeting to prepare and consider a draft working paper on UCC, he said he
could not give any further response and was "was not authorised to
speak".It can be assumed that the commission would surely like to submit
its final report or at least draft working paper on UCC before its term expires
on 31 August.The timing of a possible note or report on the UCC coincides with
the run-up to elections in three BJP ruled states: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh
and Chhattisgarh.Various Muslim community leaders have been raising these
issues openly on various forums, but a rally “Deen Bachao, Desh Bachao” (save
religion, save nation) organised in Patna Gandhi Maidan should be mentioned.
firstpost
Protest in Delhi over increase in rape cases,
atrocities on Dalits, minorities
New Delhi:A protest march was organised in the
national capital today against a host of issues including an increase in the
number of rape cases and alleged atrocities on Dalits and minorities.The
protest march began from the Mandi House and proceeded to the Parliament
Street, partially affecting the traffic movement on the way.The protestors were
mainly from political outfit 'Welfare Party'. The outfit said it had launched a
nationwide agitation -- India for all Indians -- on April 1. And the agitation
concluded today with the protest.Later, a public meeting was also held at the
Parliament Street, where the outfit's leaders demanded for protection of women
and strict penal action against those committing atrocities on women. According
to a statement issued by the Welfare Party, representatives of several
organisations such as the Peace Party, the BSP, the CPI (ML), the Indian
National League and the Janata Dal (Secular) participated in the
protest."An atmosphere of fear and mistrust is being created in the
society," party's national president S Q R Ilyas told the gathering at the
Parliament Street.PTI
W Bengal: Jamaat, SDPI cry foul at police
action on protesters
Kozhikode: SDPI, the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, and
the PFI have criticised the State government over the action against those
protesting against the rape and murder of a girl in Kathua and the decision to
impose prohibitory orders in Kozhikode city.In a press release here on
Thursday, Jamaat-e-Islami State general secretary M.K. Mohammedali accused the
police of witch-hunting Muslims under the guise of action against those
involved in violence as part of a hartal called my social media groups on Monday
in protest against the Kathua incident. Though the investigating agencies could
easily identify those who perpetrated violence, the police action branding
people as terrorists was shrouded in mystery, he said. Mr. Mohammedali accused
the police of registering cases related to disruption of communal harmony
against people who were raising slogans against the Union government. Demanding
that the government release the names of those involved in violence, he claimed
that most of the protesters belonged to mainstream political parties such as
the CPI(M), Congress, and the Indian Union Muslim League.
Mecca Masjid blast acquittals: Will provide
legal assistance if family of victims want to appeal verdict, says Owaisi
New Delhi:Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday said
that if family members of the Mecca Masjid blast victims wanted to contest the
verdict, he would provide legal assistance. “If the family of any victim wants
to appeal against the verdict, then I am ready to provide them legal help.
People call NIA a caged parrot, but I will say that it is blind and deaf also,”
news agency ANI quoted the Hyderabad MP as saying.A special court had on Monday
acquitted right-wing Hindu group members in the 2007 blast case that left nine
persons dead and at least 58 injured. The court held that the prosecution
failed to provide evidence against the accused. Reacting to the acquittals,
Owaisi had then tweeted: “Witnesses turned hostile after June 2014. They could
not give proper statements, so everything was done to fail the victims upshot.
Our fight against terrorism is weakened after today’s acquittals.” Owaisi added
that the investigation was biased and NIA was not allowed to pursue the case by
its political masters.indianexpress
Owaisi contrasts NIA role in Dilsukhnagar and
Mecca masjid blasts
Centre using NIA, others for its
gains:Mayawati
LUCKNOW: Reacting to the Mecca Masjid blast
judgement, BSP chief Mayawati said the BJP was using central investigation
agencies for political gains and leading to a 'jungle raj' in the country.
Under this policy of the government, BJP's various state governments, including
in UP, were trying to take back cases against its own members, she said.TOI
Kapil Sibal sarcasm over verdict, Mamata
shocked by judge move
CPI-M demands NIA file appeal in Mecca Masjid
acquittals
100 Muslim youths found innocent in 2007 Macca
Masjid blast case
Hyderabad: As many as 100 Muslim youth were
lodged in prison for months together soon after Macca Masjid bomb blast in May
2007 by SIT constituted by the then city police commissioner Balwinder Singh to
probe into the case. SIT headed by H. K. Gupta, the then joint commissioner of
police of the city, picked up scores of Muslim youth based on suspicion and
booked cases against nearly 100 youngsters, including a medico, and remanded
them to judicial custody by booking a case against them under various Sections
of the IPC and the Arms and Explosives Act. deccanchronicle
Mecca Masjid blast: Verdict major blow in
fight against terrorism, says Muslim organisations
Hyderabad:Several Muslim organisations and
various political parties expressed dismay over the acquittal of five persons
who were accused in the Macca Masjid blast case here. Majlis Bachao Tahreek
(MBT) described it as a major blow to the fight against terrorism. MBT
spokesperson Amjadullah Khan said that the acquittal in Macca Masjid blast case
clearly proves the lenient attitude of the BJP government at the Centre and TRS
government in Telangana in pursuing the cases of ‘Saffron Terrorism.’ Tehreek
Muslim Shabban president Mohd Mustaq Malik said that from the beginning, the
case was not investigated thoroughly. Jamaat –e- Islami, Telangana and Odisha
president Hamed Mohd Khan said that the investigation officials, who had shown
leniency in carrying out the probe, should be made accountable for not
delivering justice. “Now the question arises as to who had carried out the
blast when two sets of people were acquitted by the court?” he asked.DC
Jharkhand: man near-lynched for serving
‘banned meat’ at wedding reception, 30 houses ransacked
Ranchi: Alleging consumption of beef (cow
meat) at a wedding reception, a mob of hundreds of people attacked a locality
of a particular community in Koderma district of Jharkhand on Tuesday. The mob
brutally assaulted several people, including the father of the groom, barged
into dozens of houses and ransacked them. The attack took place in the presence
of a police team that had already reached the village to probe the beef
consumption charge. At least half a dozen attackers were caught red-hand by the
police. On Monday, there was a wedding reception in the Nawadih village under
Domchanch Police station in the Koderma district. Tuesday morning, some
villagers reportedly found bones and remains of the banned meat in the field
behind the house of a villager identified as Israel Ansari. A team of the local
police reached the village and began investigation. But even as the police was
carrying probe, says a report in a local Hindi daily Prabhat Khabar, a mob of
hundreds of people emerged and began ransacking the houses of a particular
community.The mob barged into 30 houses and ransacked them. They destroyed 17
bikes, one Bolero, one car and two tempos. Besides, a religious place was also
attacked and some religious books were burnt.caravandaily
Jharkhand: Fringe group attacks Muslim on
suspicion of serving cow meat
BJP youth wing ‘member’ claims burning of
Rohingya refugee camp in Delhi; Muslim leader demands probe
New Delhi: An alleged member of BJP’s youth
wing has gone on Twitter claiming that he burnt the camp of Rohingya refugees
on the Delhi-Noida border in the wee hours of Sunday (15 April). Around 200
people, most of them women and children were thrown under the open sky after
the destruction of the camp and their belongings in the fire.Navaid Hamid,
President, All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat has forwarded the tweet of Manish
Chandela to the Delhi Police and Prime Minister’s Office seeking probe and
action. Hamid has identified Chandela as a member of BJYM (Bharatiya Janata
Yuva Morcha), the youth wing of the ruling BJP.The camp was gutted in the fire
around 3 AM on Sunday in Kalindi Kunj area in South Delhi. At 1:16 PM the same
day, Chandela, who uses twitter handle @CHANDELA_BJYM, tweeted: “Yes, we burnt
the houses of Rohingya terrorists”.caravandaily
Rape crisis: Muslims flee from Rasana village
Rasana: There are no Muslims left in the
village of Rasana, which has become a symbol of India’s rape crisis after the
brutal murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl blamed on Hindu men. Police say
the girl was raped and killed as part of an attempt by some of the village’s
majority Hindus to evict Bakarwal Muslim nomads, who graze their cattle in the
hills in the summer months.It seems to have worked: the girl’s family have
headed for the Kashmir hills under police protection. Other Muslim families in
the community of around 100 people all left after the rape in January. At the
empty home of the dead girl’s family, five armed police kept guard half asleep
in chairs outside. Police say the child was drugged, held captive in a Hindu
temple for five days, and repeatedly raped before being beaten to death.Her
anonymous grave in orange earth partially covered by weeds is in a nearby
village in Kathua district, about 60 kilometres (40 miles) from the region’s
main city Jammu. Media reports said Hindus in Rasana refused to allow the girl
to be buried there. Jammu and Kashmir is India’s only Muslim-majority state,
but the Jammu region in the south is dominated by Hindus.siasat/ AFP
Kathua gangrape & murder: 12 students
injured in clashes during protest in Kashmir
Srinagar:Clashes erupted in Kashmir as
students from various colleges and educational institutions took out protests
demanding justice for the eight-year-old girl, who was raped and killed in
J&K’s Kathua. Over a dozen students who were demanding severe punishment
for the guilty were injured in the clashes during the protests. The protests
took place despite several educational institutions being shut as the
government feared widespread protests. On Wednesday, clashes broke out in north
Kashmir’s Baramulla when students took out a demonstration. Around a dozen
students were injured in clashes between police and the students in south
Kashmir’s Awantipora, Anantnag and Pulwama. Police spokesman, however, said
that only two protesters and two policemen were injured in the
clashes.indianexpress
Delhi HC asks media houses to pay penalty for
revealing Kathua victim’s identity
NEW DELHI:Some media houses, which had
revealed the identity of the eight-year-old who was allegedly gang-raped and
murdered in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, were directed by the Delhi
High Court on Wednesday to deposit ₹10 lakh as penalty towards the State's rape
victims compensation funds.Last week, a Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal
and Justice C. Hari Shankar took suo motu cognisance of the publication of
photographs and the name of the child during the reportage of the alleged
incident.thehindu
Don’t politicise rape, says PM Narendra Modi
in UK
London: The Kathua rape murder case echoed at
PM Narendra Modi’s public programme here on Wednesday when he said there should
be no politics over rape.He added that the recent incidents of sexual assault
were a shame for the country. “A rape is a rape. How can we tolerate this
exploitation of our daughters? But can we compare the number of rapes in
different govts? We can’t say there were this many rapes in our government and
that many in yours. There cannot be a worse way to deal with this issue,” Modi
told the Indian diaspora at an event, Bharat Ki Baat, Sabke Saath, where he
referred to the Kathua victim as the “eight-year-old-girl”.toi
MHA report: 166% increase in fatalities to
civilians in Jammu & Kashmir in 2017
New Delhi:More fatalities to civilians due to
militancy were reported in Jammu and Kashmir in 2017 compared to 2016, said the
Ministry of Home Affairs in its annual report on Wednesday. The report said
that 166 per cent more civilian fatalities was recorded, while there was a 42
per cent rise in number of terrorists neutralised in 2017, compared to the
previous year. “The year 2017 also witnessed a 6.21 per cent increase and
166.66 per cent increase in the number of terrorists incidents and fatalities
of civilians, respectively, in comparison to the corresponding period of 2016,”
report said.indianexpress
Ishrat Jahan encounter: Will continue
father-in-law’s legal fight, says Pranesh’s wife
he widow of Pranesh Kumar alias Javed Sheikh,
who was killed with Ishrat Jahan in an alleged fake encounter in 2004, has said
that she would take forward the legal battle of her father-in-law Gopinatha
Pillai.Pillai, 77, died last Friday in a Kochi hospital after suffering
injuries in a road accident on Wednesday. After the alleged fake encounter,
Pillai had joined Jahan’s mother in fighting the case in the Supreme
Court.Pranesh’s wife Sajida, who now lives in Pune with her two sons and a
daughter, said, “I would carry forward the legal battle of my father-in-law,
who wanted to see those behind his son’s killing punished. When he was alive,
he used to tell me that if anything happens to him… I should be there to handle
the cases. He had discussed everything about the issue with me,” said Sajida, a
school teacher.Sajida said they do not suspect any foul play in Pillai’s
accident. “It was a road accident. We don’t find any external factor in it,”
she said.indianexpress
Wagamon SIMI camp case: Trial concludes,
verdict likely by mid-May
Kochi: 38 accused. 79 witnesses. Over a year
of judicial process. The trial of 2007's Wagamon SIMI camp case, which began in
2017, wrapped up at the NIA Court here on Wednesday.NIA Judge Kauser Edappagath
completed the final hearing and posted the case on April 23. Though the court
did not announce the date for the verdict, an NIA officer said it is expected
before May 15. The trial commenced after NIA chargesheeted 38 persons involved
in organising and participating in the armed training camp held at Thangalpara
in Wagamon from Dec.10 to Dec.12, 2007. This was the first case in the state in
which the trial was conducted via video-conferencing, by connecting the NIA
Court here with jails in Bhopal, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, where the
accused were lodged. newindianexpress
WORLD
Chemical weapons watchdog : Fact-finding team
still outside Syria's Douma
Inspectors from the global chemical weapons
watchdog have not been able to enter Syria's Douma to examine the site of a
suspected gas attack, the organisation said, dismissing an earlier report
circulated by Syrian state-run media.The Organisation for Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said on Wednesday that United Nations security
officials entered the town on Tuesday to survey the area where its fact-finding
mission was supposed to probe allegations of a chemical weapons attack carried
out by government forces on April 7.But the UN Department of Safety and
Security (UNDSS) team came under small arms fire, and an explosive device was
detonated nearby during their stop at the second of the two sites that they
visited, the OPCW said in a statement.At the first site, the officials had to
withdraw because a large crowd gathered there, raising security concerns. There
were no injuries, and the UN team returned to Syria's capital,
Damascus.aljazeera
Russia rejects UN resolution for independent
Douma investigation
Russia has rejected France's proposal at a UNSC
meeting that called for the launch of an independent investigation over an alleged
chemical attack that struck the former rebel-held town of Douma in Syria's
Eastern Ghouta.The rejection on Tuesday came during the sixth UNSC emergency
meeting on Syria since the suspected chemical attack claimed the lives of at
least 85 people on April 7, according to medical personnel.The alleged attack
was met with "triple assaults" by the US, France and UK, through
coordinated strikes on three presumed chemical facilities run the
government.aljazeera
Syrian opposition: replacing US forces in
Syria with Arab troops will start war with Iran
Syrian opposition leader, Michel Kilo has
warned that replacing US troops in Syria with Arab forces could lead to a
long-term Arab-Iranian war on Syrian soil.Speaking in an interview with Quds
Press, Kilo stressed that solving the Syrian crisis can only be achieved
through international understanding.“Syria is now divided, the Americans
control 28 percent, the Russians control 40 percent, the Turks 10 percent, and
all of them have large forces in Syria. Therefore reaching a solution can only
be achieved through an international understanding that can ensure the
implementation of any agreement reached” he said.He added that “talking about
any role for the Syrian regime President, Bashar al-Assad, in Syria future has
no meaning” stressing that no one can imagine keeping him as president after he
had killed about one million Syrians and displaced more than half of his
people.middleeastmonitor
Qatari forces participate in Gulf shield drill
in Saudi
The Qatari armed forces have participated in
the "Joint Gulf Shield 1" Drill in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar
News Agency said.The military drill was conducted in the town of Ras Al Khair,
north of Jubail city in the eastern region of the kingdom, from March 21 to
April 16, QNA quoted the defence ministry as saying.A number of officers from
the Qatari Armed Forces, led by Brigadier General Khamis Mohamed Deblan,
participated in the exercise, along with land, sea and air forces from 25 other
countries.aljazeera
Court sentences Brotherhood’s Beltagy to one
year in prison
The Cairo Criminal Court has sentenced the
Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed El-Beltagy to one year in prison for obstructing
court proceedings. The former MP was accused of causing a disturbance during
the court’s hearing of the defence argument in a case in which he and another
738 Muslim Brotherhood members are the defendants. Its General Guide, Mohammed Badie, is among those
listed as defendants in the case, as are senior officials Issam El-Erian, Issam
Mageed, Abdul Rahman Al-Barr, Safwat Hijazi, Usama Yassin, Issam Sultan, Basem
Odeh, Wagdy Ghoneim and Osama Morsi, son of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.MEMO
Iran to replace US dllar with euro in
financial reports
Tehran, The govt of Iran has announced plans
to replace the US dollar with the euro in official financial reporting,
according to state-run media.The move on Wednesday is seen as part of efforts
to circumvent restrictions on accessing US currency amid tensions with
Washington, as well as prevent market instability generated due to fluctuations
in value of rial against dollar.aljazeera
Erdogan calls for snap elections on June 24
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
called for snap parliamentary and presidential elections to be held on June 24,
more than a year earlier than planned.In an address at his presidential palace
on Wednesday, Erdogan said the country urgently needed to make the switch to an
executive presidency.The date will still need to be confirmed by the election
commission, he said, but preparations would begin.His comments came after
meeting Devlet Bahceli, head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who, a
day earlier, had floated the prospect of early polls.The parliamentary and
presidential polls had previously been slated for November 2019.The call for an
early election comes as nationalist sentiment is running high over Turkey's
recent military operation in Syria that pushed Syrian Kurdish forces from a
northern enclave.aljazeera
Catholic cardinal meets Saudi king in historic
visit to Riyadh
Saudi Arabia's King Salman has met French
cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran during the first visit to the kingdom by such a
senior Catholic authority, according to Saudi state-run media.It followed a flurry
of similar gatherings between senior Saudi figures and representatives of other
Christian traditions in recent months.The kingdom hosts Islam's holiest sites
but bans the practice of other faiths.aljazeera
FLASH: VIEWS & NEWS
An ordinance to overturn the SC order on SC/ST
Atrocities Act is much needed:Faizan Mustafa
Mecca Masjid blast case: Cloud over NIA judge
linked to his ‘hasty’ bail order in land dispute case:Sreenivas Janyala
Experts in US expose EVM vote theft techniques
MALA JAY
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