Judge of Bihar sets unusual bail condition
In an unusual order, a local court in Bihar’s Madhubani district has granted bail to an accused charged with outraging the modesty of a woman and attempted rape, on the condition that he washes and irons the clothes of all women of the village free of cost for six months.
The accused is required to obtain a certificate of completion from the Mukhia (village headman) or any respectable public servant of the village and file the same in court.
Additional Sessions Judge of Jhanjharpur Avinash Kumar also asked the accused to furnish a bail bond of ₹10,000 with two sureties of the same amount.
NEET fraud: CBI books coaching centre
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against a Nagpur based coaching centre and others for offering to arrange admissions in top government medical colleges by adopting fraudulent means.
On specific information that proxy candidates would be appearing for bonafide students in the NEET held at five centres in Ranchi and Delhi on September 12, the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch, Delhi, registered a case against Parimal Kotpalliwar, who runs M/s R.K. Education Career Guidance, firm in Nagpur.
Delhi riots: court drops arson charges against 10
A Delhi court on Wednesday dropped charges of arson against 10 people accused of allegedly looting shops during the February 2020 riots, saying the police were trying to cover up a flaw and clubbing incidents of two different dates.
The case was registered on the basis of three complaints — one Birjpal stated that his rented shop was looted by a riotous mob at Brijpuri road on February 25, while Diwan Singh claimed that two of his shops were looted on February 24.
Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav said the complainants did not state a single word regarding the riotous mob committing “mischief by fire or explosive substance” in their initial statements.
Diwan Singh, in his supplementary statement, however, said that the riotous mob put his shop on fire, to which the court said that the investigating agency cannot “cover up the flaw” by recording the supplementary statements.
ASJ Yadav said that he is unable to comprehend how an incident that occurred on February 24 could be clubbed with the incident which occurred on February 25 unless and until there was clear evidence that the same rioters were operating on both dates.
Remove provisions from statute: plea
The Delhi High Court asked the Centre to consider as representation a petition seeking to remove provisions from the statute such as Section 66A of the Information and Technology Act, which have already been declared unconstitutional.
The plea filed by advocate Anshul Bajaj said there are several criminal law sections that were struck down by the Supreme Court but continue to be used by police officers.
The petition referred to a news article which stated that the Supreme Court was informed that people were being prosecuted under the scrapped Section 66A of the IT Act and the police as well as trial court across India continue to use it.
The Supreme Court in Shreya Singhal vs Union of India (2015) struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, relating to restrictions on online speech, as unconstitutional on grounds of violating the freedom of speech guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.
Centre’s stand sought on rules for Pvt. Detectives
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to respond to a petition seeking to frame guidelines to regulate the work and domain of private detectives till the codified Act comes into existence.
Justice Rekha Palli, who was hearing a plea by a woman aggrieved by an allegedly illegal investigation carried out by a private investigator, asked the Centre to submit its response within six weeks.
The Central government’s counsel said that the petitioner was free to take action under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act which were applicable to any offence committed by private detectives.
SC rejects Sree Padmanabha Trust plea
The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a plea by Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple Trust (SPSTT) to exempt it from a special audit of accounts spanning 25 years
In a judgment in July last year, the court ordered that the trust’s finances be audited along with those of the temple for 25 years. The SPSTT wanted the court to modify its direction and confine such an audit to the temple and not include it.
On Wednesday, the court refused the plea. A Bench of Justices U.U. Lalit, S. Ravindra Bhat and Bela M. Trivedi held that the July 2020 order did not intend to confine the audit to the temple alone.
It said the SPSTT had agreed to cooperate with the audit in its submissions to the court.
The trust was formed by the erstwhile Travancore ruler in 1965 for “the perpetual continuation of the devotional offerings to the temple, other specified religious rites and certain functions integral to the royal family traditions.”
The Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple Trust wants the court to confine audit to the temple and not include it.
Bench orders that the special audit be completed within three months
Warrant issued against Mumbai ex-police chief
Second bailable warrant has been issued against former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh for not appearing before a commission set up to probe corruption charges against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh levied by Mr. Singh.
The warrant has been issued by retired judge of the Bombay HC K.U. Chandiwal.
The one-member committee was appointed on March 30 by the State government to inquire into the allegations made by Mr. Singh in a letter he wrote to the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on March 20.
The letter had mentioned several instances where Mr. Deshmukh directed now dismissed Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze to collect ₹100 crore a month from bars and restaurants
14 get life term in scribe’s murder case in Bihar
Local court in Bihar’s Samastipur district sentenced to life imprisonment, 14 accused persons in journalist Vikas Ranjan murder case.
Ranjan was killed over a land dispute on November 25, 2008, in Rosera subdivision of the district.
The family members of the deceased had accused 14 persons, including a local Lok Janshakti Party leader Swayamvar Yadav.
While hearing the case, a local district court pronounced life sentence to all the 14 accused persons after 13 years of the incident.
4 held in A.P. CMRF scam, 88 suspicious claims identified
Officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested four persons, including two government employees, in the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) scam.
The accused allegedly swindled more than ₹60 lakh in about 70 cases since 2014-15, the ACB sleuths said .
The arrested were Ch. Subrahmanyam, office subordinate in CMRF wing at the State Secretariat; K. Jagadish alias Dhanaraju alias Nani, who claimed to have worked as P.A. to some MLAs in East Godavari district; and Ch. Murali Krishna and S. Ramesh, office subordinates in the revenue section at the Secretariat
A total of ₹1,81,78,000 was sanctioned in respect of 88 suspicious medical claims, of which ₹61,68,000 was credited in 35 claims
Officials stopped transactions for ₹1.20 crore of CMRF for 53 claims, the investigation officers said.
Terrorism knows no age, says NIA
A remark from the Supreme Court that two Kerala youth, accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for Maoist links, were but “young boys” saw the National Investigation Agency (NIA) respond that “terrorism knows no age” and “Naxalites, Maoists are very sharp, shrewd people” who covered their tracks. Arguing against their bail before a Bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Abhay S. Oka, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, for the NIA, said it was not as if they were “caught reading Karl Marx”.
Mr. Raju said investigators found 15 Maoist notices ostensibly for distribution of literature urging armed revolution and independence for Jammu and Kashmir and loads of electronic evidence.
Countering for Fasal, senior advocate Jayant Muthuraj said the police had not found any incriminating material on the two youths, except a copy of the Madhav Gadgil report on the ecology of Western Ghats, at the time of arrest.
Senior advocate R. Basant, for Shuhaib, said the very fact that the accused had been charge-sheeted only for associating or supporting a banned organisation presupposed that they were not members of the outfit. Mr. Basant will continue his submissions on Thursday
SC dismisses appeals in ‘fake toolkit’ case
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed appeals filed by the Chhattisgarh government challenging a State High Court order to stay the investigation on an FIR against former Chief Minister Raman Singh and BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra for their tweets in connection with an alleged fabricated toolkit case
‘Let women take NDA exam in November’
The Supreme Court on Wednesday pushed the armed forces to live up to their reputation as “the best response team we have” to stand up to an emergency, iron out creases and make history happen by allowing women to write the National Defence Academy (NDA) examination in November this year.
The court was responding to a statement made by the Defence Ministry in an affidavit that it would have the “mechanism” to induct women into the NDA ready by May 2022.
Senior advocate Chinmoy Pradip Sharma and advocate Mohit Paul, for petitioner Kush Kalra, countered that if the NDA entrance exam was announced in May 2022, the actual exam would take place in September.
This would mean that the actual induction of women cadets into the prestigious military academy, the gateway to the three Services, would happen in 2023.
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B.R. Gavai said it was time the armed forces buckled up and made a beginning.
Court posts Yunus case hearing for October 14
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that it would not appoint a new prosecutor till the plea seeking to bring back the old prosecutor was heard on October 14 in the custodial death of 27 year old Khwaja Yunus in 2009.
Those accused are then assistant police inspector (now dismissed) Sachin Vaze and three policemen — Rajendra Tiwari, Rajaram Nikam and Sunil Desai.
They have been booked for murder, conspiracy and destruction of evidence and the trial against them commenced on May 3, 2017, at the city civil and sessions court. The court posted the matter for October 14.
Taliban want to address the world at UN
In a letter to Guterres, Taliban nominate spokesman Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan’s UN Ambassador
The Taliban have asked to address world leaders at the United Nations in New York this week and nominated their Dohabased spokesman Suhail Shaheen as Afghanistan’s UN Ambassador, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi made the request in a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Muttaqi asked to speak during the annual high level meeting of the General Assembly, which finishes on Monday
Mr. Haq said the rival requests for Afghanistan’s UN seat had been sent to a nine member credentials committee, whose members include the United States, China and Russia.
The committee is unlikely to meet on the issue before Monday, so it is doubtful that the Taliban Foreign Minister will address the world body.
Eventual UN acceptance of the ambassador of the Taliban would be an important step in the hard-line Islamist group’s bid for international recognition, which could help unlock badly needed funds for the cash strapped Afghan economy
In U.S., Gotabaya promises to engage Tamil diaspora
President’s offer sparks scepticism among Tamils
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s recent statement in New York that he would invite the Tamil diaspora for discussions on resolving pending questions of wartime accountability and justice in the island nation has sparked more scepticism than hope among Tamils.
In a meeting on Sunday with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the UN Headquarters, President Rajapaksa who is attending the 76th session of the UN General Assembly said “internal issues” of Sri Lanka should be resolved through “an internal mechanism” of the country.
The Tamil diaspora would be invited for discussions in this regard, he said, according to a media release his office.
The announcement is significant, coming from President Rajapaksa, whose government proscribed several Tamil diaspora organisations six months ago, branding their members “terrorists”.
The Rajapaksa administration has repeatedly referred to diaspora groups as ‘proLTTE’ outfits, often accusing them of attempting to revive the Tigers’ separatist struggle
In June, Mr. Rajapaksawas scheduled to meet a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest parliamentary grouping representing Tamils of the war affected north and east
Biden speaks to Macron to smooth tensions
France’s Ambassador to the U.S., Philippe Etienne, will return to Washington next week. This was announced after U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, on Wednesday.
This was the first call between the two leaders after a falling out over the September 15 announcement of a trilateral security partnership (AUKUS) between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., which led France to recall its envoys to the U.S. and Australia
The AUKUS pact was worked out behind closed doors and came as a surprise to other nations, enraging Mr. Macron.
The French said the establishment of AUKUS had significantly disrupted their plans in the Indo-Pacific and also had come at a hefty price tag
France and Australia signed a $66 billion deal in 2016 under which Australia got diesel electric submarines.
Australia is now exiting that deal as a result of AUKUS, whose main deliverable, for now, is providing Australia with a fleet of superior submarines that run on nuclear fuel.
U.S. to donate 500 million Pfizer doses to poor countries
The U.S. is going to buy another half a billion doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for distribution to low and lower middle income countries, President Joe Biden said on Wednesday.
Half a billion Pfizer doses were already promised in the summer and at least 80 million mostly AstraZeneca doses, were committed to other countries in June.
The summit will involve the participation of various government leaders and heads of international organisations, NGOs and philanthropic organisation. The 500 million Pfizerdoses will be made in theU.S. and start being distributed in January; the U.S. will ship out 800 million vaccines between January and September next year, a senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday night.
Fed foresees potential rate hike next year
The Federal Reserve signalled on Wednesday that it may start raising its benchmark interest rate sometime next year, earlier than it envisioned three months ago and a sign that it is concerned about high inflation pressures.
In a statement, the Fed said it will likely begin slowing the pace of monthly bond purchases “soon” if the economy keeps improving.
The bond purchases have been intended to lower longer term loan rates to encourage borrowing and spending. Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed could announce a pullback in bond buying as soon as its next meeting in November.
No new coal projects abroad: Xi
China will stop funding coal projects overseas, President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday.
Addressing the UN General Assembly, Mr. Xi made the promise as he vowed to accelerate efforts to help the world battle the climate crisis.
“China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low carbon energy and will not build new coal fired power projects abroad,” Mr. Xi said in a pre-recorded address. “We should foster new growth drivers in the post COVID era and jointly achieve leapfrog development, staying committed to harmony between man and nature,” he said
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