India

New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address the inaugural session of All India Conference of Law Ministers and Law Secretaries on Saturday (October 15).

The two-day conference is being hosted by the Ministry of Law and Justice at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat.

The objective of the conference is to provide a common forum for the policy makers to discuss issues related to the Indian legal and judicial system, an official statement said.

The conference will witness discussions on topics like alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as arbitration and mediation for quick and affordable justice, upgrading overall legal infrastructure, removing obsolete laws, improving access to justice, reducing pendency of cases and ensuring speedy disposal of matters.

The states will be able to share their best practices, exchange new ideas and improve their mutual cooperation through this conference, the statement said.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday junked a plea seeking to declare Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Satyendar Jain as "a person with unsound mind" and disqualify him from the Assembly on this ground, and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the petitioner.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and A.S. Oka said the plea filed by a Delhi resident is frivolous and dismissed the petition with a fine of Rs 20,000.

"It is such a misconceived and frivolous petition that it deserves to be dismissed with a cost of Rs 20,000," it said.

Jain has been in judicial custody in a money laundering case since May 30.

Petitioner Ashish Kumar Srivastava's lawyer contended before the bench that Jain had told the ED officers during questioning that he lost his memory due to Covid-19. The counsel added that the AAP MLA stands disqualified under Article 191(1)(b) of the Constitution which provides for disqualification of a lawmaker who is of unsound mind.

The top court said Jain did not say that he has lost his memory but he perhaps said he doesn't remember a few things and pointed out that there is a difference, and also, Covid presented a scenario where people were affected.

It asked the petitioner to deposit the penalty within a week, adding "It (plea) is so ridiculous that we must ask you to pay the cost."

The petitioner moved the apex court challenging an order passed by the Delhi High Court in August dismissing his petition. The high court noted that the Code of Criminal Procedure caters to all contingencies and it is for the prosecution/court to take appropriate steps in accordance with law.

Jain has been accused of having laundered money through four companies linked to him and where he was holding shares.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday slammed producer Ekta Kapoor over objectionable content in her web series "XXX".

A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and C.T. Ravikumar said: "Something has to be done. You are polluting the minds of the young generation of this country..."

The bench added that the OTT (Over the Top) content was available to all and questioned her counsel as to "what kind of choice are you providing to the people?"

The bench made these observations after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Kapoor, contended a plea was moved before the Patna High Court but chances are slim that the matter will be taken up soon.

At this, the bench said: "You are polluting the minds of youngsters."

Rohatgi, however, submitted that the apex court had earlier granted protection to Kapoor in a similar matter and there is freedom of choice in the country. He further added that content is subscription based.

The bench said it does not appreciate that every time, a plea is moved before the apex court and added that a cost will be imposed for filing such a petition. It asked Rohatgi to convey this to his client and emphasised that the apex court works for those who don't have voices.

The top court was hearing a plea by Kapoor against the arrest warrants issued against her for allegedly insulting soldiers and hurting the sentiments of their families in the web series on her OTT platform ALTBalaji.

The bench observed: "We have seen the order and we have our reservations."

The apex court has also kept the matter pending before it and recommended a local lawyer should be engaged to inform about the status of hearing in the high court.

A trial court in Bihar's Begusarai had issued the warrant on a 2020 complaint lodged by Shambhu Kumar, an ex-serviceman, who alleged that "XXX" (season-2) featured several objectionable scenes in connection with the soldier's wife.

--IANS
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Varanasi, Oct 14 (IANS) In a jolt to Hindu petitioners, a Varanasi court, on Friday, rejected the petition seeking carbon dating of the purported 'Shivling' found in the Gyanvapi mosque complex.

Hindu petitioners said that they would study the verdict and then decide whether to approach the high court.

The petitioners had claimed that the 'Shivling' found in the 'wuzu khana' or reservoir of the mosque during survey work on May 16 was part of the property.

The Hindu side demanded carbon dating and other scientific tests of the Shivling-like structure.

Carbon dating is a scientific process that ascertains the age of an archaeological object or archaeological finds.

The Gyanvapi Masjid committee had opposed the carbon dating plea filed by the Hindu side.

Last month, four of the five Hindu women petitioners filed a plea seeking "scientific investigation" on the 'Shivling'.

They contended that it was necessary to determine its age. The women have claimed that ancient idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses are located inside the mosque.

The mosque committee objected to scientific investigation, arguing that the case was about worshipping at a shrine inside the mosque and had nothing to do with its structure. The object being called a 'Shivling' is actually a "fountain", they argued.

Last week, the court asked if the purported 'Shivling' can be made a part of the case and whether a scientific investigation can actually be ordered.

Vishnu Shankar Jain, lead advocate for Hindu women, told reporters that he tried to convince the court on both counts.

"We said two things - that in our prayer we asked for rights to pray before visible and invisible deities inside the mosque complex. The Shivling was earlier covered by water and when the water was removed it became a visible deity and so it is part of the suit," he said.

On September 12, the Varanasi district judge dismissed a challenge by the mosque committee that argued that the case by the Hindu women seeking permission for year-long worship inside the mosque complex has no legal standing.

Their challenge was rejected on all three counts they cited. The most important of these is the 1991 law, which freezes the status of a place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947. The petitioners do not want ownership, just the right to worship, the court ruled.

Earlier this year, a lower court in Varanasi ordered the filming of the centuries-old mosque based on the women's petition. The videography report, controversially leaked by the petitioners, claimed a 'Shivling' was found in a pond used for 'Wuzu' or the mandatory purification rituals before Muslim prayers.

The Gyanvapi mosque, located in Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is one of the several mosques that Hindu hardliners believe were built on the ruins of temples.

It was one of the three temple-mosque rows, besides Ayodhya and Mathura, which the BJP raised in the eighties and nineties, that gained national prominence.

--IANS
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Kolkata, Oct 14 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is in the process of establishing links between two much-talked-about financial embezzlement scams in West Bengal -- the multi-crore West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) recruitment irregularities and the cattle smuggling case.

The CBI officials on Friday summoned for questioning one Kajal Roy and one Rohit Singh in connection with the cattle smuggling scam. Incidentally, the CBI sources said that while Kajal Roy is the wife of Prasanna Roy, the middleman arrested by the central agency sleuths in the WBSSC scam, Rohit Singh is one of his cousins. Kajal Roy also happens to be the niece of former West Bengal education minister and Trinamool Congress secretary general, Partha Chatterjee, who is currently in judicial custody for his alleged involvement in the WBSSC scam.

To recall, the CBI sleuths, on August 27 this year, arrested Prasanna Roy. CBI sources said that during the course of investigation in the cattle smuggling scam, their officers have come across a number of shell companies, which were floated with the purpose of diverting scam proceeds to different channels. "After thoroughly examining different documents and papers of these companies, the involvement of Kajal Roy and Rohit Singh in these entities evolved," a CBI official said.

After his arrest in August, the CBI sleuths were surprised by the meteoric northward graph of Roy's financial fortune between 2014 and 2018, the time slot when the teachers' recruitment scam took place.

He started as a small-time house painting contractor and slowly extended his business in other spheres like holiday resorts and even tea gardens in north Bengal. However, the sources of the funds through which Roy funded his businesses were highly mysterious. The CBI sleuths then procured documents relating to his ownership of a number of flats in and around Kolkata.

Roy also used to run a car-rental business and his major clients on this count were a number of top officials of WBSSC, some of whom are currently in judicial custody for their alleged involvement in the teacher's recruitment scam.

He also used to pose as a representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO as well as the "International Peoples' Alliance of the World" in the social media.

Besides, Roy claimed to be the chief financial advisor to World Hindu Struggle Committee, a self-styled organisation claiming to be a dedicated international team fighting to raise its voice against fundamentalism, terrorism, and inhuman groups.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) Vistara airline on Friday announced the addition of a new route to its international network with four weekly flights between Pune and Singapore, starting December .

The airline will operate its state-of-the-art A321neo aircraft with a three-class configuration on the route as it strengthens its existing connectivity between India and the 'Lion City'. The airline also recently announced that it will fly daily between Mumbai and Kathmandu starting November 15, enabling convenient onward connections to popular international destinations like Dubai, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi and more.

Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, "We are very excited to be able to launch the long-awaited connection between Pune and Singapore. Singapore is a key market for business and leisure travel from various points in India and we are glad that the new route will offer enhanced connectivity to our customers.

"We are also delighted to introduce another international route between Mumbai and Kathmandu thereby offering the customers the option to avail seamless connections beyond Mumbai across our domestic as well as international network. We continue to densify our network for the convenience of our customers and offer them the experience of flying with India's best airline."

TATA SIA Airlines Limited, known by the brand name Vistara, is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons Private Limited and Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA). Vistara commenced its commercial operations on January 9, 2015, with an aim to set new standards in the aviation industry in India and currently it connects destinations across India and abroad. The airline has a fleet of 53 aircraft, including 41 Airbus A320, five Airbus A321neo, five Boeing 737-800NG and two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft and has flown more than 35 million customers since starting operations.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) To combat the degrading air quality in Delhi-NCR, which is likely to worsen in the coming days, 10 pollution hotspots have been identified in Ghaziabad.

The officials concerned have been directed to ensure strict implementation of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)implemented across Delhi-NCR since October 1.

Vasundhara, Indirapuram, Loni, Sahibabad, Raj Nagar Extension, Meerut Road, Bhopura Delhi Border, GT Road, Sanjay Nagar and Siddharth Vihar have been identified as pollution hotspots.

As per the rules, burning garbage or keeping construction material in the open attract fines.

The city's AQI was recorded as moderate till Thursday.

Vasundhara, Indirapuram, Loni, Sahibabad, Raj Nagar Extension, Meerut Road, Bhopura Delhi Border, GT Road, Sanjay Nagar and Siddharth Vihar have been identified as pollution hotspots.

According to a survey conducted in the past, Ghaziabad has been the most polluted district of the country, which is why keen attention is being given to it.


--IANS
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New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that the electoral bonds scheme is an absolutely transparent mode of political funding.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, submitted before a bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and B.V. Nagarathna that the methodology of receiving money is transparent, and emphasized that nothing is black now, rather everything is transparent.

The bench queried Mehta, does the system provide information where the money is coming from? Mehta said absolutely!

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing one of the petitioners, said this is a very interconnected issue which affects the democracy -- one is electoral bonds issue and the other is whether political parties can come under RTI. Bhushan added that anybody can get foreign money by virtue of this and queried, can this be done through a money bill?

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing a petitioner, submitted that he has a suggestion, since this is an important issue, it could be heard by a larger bench.

The bench asked the Centre's counsel for views on referring the matter to a larger bench. The petitioners' counsel said the matter should be heard as early as possible, as state elections are coming up in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Mehta said this is not an election related issue. Bhushan said just before every state election electoral bonds were issued.

After hearing submissions from the counsel, the bench scheduled the matter for hearing on December 6.

The top court was hearing a batch of five petitions led by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), that have challenged the validity of the Centre's electoral bonds scheme as a source of political funding. The matter came up for hearing after a gap of more than 18 months.

The apex court, in March 2021, declined to entertain two stay applications moved by ADR to stop the sale of the electoral bonds ahead of elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry.

The top court had noted that there was no justification to block sale of electoral bonds over concerns of anonymity in political party funding or apprehensions of their misuse.

In April 2019, the apex court directed all political parties to submit details of receipts of the electoral bonds to the Election Commission of India (ECI) in a sealed cover. The top court had tagged petitions by CPI-M and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, with the ADR petition, which have also raised issues in connection with electoral bonds.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) The Supreme Court has said that it would not use its power under Article 142 to annul a marriage, when the wife is willing to give the marriage one more "try", however the husband claimed an irretrievable breakdown of marriage.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S. Oka was informed that the couple stayed together only for 40 days and they have been living separately for almost two years now. Emphasizing that marriage is not a casual event in India, the bench said, "we have not reached western standards of marriage today and divorce tomorrow".

Declining to annul the marriage on husband's plea, the bench said the powers under Article 142 cannot be exercised to annul the marriage when one party is unwilling. The bench noted that the couple were highly educated -- husband ran an NGO and the wife had permanent residence permission in Canada, and added the couple should make efforts to resolve the differences.

The wife informed the top court she left everything in Canada to marry the man, however the husband insisted on a direction to annul the marriage.

The top court was hearing a transfer petition filed by a wife seeking to save her marriage. The husband sought to quash the transfer petition citing irretrievable breakdown of marriage and insisted that marriage is not working. The wife said she had been working in Canada and came to India during the Covid-19 lockdown for her husband.

The husband submitted that he intends to live with his elderly parents but his wife is having a Canadian perspective and insisted on not living with the parents. The bench told the husband that he married somebody who is living in Canada, and then he asked her to wind up everything and come here.

The bench said this is not a case where it can suo motu exercise 142 and it is very difficult to record a satisfaction that there's a total breakdown of marriage unless both parties say there's a breakdown of marriage.

The top court urged the couple to go for mediation proceedings. It appointed a former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge as mediator and allowed him to take assistance of a marriage counsellor and sought a report in three months.

--IANS
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