India

New Delhi, May 9 (IANS) The Delhi High Court has granted bail to businessman P. Sarath Chandra Reddy, accused in a money laundering case in connection with the alleged excise policy scam, on medical grounds.

On granting bail, Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said that the sick and weak holds the right to proper and effective treatment.

The judge said that decent and basic treatment can be given to the accused in jail, but the current case requires specialised treatment and monitoring, which the court cannot expect.

Since there was also no material on record showing Reddy as a flight risk, the court said that his health is in bad condition and he qualifies as sick/infirm to be released on bail.

The judge however, imposed certain conditions such as not allowing Reddy to travel without permission or tamper with evidence, surrendering his passport, appearing before the investigation officer whenever asked and keeping his mobile phone in working condition.

Justice Sharma also made it clear that the order was passed in view of the accused's medical condition without going into the merits of the case and shall not be taken as a precedent.

Reddy was granted bail on furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties of the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial court.

Backing up Reddy, his counsel Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa said that medical records showed he was "sick and infirm" and was entitled to bail under Section 45 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The court said: "It is also a settled proposition that right to life is facet of Fundamental Right enshrined by the Constitution. Right to live with dignity includes right to live a healthy life. The person who is sick or infirm has a right to have adequate and effective treatment.

"Though jails and designated hospitals provide good basic treatment, but we cannot expect them to provide specialised treatment and monitoring as required in the present case."

--IANS
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Mumbai, May 8 (IANS) A total of 25 students from Maharashtra, who were stuck in the strife-torn northeastern state of Manipur, reached Mumbai via Guwahati by a special flight, officials said here on Monday.

The flight from Guwahati landed here late on Monday night.

Earlier, the stranded students were airlifted from Imphal to Guwahati, a distance of around 500 km, to catch their flight to Mumbai on Monday evening.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde spoke to his counterparts in Assam and Manipur to seek their help for the safe transfer of students from the state who were in a limbo there.

Shinde said late Sunday night that he had spoken with two students -- Vikas Sharma and Tushar Awhad.

Similarly, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis was also been in touch with the students and asked them not to worry as they will be brought back safely.

Most students from this state study in the NIT or IIIT-Manipur there, and their plight was highlighted by Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar and Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar on Saturday.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh arranged for the students to be shifted from Imphal to Guwahati by a special flight on Monday morning, said an official.

Joint Secretary of Protocol Department Ramchandra Dhanawade, Protocol Officer Abdul Aziz Baig and their team welcomed the students on behalf of the government.

The students also thanked the state government for their safe return with a handmade placard which they carried.

The students who came home are -- Aditya Gajbhiye, Tushar Awad, Ayush Dubey, Shivsampat Tagirisa, Gautam Chaurasia, Sajan Paunikar, Mohit Khadpe, Bhushan Pawara, Vriksal Ganveer, Vikas Sharma, Tanmay Madhav, Madikonda Avinash, Rohit Kori, Ayush Ravi, Gyandeep Chute, Pratik Kodag, Punarvasu Ingole, Saijit Nikam, Ananya Banerjee, Shantanu Kumbhirkar, Krish Kalgude, Phalgun Mahajan, Madhurika Indoorkar, Ronil Nader and Ashwagandha Parade.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) A Delhi court on Monday extended AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's judicial custody till May 23 in connection with the Delhi excise policy case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The ED has alleged that Sisodia was the mastermind behind the entire excise policy case and that he had deliberately leaked the policy to the co-accused to generate financial kickbacks.

Sisodia is currently in judicial custody.

The ED had arrested Sisodia on March 9 after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested him on February 26 this year.

Last month, Special CBI Judge M. K. Nagpal of Rouse Avenue Court had denied bail to Sisodia, holding that the evidence, prima facie, "speaks volumes" of his involvement in the offence.

Last week, High Court judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma sought the ED's response to Sisodia's bail plea and another application seeking interim bail on the ground of his wife's ill-health and listed the matter for further consideration on May 11.

In the case being probed by the CBI, Delhi court extended Sisodia's judicial custody till May 12.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine a plea by the victim in the Air India urination case seeking direction to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and airline companies to frame regulations to address incidents of passenger misconduct on board aircraft.

The plea stressed on explicit zero tolerance policy with respect to "unruly/disruptive behaviour", which could mandate reporting it to the law enforcement, failing which action would be taken against airlines in all cases.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala, issued notice to the Centre, the DGCA and all airlines, including Air India.

The bench sought assistance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was present in the case, formulating standard operating procedure (SOP) and scheduled the matter for hearing in July.

The petitioner has also requested the apex court to direct the media to desist from reporting on criminal proceedings, to prevent further shaming and embarrassment for the 72-year-old victim and the perpetrator.

The petitioner contended that Air India, along with the DGCA, have failed to treat the petitioner with care and responsibility after an unruly passenger urinated on the petitioner after having been served excessive alcohol on the flight.

The plea said the wide-ranging national press reportage full of conjecture and surmises has severely undermined the petitioner's right as a victim under Article 21 of the Constitution, and in fairness also affected the rights of the accused as well.

"Their rights of free and fair trial have also been substantially affected due to the selective leaking of the AIR SEWA complaint of the petitioner, the FIR and selective witness statements being released to the media to match a specific narrative," said the plea filed through advocate Rahul Narayan.

The plea added the incident caused the petitioner to go into shock and distress during the 12-hour long flight and the crew was both unhelpful and uncooperative.

The plea submitted there has been a sharp rise in unruly passenger behaviour globally, as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) published a report in December 2022 urging governments to take practical approaches regarding identifying and handling unruly passengers.

The plea added that the Civil Aviation Requirements of May 2017 (CAR) of the DGCA should consider "drunkenness" or "inebriation" on its own to be considered unruly/ disruptive behaviour on an aircraft.

"The DGCA, via CAR dated May 2017, has laid out guidelines for the handling of unruly/disruptive passengers. However, it does not have an explicit zero-tolerance policy with respect to 'unruly/ disruptive behaviour'. Also, these guidelines do not consider being drunk or inebriated on its own as unruly disruptive behaviour," said the plea.

The plea contended that the authorities should frame the guidelines on alcohol policy on international flights of Indian carriers to protect passengers and airline staff, including setting limits on the quantity of alcohol served, without any discrimination based on the class of travel.

For the November 26, 2022 incident, accused Shankar Mishra was arrested from Bengaluru on January 6. Delhi Police lodged an FIR against Mishra under various sections of the IPC and section 23 of the Aircraft Act for peeing on the woman in the business class of the flight. The accused was granted bail later.

--IANS
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New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will on Monday co-chair the discussions for the sixth India-Canada ministerial dialogue on trade and investment (MDTI) in Ottawa, Canada, along with his Canadian counterpart Mary Ng.

MDTI is a bilateral mechanism which provides institutional mechanism to discuss a broad spectrum of trade and investment related issues and cooperation areas.

The dialogue will focus on various themes including strengthening the bilateral trade relationship between India and Canada, investment promotion and cooperation, green transition -- including critical minerals discussion and new areas of cooperation such as promoting B2B engagements.

The ministers will also review India-Canada CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) negotiations.

At the last MDTI meeting in March 2022, both ministers had launched the CEPA negotiations with a possibility to have an interim agreement or EPTA (Early Progress Trade Agreement).

Since then, seven rounds of negotiations have been held.

Goyal will also be visiting Toronto from May 9 to 10, where he will have various engagements to promote trade and investment.

These engagements will include meetings with CEOs of key Canadian companies, round table of Indian and Canadian CEOs, interaction with Canadian and Indian companies based in Canada and financial sector round table among other meetings.

--IANS
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Chandigarh, May 8 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday inaugurated the first-of-its-kind Indian Air Force (IAF) Heritage Centre here.

The country's first IAF Heritage Centre, spanning over an area of 17,000 sq ft, has been set up in the Government Press building in Sector 18 to preserve the rich heritage of the IAF and to inspire the young minds to join the armed forces.

Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Banwarilal Purohit, Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari and Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher were also present on the occasion, among others.

Following the approval of the Defence Minister, a memorandum of understanding on the heritage centre was signed between the Chandigarh administration and the IAF on June 3, 2022, in the presence of Punjab Governor Purohit.

The centre reflects the role of IAF in various wars through murals and memorabilia and is equipped with informative exhibits like augmented reality, virtual reality, hologram, flying simulators, aero engines, electro mechanical enclosures, multimedia and interactive kiosks, highlighting the various facets of the IAF.

The main attractions of the heritage centre are five vintage aircraft and SAM-III Pechora missiles safeguarding the Indian sky since decades.

Air Force 'Kanpur-l' is installed inside the centre, which was designed and built by late Air Vice Marshal Harjinder Singh in 1958. This aircraft is a testimony to be seen as a moment of glory for future generations to understand the significance of self-reliance, innovation and the dream of 'Make in India'.

A GNAT aircraft (Sabre Slayer) 1971 Fame is displayed on the main roundabout of Chandigarh while vintage aircraft like MiG-21, HPT-32 and MiG-23 are installed in the centre which will serve as a popular tourist attraction.

The centre displays the glorious history of IAF with the help of murals depicting various war campaigns of IAF, starting with the role of IAF in the Indo-Pak war of 1948 to electro mechanical 3D-Dioramas depicting the latest operations of IAF such as the Balakot strike.

An augmented reality enclosure and a virtual reality enclosure will give the visitors a 3D real-time experience in the theme of the historic battle of Longewala.

An audio-visual gallery will present the journey of IAF through time, tracing its evolution from its inception to the modern day.

Holographic projection depicting aircraft interceptions and various aircraft on inventory of IAF will also be shown.

The centre has scale models from the Republic Day tableau on display such as indigenous Tejas fighter aircraft, Prachand helicopter and AEW&C Netra aircraft as IAF's initiative towards the vision of the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'.

--IANS
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Srinagar, May 8 (IANS) A slight intensity tremor, measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale, jolted Kashmir on Monday but authorities said no report of any casualty or damage to property was reported from anywhere.

The Met department said that an earthquake measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale occurred in Kashmir at 2.28 p.m. with its epicentre in Baramulla region.

The latitude of the earthquake was 34.16 degrees north and longitude 74.56 degrees east. It occurred at a depth of 10 km.

Earthquakes have wrought havoc in Kashmir in past as the place is situated in seismologically highly sensitive region.

--IANS
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Etawah (Uttar Pradesh), May 8 (IANS) Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Singh Yadav has alleged that BJP ministers who were engaged in civic poll campaigns, are pressurising officials.

Shivpal told reporters that all the BJP ministers who were campaigning in the state, knew that the public was not going to vote for them but they still continue to pressurise the officers.

"The Bharatiya Janata Party is nervous because people are not voting for them. All the ministers and the deputy chief ministers who are engaged in the election campaign, are coming here only to pressurise the officers as they know the public is not going to vote for them. But the public will not tolerate this."

Yadav further said, "The biggest mafia and brokers are in the BJP only and the chief minister needs to get it investigated."

When asked about EVMs, Shivpal Yadav said: "It's the responsibility of the election commission to ensure that the machine works properly and to conduct a fair election."

Shivpal also questioned the current government on the law-and-order situation in the state and alleged that even MPs and MLAs were not being heard.

--IANS
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Mumbai, May 8 (IANS) The four-day-long 'resignation' drama of Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar ended, but ruined the Bharatiya Janata Party's plans to break his 24-year-old party, which is an ally of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the Shiv Sena (UBT) observed here on Monday.

In an editorial in the party's newspapers, 'Saamana' and 'Dopahar Ka Saamana', the party said that Pawar's decision to step down as NCP supremo sparked not only panic but created a national political upheaval.

"Pawar is like the mythical banyan tree in politics. He broke away from the Congress, formed, ran and built up the NCP independently. However, he has not prepared the leadership which can take it forward after him and failed to produce a successor," rued the edit.

It recounted the four-days of political palpitations witnessed all over the country, how all NCP workers were trembling and shaken to the core, worried over its future and strongly opposed the move.

Bowing to all-round sentiments, the towering national political leader finally relented and Pawar will continue as the NCP president.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) slammed the BJP which criticised the NCP imbroglio as a 'nautanki', and sarcastically advised that "before accusing others, first they should look at their own Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is known as the world's biggest gimmick".

"The BJP has come up by breaking other parties or homes. They had a plan to break the NCP, just like the Shiv Sena (in 2022). People were ready with their (money) bags and even the 'lodging-boarding' arrangements for the newcomers were completed," claimed the Saamana Group.

However, owing to Pawar's game, the BJP's plan was dumped into the dustbin and its tummy-ache has increased, it noted.

The Saamana Group pointed out how one section in NCP wanted Pawar to take the party into the BJP camp and free his associates from the harassment of the ED, CBI, Income Tax shenanigans, but he put his foot down.

Referring to Pawar's move to appoint a mini-bus committee to nominate his successor, the Saamana Group said it comprised many who were apparently planning to join the BJP.

"The pressures and sentiments of the workers were so strong that the committee had to inform him that thereafter, its only you' (as President), and rejected Pawar's resignation. The curtain fell on the drama. His return brought consciousness back to the NCP, and state and national opposition parties also heave a sigh of relief," said the edits.

The Saamana Group said though Pawar had no choice but to retract, the resignation drama provided him with an idea of where exactly the NCP stands and where are the hearts of those around him, while declaring that "those who want to leave the NCP are free to go, I will not stop them".

Suspecting that the bookings in the BJP's lodging-boarding have not been cancelled, the Saamana Group cautioned that those who go there "will be finished by the people, no matter how big they are".

It cited how the condition of those who split and left to join (Chief Minister Eknath Shinde)'s Shiv Sena is now worse than stray dogs in the bins.

"BJP doesn't want to win elections in a democratic manner, they play the politics of breaking others through ED, CBI, ITa. But, it's better to live like a tiger for one day instead of a goat for 100 days" the edits said.

The Saamana Group pointed out that Pawar has said he will fight till the end, Uddhav Thackeray, Lalu Prasad, K. Chandrashekar Rao, Mamata Banerjee, M. K. Stalin and others have also come out to fight along with their workers.

--IANS
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Gurugram, May 7 (IANS) A 55-year-old woman was killed while three others sustained grievous injuries in a road accident on Sunday near Kherki Daula toll plaza on Dwarka Expressway, the police said.

The deceased has been identified as Monika Arya, a resident of Delhi. The injured individuals were yet to be identified and admitted to the hospital for treatment.

A police officer said that two cars were involved in a head-on collision on Dwarka Expressway at around 9 a.m.

Monika Arya, along with her family members, was going to Delhi in a Swift Dzire car.

When they reached the Dwarka Expressway, a Swift car coming from the wrong direction collided head-on with their car.

Monika died on the spot.

A police team later went to the spot and conducted an inquiry.

The body of the woman was handed over to the family after an autopsy.

A case of negligent driving against the Swift car driver has been registered by the police at Sector-37 police station in Gurugram.

--IANS
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