The Hindustan Times – Bilkis Bano moves Supreme Court against release of 11 convicts, CJI to look into

New Delhi – India, 30 November 2022. CJI DY Chadhrachud said he will look into the plea after Bilkis Bano’s lawyer mentioned the matter in front of the CJI on Wednesday.

Poulomi Ghosh – Utkarsh Anand

Bilkis Bano on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court challenging the remission of the 11 convicts who walked free on August 15 this year. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said he will look into the plea after her lawyer mentioned the matter today before the CJI.

The early release of the 11 convicts who were sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2002 gangrape case drew nationwide criticism and several petitions questioning the decision of the Gujarat government were filed in the top court. As the cases are being heard, Bilkis Bano’s lawyer on Wednesday filed a writ petition challenging the remission of the sentence.

The 11 men are convicted for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 riots.

As the Supreme Court heard the earlier petitions filed against the remission, the Gujarat government said the remission was granted to them because of their ‘good behaviour’.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bilkis-bano-moves-supreme-court-against-release-of-11-convicts-cji-to-look-into-101669794071764.html

The Tribune – Former Chief Justice of India J S Khehar to inaugurate global conference on Bhai Vir Singh on 01 December

A message by former PM Manmohan Singh, President of Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, will be read out on the occasion

Tribune News Service

New Delhi – India, 29 November 29. Former Chief Justice of India, JS Khehar, will inaugurate a two-day global conference on Bhai Vir Singh in the capital on Thursday as part of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of the poet.

Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, a premier literary and cultural organisation in the national capital, headed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is marking the 150th birth anniversary of the poet beginning with an International Conference starting on 01 December.

The conference titled, “Times – Writings and Legacy”, being organised in association with Sahitya Akademi and local Khalsa College, will be inaugurated by Justice Khehar (Retd).

Surjit Patar, eminent Punjabi poet will deliver the keynote address.

A message by former PM Manmohan Singh, President of Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan, will be read out on the occasion.

Nearly 30 scholars from different parts of India and abroad, particularly from the UK, Canada, the US and Singapore, will be presenting their papers with Prof Pritam Singh Gill from Oxford Brooks delivering the valedictory address.

Major issues to be discussed in different sessions would be Modernity and Change in Colonial Punjab with Maharaja Ranjit Singh Empire coming under British control.

Climate change, degeneration of established traditional values and ecological vision of Bhai Vir Singh, will also be debated by scholars during two days of the conference.

In order to ensure that Bhai Vir Singh’s writings which focus on environmental concerns and spirituality reach a larger audience, particularly the diaspora, the Sadan has launched projects of translations.

Some of the translated works will also be released during the conference, said Mohinder Singh, Director, National Institute of Punjab Studies at Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan.

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/former-cji-js-khehar-to-inaugurate-global-conference-on-bhai-vir-singh-on-december-1-455969

The Indian Express – Nihangs are followers of Sikhism and are not a religion unto themselves: High Court

The petitioner in this case was Ranjit Singh Phoola, who is the head of Nihang Singh Jathebandi Tarna Dal Missal Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh Poohla.

Chandigarh – Panjab – India, 29 November 2022. “Nihangs are followers of Sikhism and Gurmat but are not a religion unto themselves and the attire given to them is traditional but it is not a part of religion,” said a Punjab and Haryana High Court bench recently while dismissing a plea seeking cancellation of the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) certificate granted to Punjabi movie ‘Masand’, and challenging its release.

The petitioner in this case was Ranjit Singh Phoola, who is the head of Nihang Singh Jathebandi group Tarna Dal Missal Shaheed Bhai Taru Singh Poohla.

The petitioner had challenged the release of ‘Masand’, after watching the trailer of the movie, on the ground that it could hurt sentiments of those following Sikh religion and promote community hatred.

The petitioner drew a parallel between the villain’s character in the film as shown in the trailer and the life of Jathedar Ajit Singh Poohla (head of Nihang sect, Tarna Dal), who was murdered by some radical elements.

According to the petitioner, based on the trailer, the film glorified the murderers.

Ranjit Singh Phoola had contended before the high court that the chief of Nihang Jathebandi wears turban in a specific way giving a distinct identity showing the ranking of the Jathedar.

He is shown in the trailer wearing a ‘pharla’ (turban) in a manner worn by Tarna Dal which is strikingly similar to the ‘pharla’ worn by leader of Nihang Singh Jathebandi, and such a portrayal is detrimental to the tenets of Sikhism, the petitioner contended.

Also, it was contended by the petitioner that the feelings of Nihang Singhs and people of Punjab in general would be hurt if the Nihang Sikhs are depicted in a negative manner and it could reduce the status and respect of the Nihang Singhs, notwithstanding the sacrifices made by them.

A bench of Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj, in a detailed judgment, had said that “Nihang” is a Persian word – meaning a “crocodile” – given to the Akalis by the “Mughals”. They are a part of the Sikh military order. They are renowned for their martial skills with a vocation of being a warrior.

“A Nihang has to live by a regime of ‘Rehat’ (disciplined way of life), ‘Naam Abhyaas’, knowledge and ‘Jeevan’ (spiritual life). The Nihangs differ essentially from all other Sikh orders in being a militaristic organisation.

However, they are followers of Sikhism and Gurmat but are not a religion unto themselves. The attire given to them is traditional but it is not a part of religion. The symbols worn by them depict their rank and group but does not become a part of religion.

An ardent follower of faith through its rituals and practices cannot partake of religion itself which lives beyond the followers.”

Justice Bhardwaj said, “At the outset, the film is not based on life of their leader and is not a biographic account. It claims to be inspired by a true event. It is not an adaptation of a true event or a dramatic representation of an event.

An inspiration from an event is essentially a work of fiction woven around any aspect of an event, it cannot be said that an event portrays a character or person in a shade other than the belief of an objector and that any such portrayal needs to be changed.”

The high court said, “The character may be inspired in some ways but the same is not portrayal of the person, as alleged. Even otherwise, the petitioner has not seen the movie and has challenged only on the basis of promotional trailer which is of 2-4 minutes in length as against the feature film of 2½ hours.

Tolerance, acceptance and mutuality of existence are essence of Sikhism. Rigidity and intolerance have no scope in a religion which commenced by challenging rigidity and dogmatic practices and questioning the relic worship.

Religion and belief are often beyond objectivity and are largely not influenced by anyone else’s non-belief. Any such fear is disbelief in the foundation of religion itself which he claims to profess.”

The high court added, “Any citizen would not have a legitimate right to confront exhibition of a film duly certified by the statutory authority and to claim that the same should be pulled off from screening or exhibition in theatres.

Such tendency cannot be accepted or allowed to escalate as it curtails rights of every other person in society to espouse his views and to portray them. Once an adequate mechanism and guidelines have been prescribed under the Cinematograph Act, 1952, for public exhibition of movies, there cannot be any other checks and balances.

Those who disagree or have reservations of their own against such work of art are under no compulsion to watch/view the same”

Justice Bhardwaj held that the uniform of Nihang Jathebandi is not equivalent to the five ‘Kankaars’ which are integral part of Sikh religion. Any such attempt on the part of the petitioner to equate the insignia worn by the Sikh Jathedar/Nihang Jathebandis to be a part of Sikh religion would rather be an abrasion of Sikh religion and is thus unacceptable.

The high court dismissed the plea stating that it would be arbitrary to not allow the respondent to exhibit his movie on this score.

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/nihangs-are-followers-of-sikhism-and-are-not-a-religion-unto-themselves-high-court-8295650/

Scroll.in – Manipal University bars professor from classes for comparing Muslim student to terrorist

A video of the student objecting to the professor’s remark was shared widely on social media.

Scroll Staff

Manipal – Karnataka – India, 28 November 2022. A professor at the Manipal Institute of Technology in Karnataka was on Monday debarred from taking classes after he compared a Muslim student to a terrorist.

The professor had asked the student his name, and on hearing the name, he remarked: “Oh you are like Kasab”, NDTV reported. The professor was apparently referring to Ajmal Kasab, who was convicted and hanged to death for his involvement in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai on 26 November 2008.

A video of the student objecting to the professor’s remark was shared widely on social media on Monday. He was heard saying: “Being a Muslim in this country and facing this every day is not funny…will you talk to your son like that? Will you call him by the name of a terrorist?”

The professor was heard apologising, to which the student said: “Your ‘sorry’ doesn’t change the way you think or how you portray yourself here.”

The public relations officer at the Manipal University, S P Kar, told Scroll.in that the incident was unfortunate and the institution strongly condemns it.

“An enquiry committee has been set up and for now the faculty is debarred from taking the classes,” Kar said. “A suitable way forward would be taken based on the findings. We are really sorry that this kind of incident happened.”

In a statement released on Twitter, the institute said that it treats everyone alike irrespective of caste, religion, region or gender. “This isolated incident will be dealt with in accordance with the laid down policy,” it said.

https://scroll.in/latest/1038522/manipal-university-bars-professor-from-classes-for-comparing-muslim-student-to-terrorist

The Asian Age – Nirav Modi seeks permission to appeal extradition to India in UK top court

It is unknown if and when extradition may take place as Nirav Modi still has legal challenges open to him

London – UK, 24 November 2022. Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi has filed an application in the High Court here, seeking permission to appeal against its decision to extradite him to India in the UK Supreme Court.

The 51-year-old businessman lost an appeal on mental health grounds earlier this month, when a two-judge High Court bench ruled that his risk of suicide was not such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan scam case.

Nirav, who remains behind bars at Wandsworth Prison in London, had two weeks to file an application seeking an appeal on the grounds of a point of law of general public importance, which according to experts is a high threshold that is not met very often.

It is unknown if and when extradition may take place as Nirav Modi still has legal challenges open to him, UK Home Office sources said.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), acting on behalf of the Indian authorities, is now expected to respond to the latest application, following which a High Court judge is to give a ruling on paper – without a full hearing.

The entire process may eventually fall into the New Year, given the Christmas holiday period next month.

On 09 November Lord Justice Jeremy Stuart-Smith and Justice Robert Jay who had presided over the appeal at the Royal Courts of Justice in London ruled that they were “far from satisfied that Mr Modi’s mental condition and the risk of suicide are such that it would be either unjust or oppressive to extradite him”.

Their verdict also found every reason to accept that the government of India (GOI) will treat its assurances on Nirav’s medical care at Barrack 12 of Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai with “appropriate seriousness”.

“On the basis of the assurances that the GoI has given, we accept that there will be suitable medical provision and an appropriate plan in place for the management and medical care of Mr Modi, which will be provided in the knowledge that he is a suicide risk (i.e. a person who, in the absence of preventative measures, may or will attempt suicide and will or may succeed),” the judgment read.

If his attempt to have his appeal heard in the Supreme Court fails, in principle, Nirav can apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to try and block his extradition on the basis that he will not receive a fair trial and that he will be detained in conditions that breach Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which the UK is a signatory.

The threshold for an ECHR appeal is also extremely high because he would also have to demonstrate that his arguments on those grounds before the UK courts have been previously rejected.

The dismissal of the High Court appeal earlier this month marked a major win for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) case against the businessman, who has been in prison since his arrest on an extradition warrant in March 2019.

The latest High Court ruling noted three sets of criminal proceedings against the diamantaire in India – the CBI case of fraud on the PNB which caused losses equivalent to over 700 million pounds, the ED case relating to the alleged laundering of the proceeds of that fraud and a third set of criminal proceedings involving alleged interference with evidence and witnesses in the CBI proceedings.

Then UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, had ordered Nirav’s extradition based on Judge Sam Goozee’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court ruling in April 2021 and the case has been undergoing an appeals process since then.

https://www.asianage.com/india/all-india/241122/nirav-modi-seeks-permission-to-appeal-extradition-to-india-in-uk-top-court.html

The Tribune – Despite High Court stay order trees axed in Sangrur panchayat complex

Tribune News Service

Sangrur – Panjab – India, 27 November 2022. Despite stay orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC), full grown trees were axed from the local panchayat bhavan. As per information, some locals saw trees in the panchayat bhavan being axed and informed other residents.

“All officials are aware about the HC stay order over the axing of the trees at the panchayat bhavan, Today’s incident is a contempt of the HC order. I would take up the matter during the hearing on 13 December,” said Jasinder Sekhon, a local environment activist.

Three rooms in the bhavan have been occupied by women police station. The police were present on the spot, but did not stop the axing.

However, women police station SHO Sukhwinder Kaur said the office was situated on the backside of the building and the front side was with the zila parishad.

“I have got to know that trees have been axed from the front side of the building. We have our office and parking space on the backside of the building,” she said.

Axing of tree has been a huge issue here since four years. The locals have been alleging that the city was earlier known as the “City of Gardens”, but during the tenure of the previous Congress government, city witnessed the axing of hundreds of full grown trees.

Sangrur ADC Development Varjeet Walia said, “Trees have been axed illegally from the panchayat bhavan. We will identify the officer and take strict action.”

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/despite-punjab-and-haryana-high-court-stay-order-trees-axed-in-sangrur-panchayat-complex-455349

The London Economic – ‘I’m a Tory get me out of here’: MPs jump ship ahead of the next election

Levelling-up minister Dehenna Davison joined Sir Gary Streeter in becoming the latest Tories to announce their exit plans.

Levelling-up minister Dehenna Davison, seen as a rising star in the Tory party, has joined a veteran Conservative in announcing she will stand down at the next election.

Ms Davison, who became Bishop Auckland’s first Conservative MP in 2019, is the latest in a steady stream of Tories to detail their exit plans amid a polling slump.

The 29-year-old’s announcement came shortly after Sir Gary Streeter said he would not run again in the South West Devon constituency he has comfortably held since its conception in 1997.

She is a prominent figure in the so-called red wall of former Labour strongholds Boris Johnson managed to capture for the Tories in the last general election.

In a statement, Ms Davison said: “For my whole adult life, I’ve dedicated the vast majority of my time to politics, and to help make people’s lives better.

“But, to be frank, it has meant I haven’t had anything like a normal life for a twenty-something.

“I will always be humbled to have had the opportunity to serve as a Member of Parliament. But now the time feels right for me to devote more of my attention to life outside politics, mainly to my family and helping support them as they’ve helped support me.

“That’s why I won’t be standing in the next general election.”

Brought into government by Liz Truss, Ms Davison was kept on in the role under Rishi Sunak when he took over as Prime Minister and her prospects in the party had seemed high.

But becoming the eight Tory MP to indicate they will not be standing again will further spook the party as it lags far behind Labour in opinion polling.

Ms Davison won Bishop Auckland with a 7,962 majority in 2019, despite the constituency having always voted Labour since 1935.

Sir Gary, the former shadow international development secretary whose announcement on Twitter came a little while earlier, said he believes the Prime Minister “will recover strongly from recent challenges”.

But he said a local replacement in the constituency must be selected “to give us the best chance of holding this seat”, hinting at some doubts.

In the 2019 general election, Sir Gary won the seat by 21,430 votes over second-placed Labour.

“It has been an honour and privilege to represent this constituency for over 30 years, but the time has come for me to step back and let a younger person take over,” the 67-year-old said.

“I very much hope that a local candidate will be chosen to give us the best chance of holding this seat.

‘I’m a Tory, get me out of here’: MPs jump ship ahead of the next election

Dawn – AJK votes in local elections after decades

Tariq Naqash

Muzaffarabad – Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) – Pakistan, 27 November 2022. After a long wait of over three decades, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) will finally go to the phased local government elections on Sunday (today), with polling in the first leg in Muzaffarabad division amid concerns over the “minimal security cover” to be provided by the local police personnel.

However, senior officials who spoke to Dawn on Saturday appeared confident that they would manage to conduct the exercise in a largely peaceful and satisfactory manner, saying that while around 4,500 police personnel would man 1,323 polling stations. Quick Response Force (QRF) comprising 500 policemen would remain on alert at the back-end to deal with any emergency situation.

According to officials, as many as 697,732 voters, including 321,536 females, would exercise their right to franchise from 8am to 5pm to elect their nominees from some 750 wards of urban and rural councils in the three districts of Muzaffarabad division, Neelum, Muzaffarabad and Jhelum valley, from amongst 2,716 contestants mostly belonging to ruling PTI and opposition PPP and PML-N.

Around 19 candidates in Muzaffarabad division have already returned unopposed.

Of the 1,323 polling stations, 418 have been declared ‘sensitive’ and 257 ‘most sensitive’, where three and five police personnel will be deployed, respectively. At other polling stations, usually two policemen are deployed, according to officials.

Talking to Dawn, divisional commissioner Masoodur Rahman dispelled the impression that security arrangements were scant and said the entire division had been divided into 11 zones, 130 sectors and 64 QRF points to be headed by senior police and administration officials, who had been given the powers of first-class magistrate.

“Apart from the QRF, internal security framework is also in place and may be operationalised if the situation warrants so,” he said, referring to sections 129 and 130 of the criminal procedure code which allow district administration to call in army personnel in the event of any emergency.

He said polling staff, along with the polling material, had reached their respective polling stations in the company of the police personnel.

Appreciating that so far all the candidates and their supporters had shown a great sense of responsibility, he expressed the hope that they would continue to demonstrate the same attitude on the polling day.

“I assure people that security measures are adequate, leaving little room for anyone to take law into their own hands. They should go to their polling stations with a complete sense of security and cast their votes fearlessly.”

He made it clear that criminal proceedings would be initiated against rioters and troublemakers, regardless of their affiliation, which might also lead to the disqualification of the candidate concerned under the relevant laws.

The commissioner also advised residents of other areas against travelling to Muzaffarabad division on Sunday to “avoid any inconvenience”.

Background

The last LG polls in AJK were held in 1991 and ever since 1995, when the next polls became due, each government has been running LG institutions through ‘administrators’, either government servants or party workers.

Since the early days of the previous PML-N government, the issue of LG polls had remained subjudice in the AJK’s superior courts. In December last year, after protracted legal proceedings, the AJK Supreme Court had directed the government to make arrangements to hold LG elections by August 2022 in the light of the 2017 census.

In July this year, however, the AJK apex court reviewed the deadline on government request and directed it to hold LG polls by 15 October, following which the election commission fixed 28 September for the polling. The PPP and PML-N then sought yet another extension until March 2023 but the apex court refused to grant the request and extended the deadline till 30 November.

While the commission then fixed 27 November for polling across AJK, it was due to the refusal by Islamabad to provide additional 40,000 personnel that the phase-wise election was announced for Muzaffarabad, Poonch and Mirpur divisions on 27 November, 03 December and 08 December, respectively.

The decision drew flak from the opposition on the grounds that absence of adequate security arrangements could lead to violence, but AJK Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas did not strongly object, as he did not want this exercise to derail.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1723389/ajk-votes-in-local-elections-after-decades

Due to early departure to Leuven there will be no uploads to my blog today

BBC News – Toyah Cordingley: Man arrested in India over Australia beach murder

Simon Atkinson – BBC News, Queensland, A man has been arrested in India over the murder of a young woman found dead on a tropical northern Australian beach four years ago.

The body of Toyah Cordingley, 24, was discovered in October 2018 after what has been called a “frenzied and brutal and sadistic” attack. Earlier this month the Queensland government put up a A$1m (£563,000; $676,487) reward for information.

It led to the arrest of Rajwinder Singh – the man accused of killing Toyah.

Queensland police said he was arrested in Delhi by Indian officers on Friday and was expected to face an extradition court hearing soon. He will then be brought to Australia to face criminal proceedings.

“It was never a question of if, but when this day would come,” Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll said. “I am very confident we have a strong case to put before the courts.”

Mr Singh, who was working as a nurse, left behind his job, wife and their three children when he fled Australia hours after Toyah’s body was discovered. He was pictured at Sydney’s international airport.

Detectives have offered few details about how Toyah died. She had gone to Wangetti Beach, between the popular tourist hotspots of Cairns and Port Douglas, to walk her dog on 21 October 2018, but never came home. Her body was discovered by her father the next day, half buried in sand dunes.

Earlier this month Australian authorities appealed for the public’s help in an international hunt to find Mr Singh. Originally from Buttar Kalan in the Indian state of Punjab, at the time of the killing he was living in Innisfail, about two hours from the crime scene.

Commissioner Carroll said she understood Mr Singh had been avoiding arrest in Punjab since he fled.

The Australian government sought an extradition order in March 2021, something Indian officials agreed to last month. But they had been unable to locate the 38-year-old until now.

A detective from Queensland police has recently returned from India and Australian media report that five Queensland police officers who speak Hindi and Punjabi have been receiving information via WhatsApp.

When the A$1m reward was announced earlier this month, Toyah’s father, Troy Cordingley said his daughter was ” a young woman who will never get the chance to live a full life and all that entails, this was taken away from her”.

“While justice will not bring Toyah back, justice is the very least that she deserves.”

The reward is the highest ever offered in Queensland. Commissioner Carroll said that if it transpired that information which led to the arrest was eligible for the reward, she would “happily write out the cheque myself”.

She praised cooperation with the Indian police, which she said had been “exceptional”.

Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan said the arrest had been “a long time coming”.

“This is very early days in the next stage of delivering justice for Toyah,” he said. “I know people are excited about this development and I know people are relieved.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-63752923