Holding that corrupt members of the subordinate judiciary should be "thrown out", the Supreme Court today came down heavily on a woman judge calling her a "super Supreme Court" for defying its order.
"You can't take the Supreme Court as a joke. People are looking at judges with suspicion. Today, all sort of things like 80 per cent of the subordinate judiciary are corrupt are being said, which is very shameful", fumed a two-member bench of the apex court comprising Justice Markanday Katju and Justice Gyan Sudha Misra.
The bench directed disciplinary action against Delhi's additional district judge Archana Sinha for defying its order and stayed the eviction proceedings against the tenant Udham Singh Jain Charitable Trust, Central Delhi, despite the fact that the Supreme Court in an order on October 6, 2010, had dismissed the tenant's plea.
"Archana Sinha had no business to defy our order and she has become a super Supreme Court", the bench said.
The apex court said it was constrained to say that a certain section of the subordinate judiciary in the country is bringing the whole judiciary of India into disrepute by passing orders on extraneous considerations.
"We do not wish to comment on the various allegations which are often made to us about what certain members of the subordinate judiciary are doing but we do want to say that these kind of malpractices have to be totally weeded out.
"Such subordinate judiciary judges are bringing a bad name to the whole institution and must be thrown out of the judiciary," Jusice Katju, writing the judgment, said.
At one stage, the bench threatened to send the judge to jail and suspend her but after Sinha profusely apologised and pleaded for mercy, after which the apex court decided to refer the matter to the Delhi high court Chief Justice for necessary action.
"We will send you to jail. We will suspend you," the bench remarked orally. But later it relented and referred the judge's case to the Chief Justice of the high court.
The packed court also witnessed the spectacle of the tenant vacating the disputed premises within one hour of the deadline fixed by the apex court at 11.25am and the warning that if the tenant failed to vacate forthwith he would be sent to jail.
The counsel, appearing for the tenant exactly after an hour, told the court that the tenant has vacated.
The apex court had on October 6, 2010, dismissed the tenant's appeal against the high court direction asking the trust to vacate the premises. The tenant gave an undertaking that he would would vacate the premises within six months by April 6, 2011.
However, thereafer, the tenant filed a proxy petition through another person claiming to be a sub-tenant and managed to obtain a stay on the eviction proceedings from the court of Archana Sinha on April 23.
Aggrieved, the landlord filed the contempt petition.
Reacting sharply to the defiance of its order, the apex court said "it seems to us that in this country certain members of the subordinate courts do not even care for orders of this Court. When this Court passed an order dated 6th October, 2010, granting six months' time to vacate, the contemnor Archana Sinha, additional district judge, had no business to pass the order dated 23rd April, 2011, but instead she has stayed the warrants of possession, meaning thereby that she has practically superseded our order and overruled us."
The apex court said that in India often litigations between the landlord and tenant often reach the Supreme Court.
"And when the tenant loses in this Court, then he starts a second innings through someone claiming to be a co-tenant or as a sub-tenant or in some other capacity and in the second round of litigation the matter remains pending for years and the landlord cannot get possession despite the order of this court.
"The time has come that this malpractice must now be stopped effectively, the bench said.
The apex court also regretted that the counsel appearing for the tenants also do not give proper advise to the clients in such matters.
"After our order dated 06th October, 2010, the counsel of the tenant should have advised the tenant to vacate the premises in question like a gentleman before or on the expiry of six months from 06.10.2010 but unfortunately they advised the tenant to put up some other person claiming independent right against the landlord as a sub-tenant and start a fresh round of litigation to remain in possession.
In this manner, our order dated 6th October, 2010, was totally frustrated," the bench remarked.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_corrupt-members-of-subordinate-judiciary-should-be-thrown-out-supreme-court_1541735
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Gujarat HC slaps contempt notice against Balwant Singh, add chief secretary,Home Dept of Gujarat 4 alleged breach & non-compliance of its Order.
While handing over the investigation to the CBI, the Gujarat High Court had called for all the minute details and action taken reports on the request of a member of the SIT to transfer the officials PP Pandey, GL Singhal and Tarun Barot out of the department to facilitate the investigation.
The court has asked the state government to submit all the files with the noting to the court and submit the affidavit before the court. The SIT had sought for transfer of the officers so that they don't influence the subordinate officers who can provide vital evidence and information in the investigation.
The HC had however, on April 8, ordered the state government to transfer the officers immediately. But the government transferred them, on April 19, a day before submission of the report.
The court had observed that until the visit of the members of Central Forensic Laboratory and team of All India Institute of Medial Sciences, the transfer orders were not passed. Prima facie, the said action on the part of the state can be said to be in breach and non-compliance of the direction of the court.
The court had issued notice to Balwant Singh, additional chief secretary, Home Department, and directed him to submit a reply and explanation, if any, as to why proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act should not be initiated for alleged breach and non-compliance of the directions by the court.
Singh had accordingly filed an affidavit. However, dissatisfied, the court on Thursday asked the state to submit papers with the noting of concerned officers and authorities on the file. The hearing on the issue is now scheduled on January 20.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_ishrat-jahan-case-high-court-asks-gujarat-to-submit-files-notings_1620337
The court has asked the state government to submit all the files with the noting to the court and submit the affidavit before the court. The SIT had sought for transfer of the officers so that they don't influence the subordinate officers who can provide vital evidence and information in the investigation.
The HC had however, on April 8, ordered the state government to transfer the officers immediately. But the government transferred them, on April 19, a day before submission of the report.
The court had observed that until the visit of the members of Central Forensic Laboratory and team of All India Institute of Medial Sciences, the transfer orders were not passed. Prima facie, the said action on the part of the state can be said to be in breach and non-compliance of the direction of the court.
The court had issued notice to Balwant Singh, additional chief secretary, Home Department, and directed him to submit a reply and explanation, if any, as to why proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act should not be initiated for alleged breach and non-compliance of the directions by the court.
Singh had accordingly filed an affidavit. However, dissatisfied, the court on Thursday asked the state to submit papers with the noting of concerned officers and authorities on the file. The hearing on the issue is now scheduled on January 20.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_ishrat-jahan-case-high-court-asks-gujarat-to-submit-files-notings_1620337
Ishrat case: CBI files charges against 20 Gujarat cops
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday registered a case of murder against 20 policemen in the 2004 Ishrat Jahan encounter case in Gujarat, adding to the pile of legal troubles of Narendra Modi government.
The fresh FIR was registered by the probe agency after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) gave its complaint to the CBI on December 15, saying that the encounter was staged.
The cops named accused in the case range from Ahmedabad police chief to constables. Besides murder, they have also been charged with destruction of evidence.
The Gujarat High Court had on December 1 directed the CBI to take over further probe in the case in which Ishrat (19), Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter in Ahmedabad. The directives came as the SIT, constituted by the HC, had concluded in November that the encounter was staged by police. A judicial inquiry report by metropolitan magistrate S P Tamang report had alleged that 21 police officers, including then crime branch chief JCP P P Pande, suspended DIG D G Vanzara, then ACP G L Singhal and ACP N K Amin were involved in the conspiracy regarding the encounter. Vanzara and Amin are also accused in the fake encounter killing of `gangster' Sohrabuddin Sheikh and the murder of his wife Kausar Bi. Both are in jail.
The HC had ordered CBI to probe the claims made by the state police after the encounter that Ishrat and three other persons were LeT terrorists on a mission to kill Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.
CBI sources say they will question all the police officers involved in the case very soon after taking over the files from the Gujarat police. "A dedicated team would only look at Ishrat case now," said a CBI official. The agency, however, on Saturday refused to give details of the fresh FIR registered in the case.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ishrat-case-CBI-files-charges-against-20-Gujarat-cops/articleshow/11150242.cms
The fresh FIR was registered by the probe agency after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) gave its complaint to the CBI on December 15, saying that the encounter was staged.
The cops named accused in the case range from Ahmedabad police chief to constables. Besides murder, they have also been charged with destruction of evidence.
The Gujarat High Court had on December 1 directed the CBI to take over further probe in the case in which Ishrat (19), Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter in Ahmedabad. The directives came as the SIT, constituted by the HC, had concluded in November that the encounter was staged by police. A judicial inquiry report by metropolitan magistrate S P Tamang report had alleged that 21 police officers, including then crime branch chief JCP P P Pande, suspended DIG D G Vanzara, then ACP G L Singhal and ACP N K Amin were involved in the conspiracy regarding the encounter. Vanzara and Amin are also accused in the fake encounter killing of `gangster' Sohrabuddin Sheikh and the murder of his wife Kausar Bi. Both are in jail.
The HC had ordered CBI to probe the claims made by the state police after the encounter that Ishrat and three other persons were LeT terrorists on a mission to kill Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.
CBI sources say they will question all the police officers involved in the case very soon after taking over the files from the Gujarat police. "A dedicated team would only look at Ishrat case now," said a CBI official. The agency, however, on Saturday refused to give details of the fresh FIR registered in the case.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ishrat-case-CBI-files-charges-against-20-Gujarat-cops/articleshow/11150242.cms
Friday, December 16, 2011
Azim Premji to start two free schools in every district
MUMBAI/ BANGALORE: After chipping in for the country's educational system for a decade, the Azim Premji Foundation (APF), run by the third richest Indian on his own money, is all set for a generous initiative. The foundation plans to start 1,300 schools across the country- two per district - which will be free, impart education in the local language and be affiliated to the state board.
If the idea succeeds, it could shame India's dysfunctional public education system - and perhaps inspire other wealthy tycoons to look beyond their personal status-building.
The APF schools, from preschool to class 12, will be on the lines of government ones. The difference will be in quality. "Quality education is fundamental to our becoming a developed nation. And the final crucible of learning is the classroom," says Azim Premji.
Wipro's idea of starting 1,300 schools came after the Azim Premji Foundation recently reviewed its work from 2001, the year in which it was set up. "We felt the need to graduate from programme interventions to institution-building," says Dileep Ranjekar, APF's CEO. "One of our ideas was to set up a separate educational board like the ICSE/ CBSE. But most of us...felt that change would be better felt and seen by actually setting up schools."
Those associated with the planning of this Rs 9,000-crore project say that the schools will focus on the overall development of their students, including their health and nutrition. "The attempt is also to establish schools in corners that are currently educationally under-served and not to compete with existing schools, whether public or private," says Ranjekar, adding that seven schools will start within a year-and-a-half in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. If things go as forecast, all the 1,300 schools should be up and running by 2025.
The aim behind the schools is two-pronged. "One is to build social pressure for other schools to follow suit and provide quality education. Two, we want to test ourselves, understand what it takes to deliver quality teaching and learning. One cannot tell the world to improve unless one actually leads by example," says Ranjekar.
A focal aim of the foundation is to get each school to evolve, over time, as a development centre integrated with the community. Thus, the schools will be staffed with teachers from the rural areas, but appointed after written tests and an interview.
"Emphasis will be placed on their expertise in the subject, their understanding of pedagogy and their social orientation. Parents of the children will be important partners in the process of development," says Ranjekar.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/azim-premji-to-start-two-free-schools-in-every-district/articleshow/10536528.cms
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Journalist attacked
Shahina K.K., a journalist from Kerala, who visited the Somwarpet tahsildar's office in Kodagu district on Friday in connection with a case, was allegedly attacked by a Hindutva organisation despite being under police protection.
According to Ms. Shahina, she was inside a van along with over a dozen policemen when activists of the Hindu Jagran Vedike stopped and surrounded the vehicle.
Shouting slogans
“Initially, they only shouted slogans. But, when the police did nothing to disperse them, they started throwing stones at the van,” she said.
Ms. Shahina, who is facing charges of criminal intimidation, interviewed K.K. Yogananda, one of the eye-witnesses in the Bangalore bomb blast case in which People's Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasser Maudany is an accused. After the interview was published, Mr. Yogananda accused Ms. Shahina of criminal intimidation.
She also alleged that the local police in Somwarpet refused to provide any protection earlier. “I had to call a senior police official in Bangalore to get protection,” she said.
Confirming that protection was provided to Ms. Shahina on his insistence, Deputy Superintendent of Police (CID) Mohan Das told presspersons that he could not comment on the attack as he was not at the spot.
Charges
Stating that the police had been treating Ms. Shahina badly ever since they filed the charges, her lawyer B.T. Venkatesh said: “We will lodge a complaint and also make the circle inspector a party in the case.”
Source:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2705644.ece
According to Ms. Shahina, she was inside a van along with over a dozen policemen when activists of the Hindu Jagran Vedike stopped and surrounded the vehicle.
Shouting slogans
“Initially, they only shouted slogans. But, when the police did nothing to disperse them, they started throwing stones at the van,” she said.
Ms. Shahina, who is facing charges of criminal intimidation, interviewed K.K. Yogananda, one of the eye-witnesses in the Bangalore bomb blast case in which People's Democratic Party leader Abdul Nasser Maudany is an accused. After the interview was published, Mr. Yogananda accused Ms. Shahina of criminal intimidation.
She also alleged that the local police in Somwarpet refused to provide any protection earlier. “I had to call a senior police official in Bangalore to get protection,” she said.
Confirming that protection was provided to Ms. Shahina on his insistence, Deputy Superintendent of Police (CID) Mohan Das told presspersons that he could not comment on the attack as he was not at the spot.
Charges
Stating that the police had been treating Ms. Shahina badly ever since they filed the charges, her lawyer B.T. Venkatesh said: “We will lodge a complaint and also make the circle inspector a party in the case.”
Source:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2705644.ece
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Media must provide leadership to society, says Katju
Stating that 90 per cent of the people in India are at a poor intellectual level, Justice (retd.) Markandey Katju, Chairman of the Press Council of India, emphasised here on Monday the role of the media in giving leadership to society in the realm of ideas.
“But how can the media give leadership to the people in the realm of ideas unless it is itself of a high intellectual level,” he asked, advising journalists to carefully study the social sciences, history and literature.
“The media is not justified in giving 90 per cent of its coverage to entertainment leaving only 10 per cent to real issues which are basically socio-economic in nature. Doubtless, the media should provide some entertainment. But the thrust of its coverage should be in public interest. You have lost your sense of proportion,” he said, referring to journalists, at a lecture on ‘The Role of Media in India,' organised by the Calcutta Chapter of the Public Relations Society of India.
He said that the argument that the media was also a business and must give the people what they wanted “is degrading the media. The media is not an ordinary business that deals with commodities, it deals with ideas.”
“The intellectual level of most of our people is very low. Is the media going to go down to that level and perpetuate it or should it seek to uplift it,” he said. Although he said that 90 per cent of the people in the country were at a poor intellectual level, going by the comments he had seen on the Internet and networking sites like twitter, 90 per cent of the people supported his views on the media.
On paid news, he said that there had been pressure to suppress the 71-page report on the phenomenon prepared by the two-member committee of the Press Council comprising Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and K. Sreenivas Reddy.
Justice Katju had passed an order within an hour of taking over as Chairman of the council to publish the report on the official website.
Transition phase
He said that India was passing through a transitional period of her history from a feudal agricultural society to a modern industrial one — a painful and agonising period in history.
“In this transitional period, ideas become very important. You have to promote rational ideas, scientific ideas, and modern ideas, in order to help society get over this transitional period faster and with minimum pain,” he said ruing the fact that a large section of the media was promoting regressive ideas like astrology.
He pointed to Europe, which underwent its own transition from the 17th to 19th century, and the role of great writers like Voltaire, Rousseau, Thomas Paine and Junius in this period.
On the other hand, a large section of the Indian media was actually acting in “an anti-people manner” by diverting attention from real issues, creating rifts in a diverse country like India and promoting superstition.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2689794.ece
Court anguished at Soni Sori's medical report
A report submitted by a Kolkata hospital, which examined tribal teacher Soni Sori, who was allegedly tortured by the Chhattisgarh police, has said two stones were found in her private parts and rectum.
Anguished at the report, a Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and S.S. Nijjar of the Supreme Court on Friday sought the Chhattisgarh government's response. It also directed the State government to shift her to the Raipur jail after senior counsel Colin Gonsalves told the court that the teacher's life was in danger in the Jagadalpur prison.
Ms. Sori was arrested for her alleged links with Maoists.
She moved the court alleging police torture. On the directions of the Bench, she was shifted out of the State and examined by doctors at the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata for the injuries she sustained in police custody. Counsel wanted Ms. Sori taken out of the Jagadalpur prison.
The Bench posted the matter for final hearing in January next.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2681984.ece
Anguished at the report, a Bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and S.S. Nijjar of the Supreme Court on Friday sought the Chhattisgarh government's response. It also directed the State government to shift her to the Raipur jail after senior counsel Colin Gonsalves told the court that the teacher's life was in danger in the Jagadalpur prison.
Ms. Sori was arrested for her alleged links with Maoists.
She moved the court alleging police torture. On the directions of the Bench, she was shifted out of the State and examined by doctors at the NRS Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata for the injuries she sustained in police custody. Counsel wanted Ms. Sori taken out of the Jagadalpur prison.
The Bench posted the matter for final hearing in January next.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2681984.ece
Monday, November 28, 2011
Can Zakia Jafri take on India's powerful Narendra Modi and win?
Following Ahsan Jafri's death at the hands of a mob, his widow's fight for justice is now a fight for all India's hate crime victims.
When the mob swarmed around his housing colony in Ahmedabad on 28 February 2002, the former Indian MP Ahsan Jafri made more than 100 phone calls, desperately pleading for help, over his neighbours' fearful cries and the mob's chants for blood. Eyewitnesses allege that Jafri called the local police station, imploring them to protect his neighbourhood from the threat that was closing in on them. The accusation is that the police stood on the sidelines and watched.
Neighbours crammed into Jafri's home seeking refuge. Little did they know he was the main target. In the late afternoon, when Jafri ventured out, begging the attackers to stop, they burned him alive. About 69 people were killed in the attack on the housing colony. Women were gang raped. Not even young children were spared. The Gulbarg Society massacre was part of a wave of violence against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002.
For almost 10 years, Jafri's wife, Zakia, has been fighting for justice. The frail, ailing 72-year-old has taken on one of India's most powerful politicians, Narendra Modi, the chief minister of India's most prosperous state, Gujarat. Modi aspires to be the Hindu rightwing BJP's candidate for prime minister in next year's elections. He is the darling of Indian industry, commended by Ratan Tata and Mukesh Ambani, the country's richest billionaires, and Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood's biggest star. But critics allege that Modi stood by during a spate of violence that left more than 1,000 people dead. In Gujarat, the perception is that bringing a case against the influential is almost impossible.
Yet, India is shining. It is considered the world's largest democracy, a rising economic force. Its ugly record on communal violence is swept under the rug. Hate crimes are not normally associated with India. But thousands like Zakia have suffered, and their voices remain unheard, and the powerful leaders who allegedly abetted the crimes remain unscathed. Modi has consistently denied the accusations of his role in Gujarat's pogrom and has condemned the violence.
Years of struggle through a labyrinth of police stations and courts to file a case of alleged criminal conspiracy in the Gujarat violence against Modi and 61 other state officials has left Zakia back where she started.
On 12 September this year, the supreme court verdict sent Zakia's case back to Gujarat's district court. Before passing the verdict, the supreme court had appointed a special investigation team to look into the charges against Modi and the 61 others. After the team submitted its report, the court asked an amicus curiae (a legal expert appointed to assist the court) to make an independent assessment of it. Last month, the amicus curiae's report was leaked to the Indian media. The report allegedly states that there is enough evidence to file charges against the chief minister and several state officials. This gives Zakia and Citizens for Justice and Peace, a human rights group that is co-petitioner in Zakia's case, a glimmer of hope. But will the district court act on it?
Recently, the Gujarat police arrested Sanjiv Bhatt, a senior police officer who testified against Modi, giving evidence of Modi's role in the riots of 2002. Recently, he said he had attended a meeting of senior police officers a day before the Gulbarg attacks began. He attested that the chief minister told them to let the mobs vent their anger. The Gujarat police arrested Bhatt on charges that he forced a junior officer to make a false testimony against Modi. Though out on bail, he still fears he may be killed.
Communal violence is often used as a political tool in India. The BJP, the largest opposition party in India, whose Hindutva ideologues drew inspiration from fascist beliefs , according to scholars such as Christophe Jaffrelot and Marzia Casolari. The BJP and its many fraternal organisations together form the Sangh Parivar (pdf) (Family of Associations), a brotherhood that keeps Hindutva alive and kicking in India today. Gandhi's assassin, Nathuram Godse, was allegedly an activist for the Sangh Parivar. Besides the Gujarat pogrom, the Sangh has allegedly had a hand in several communal massacres, including the demolition of the historic Babri Masjid and the violence that followed across India in 1992-93.
Some of the ruling Congress party leaders were allegedly complicit in the anti-Sikh pogrom that followed the assassination of the former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. Though hundreds of cases are pending in court, none of the politicians who were in power when the deaths occurred have been held to account. Should the frail yet crusading Zakia hope for anything different? Will India ever own up to its violent record on hate crimes? For Jafri and other victims, there's no one left to call, no more doors left to knock on.
Source: http://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/commentisfree/2011/nov/22/zakia-jafri-india-narendra-modi?code=AQB23HK-6q4j0wOJFgMmI4JUTlf0QqK5WDGGVeG9YEONqDZFwkTT6_vBri0F3dlY-TeNLiMKr_UXTJrX3HURY_knlMc-_rn0CFb3woAXwbm5jnyHQXWWmp81HRxn_Rm6QVEvD41iYpiojmK666tdKiaHsyvGMADWeta56XiPs_uzQNOvtom4XcZdkqzk2QW48WU#_=_
When the mob swarmed around his housing colony in Ahmedabad on 28 February 2002, the former Indian MP Ahsan Jafri made more than 100 phone calls, desperately pleading for help, over his neighbours' fearful cries and the mob's chants for blood. Eyewitnesses allege that Jafri called the local police station, imploring them to protect his neighbourhood from the threat that was closing in on them. The accusation is that the police stood on the sidelines and watched.
Neighbours crammed into Jafri's home seeking refuge. Little did they know he was the main target. In the late afternoon, when Jafri ventured out, begging the attackers to stop, they burned him alive. About 69 people were killed in the attack on the housing colony. Women were gang raped. Not even young children were spared. The Gulbarg Society massacre was part of a wave of violence against Muslims in Gujarat in 2002.
For almost 10 years, Jafri's wife, Zakia, has been fighting for justice. The frail, ailing 72-year-old has taken on one of India's most powerful politicians, Narendra Modi, the chief minister of India's most prosperous state, Gujarat. Modi aspires to be the Hindu rightwing BJP's candidate for prime minister in next year's elections. He is the darling of Indian industry, commended by Ratan Tata and Mukesh Ambani, the country's richest billionaires, and Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood's biggest star. But critics allege that Modi stood by during a spate of violence that left more than 1,000 people dead. In Gujarat, the perception is that bringing a case against the influential is almost impossible.
Yet, India is shining. It is considered the world's largest democracy, a rising economic force. Its ugly record on communal violence is swept under the rug. Hate crimes are not normally associated with India. But thousands like Zakia have suffered, and their voices remain unheard, and the powerful leaders who allegedly abetted the crimes remain unscathed. Modi has consistently denied the accusations of his role in Gujarat's pogrom and has condemned the violence.
Years of struggle through a labyrinth of police stations and courts to file a case of alleged criminal conspiracy in the Gujarat violence against Modi and 61 other state officials has left Zakia back where she started.
On 12 September this year, the supreme court verdict sent Zakia's case back to Gujarat's district court. Before passing the verdict, the supreme court had appointed a special investigation team to look into the charges against Modi and the 61 others. After the team submitted its report, the court asked an amicus curiae (a legal expert appointed to assist the court) to make an independent assessment of it. Last month, the amicus curiae's report was leaked to the Indian media. The report allegedly states that there is enough evidence to file charges against the chief minister and several state officials. This gives Zakia and Citizens for Justice and Peace, a human rights group that is co-petitioner in Zakia's case, a glimmer of hope. But will the district court act on it?
Recently, the Gujarat police arrested Sanjiv Bhatt, a senior police officer who testified against Modi, giving evidence of Modi's role in the riots of 2002. Recently, he said he had attended a meeting of senior police officers a day before the Gulbarg attacks began. He attested that the chief minister told them to let the mobs vent their anger. The Gujarat police arrested Bhatt on charges that he forced a junior officer to make a false testimony against Modi. Though out on bail, he still fears he may be killed.
Communal violence is often used as a political tool in India. The BJP, the largest opposition party in India, whose Hindutva ideologues drew inspiration from fascist beliefs , according to scholars such as Christophe Jaffrelot and Marzia Casolari. The BJP and its many fraternal organisations together form the Sangh Parivar (pdf) (Family of Associations), a brotherhood that keeps Hindutva alive and kicking in India today. Gandhi's assassin, Nathuram Godse, was allegedly an activist for the Sangh Parivar. Besides the Gujarat pogrom, the Sangh has allegedly had a hand in several communal massacres, including the demolition of the historic Babri Masjid and the violence that followed across India in 1992-93.
Some of the ruling Congress party leaders were allegedly complicit in the anti-Sikh pogrom that followed the assassination of the former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. Though hundreds of cases are pending in court, none of the politicians who were in power when the deaths occurred have been held to account. Should the frail yet crusading Zakia hope for anything different? Will India ever own up to its violent record on hate crimes? For Jafri and other victims, there's no one left to call, no more doors left to knock on.
Source: http://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/commentisfree/2011/nov/22/zakia-jafri-india-narendra-modi?code=AQB23HK-6q4j0wOJFgMmI4JUTlf0QqK5WDGGVeG9YEONqDZFwkTT6_vBri0F3dlY-TeNLiMKr_UXTJrX3HURY_knlMc-_rn0CFb3woAXwbm5jnyHQXWWmp81HRxn_Rm6QVEvD41iYpiojmK666tdKiaHsyvGMADWeta56XiPs_uzQNOvtom4XcZdkqzk2QW48WU#_=_
2002 Gujarat riots: Nanavati panel chief's son to represent Narendra Modi government in HC, SC
In a clear case of conflict of interest, Maulik Nanavati, the son of retired Justice G.T. Nanavati, who heads the Nanavati Mehta Inquiry Commission probing the 2002 Gujarat riots, has appeared for the Gujarat government in the high court and the Supreme Court as an empanelled lawyer of the state.The Gujarat government had appointed Justice Nanavati on May 21, 2002 as the chairman of the inquiry commission to probe the Sabarmati Express carnage at Godhra and the subsequent riots in Gujarat. Maulik's appointment as additional public prosecutor (APP) followed three years later, in 2005.
Maulik represents the state in the Central Administrative Tribunal against the senior IPS officer Kuldeep Sharma, who was targeted by the Narendra Modi government for not following instructions in sensitive matters like the Sohrabuddin fake encounter.
It is learnt that Maulik spends two days every month representing the state government in the Supreme Court. For each appearance he is paid a hefty fee.
Maulik's brother, Dhaval, had appeared for the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation in a few cases before the Gujarat high court.
Senior high court lawyer Anand Yagnik said this was a classic case of conflict of interest.
"How can the government of Gujarat appoint Maulik as its representative when his father is supposed to give a report in favour or against the state government depending on the evidence emerging out of the riot probe?" he asked.
Yagnik added that Dhaval, the other son of Justice Nanavati, was earlier empanelled as a Central government lawyer when Justice Nanavati was probing the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.
Justice Nanavati refused to comment on the conflict of interest. "No comments," he said.
Maulik Nanavati rubbished the allegations. "These allegations are baseless and have been floating for quite some time. I have been representing the government of Gujarat for a while now," Maulik said.
He explained that APPs are appointed by the state government based on the recommendations of the high court.
But, senior high court lawyers said APPs are appointed by the state government. "The proposal for these appointments comes from the advocate-general to the state government's legal department, which is subsequently ratified," said a senior advocate who did not want to be named.
What has raised eyebrows in legal circles here is the timing of Maulik's appointment as APP - it comes close on the heels of Justice Nanavati's appointment as chairman of the inquiry commission.
"Maulik was earlier practising in Delhi and post 2002, he started representing the state in the apex court," said a senior lawyer. "However, he moved to Ahmedabad and started practising around 2005. That was when he was appointed as an APP," he said.
Gujarat law minister Dilip Sanghani did not see a conflict of interest in Maulik's appointment as APP. "The panel includes several lawyers and it is up to the departments to hand over a case to a particular lawyer. Our job is only to make the panel," Sanghani said.
Asked if Maulik's inclusion in the panel itself was a conflict of interest, Sanghani avoided a direct answer. The minister said Maulik had been on the panel before he took over as the law minister. Sanghani was appointed law minister after the 2007 Gujarat assembly elections.
The Gujarat government had appointed Justice K.G. Shah on March 6, 2002 to the commission of inquiry to probe the train burning incident. Subsequently, the commission was expanded to comprise two members. Justice Nanavati was appointed on May 21, 2002 while Justice Akshay Mehta was appointed after Justice Shah's death in 2008.
The Nanavati-Mehta Commission has so far submitted only the first part of its report, which was on the burning of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra.
While the initial terms of reference of the probe commission was to look into the burning of the Sabarmati Express, the government expanded the scope of inquiry on June 3, 2002 to include the incidents of violence that rocked Gujarat till March 30, 2002.
Later in 2004, after the fall of the NDA government at the Centre, the commission's terms of reference were broadened once again on July 20, 2004. These terms of reference included the role and conduct of the then chief minister and/or any other Gujarat minister and police officers in the riots. The scope of inquiry also included the incidents of violence that had taken place till May 31, 2002.
Incidentally, despite several representations from the victims, the commission has so far not called chief minister Narendra Modi to depose before it.
The commission came under fire from the legal fraternity after the special court's verdict in February this year.
Eminent lawyer Mukul Sinha had described the Nanavati Commission as a "political eyewash" after the verdict adding: "What is more interesting is that while the special court and Justice Nanavati had the same set of confessions and documents, their conclusions were so different?"
Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/narendra-modi-gujarat-riots-nanavati-mehta/1/161605.html
Witness in Sanjiv Bhatt case goes missing
AHMEDABAD: A witness in the Sanjiv Bhatt case, Shrenik Shah, who stays in Chandkheda, has been missing for the past two days.
Shah was allegedly with Bhatt when police constable K D Pant filed the affidavit. Pant had initially filed an affidavit which was used by Bhatt to support his claim that he was present at a meeting conducted by the Gujarat chief minister right before the communal riots of 2002.
Later, Pant filed a police complaint against Bhatt. Pant said in his complaint that Bhatt had forced him to file the affidavit.
When Pant had filed his affidavit to support Bhatt's claim, Shah was with them. After Pant filed the complaint with the Ghatlodia police which is investigating the case, Shah had become a witness and his statement was recorded under 164 CrPC. A statement made under this section, before a judicial magistrate, is difficult to go back on. Any person who chooses to make a volte face after this is liable for imprisonment.
A Chandkheda police official said: "We have learnt that Shah has been missing from his home. We have spoken to his family but they are not yet ready to file any complaint. We can do little at this juncture."
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Witness-in-Sanjiv-Bhatt-case-goes-missing/articleshow/10503994.cms
Shah was allegedly with Bhatt when police constable K D Pant filed the affidavit. Pant had initially filed an affidavit which was used by Bhatt to support his claim that he was present at a meeting conducted by the Gujarat chief minister right before the communal riots of 2002.
Later, Pant filed a police complaint against Bhatt. Pant said in his complaint that Bhatt had forced him to file the affidavit.
When Pant had filed his affidavit to support Bhatt's claim, Shah was with them. After Pant filed the complaint with the Ghatlodia police which is investigating the case, Shah had become a witness and his statement was recorded under 164 CrPC. A statement made under this section, before a judicial magistrate, is difficult to go back on. Any person who chooses to make a volte face after this is liable for imprisonment.
A Chandkheda police official said: "We have learnt that Shah has been missing from his home. We have spoken to his family but they are not yet ready to file any complaint. We can do little at this juncture."
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Witness-in-Sanjiv-Bhatt-case-goes-missing/articleshow/10503994.cms
Witness in Sanjiv Bhatt case goes missing
AHMEDABAD: A witness in the Sanjiv Bhatt case, Shrenik Shah, who stays in Chandkheda, has been missing for the past two days.
Shah was allegedly with Bhatt when police constable K D Pant filed the affidavit. Pant had initially filed an affidavit which was used by Bhatt to support his claim that he was present at a meeting conducted by the Gujarat chief minister right before the communal riots of 2002.
Later, Pant filed a police complaint against Bhatt. Pant said in his complaint that Bhatt had forced him to file the affidavit.
When Pant had filed his affidavit to support Bhatt's claim, Shah was with them. After Pant filed the complaint with the Ghatlodia police which is investigating the case, Shah had become a witness and his statement was recorded under 164 CrPC. A statement made under this section, before a judicial magistrate, is difficult to go back on. Any person who chooses to make a volte face after this is liable for imprisonment.
A Chandkheda police official said: "We have learnt that Shah has been missing from his home. We have spoken to his family but they are not yet ready to file any complaint. We can do little at this juncture."
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Witness-in-Sanjiv-Bhatt-case-goes-missing/articleshow/10503994.cms
Shah was allegedly with Bhatt when police constable K D Pant filed the affidavit. Pant had initially filed an affidavit which was used by Bhatt to support his claim that he was present at a meeting conducted by the Gujarat chief minister right before the communal riots of 2002.
Later, Pant filed a police complaint against Bhatt. Pant said in his complaint that Bhatt had forced him to file the affidavit.
When Pant had filed his affidavit to support Bhatt's claim, Shah was with them. After Pant filed the complaint with the Ghatlodia police which is investigating the case, Shah had become a witness and his statement was recorded under 164 CrPC. A statement made under this section, before a judicial magistrate, is difficult to go back on. Any person who chooses to make a volte face after this is liable for imprisonment.
A Chandkheda police official said: "We have learnt that Shah has been missing from his home. We have spoken to his family but they are not yet ready to file any complaint. We can do little at this juncture."
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Witness-in-Sanjiv-Bhatt-case-goes-missing/articleshow/10503994.cms
Yeddyurappa flouted rules to back RSS newspaper
Hosa Digantha was accorded a ‘state newspaper’ status by bending rules, got state govt ads worth Rs 1 crore in the past 6 months
More skeletons are tumbling out of former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa’s cupboard. The latest controversy involves the RSS morning daily Hosa Digantha, which got undue patronage of the BJP-ruled government apparently to spread the Hinduvta message.
Hosa Digantha, whose tagline Rashtra Jagrutiya Dainika means Daily for National Awareness, has been accorded a ‘state newspaper’ status by its benefactors sweeping aside the recommendations of a State Information Department panel. Though the RSS mouthpiece lacks the necessary circulation, print and certification from the central Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), rules were bent with the state government providing two industrial sheds in Bengaluru worth Rs 5 crore to the newspaper for Rs 1.5 crore.
Started in 1979, Hosa Digantha’s Mangalore edition has a print run of less than 20,000 copies. Despite running for 32 years, it failed to make impact until the BJP came to power in 2008. In three years, the paper’s circulation hit 55,000 with the addition of Bengaluru and Shimoga editions. In fact, Yeddyurappa, during the launch at his hometown of Shimoga, hailed the newspaper’s “contribution to journalism” and said the reason for its success was its policy of “nation first”.
This year, the daily was granted the status of a state newspaper. According to the recommendations of the P Ramaiah Committee, which framed rules for according newspaper status, a publication should have not less than 1,000 copies daily to be accorded a district-level newspaper status. Regional newspaper status is given to publication with the same print run in more than two districts. But the criteria for a state newspaper status are tough making circulation of 75,000 and presence in more than 19 of the 30 districts of the state compulsory.
A government order in 2001 made ABC certification mandatory for newspapers. Muddu Mohan, Director of State Information Department, had written to the state government on 17 March that a paper that failed to meet the required criteria could not be granted the status of a state newspaper. However, overriding his objection, a circular was passed on 13 April according the status of state newspaper to Hosa Digantha.
When questioned about this anomaly, Ramesh Jharkhi, Secretary in the Information Department said, “The state government in its wisdom had passed the orders’’ refusing to comment further.
BV Seetaram, Editor and director of Mangalore-based newspaper Karavali Ale (Canara Times, a regional newspaper) has filed a petition in the High Court against the government’s decision. “The Department of Information in November 2010 issued advertisements of Bhagyalaxmi (an insurance scheme for the girl child) programmes in Chikmagulur and Bidar districts to Hosa Digantha despite its zero circulation in the districts. The advertisements were denied to our newspapers even though we also belong to the regional newspaper category,” Seetaram claimed.
According to a data sheet of advertisements released by the Information Department collated by Seetaram, the newspaper got state governments ads worth Rs 1 crore in the past six months. “The data does not mention advertisements released by other departments,” he added.
(Information sought under the RTI Act by Tehelka shows tha since January, the newspaper has received advertisements worth Rs 49.21 lakh.)
Seetaram alleges that even the name of the publication has been stolen from a rival newspaper. “This newspaper has the registration number of another daily with the same name and owned by a different management based in with Chikmagulur.”
Hosa Digantha Editor Chudamani Aiyyar, himself an RSS activist said, “We had filed a case against the newspaper in 1980 in the magistrate’s court of Dakshin Kannada. In June 2011, we filed a case against the management of Janana Bharathi Trust for stealing our name.” Muddu Mohan refused to comment on this matter.
Chairman of the management board of Hosa Digantha and Director of Century Real Estate Holdings Pvt Ltd P Dayananda Pai was unavailable for comment. When contacted, his office informed TEHELKA that he was out of the country.
CEO of the trust Prakash, however, denied the allegations saying, “Though we don’t have ABC certification, our paper reaches all the districts of the state. As for the name registration issue, we have sorted that matter out. And, the twin sheds at Rajaji Nagar were legally granted to us at their actual cost price.”
A local weekly Lankesh Patrike recently reported that Shantaram, the Resident Editor of Hosa Digantha and an RSS leader, was the beneficiary of a Housing Board house worth Rs 35 lakh. According to the documents available with the daily, Yeddyurappa had himself paid for the house-- located at Sooryanagar in Bangalore--despite the editor owning another plot, which amounts of violation of law. For a similar reason, former Lokayukta Justice Shivaraj V Patil had to step down.
The state BJP government has also granted land all over the state to RSS-affiliated institution Rashtrothan Parishat. Documents available with TEHEKA show that close to 100 acre of land have been given to this organisation in the past three years. The details have been listed below.
Sl. No. Date Place Survey number Extent of Land Allotted.
1. 08/07/2010 Doddballapur Taluk , Tobagere Village 38 7.20 acre
2. Doddaballapur Taluk, Kelaginajugana Village 47 36
3. Doddaballapur Taluk, Kelaginanayakarndalli,village 5 6.20
4. Haveri District, Taluk Hanagal, village Malligar Rs. No.1 5.18 acre
5.01/09/2010 Doddaballapur 38/47/05 Based on their application
on 16Aug,2010, additional
50 acre has been allotted
to them.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Imran Khan is a Senior Correspondent with Tehelka.com.
imran@tehelka.com
Source: http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws281011RSS.asp
Cops were punished for controlling riots : Ex-DGP
AHMEDABAD: Retired IPS officer and former state intelligence bureau (IB) chief, R B Sreekumar has requested the Godhra probe panel to seek details on how efficient cops managed to control riots in 2002 in most part of Gujarat. He has also told the commission that state government has "with ulterior motive underplayed or belittled the praiseworthy and model performance of law enforcers" who controlled riots in their respective jurisdictions.
Sreekumar, who has dashed off a letter to the Nanavati-Mehta commission and the Supreme Court-mandated special investigation team, has highlighted that state government's claims that the 2002 riots were "spontaneous" and violence took place due to "failure of system" were completely misleading.
He said that there was either no violence or negligible damage in 16 districts and two commissionerates. But the government has never given due credit to its police officers for effectively containing riots. Instead, those cops have received "shabby treatment from the state government including punishment postings and departmental actions in the post-riot period." His affidavit filed last year contained names of such officials.
Sreekumar has also told the commission to seek details from senior police officers like V K Gupta, Manoj Shashidhar, Satish Verma, Narasimha Komar, Vivek Srivastava, Rahul Sharma, M D Antani, Upendra Singh and Keshav Kumar on how they managed to control violence in their areas. "The information on the operational strategy, tactics, ground-level methodology, techniques of leadership and motivation and administrative measures, adopted by these officers during the time of protracted 2002 anti-minority blood bath in Gujarat will be of great relevance to the terms of reference of the Commission," the letter stated.
The commission has also been asked by the state government to come up with suggestions to prevent such violence in future.
Analyzing the incidents of violence, Sreekumar has stated that the authorities deliberately acted against the minority community, which resulted in massive violence in areas like Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Panchmahals and north Gujarat.
"Paradoxical and inexplicably strange phenomena of about 60% of death in police firing and 77% of casualties of mob-violence being drawn from the Muslim community pose a serious question mark on the professional integrity and the commitment to the Rule of Law of the officers of police and Executive Magistracy," Sreekumar stated.
Sreekumar has till date filed eight affidavits before the commission exposing the State's complicity in the 2002 riots. He was denied promotion by the Narendra Modi government, but he fought a long legal battle and got promotion on Gujarat high court order after he retired.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Cops-were-punished-for-controlling-riots-Ex-DGP/articleshow/10561375.cms
Day before murder, Jharkhand nun reported rape in village
A candlelight vigil for Sister Valsa in Delhi Friday. Amit Mehra
A day before she was hacked to death, Sister Valsa John had told a supporter about a rape in the village, and how the police were not registering her complaint. This has emerged as a strong line of investigation three days after the Catholic nun was murdered by unidentified assailants in Pachuwara village in Jharkhand’s Pakur district, according to officials.
Pakur deputy comissioner Sunil Kumar Singh told The Indian Express that an aide of the nun, whose identity is being withheld, had conveyed to him the problems she was facing in getting the rape complaint registered. “I immediately asked the concerned police officer to register the FIR. This was on November 14. Next day she was killed,” Singh said.
The alleged rapist, Adwin Murmu of Alubera village, two km from Pachuwara, was taken into custody along with six others today. They were being interrogated by officers led by acting SP Amar Nath Khanna at Amrapara, 40 km from here.
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/day-before-murder-jharkhand-nun-reported-rape-in-village/877825/
A day before she was hacked to death, Sister Valsa John had told a supporter about a rape in the village, and how the police were not registering her complaint. This has emerged as a strong line of investigation three days after the Catholic nun was murdered by unidentified assailants in Pachuwara village in Jharkhand’s Pakur district, according to officials.
Pakur deputy comissioner Sunil Kumar Singh told The Indian Express that an aide of the nun, whose identity is being withheld, had conveyed to him the problems she was facing in getting the rape complaint registered. “I immediately asked the concerned police officer to register the FIR. This was on November 14. Next day she was killed,” Singh said.
The alleged rapist, Adwin Murmu of Alubera village, two km from Pachuwara, was taken into custody along with six others today. They were being interrogated by officers led by acting SP Amar Nath Khanna at Amrapara, 40 km from here.
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/day-before-murder-jharkhand-nun-reported-rape-in-village/877825/
Narendra Modi should tell us why my sister was killed: Ishrat Jahan's brother
Anwar, brother of Ishrat Jahan, offers sweets to his mother Shamima Kausar on Monday
GK Baig | DNA
Mumbai girl Ishrat Jahan and three others were not killed in an encounter on June 15, 2004, near Ahmedabad. They were killed earlier and the encounter was staged.
This is what the Special Investigative Team, appointed by the Gujarat high court, told the court on Monday.
Hearing the news, Ishrat’s family members in Mumbra, Thane, said the guilty policemen should be hanged and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi should give an explanation. “What did Modi get by killing my daughter?” asked Ishrat’s mother Shamima Kausar Jehan. “We had full faith in the judiciary. Now it has been proved that my daughter was killed in a fake encounter. Can Modi give back my daughter?”
Ishrat’s brother Raza Anwar Iqbal said the guilty policemen deserve capital punishment. “Also, those who ordered the fake encounter should not be allowed to get away scot-free,” he said. “Modi should tell us why my sister was killed.”
The bench of justices Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari initially said a fresh FIR under section 302 (murder) of the IPC should be filed to investigate the motive behind the fake encounter and to book the guilty cops. Later, hearing the Gujarat government, which opposed the filing of a fresh FIR, and petitioners who wanted a fresh FIR, the court decided to pronounce the final order on Wednesday.
The bench will also decide which agency would pursue the case. It has sought the Union home ministry’s opinion on whom to hand over the investigations - the Central Bureau of Investigations or the National Investigation Agency.
The SIT said in its report that Jahan, 19, Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed earlier than the shootout date of June 15, 2004. The police had then claimed that the four belonged to the Lashkar-e-Taiba and they were in the city with the intention to kill Modi. They had also said that Rana and Johar were Pakistani nationals.
“All three members of the SIT have unanimously concluded that the encounter was not genuine and an FIR should be filed under section 302 and investigation should be done by the CBI or the NIA,” Patel said at the beginning of the hearing on the Monday.
Twenty-one policemen, including four IPS officers - then joint commissioner PP Pande, suspended deputy inspector general DG Vanzara, then assistant commissioners GL Singhal and NK Amin - were involved in the staged shootout.
Citing the report, Patel said, “The time of death as stated in the FIR (filed in 2004 after the encounter) and the actual time of death seem to be different. Even the place of death seems to be different than what is shown in the FIR.”
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_narendra-modi-should-tell-us-why-my-sister-was-killed-ishrat-jahan-s-brother_1615725
GK Baig | DNA
Mumbai girl Ishrat Jahan and three others were not killed in an encounter on June 15, 2004, near Ahmedabad. They were killed earlier and the encounter was staged.
This is what the Special Investigative Team, appointed by the Gujarat high court, told the court on Monday.
Hearing the news, Ishrat’s family members in Mumbra, Thane, said the guilty policemen should be hanged and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi should give an explanation. “What did Modi get by killing my daughter?” asked Ishrat’s mother Shamima Kausar Jehan. “We had full faith in the judiciary. Now it has been proved that my daughter was killed in a fake encounter. Can Modi give back my daughter?”
Ishrat’s brother Raza Anwar Iqbal said the guilty policemen deserve capital punishment. “Also, those who ordered the fake encounter should not be allowed to get away scot-free,” he said. “Modi should tell us why my sister was killed.”
The bench of justices Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari initially said a fresh FIR under section 302 (murder) of the IPC should be filed to investigate the motive behind the fake encounter and to book the guilty cops. Later, hearing the Gujarat government, which opposed the filing of a fresh FIR, and petitioners who wanted a fresh FIR, the court decided to pronounce the final order on Wednesday.
The bench will also decide which agency would pursue the case. It has sought the Union home ministry’s opinion on whom to hand over the investigations - the Central Bureau of Investigations or the National Investigation Agency.
The SIT said in its report that Jahan, 19, Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed earlier than the shootout date of June 15, 2004. The police had then claimed that the four belonged to the Lashkar-e-Taiba and they were in the city with the intention to kill Modi. They had also said that Rana and Johar were Pakistani nationals.
“All three members of the SIT have unanimously concluded that the encounter was not genuine and an FIR should be filed under section 302 and investigation should be done by the CBI or the NIA,” Patel said at the beginning of the hearing on the Monday.
Twenty-one policemen, including four IPS officers - then joint commissioner PP Pande, suspended deputy inspector general DG Vanzara, then assistant commissioners GL Singhal and NK Amin - were involved in the staged shootout.
Citing the report, Patel said, “The time of death as stated in the FIR (filed in 2004 after the encounter) and the actual time of death seem to be different. Even the place of death seems to be different than what is shown in the FIR.”
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_narendra-modi-should-tell-us-why-my-sister-was-killed-ishrat-jahan-s-brother_1615725
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Gujarat's close ‘Encounters’
The Narendra Modi government has reason to feel severely embarrassed and exposed by the report submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the Gujarat High Court. In holding that Ishrat Jahan, the 19-year old Mumbai student, and three others were killed in cold blood by the Gujarat police, the SIT has dismissed the State government's persistent claim that the four died in a shootout. The evidence on which the team reached its conclusion is not yet publicly available but the High Court has revealed that the three-member SIT reached the unanimous conclusion that the four victims were murdered before their bodies were dumped on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. In short, summary extra-judicial executions were dressed up to look like a police encounter. This is exactly the same conclusion the Ahmedabad Metropolitan Magistrate had reached in 2009. Going by the forensic evidence and the post-mortem reports, the magistrate dismissed the Gujarat police's claim that the victims, who were allegedly involved in a plot to assassinate Chief Minister Narendra Modi, were killed in an exchange of gunfire on a highway. He concluded that the victims were shot dead at very close range the night before the encounter was supposed to have taken place. Instead of acting on this honest finding, the Bharatiya Janata Party State government denied that the encounter was fake and accused the magistrate of overstepping his jurisdiction by writing such a report. Now that the High Court has ordered that a fresh FIR be registered against those suspected of murdering Ishrat and the others, cover-up of the heinous crime will no longer be possible.
It has been seven years since the killings took place, a period during which the Modi government feigned a posture of hurt innocence. With the High Court declaring its intent to hand over the investigation, after the filing of a fresh FIR, to a central agency, there is no way the 21 policemen, including some officers, allegedly responsible for staging the fake encounter could be shielded. Among them is Deputy Inspector General D.G. Vanzara, the so-called ‘encounter specialist,' who was arrested and jailed for the extra-judicial murder of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife in 2005. The issue of staging fake encounters should be seen for what it is — murder most foul. It should not be clouded or sidetracked by questions on whether those done away with were ‘innocents' or extremists, gangsters, or whatever. Enough of rationalisations: no civilised society under the rule of law can countenance or tolerate extra-judicial killings, a practice that subverts the very principles the criminal justice system is founded upon.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article2653856.ece
It has been seven years since the killings took place, a period during which the Modi government feigned a posture of hurt innocence. With the High Court declaring its intent to hand over the investigation, after the filing of a fresh FIR, to a central agency, there is no way the 21 policemen, including some officers, allegedly responsible for staging the fake encounter could be shielded. Among them is Deputy Inspector General D.G. Vanzara, the so-called ‘encounter specialist,' who was arrested and jailed for the extra-judicial murder of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife in 2005. The issue of staging fake encounters should be seen for what it is — murder most foul. It should not be clouded or sidetracked by questions on whether those done away with were ‘innocents' or extremists, gangsters, or whatever. Enough of rationalisations: no civilised society under the rule of law can countenance or tolerate extra-judicial killings, a practice that subverts the very principles the criminal justice system is founded upon.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article2653856.ece
Exams where caste stigma has no answer
Manish Kumar landed in the Capital from Bihar three years ago with happy thoughts that his childhood dream of becoming a doctor was almost within grasp.
He was on the right path, with a seat secured in a well-known medical college and with the realisation that he could finally shed the caste identity that was part of his small-town upbringing.
In the three years since, Manish has studied hard, seen the insides of a court room, filed RTI applications and knocked at the doors of government offices, but has still not managed to get past the second year of the MBBS course.
“I was a first year medical student at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College in 2008 when I first failed in physiology. This happened again in July 2010 and I sat for the supplementary exams in October. I did not know how to react when I found out that I had failed again in the supplementary exams along with 24 of my classmates, every one of whom belonged to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or some other reserved category,” says Manish, adding that he received a bigger shock when he found that among the 25, there were students who had been failing only in physiology from 2004 onwards until 2009.
Manish and his friends realised something else later. “The university allots roll numbers to the reserved category candidates in a row and the answer-sheets are coded and collected in a way that the identity of the reserved category students is revealed easily.”
Ever since this revelation, the students seem to have knocked at every door that could help them -- from filling RTI applications to complaints with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and even going to the High Court.
However, the legal battle only brought them some temporarily relief. “Under the Court's supervision, we took another exam in which every one of us, including those who had failed repeatedly since 2004, passed. The Court also passed an order that we be allowed to attend classes for the second year and that due consideration be given for shortage of attendance.”
Since then the students have been attending second year classes but were prevented from taking their exams in mid-November. “We were told we did not have sufficient attendance. The Principal usually refused to meet us and whenever he had, he pretended that he was not aware of anything and seems to have washed his hands off the whole affair.”
When contacted by The Hindu , the Principal refused to discuss the matter.
These days Manish spends all his time worrying whether he would be allowed at least to take the supplementary exams in March, and praying that he would not be humiliated every time he attends class.
“Right after the court case, the lecturers would tell our classmates to look at us -- the people who could only gain entrance into a medical college through reservations and couldn't pass without a High Court order. After some complaints it has toned down,” says Manish.
The students, however, believe another legal battle is imminent. “Our lawyer has asked us to file for contempt of court. I don't see this ending easily.”
Source:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/article2654919.ece
He was on the right path, with a seat secured in a well-known medical college and with the realisation that he could finally shed the caste identity that was part of his small-town upbringing.
In the three years since, Manish has studied hard, seen the insides of a court room, filed RTI applications and knocked at the doors of government offices, but has still not managed to get past the second year of the MBBS course.
“I was a first year medical student at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College in 2008 when I first failed in physiology. This happened again in July 2010 and I sat for the supplementary exams in October. I did not know how to react when I found out that I had failed again in the supplementary exams along with 24 of my classmates, every one of whom belonged to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or some other reserved category,” says Manish, adding that he received a bigger shock when he found that among the 25, there were students who had been failing only in physiology from 2004 onwards until 2009.
Manish and his friends realised something else later. “The university allots roll numbers to the reserved category candidates in a row and the answer-sheets are coded and collected in a way that the identity of the reserved category students is revealed easily.”
Ever since this revelation, the students seem to have knocked at every door that could help them -- from filling RTI applications to complaints with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and even going to the High Court.
However, the legal battle only brought them some temporarily relief. “Under the Court's supervision, we took another exam in which every one of us, including those who had failed repeatedly since 2004, passed. The Court also passed an order that we be allowed to attend classes for the second year and that due consideration be given for shortage of attendance.”
Since then the students have been attending second year classes but were prevented from taking their exams in mid-November. “We were told we did not have sufficient attendance. The Principal usually refused to meet us and whenever he had, he pretended that he was not aware of anything and seems to have washed his hands off the whole affair.”
When contacted by The Hindu , the Principal refused to discuss the matter.
These days Manish spends all his time worrying whether he would be allowed at least to take the supplementary exams in March, and praying that he would not be humiliated every time he attends class.
“Right after the court case, the lecturers would tell our classmates to look at us -- the people who could only gain entrance into a medical college through reservations and couldn't pass without a High Court order. After some complaints it has toned down,” says Manish.
The students, however, believe another legal battle is imminent. “Our lawyer has asked us to file for contempt of court. I don't see this ending easily.”
Source:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/article2654919.ece
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
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