SC stays execution of 8 on death row, cites Afzal Guru's case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of eight prisoners for a month after President Pranab Mukherjee rejected their mercy plea. The apex court has said that it wants to make sure whether the family has been duly informed and the Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru episode isn't repeated.
The convicts' counsel had filed petitions challenging the rejection of their mercy plea. During the hearing, the bench said it wanted to ascertain whether proper communication had been sent to their relatives. The petitioners had apprehended that they would be executed following the rejection of their mercy petitions.
Seven cases of multiple murders, including one in which a convict, who was out on bail on rape charge, killed five members of the girl's family, were sent to the President for final decision in February. The recommendations in seven cases, involving nine people, were sent after the President took decision on mercy petitions of eight condemned prisoners including Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab and Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru - both whom have been hanged. While Kasab was hanged on November 21, 2012, Guru was executed on February 9.
The convicts whose mercy petitions were sent to the President in February with recommendations by the Home Ministry were:
- Dharampal from Haryana who had murdered five members of the family of a girl he had raped in 1993.
- Sonia, daughter of a former Haryana MLA and her husband Sanjeev, who drugged and killed eight of her family in Hisar in 2001 including her parents.
- Sunder Singh from Uttarakhand, who was convicted for rape and murder on June 30, 1989.
- Jafar Ali from Uttar Pradesh killed wife and five daughters in 2002.
- Praveen Kumar from Karnataka was convicted for killing four members of a family on February 23, 1994.
- Gurmeet Singh from Uttar Pradesh killed 13 members of a family on August 17, 1986.
- Suresh and Ramji, also from Uttar Pradesh, were convicted for killing five members of their younger brother's family.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news//sc-stays-execution-of-8-on-death-row-cites-afzals-case/383669-3.html

‘It’s tough for us to even book a train ticket’

THE AFTERMATH:Aijaz Ahmed Mirza, Muthi-ur-Rahman Siddiqui, Mohammed Yusuf Nalband and Manisha Sethi of the Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association at the release of a report on targeting of Muslims in terror cases, in Bangalore on Saturday.— PHOTO: V. SREENIVASA MURTH

              

                 Forty days after journalist Muthi-ur-Rahman Siddiqui, Mohammed Yusuf Nalband and the former DRDO junior scientist Aijaz Ahmed Mirza — arrested by the police on the charge of being part of a terror module — were released from jail, they are yet to get back their identity documents from the police, making it difficult for them to carry out their day-to-day activities.

Revealing this at a discussion, ‘Needle of suspicion: targeting Muslims in terror cases’, jointly organised by a coalition of 17 organisations, the three said it was tough for them now even to book a train ticket.

“These days we need to carry an ID card if we are travelling on a reserved ticket. One of us paid a penalty of Rs. 540 recently for not furnishing the ID. How do we explain that our identity documents have been seized by the police?” Mr. Siddiqui said.

Pointing out that the stigma of being accused as a terrorist continued to haunt them even after being let off by the court, he castigated the hypocrisy of the media in demanding an apology and compensation from the State for his illegal incarceration, when the media itself was not willing to apologise for the malicious manner in which it portrayed him.

Mr. Mirza said he had lost his dream job with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), where he was one of the very few Muslims ever to be appointed. He also narrated the trauma that his family went through in trying to contact him after he was arrested.

A report on the targeting of Muslims in terror cases in Karnataka, Permanent Suspects: Framing Muslim Youth in Karnataka , was released.

Introducing the report, V.S. Sreedhara of Peoples’ Democratic Forum said the report documents the stigma attached to persons falsely charged in terror cases, and the loss of life, dignity and livelihood.

Advocate S.A.H. Razvi spoke about the manner in which most terror cases were concocted and innocent people were framed.

“This is best illustrated by the arbitrary manner in which investigations are conducted,” he said.

Manisha Sethi from Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association spoke about her experiences in documenting the numerous false terror cases heaped on innocent Muslim youth across Delhi.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/its-tough-for-us-to-even-book-a-train-ticket/article4590219.ece

SC slams Army over Pathribal fake killings!!

New Delhi: The Indian Army has been severely criticised by the Supreme Court for not deciding if it wants to take action against its officers involved in the Pathribal encounter case. The apex court on Monday issued a notice to the Defence Secretary and the Home Secretary in the March 25, 2000 encounter at Pathribal in South Kashmir in which seven people were gunned down for allegedly being Lashker-e-Toiba terrorists.

The court asked the Army if it will initiate court martial proceedings against the officers involved in the case. The Centre has to decide whether five Army officials including a serving Major General could be tried under the Army Act in the case.

A bench of Justices BS Chauhan and Swatanter Kumar gave the direction even as the Centre and the CBI continue to differ on the immunity enjoyed by the Army under the controversial AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) and other regular laws in encounter killings.

According to the Army officials, the seven people killed in Pathribal were allegedly responsible for the gunning down of 36 Sikhs at Chittisingpura in the same district on the intervening night of March 19-20, 2000.

The case was investigated by the CBI which filed its chargesheet in 2007 against five Army personnel including a Brigadier who later rose to become a Major General.

However, the trial in the case was stopped after the Army moved Supreme Court claiming immunity for its personnel under the AFSPA whereas the CBI contended that the five had allegedly indulged in murder of civilians for which the immunity could not be provided.

Additional Solicitor General PP Malhotra, on behalf of the Centre, had denied that any fake encounter killings had taken place in the specific cases pertaining to Kashmir and Assam pending before the apex court.

Source:http://ibnlive.in.com/news/sc-slams-army-over-pathribal-fake-killings/223547-3.html

Communal forces targeting Chhattisgarh Christians, alleges forum.

Sees conspiracy in arrest of head of children’s home, warden

The Chhattisgarh Christian Forum (CCF) has alleged that the community is being systematically targeted by “communal and anti-national forces” by way of regular “attacks almost every month.”

In a press note, the forum charged the police with conniving with anti-Christian, fundamentalist forces to harass the community. It highlighted the recent arrest of the head of a children’s home and its warden in Durg district. The police had contended that Reverend Swaminathalu and warden J. Dilip Kumar of the Bethel Children Home were booked on the basis of “sufficient evidence,” it said.

The controversial Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was invoked against them for ‘coercive sex against minors.’ They were also facing charges of criminal intimidation and falsification of information.

They were charged under Section 23(cruelty to a child) under the Juvenile Justice Act. The anti-conversion law, 1968, which Chhattisgarh inherited from Madhya Pradesh, has also been slapped on them, the CCF noted.

The Sub-Divisional Officer (Police) of the Patan Block in Durg, Nivedita Pal, who is the supervising officer of the case, told The Hindu that the two were arrested on complaints from “minors from the children’s home.”

But a journalist from Durg, Dinesh Kumar, said the allegations were “concocted.”

“I spoke to the boys who were allegedly molested on Friday. They were eager to move back to their home from the rescue centre and said they had no complaint against anyone.

On Saturday, after recording their statement in the presence of senior police officials, the six boys were taken to the district general hospital for medical examination, where they told journalists that nobody molested them and that they were being coerced to give statements,” Mr. Kumar told The Hindu.

According to Mr. Kumar, Father Swaminathalu had said the children were compelled to frame charges against him. He also claimed that a local NGO “masterminded the conspiracy” against him and the warden.

According to Ms. Pal, there was “evidence” against Rev. Swaminathalu and Mr. Dilip Kumar.

“They were arrested on the basis of strong prima facie evidence,” she said. She denied the charges that they were “falsely implicated” in the case. Both Rev Swaminathalu and the warden were remanded in judicial custody.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/communal-forces-targeting-chhattisgarh-christians-alleges-forum/article4570865.ece

See how Modi served the Gujarat and, likewise he wants to repay the debt to 'Bharat Mata'.

AHMEDABAD: Chief minister Narendra Modi's supporters may feel that he has served Gujarat enough and now wants to repay the debt to 'Bharat Mata', but Gujarat's actual debt has mounted from Rs 45,301 crore in 2001-02, when he first came to power, and is projected to touch Rs 1.76 lakh crore by 2013-14, when he plans his flight to New Delhi.
As on 31-03-12, the revised estimates of total debt stood at Rs 1,38,978 crore. While two other states - West Bengal (Rs 1,92,100 crore) and Uttar Pradesh (Rs 1,58,400 crore) - have a higher debt, they aren't claiming they are a "model state". Besides, if Modi leaves for Delhi after "settling his debt" with Gujarat, he is leaving behind the highest ever per capita debt of Rs 23,163 - if the population is taken at exactly six crore.
The Gujarat government is paying a mind-boggling interest of Rs. 34.50 crore every day. By 2015-16, the debt would mount to Rs 2,07,695 crore as per the state government's budget estimates. A large chunk of the state's revenues go towards debt servicing. The state's total debt was less than Rs 10,000 crore when the BJP first came to power in Gujarat in 1995.
Critics have pointed out that much of the spending is on show-piece infrastructure projects, while overall spending on key areas like health and infrastructure remains low. The debt has mounted despite Gujarat having one of the highest VAT on petrol and also being the one of the few states to have VAT on fertilizers.
The latest CAG report tabled in the assembly last week stated, "As of 31 March 2012, the government had invested Rs 39179 crore in areas where the average return on investment was just 0.27 per cent in last five years while the government paid an interest of 7.75 on its borrowings during the same period." It said continued use of borrowed funds to fund investment which do not have sufficient returns will lead to an unsustainable financial position.
Source:http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-06/india/38326369_1_capita-debt-gujarat-government-crore

Gujarat HC raps Modi govt. for ‘inaction’ during post-Godhra riots

Ahmedabad, February 8, 2012

PTI Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The Gujarat High Court rapped the Modi government for "negligence” during the 2002 post-Godhra riots. File photo

Related

NEWS

“SIT planning closure report on Modi” Communalism, curfew a thing of the past in Gujarat, says Modi “Substantial evidence” to prosecute Modi: Sanjiv Bhatt to SIT Zakia moves Supreme Court to protest SIT ‘inaction'

TOPICS

crime, law and justice justice and rights
politics state politics

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday pulled up the Narendra Modi government for “inaction and negligence” on its part during the 2002 post-Godhra riots that led to large-scale destruction of religious structures.

A division bench of acting chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J.B. Pardiwala made these observations, while ordering compensation for over 500 religious structures in the state.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Islamic Relief Committee of Gujarat (IRCG).

Inadequacy, inaction and negligence on the part of the State government to prevent riots resulted in large-scale destruction of religious structures across the State, the court observed.

The government was responsible for repair and compensation for such places, it further said.

The court said that when the government had paid compensation for destruction of houses and commercial establishments, it should also pay compensation for religious structures.

The court also ordered that principal judges of 26 districts of the state will receive the applications for compensation of religious structures in their respective districts and decide on it. They have been asked to send their decisions to HC within six months.

IRCG’s petition in 2003 had sought court’s directions to the government to pay compensation towards damage of religious places during riots on the ground that the National Human Rights Commission, too, had recommended and the state government had in principle accepted the suggestion.

The state government had opposed the IRCG petition, saying it was a violation of article 27 of the Constitution.

The government further said that there was no policy with regards to compensation for restoration/repair of religious places damaged or destroyed during the riots.

Lawyer for IRCG, M.T.M. Hakim hailed it as a “landmark judgement” in the country, in which compensation has been ordered for destruction of religious structures.

“This is also probably for the first time that a court has held the State government responsible for inaction and negligence during the 2002 riots,” Mr. Hakim said.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2871891.ece

Sunita Williams ignores Narendra Modi during Gujarat visit.

AHMEDABAD: Astronaut Sunita Williams hasn't spared time for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi during her current visit to Gujarat.

Instead, she was seen throughout the day in the company of Jagruti Pandya, wife of slain minister Haren Pandya and Sunita's first cousin.

Efforts were made by the chief minister's office to tie up a meeting between Modi and Sunita but she did not respond. As a result the Modi government has not extended her protocol as a state guest though police did provide her with a pilot vehicle.

Sunita declined offer by protocol officers to travel in a Gujarat government vehicle on her arrival at Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon.

During her last visit to Gujarat in September 2007 after she returned from her first space flight, Modi had attended a civic reception organized by his government in Ahmedabad in Sunita's honour.

He had praised her then but relations have gone sour since apparently because of the family's belief that Pandya's murder was more political than communal. 

Source: http://m.timesofindia.com/india/Sunita-Williams-ignores-Narendra-Modi-during-Gujarat-visit/articleshow/19391675.cms