SC extends protection from arrest to cartoonist Hemant Malviya over caricatures of PM Modi, RSS
Malviya's counsel said he would publish an apology on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms for his post.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria said that Malviya should publish the apology within 10 days and extended the interim protection till the next date of hearing.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) KM Nataraj appearing for the Madhya Pradesh government said that the post should not be deleted because the investigation is ongoing.
He said let Malviya publish apology on social media with an undertaking that he will not indulge in the same again and he may cooperate with the probe.
Earlier, the top court had directed him to file the apology in Hindi in the form of an affidavit.
The apex court was hearing an anticipatory bail of Malviya for his objectionable caricatures of PM and RSS.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
21 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Ease of doing biz, lower costs to aid Raj's growth: Rathore at BS Samriddhi
Rajasthan's journey towards becoming a ₹30 trillion economy in the next three and a half years will be guided by the twin principles of ease of doing business and lowering the cost of doing business, said Col (retd) Rajyavardhan Rathore, the state's industry & commerce minister, in a fireside chat at the Business Standard Samriddhi event on Wednesday. Rathore, who earlier launched Business Standard 's Jaipur edition in Hindi and English at the event here, said that for ease of doing business the state had announced nine policies in key sectors. These include policies on export promotion, logistics, apparel, cluster development, One District One Product (ODOP), data centres, and a forthcoming policy on artificial intelligence. With the launch of the Jaipur edition, Business Standard is now published simultaneously across 14 cities in English and seven in Hindi. The minister, who holds five portfolios, including information technology & communications, and skill development & entrepreneurship, said that as part of its effort to reduce the cost of doing business, the state government had adopted a policy of direct land allotment instead of the previous system of auction. The fixing of price for such land, he said, was carried out transparently by a committee that determines rates based on factors like the plot's distance from a city. 'Ink an MoU (memorandum of understanding), go to the Riico (Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation) website, pick a plot, and we will allot it to you. The website has details of available plots in all the 419 Riico industrial parks,' he said. Rathore also spoke of the government's vision to build a land bank and an IT city near Delhi, on the lines of IT cities in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. He lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to ink free-trade agreements with different countries, and said the PM believes that India's market is its strength, while the previous government thought of it as its weakness. 'I would point to the India-EFTA (European Free Trade Association) trade pact. Under the free-trade agreement, for the first time, there is a binding commitment on the European nations to not only transfer to us technology but invest $100 billion. Similarly, we have an energy treaty with the United Arab Emirates and a trade pact with Singapore. The national government has created an environment of development within India,' Rathore said. On how Rajasthan is pulling investments, Rathore said in the Rising Rajasthan Summit, the state had not merely inked MoUs, but was handholding businesses as well. 'We are hiring consultants so that all the file movement is not done by entrepreneurs but by the government of Rajasthan. It is literally like a door-to-door service,' he said. The minister said that the state was pursuing the PM's mantra of reform, perform, and transform to the hilt. 'We are reforming, our government is performing and we are transforming Rajasthan from a ₹15 trillion economy to a ₹30 trillion economy in the next three and a half years,' he said. The minister said Rajasthan would play a big role in the PM's call for 'swadeshi' and 'aatmanirbharta'. He pointed out that there were as many as 56 minerals found in Rajasthan, and in some, such as zinc, the state is the largest producer. 'We have plenty of land. Our industrial corridor and expressway network is good,' Rathore said, adding that Rajasthan is a goldmine of possibilities. Later, the launch event was followed by two high-intensity panel discussions, attended by leading industrialists, bureaucrats and policymakers.
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
Governor withholding Bill without asking Assembly to reconsider is counterproductive: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that if a governor decides to "withhold" a bill passed by a state legislature without even asking the latter to reconsider or modify the bill, it would be "counterproductive to the powers of governor and the legislative process ". The Constitution bench headed by CJI BR Gavai, presiding over a presidential reference case on whether SC can lay down timelines and procedures for the president and state governors, also questioned whether the governor can be vested with the power to permanently withhold assent to a bill. Speaking for the five-member bench, the CJI verbally remarked: "In case a governor has the power to permanently withhold assent to the bills passed by the state legislature, it would leave the elected state government at the whims and fancies of an unelected governor." The CJI further added that the governor will then have ample powers to sit over bills and withhold it for time immemorial. Speaking about the power of discretion of governors , the CJI verbally remarked "We have seen recent examples where governors have used discretion leading to so many litigations." He added the "presumption always is that those holding constitutional office would act in bonafide". Weighing in, justice Surya Kant orally remarked that the governor ought to give reasons for withholding a bill: "Otherwise how would a judicial review happen?" Live Events Justice Kant said: "If we are talking about wider powers of the governor then why this curtailment? What prevents him from returning it (to the state legislature) with the message (his objections on a bill)." Appearing on behalf of the Centre, solicitor general Tushar Mehta argued that under Article 200 of the Constitution, a governor can withhold assent to a bill, making it "fall through" with no option to send it back to the legislature. He contended that the office of governor or president is not merely a "post man". Mehta added that a governor is "not powerless". Elaborating, he contended "an individual indirectly elected is no lesser than an individual who is directly elected". The bench queried about the "meaning" of the word "withhold" and whether any debate has taken place on "withhold" in the Parliament. The bench also verbally remarked that the interpretation of the Constitution "cannot be static". The solicitor general also argued that a governor's power to withhold is to be used rarely. " the Union of India, appointed by the president. The president is elected by the entire nation by way of the entire election and that is also a way of democratic expression," he submitted.
NDTV
30 minutes ago
- NDTV
Judge Blocks Trump Admin's Bid To Unseal Jeffrey Epstein's Grand Jury Records
New York: A US judge denied on Wednesday the Justice Department's bid to unseal records from the grand jury that indicted the late financier Jeffrey Epstein on sex trafficking charges. Manhattan-based US District Judge Richard Berman's decision came as President Donald Trump tries to quell discontent from his conservative base of supporters over his administration's handling of the case. Trump, a Republican, had promised to make public Epstein-related files if reelected and accused Democrats of covering up the truth. But in July, the Justice Department declined to release any more material from its investigation of the case and said a previously touted Epstein client list did not exist, angering Trump's supporters. Evidence seen and heard by grand juries, which operate behind closed doors to prevent interference in criminal investigations, cannot be released without a judge's approval. Trump in July instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek court approval for the release of grand jury material from Epstein's case. The grand jury that indicted Epstein heard from just one witness, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Justice Department said in a court filing in July. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. He had pleaded not guilty. His death in jail and his friendships with the wealthy and powerful sparked conspiracy theories that other prominent people were involved in his alleged crimes and that he was murdered. The New York City chief medical examiner determined that Epstein's death was a suicide by hanging. On Aug. 11, a different Manhattan-based judge, Paul Engelmayer, denied a similar request by the Justice Department to unseal grand jury testimony and exhibits from the case of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime girlfriend. Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence following her 2021 conviction for recruiting underage girls for Epstein to abuse. Engelmayer wrote that the public would not learn anything new from the release of materials from Maxwell's grand jury because much of the evidence was made public at her monthlong trial four years ago. The grand jury testimony contained no evidence of others besides Epstein and Maxwell who had sexual contact with minors, Engelmayer wrote. Maxwell had pleaded not guilty. After losing an appeal, she has asked the US Supreme Court to review her case. In July, a Florida judge rejected the administration's request to unseal grand jury records from federal investigations there into Epstein in 2005 and 2007. Epstein served a 13-month sentence after pleading guilty in 2008 to a state-level prostitution charge as part of a deal now widely regarded as too lenient.
