"No Innocent Should Be Punished": Ajit Pawar's Big Statement On Train Blast
The top court today put the High Court's decision on freeze, but did not bar the release of the accused. The court also said that the High Court's judgment will not be considered as a precedent in cases filed under the state's anti-terror and anti-organised crime law MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act).
"We cannot say much about the Supreme Court's order. Some innocent people were also trapped in this case... We believe no one should face injustice... But those who are guilty must be punished... We are not against anyone... But we do not support anyone either," Mr Pawar told reporters shortly after the top court made its decision.
"The government has decided to appeal against the Bombay High Court's verdict... Our Chief Minister had made the stance clear... We will present good lawyers in the Supreme Court and identify the shortcomings in the High Court proceedings," Ajit Pawar has said.
Many have concluded that the Deputy Chief Minister's comment construes a deviation - however tiny - from the government's stance in the case. And ahead of the elections to the cash-rich Brihanmumbai corporation, it has assumed significance.
Mr Pawar had also suggested a short-cut to non-Marathi people caught in the crosshairs of the language row - another deviation that has raised eyebrows.
"The language of the state you live in should be respected... From Maharashtra to Jammu and Kashmir, everyone should be proud of their mother tongue... But what is going on in the name of language at present... People living here who do not know Marathi -- they should say politely that 'We do not know Marathi, we are learning it'.
If you say this, then there will be no problem," he has said.
The Bombay High Court had overturned the special court's judgment in the train blasts case in which five of the 12 accused were sentenced to death and the rest were given life imprisonment. One of the accused on death row died in 2021.
Among the rest were a former call centre employee, a seller of unani medicines, a software engineer, a key maker and chicken seller. Many of them were allegedly connected to banned organisation SIMI. They were accused of receiving training in Pakistan and helping terrorists from Pakistan with logistics.
While ordering the release, the Bombay High Court had said that the case against them was based on coerced confessions and testimonies from unreliable witnesses. The court also said the material evidence - which included recovered material and explosives - were "vulnerable to tampering" and hence inadmissible.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
8 minutes ago
- The Hindu
SC organisations in Tiruppur float a joint front for retrieval of Panchami land
A joint front has been formed by Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and fraternal Scheduled Castes (SC) organisations in Tiruppur district for retrieval of Panchami land. For the first time, the joint front that also consists of Adhi Tamizhar Peravai, Tamilpuligal Katchi, Dravida Tamizhar Katchi, Adhitamizhar Munnetra Kazhagam, Adhhithamizhar Katchi, Makkal Adhigaram, Puratchi Bharatham, Bahujan Samaj Katchi, Samuga Needhi Makkal Katchi, Dravida Chiruthaigal Katchi, Desiya Thazhthappattor Makkal Nala Iyakkam, Viduthaigal Vengaigal Katchi, Tamil Nadu Thazhthappattor Nila Urimai Iyakkam, and Samuga Viduthalai Katchi have joined hands to retrieve about 10 acres of Panchami land in Tiruppur city and surroundings that were now under the ownership of non-SCs. The land registered by other community members must be rendered invalid, the joint front emphasised in a petition submitted to Tiruppur Collector Manish S Narnaware at the Collectorate on Monday at the end of a rally by its members from the Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi Bus Stand. The registration of the Panchami land in the name of non-SCs must be scrapped as per the earlier government orders and the rulings of the Madras High Court, A. Tamilvendan State Coordinator, Panchami Nila Meetpu Kootiyakkam, VCK, said. As per the High Court ruling on August 12, 2015, the patta, chitta, adangal and ayan patta registrations of Panchami land in the names of non-SCs will have to be made invalid, Mr. Tamilvendan pointed out. The joint front has submitted the details of the survey numbers of Panchami land under 'illegal occupation' at Pudhupalayam in Avinashi Taluk, 15 Velampalayam village in Tiruppur North Taluk, Tiruppur Town and Nallur village in Tiruppur South Taluk. The petition called for prosecution of Revenue Department officials who were responsible for registration of Panchami lands in the names of non-SCs under Tamil Nadu Government Servant Conduct Rules, 1973, Section 21.3 (11). After submission of the petition, the joint front sat for a meeting to chart out the next course of action. 'After decades of struggle, all like-minded entities have decided to put up a joint fight specifically for retrieval of the land that rightfully belongs to us in pursuit of a tangible outcome, Karthik, Tiruppur district unit secretary of Tamil Puligal, said, adding: 'We are collating information on the Panchami land in Dharapuram, Udumalpet, and Madathukulam. The total extent of Panchami land under illegal occupation and the prospective SC beneficiaries will be determined.'
Time of India
26 minutes ago
- Time of India
SC seeks Centre, BCI response on PIL for four-year LLB course like B.Tech
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the response of the Centre, University Grants Commission and Bar Council of India on a PIL seeking a direction for setting up a legal education commission to review the syllabus, curriculum and duration of the LLB and LLM courses . A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi sought the response of the Centre, UGC, BCI and Law Commission of India on the petition by September 9. The top court directed the registry to list all the pending matters on the issue together on September 9. The PIL filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay urged the top court to direct to the Centre to set up a legal education commission or expert committee to review the syllabus, curriculum and duration of the LLB and LLM Courses and take appropriate steps to attract the best talent in the legal profession. The plea further said, " New Education Policy 2020 promotes four-year graduation courses in all professional and academic courses, but BCI has not taken appropriate steps to review the existing syllabus, curriculum and the duration of the LLB and LLM courses". Live Events It said the injury caused to the students is extremely large because the five-year duration of BA-LLB and BBA-LLB courses is disproportionate to the course material. "The long period puts excessive financial burden on the middle and lower-class families and they are unable to bear such a heavy financial burden. It takes two more years for a student to become the bread-earner in his family," the plea said. "B. Tech through IITs takes four years of non-superfluous education and that too in a specified field of engineering, whereas BA-LLB or BBА-LLB through the NLU's and various other affiliated colleges consumes five years of a student's precious life while providing knowledge of Arts /Commerce, an unrelated and superfluous stream. Hence, the existing five-year course needs to be reviewed by the experts," it said.
Indian Express
38 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Sense of fear I see everywhere…': Marathi playwright Satish Alekar
Eminent Marathi playwright and actor Satish Alekar spoke about his work, the Emergency, fundamentalism, tolerance, and the language row, among other things, in an interaction with The Indian Express. Progressive and forthright, Satish Alekar, whose influence spans generations, has enriched the Marathi – and Indian – stage with powerful and political plays, including Mickey Aani Memsaheb (1973), Mahanirvan (1974), Mahapoor (1975), Begum Barve (1979), and Atireki (1990). Much of Alekar's appeal lies in his wit and the social issues he raises in his plays, such as inequity, injustice and fundamentalism. Pune-based Alekar is a recipient of the Padma Shri and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for theatre (Marathi playwriting). He has taught at BJ Medical College and served as the director of the Lalit Kala Kendra. Excerpts from the interaction: Dipanita Nath: You are a biochemist by training. How did you come into theatre and playwriting? Satish Alekar: I became a playwright by fluke. I had lost my admission to a medical college because, during that time, I was campaigning for the Congress party. My maternal uncle V N Gadgil was given a Lok Sabha ticket for Pune and was defeated by Samajwadi leader S M Joshi by just 12,000 votes. I didn't realise while campaigning that the examination was just around the corner. I was left out to do a BSc and all my friends went and joined IIT and various medical colleges. During that time, in any middle-class Brahmin family, if you missed admission to either an engineering or a medical college, it was a crime. I was very dejected. At this time, Bhalchandra Vaman Kelkar somehow spotted me and asked me to play a role in a play he was staging. This was 1967. I did the main role and found that theatre worked like therapy for me. I gradually started realising myself from within through theatre. Anuradha Mascarenhas: Which was the very first play you saw and the first one you wrote? Satish Alekar: The very first play I saw was when we were in the eighth standard. Due to the Panshet dam disaster, the school had organised a professional theatre festival to support the flood-affected people. I saw the best commercial theatre that was happening over 10 consecutive days from the wings. As asked by my teacher, I used to offer tea or coffee to the artists who were coming by buses to Ramanbaug, which used to have a very big ground during that time. I watched all the plays from the wings and not from audience. So I got a sense that theatre is made up, not real. This element was reflected later in my playwriting. All my short plays were written while I was in Fergusson College and they were published in the very prestigious magazine Satya Katha. I was very young during that time. That's why many of my plays have completed 50 years while I am alive. Manoj More: What was your experience of the Emergency, which was also 50 years ago? Satish Alekar: I saw the Emergency in force because we were at BJ Medical College and all the political prisoners were brought to Sassoon Hospital for checking. And that was the only time they used to get to meet their relatives. The doctor and all the people were siding with the political prisoners, not against them. We used to bring the relatives to the prisoners, sometimes the latter gave us tiffin to give to the political prisoners. It so happened that at this time, while I was helping the political prisoners, my maternal uncle was a minister in the Central Government. In fact, my marriage took place during the Emergency and one person who signed at the court as witness was my maternal uncle V N Gadgil and the other was S M Joshi. They knew each other. We stayed in Shaniwar Peth, which had an accommodative point of view. Their atmosphere was the best for the development of a liberal democracy. All our teachers belonged to the RSS but we never went to an RSS party. My cousin went to the RSS. My father belonged to the Samajwadi Party. My father had been in jail for four years for the freedom movement. All the differences were present, but there was not the kind of animosity you see now. Manoj More: When did society begin to change? Satish Alekar: I think everything changed after 2014. Gradually, the parameters of liberal democracy began to shrink day by day. You can see what's happening today, and it has been reflected in my latest play, Thakishi Samvad. As artists, we suffered more after the Emergency, when Ghashiram Kotwal and Sakharam Binder became targets. We couldn't move out of the house. Many people were asked to leave the theatre because 'you are a Brahmin and you are working under a Muslim director'. Because of the controversy surrounding Ghashiram Kotwal, we were forced to leave the group Progressive Dramatics Association (PDA) after the first 19 shows. We established our own group, Theatre Academy, and, after a gap of one year, we resumed the play and no one contested it. For Ghashiram Kotwal, we received an invitation from the Berlin International Film Festival in 1980 and a second controversy started [over claims'] that 'You are doing theatre here which is alright, but you don't wash this linen outside the country. It is a bad history of your projecting, your play is a character assassination of a great historian Nana Fadnavis.' Vijay Tendulkar, the playwright, and a few others went to court. The compromise the court gave us was that, before every performance outside India, we were to read out the court order publicly that this was not a reflection of real history. This was an artist's point of view. People used to laugh at that. We had to get the court order translated into Dutch because we are performing in Amsterdam. We had to translate it into German because we are performing in Germany. We had to translate it in French. We had 25 shows in West Europe and in London. In London, we had 12 houseful shows of Ghashiram Kotwal. From 2014 onwards, the situation is not all that conducive. There is a sense of fear I see everywhere. This is fear about whether I should express myself fully, whether someone will be watching me and hit me, not physically but by not giving me any kind of opportunity. Sushant Kulkarni: As far as reaching more people is concerned, does a politically convenient stand reach more people? Satish Alekar: Yes, but we don't know what is really in their mind. An example is the current hidden pro-Hindu elements in the middle class. It was there right from the beginning in my childhood. On October 13, 1964, I was in school when Gopal Godse, the brother of Mahatma Gandhi's assassin, Nathuram Godse, was released from prison. It so happened that people who supported his ideology decided to honour Gopal Godse. But, how to do this? It would become a very volatile situation and they would get arrested. The solution was to have 100 Satyanarayan Mahapujas at the homes of the supporters and distribute the prasad. In Shaniwar Peth, Deccan Gymkhana and other localities of the city, Satyanarayan pujas were conducted in homes. Who will object? If you asked them, 'Are you honouring Gopal Godse?', the answer would be no. A hundred households conducted private pujas. The supporters had planned to bring the prasad to Udyan Mangal Karyalaya in Sadashiv Peth for distribution, an event that would be attended by Godse himself. That story leaked in Kesari the next day. That's how the people came to know that such a thing happened. So, religious divisions have been an entrenched part of Indian society. Today, fundamentalism has come to the forefront as it has received some kind of confidence. I think that the BJP's own reinterpretation of their own party is responsible for these kinds of social divisions. This party was very different under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Pramod Mahajan was very fond of theatre and watched our plays. They think that this will be successful and long lasting and praised all over the world. I don't know whether it is true or if we will fall on our faces. Dipanita Nath: We have lost Ratan Thiyam, a great director. Satish Alekar: It was thanks only to regimes like Indira Gandhi's, because of her policies in culture, that his plays could come. She formulated a policy in such a way that every ministry had to spend 20 per cent of their budget on the seven sisters. I knew Ratan very closely because he used to come here off and on. Our student visited him and conducted a 15-day workshop in Imphal. Once I asked him, 'Why are you so restless? Why do you make plays only on war and myth?' He said, 'if you want to know how we live in Manipur, come and visit us. You come out on the street and you see the traffic police; in Manipur, we never see police, we see the Army. We see the Indian Army behaving aggressively. Suppose my actor is to leave his place and come to the rehearsal, he has to cross three barriers and show that he is an Indian. Imagine, you have to show your identity three times to prove that you are the real person. If that kind of a situation exists, what kind of a subject will one make plays on.' He gave a new dimension to the theatre space, and created the theatre space spectacularly using the fabrics and the mask, traditional drums and language. He was a profound literary figure as well. He was a fine designer, musician, and painter. His paintings used to sell. He was a wonderful designer, actor, writer and poet. The other thing is he was a Meitei but he involved Kuki performers as well. When one creative person dies, you will find it's very difficult for any other person to fill up the void. Sunanda Mehta: Last year we had an incident at the Savitribai Phule Pune University in which a play, Ramleela, was disrupted. What is your take on all that happened? Satish Alekar: Now, everything has become quiet. It was not a play but a rehearsal that was taking place. It was a text-to-performance in which the students were supposed to perform some scene and analyse it. It was not a complete play. You can't demand some kind of authentic value to that particular piece because it was a play in the making, a kind of a trivial theatre exercise. For a theatre exercise, we need one or two audience numbers. That's why they had invited an audience. The audience came in large numbers and we found that some mischievous element was there in the audience. The whole thing was blown out of proportion for no reason. Theatre is vulnerable; performing art is very vulnerable. You can destroy it any time. The university should have supported [the performers]. It reflects the times where there is no tolerance, that's for sure. Ajay Jadhav: Would you like to comment on the language row in schools? Satish Alekar: We started in the Marathi language. Hindi was introduced to us in the sixth standard and English from the eighth standard. Gradually, they brought English a little forward to the fifth standard, but from the first to the fourth standard, there was only one language. People have introduced English from the first standard, which is a bad decision and I don't know how it can be reversed now. Why do we need politics over the issue of a third language? Partha Sarathi Biswas: What kind of media do you consume these days? Satish Alekar: There is a lot of media to be consumed. One has to become very choosy. I listen very carefully to the video channel of Pravin Sawhney of Force magazine. The way in which he described wars and so on makes me feel that we don't know which war is the real one and which is a virtual war.
