August 11, 1985, Forty Years Ago: US Push for NPT
Plot to Kill PM
Three alleged terrorists, two of them still at large, have been indicted by a New York grand jury for plotting the assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in June. The plot was uncovered with the arrest of Gurpratap Singh Birk a few weeks before Gandhi's visit to the US. Birk is currently on trial in New Orleans in connection with a plot to kill Haryana CM Bhajan Lal.
Judicial Reforms
Chief ministers and state law ministers and chief justices of the high courts will be meeting in New Delhi on August 31 to discuss the country's judicial system and consider reforms. This will be preceded by a conference of the chief justices of the high courts. The conference will discuss steps to stop delays in litigation and speed up the disposal of cases.
Lokpal Bill
The Lokpal Bill, proposed to be introduced in the current session of Parliament, is likely to undergo some changes. The Union Cabinet is yet to consider the Bill. It is likely that the Bill will exclude the Prime Minister from its jurisdiction.
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Hans India
an hour ago
- Hans India
Supreme Court Seeks Government Response On Jammu And Kashmir Statehood Restoration Plea
The Supreme Court has issued a formal notice to the central government regarding a petition demanding the restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir within a specified timeframe. The bench, headed by Chief Justice Bhushan R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran, has scheduled the matter for hearing after two months while giving the Centre eight weeks to respond. The petition, filed through advocate Soyaib Qureshi on behalf of academician Zahoor Ahmad Bhat and social activist Khurshaid Ahmad Malik, argues that the prolonged Union Territory status undermines federalism, which constitutes a fundamental feature of the Indian Constitution. The petitioners contend that successful peaceful assembly elections and general stability demonstrate that security concerns no longer justify the continued territorial status. During Thursday's proceedings, the applicants' counsel, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, referenced the Supreme Court's December 2023 ruling on Article 370's abrogation. He emphasized that the court had previously refrained from addressing statehood restoration only because the Solicitor General had assured that it would occur following elections. The petition seeks restoration within two months, though the petitioners expressed willingness to accept any reasonable timeline set by the court. However, the proceedings took a significant turn when the bench referenced the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, suggesting that ground realities must be considered in such decisions. Chief Justice Gavai noted that the court lacks comprehensive expertise in security matters and acknowledged that certain decisions fall within the government's prerogative to assess local conditions. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta strongly opposed the petition, characterizing it as non-maintainable and arguing that multiple considerations influence such decisions. He questioned the timing of raising this issue and requested the matter be postponed for eight weeks, indicating the government's reluctance to commit to immediate statehood restoration. The legal challenge emerges against the backdrop of significant constitutional changes implemented on August 5, 2019, when Parliament revoked Article 370's special status provisions and divided the former state into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The Supreme Court's Constitution bench validated this action in December 2023, describing it as the culmination of Kashmir's integration process with India while recording the Centre's commitment to eventual statehood restoration. Assembly elections were subsequently conducted in three phases between September and October 2024, resulting in a National Conference-Congress coalition government with Omar Abdullah assuming the chief minister's position. This democratic exercise fulfilled the court's directive for elections by September 2024. Recent political developments have intensified speculation about the Centre's intentions. Chief Minister Abdullah recently expressed optimism about positive developments for Jammu and Kashmir during Parliament's current monsoon session. He has actively lobbied various political party leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, urging them to pressure the government for legislative action on statehood restoration. The Pahalgam incident, specifically referenced by the court, involved three terrorists who killed 25 tourists and a local operator on April 22. Security forces subsequently eliminated the attackers on July 28 in the Dachigam forest area. Intelligence confirmed the terrorists' Pakistani origins and their affiliation with Lashkar-e-Taiba. India's response included Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, reportedly eliminating over 100 militants. The operation escalated into a four-day conflict involving airstrikes on Pakistani military installations before hostilities ceased on May 10 following bilateral understanding. The court's reference to this attack underscores the complex security considerations that continue to influence policy decisions regarding Jammu and Kashmir's administrative status, even as democratic processes have been successfully restored and local governance established.
Hans India
2 hours ago
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Resignation only option before Justice Varma to avoid impeachment
New Delhi: As Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced a committee to probe charges of corruption against Justice Yashwant Varma, resignation is the only option left for the Allahabad High Court judge to avoid removal by Parliament. The inquiry committee comprises Supreme Court judge Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and senior Karnataka High Court advocate B V Acharya. 'The committee will submit its report as early as possible. The proposal (for removal of Justice Varma) will remain pending till the receipt of the report of the inquiry committee,' Birla told Lok Sabha. Birla said he had received a proposal from 146 Lok Sabha members, including BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, seeking removal of Justice Varma on July 21. Officials aware of the procedure to appoint and remove Supreme Court and high court judges pointed out that while defending his case before lawmakers in any of the House, Justice Varma can announce that he is quitting and his verbal statement will be considered as his resignation. Should he decide to resign, he will get pension and other benefits entitled to a retired high court judge. But if he is removed by Parliament, he will be deprived of pension and other benefits, they noted. According to Article 217 of the Constitution, a high court judge 'may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office'. A judge's resignation does not require any approval. A simple resignation letter is sufficient. A judge may give a prospective date to step down. In such cases, the judge can withdraw the resignation before the date he or she has mentioned as the last day in office. Removal by Parliament is the other way a judge can vacate office. Then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had written to the president and the prime minister to remove Justice Varma, mired in the cash discovery row. Justice Khanna's report was based on the findings of a three-judge in-house panel which investigated the case. Justice Khanna had prodded Varma to resign but he had refused, sources had earlier said. According to the Judges (Inquiry) Act of 1968, once a motion to remove a judge is admitted in any of the Houses, the speaker or the chairman, as the case may be, will constitute a three-member committee to investigate the grounds on which the removal (or, in popular term, impeachment) has been sought. The committee consists of the chief justice of India (CJI) or a Supreme Court judge, the chief justice of one of the 25 high courts and a ' distinguished jurist'. According to the rule, a committee has to be constituted and then the committee has to submit a report and the report will be tabled in the House and discussions will start to impeach. A fire incident at Justice Varma's residence in the national capital in March, when he was a judge at the Delhi High Court, had led to the discovery of several burnt sacks of cash at the outhouse. Though the judge claimed ignorance about the cash, the Supreme Court-appointed committee indicted him after speaking to a number of witnesses and recording his statement.
The Print
2 hours ago
- The Print
‘Some leaders see politics in everything'—Delhi minister takes swipe at Rahul's stand on stray dogs
'See, stray dogs are a big problem in Delhi. But at the same time, we animal lovers also have a close relationship with these stray dogs. Certainly, the government will have to accept the decision of the Supreme Court,' Sood said. In an interview to ThePrint, Sood hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his comments over the Supreme Court's order on removal of stray dogs. New Delhi: Terming stray dog menace as a major issue, Delhi minister Ashish Sood has said that politicising the issue is not right and emphasised that a balanced approach has to be maintained. Sood said the decision will be examined and it will be implemented in a legal manner. 'A policy decision will be taken and a policy will be formed. Dog lovers should pursue their love and common citizens should be able to exercise their right to life comfortably. 'A balance has to be made between these two. There is also a legal aspect in it. The balance that will be made in all these things can also be called a policy. You can also call it living together in the city but certainly the government is looking at it seriously and will find a solution,' he added. When asked how several leaders, including those from the opposition, have pointed out that dog shelters cannot be constructed overnight and that the municipal corporations require major funds, Sood said politicising the issue at this juncture is not right. 'Naturally, this cannot be done (building shelters overnight). If the Supreme Court has said something, then experts will evaluate it. What to do and what not to do will be shaped up in the coming days. This has become the nature of some leaders and some ideologies. To see politics in everything and to create what are called hindrances in everything.. They say it will not happen, it will not happen,' he said. Sood termed it a civic issue and said that while dog lovers have a right but the people who are being attacked also have a right to live. 'Both have to go simultaneously. So it has to be that these are two parallel lines which have to run together. We have to understand this. And by making such comments you only make things worse. You are not making any positive contribution in that, helping the government or the public,' he added. Regarding the recently passed Delhi School Education (Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees) Bill, 2025, to curb the increasing commercialisation of school education, Sood accused the erstwhile AAP government of conniving with some private schools and allowing them to increase fees arbitrarily. ''For years, private schools hiked fees unchecked, our new law regulates schools, stops profiteering and focuses on strengthening government schools.' In a blistering attack on AAP's 'education model', Sood said, 'swimming pools in schools aren't education revolution, Delhi had them in 1980 too. There is a need to improve learning outcomes and focus on improving and creating infrastructure'. 'AAP was a government of corrupt people. It is a party of thieves. Why don't they talk about the fees of the remaining 1,400 schools? Because their own people operate such schools. Their MLAs have schools. Their councillors have schools in unauthorised colonies. Though running school is not the issue, anyone can run it, but increasing fees in an arbitrary manner is bad,' the Delhi education minister alleged. However, Sood said the real good of the people lies in a law which regulates the fees in a systematic manner. 'Fees will in a regulated way. We had the courage to face all the elements who operate as 'fee-mafia'. Those who used to give money under the table to the Aam Aadmi Party, who used it to fund their elections, we have shown this courage by standing in front of such elements,' he claimed. Sood further alleged that during the AAP government's tenure, few schools used to get permission to increase fees multiple times. 'Tell me how it happened in a school where you have surplus funds and you get the opportunity to increase fees. Your account shows surplus. Then you get the opportunity to increase fees. They used to take money. There was collusion. They used to take money under the table. They used to take money to contest elections,' he alleged. Sood also questioned the delay over implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) and questioned why the AAP government did not do so during their tenure. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 recommended setting six years as the minimum age for admission to Class 1. As a result, all schools will now be required to add an additional year to the foundational stage. 'NEP 2020 is a national policy. Delhi is the national capital, refusing to implement it over politics is pathetic,' Sood said, pointing out that circulars were issued to ensure Class 1 admission at the age of 6 from next year. The Delhi government, he said, would implement every vertical of the NEP. 'We have sent a circular to schools. See, one year will be added before the child comes to first class. The parents who are studying now have made provision for their finances, the school has made their rooms, teachers, their curriculum accordingly. We have issued a circular. It has been done now. Those who have the means can do it. Otherwise, from next year, admissions will be done accordingly,' he said. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: How SC's order on stray dogs got two Gandhi families speaking in a single voice
