Fuel pump wash rooms in NH should be open to customers 24x7, says Kerala HC
Justice C.S. Dias issued the order while modifying an earlier interim directive from 17 June, which had restrained authorities from insisting that petrol pump washrooms be opened to the general public. The fresh ruling came in response to a petition filed by the Petroleum Traders Welfare and Legal Service Society, along with retail outlet dealers from Thiruvananthapuram and Thodupuzha.
The petition challenged attempts by local self-government bodies to portray or convert privately maintained toilets at fuel stations into public toilet facilities. The court strongly criticised this approach, questioning how the government could transfer its responsibility under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) to private dealers.
'It is the duty of the government to provide toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission. How can the government compel someone else to open their toilets?' the court remarked.
The state government presented SBM-Urban guidelines and a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways circular dated 26 December 2013, which mandates that drinking water and toilet facilities at fuel stations and rest area complexes along National Highways must be accessible to the public 24x7. The circular also calls for clear signage at such outlets indicating the availability of these amenities.
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Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
40 years on, implementation of Assam Accord remains incomplete, claim student leaders, oppn parties
Guwahati, Four decades after the historic Assam Accord was signed to end a six-year-long violent anti-foreigner agitation, its central objective of making the state free of illegal immigrants remains unfulfilled, student leaders and political parties claimed. The issue of illegal immigration is one of the most contentious topics in Assam's political and social spheres. Several elections have been fought over this single issue of Bangladeshi infiltrators, who were initially marked as D-voters if their names were found in the electoral rolls. The Assam Accord was signed on August 15, 1985 after a violent anti-foreigner movement, which claimed the lives of thousands. Among other clauses, the pact stated that names of all foreigners coming to Assam on or after March 25, 1971, would be detected and deleted from electoral rolls with steps taken to deport them. The All Assam Students' Union (AASU), All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) and the central government were the three signatories of the accord. "Successive governments at the Centre and state have failed to implement the pact for 40 years. Illegal foreigners were not detected, deported and their names not deleted from the voter lists," AASU president Utpal Sarma and general secretary Samiran Phukan said in a joint statement. Even the paths through which infiltration took place have not been sealed, and it is an "unpardonable sin" committed by the governments, they added. Unchecked infiltration from Bangladesh threatens the very identity, language, culture and identity of Assamese people, the duo said. They also reiterated demands for the implementation of the Justice (Retd.) Biplab Kumar Sharma Committee's report on Clause 6 of the Accord, which promises constitutional, legislative, and administrative safeguards to protect the Assamese people's identity. The AASU also demanded implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) after due corrections and exclusion of Assam from the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis entering India on or before December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after five years of residence here. On the implementation of the accord, Minister Atul Bora in a post on X said the state government was doing everything possible to implement it. "We have taken some historic steps to implement the 52 recommendations of Justice (Retd) Biplab Kumar Sharma Committee. In this way, the process is on to execute all clauses of the Accord," he claimed. Leader of the opposition in Assam assembly Debabrata Saikia said the Congress, which was in power in both the Centre and the state during signing of the accord, wholeheartedly wants implementation of all clauses. "The BJP government does not want implementation of the accord, especially as they are strongly against Clause 6. That is why they have introduced CAA, which in a way nullifies the pact," he added. The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), which was formed as an aftereffect of the anti-CAA movement of 2019-20 comprising mostly ex-AASU members, too slammed the BJP for not doing enough to implement the pact. "The BJP had promised to fully implement the accord before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, nothing has been done. Instead, they enacted the CAA and welcomed illegal Bangladeshis coming after 1971," AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi claimed. The Supreme Court on October 17 last year had upheld the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act which grants Indian citizenship to immigrants who came to Assam between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971. Section 6A was inserted into the Citizenship Act in 1985 as a special provision to deal with the citizenship of people covered under the Assam Accord. A five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by then Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, had said the Assam Accord was a political solution to the problem of illegal migration. It had held that the cut-off date of March 25, 1971, for entry into Assam and granting citizenship is correct. As an outcome of the Assam Accord, the concept of 'D' voters was introduced in the state in 1997 by the EC and prepared a list by including those people who allegedly could not provide evidence in favour of their Indian nationality. It does not exist anywhere in India. Deletion or regularisation of a D-voter is done as per orders of the Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) and the subsequent judgements by higher courts. If the legal system declares one as a foreigner, then his or her name is deleted from the electoral rolls. If a D-voter is termed an Indian citizen by the judiciary, then the prefix 'D' is removed from his or her name. In July last year, the Assam government had asked its Border Police wing not to forward the cases of non-Muslim illegal immigrants entering the state before 2015 to FTs and instead advise them to apply for citizenship through CAA. Last month, the Assam government instructed all districts to drop ongoing cases of suspected non-Muslim illegal foreigners entering the state before 2015 from the FTs following implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act .
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Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
SC orders EC to publish names and reasons for deletion of 65 lakh voters in Bihar's SIR by Aug 19, with booth-wise online access and publicity across multiple platforms
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish on its website before August 19 the names of those who have been excluded from the draft electoral roll after the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar. The reasons for the omission of approximately 6.5 million voters must be given, and their names should be searchable online based on EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) numbers, the top court said. Soft copies of the deleted voters list must be available on the respective district electoral officer websites, the court added. "The list of 6.5 million voters, whose names appeared in the 2025 list but are not included in the draft list, shall be displayed on the websites of district electoral officers. The information would be booth-wise but it can be accessed by referring to EPIC number. The lists shall be published on the website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar," the court directed. The apex court also told the ECI to accept Aadhaar card as a document for establishing identity. "Your list of 11 documents seems citizen-friendly, but Aadhaar and EPIC are readily available... your notice can say that those who have not submitted so far, can submit their Aadhaar and EPIC also," said Justice Joymalya Bagchi of the top court Bench that is hearing the matter. The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Bagchi is hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the ECI's June 24 directive, ordering SIR of Bihar electoral roll. The directive requires voters not listed in the 2003 electoral roll to submit documents proving their citizenship. Those born after December 2004 must also furnish citizenship documents of both parents, with additional requirements if a parent is a foreign national. Apart from the directions above, the bench also ordered the ECI to publicise the deleted voters list through newspapers, electronic media, and social media. Printed booth-wise lists of deleted voters along with reasons for their deletion must also be displayed at panchayat and block development offices, the court directed. 'For a migrant worker who has been deleted as dead, even if he is illiterate, his neighbours or friends would alert him… it is only fair to have a procedure that does not block a person from exercising his right to adult franchise. There are civil consequences involved here,' Justice Kant told Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, who is appearing for the ECI. The apex court said that voters have a right to know, and a high degree of transparency is required to inspire their confidence. 'People have a right to know. A high degree of transparency is required to inspire voters' confidence. Put up the names of excluded electors with reasons out there in the public domain for all to see,' Justice Bagchi told the ECI. The top court had earlier said that if there was 'mass exclusion' of voters in the SIR exercise in Bihar, it will 'step in'. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), activist Yogendra Yadav, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) from Trinamool Congress Mahua Moitra, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha, Congress leader K C Venugopal, and former member of Bihar Assembly Mujahid Alam are the petitioners in the case.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
NEET domicile issue: Andhra Pradesh HC dismisses ‘non-local' students' pleas
Vijayawada: The high court on Thursday dismissed the petitions filed by students who were not considered 'local' candidates in medical admissions for not having four years of contiguous education prior to the qualifying examination. The court stated that according to Presidential rules issued in 1974, a candidate who studied in an area for four continuous years prior to the date of the qualifying exam is only considered a local area candidate. Hence, the petitioners cannot be considered domiciles of Andhra Pradesh, it said. Over 70 petitions were filed by students who qualified in NEET and aspired for medical admission in Andhra Pradesh after their applications were not accepted under local category. They were considered 'non-locals' as they studied intermediate outside the state. The govt informed the high court that Presidential orders clearly define who is to be considered as local candidate, and the same is being followed. Considering the govt's submissions, the HC bench headed by Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur and Justice R Raghunandan Rao dismissed the petitions. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Happy Independence Day wishes , messages , and quotes !
