
No kennel space, can't take in more stray dogs, ABC centres tell MCD
This was hours after an MCD officer directed NGOs running the ABC centres to start picking up "aggressive dogs" from vulnerable points, despite Delhi CM Rekha Gupta recently asking officials concerned to refrain from taking any "harsh action" against strays till the Supreme Court pronounces its final order on the issue.
Seeking anonymity, ABC centre officials told TOI, "We have informed MCD in writing that all our kennels are full.
ABC centres are small and designed for only carrying out sterilisation. Not a single ABC centre in Delhi is equipped to handle long-term housing of strays."
This clearly validates the stand of protesting animal rights activists who have described the Supreme Court's Aug 11 order to remove all Delhi-NCR stray dogs to distant shelters as "inhumane, unscientific & illegal" and one that doesn't take into account the practical limitations of existing infra and resources.
In fact, on Tuesday only, the central government informed Parliament that it intends to regulate street dog population through its ABC programme that mandates local civic bodies to catch and release strays back to their original locations post-sterilisation.
The ABC rules, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, align with standards set by the World Organisation for Animal Health and promote the "Capture-Neuter-Vaccinate-Release method" for humane and effective stray population management, junior animal husbandry minister SP Singh Baghel had said.
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Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Can elected govt be at whims and fancies of Governor, asks CJI
The Supreme Court bench hearing the Presidential reference asked the government Wednesday whether an elected government can be placed at 'the whims and fancies of the Governor' by vesting him/her with the power to withhold a Bill forever. 'But then would we not be giving total powers to the Governor to sit in appeals?… The government elected by majority will be at the whims and fancies of the Governor,' Chief Justice of India B R Gavai asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who appeared for the Centre. The bench said that to interpret that the Bill 'dies' the first time the Governor withholds it 'would be counterproductive to the power of the Governor and counterproductive to the legislative process'. The five-judge Constitution bench is hearing President Droupadi Murmu's reference on timelines fixed by a two-judge bench for the President and Governors to act on Bills sent by state legislatures. Delving into the contours of the Governor's discretionary powers under Article 200 of the Constitution, Mehta told the bench: 'It is not an asylum for retired politicians but has its own sanctity which was debated in the Constituent Assembly.' He said the Governor, though unelected, represents the President and is not just a 'postman' to mechanically approve Bills. 'A person who is not directly elected is not a lesser person,' he said. Addressing the bench which included Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar, Mehta said the Governor has the option to grant assent to a Bill referred by the state legislature, withhold assent, refer it to the President in case of repugnancy with any Central law or return it to the state legislature for reconsideration. He said withholding is not a temporary act, and that 5-judge and 7-judge benches of the Supreme Court have interpreted it to mean that the Bill 'falls through'. Illustrating this, he said, 'Suppose a border state passes a Bill dealing with our external affairs, that we will permit a particular country's people to enter or not, then he cannot assent, he cannot refer it to President because it's not a repugnancy issue, and he cannot resend it to the House because if it is again passed, he cannot say no to it. So he will have to withhold.' He said the power 'has to be used rarely, sparingly, but that is the way the situation is'. The CJI then asked, 'If he doesn't exercise the option of resending the Bill for reconsideration, he can withhold it for time immemorial?' 'It dies,' Mehta said, reiterating that 'it (the power) is to be used rarely but power is conferred.' He said, 'The very language in which Article 200 is couched, it gives him options.' He said 'neither textually nor contextually, it is possible to conclude that the term withhold will have to be read as a temporary suspension of powers of granting assent till first proviso works out. There is no concept of temporary withholding of any Bill. If the framers of the Constitution wanted to link the term withhold in the main part of Article 200 to read only in the context of first proviso, two things would have been provided: (a) term withhold in the main part would have been qualified with the term subject to first proviso mentioned therein, (b) the first proviso would have mentioned that the Bill so withheld shall be reconsidered by the House, which is not there.' Justice Narasimha said the options must remain open-ended so that the political process has the chance to resolve the deadlock over a Bill. 'The way the political process occurs is not adjudicatory. Even assuming the Governor says I withhold, the political process can knock his doors and he can still open it and say, I will send it back to you, you consider and send it back. But to say… the first time he says, I withhold, the matter comes to an end… It can't be like that. It is counterproductive to the power of the Governor and counterproductive to the legislative process also. It has to be in a situation where it is open-ended,' he said. He was quick to add that the court understood that the Solicitor General was referring to Bills on subjects in the Union List. On the debate over the discretionary powers of the Governor, Justice Narasimha said, 'At that time we did not have impact assessment of a statute … Now, you see the amount of litigation it has thrown up by having provisions of this nature. Perhaps that could tell us whether the vision was right or not. Because the validity or correctness of a thought will come from its performance.' Mehta said he was 'not arguing that the Governor has unlimited discretion'. CJI Gavai said, 'We have some experience as to how some honourable Governors have exercised their discretion leading to so many litigations, but we are not going by that.' Mehta said, 'Indian democracy is a matured democracy. There may be aberrations on an individual level. But by and large, the democracy under this very Constitution has worked very effectively. And I personally experienced it during Covid times, how the Centre-state federal balance envisaged was on display. So it would be really hazardous to assess on the basis of some aberrations.'


Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Delhi CM attack: ‘Photo' of attacker, AAP MLA sparks row
New Delhi Police at the CM's residence. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo) The attack on Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta during a 'Jan Sunwai (public hearing)' programme sparked a war of words between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with the former alleging a 'conspiracy' behind the attack and the opposition party an attempt by the BJP to defame the AAP. The row started over an image posted by BJP MLA Harish Khurana, in which the attacker was seen with Gopal Italia, an AAP Gujarat leader. The AAP refuted the allegation, calling it an AI-generated image. BJP parliamentarian Ramvir Singh Bidhuri demanded a screening of the attacker's phone logs. 'The conspiracy behind the attack must be exposed to find out who is upset with the significant development made by Rekha Gupta's government within just six months and who wants to harm her. The CCTV footage clearly shows that the attacker first conducted a recce of the CM's residence. It should be investigated who the attacker spoke to on the phone during the recce. To whom was the attacker providing all the information?' Bidhuri said. Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa also alleged a 'political conspiracy' behind the attack. 'I condemn the attack on the chief minister during today's Jan Sunwai. Our CM worries for Delhi day and night, and anyone can come and meet the CM at her residence. This is a conspiracy by rivals. They can't tolerate that a CM remains amid the public for hours, that she meets people at her residence. So, there seems to be a political conspiracy behind this. Delhi Police is investigating this. All facts will come out,' Manjinder Singh Sirsa said in a video statement. In a statement, the AAP said that a picture of a person named Rajesh Sakaria was edited and AI was used to create a manipulated image alongside the photo of AAP MLA Gopal Bhai Italia by Delhi BJP MLA Harish Khurana. In a video statement, Gopal Italia said, 'The cheap move by the Delhi BJP leader is absolutely wrong. An old video has been edited and a fake photo of someone has been used to do this cheap act. I appeal to all BJP leaders to avoid fake news…I will have to move the court and police against the spreading of fake news.' AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal condemned the attack, saying violence had no place in a democracy. 'The attack on Delhi's Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is highly condemnable. In a democratic system, differences of opinion and opposition are acceptable, but there can be no place for violence. I am confident that the Delhi Police will take appropriate action. I hope the Chief Minister is completely safe and healthy,' Kejriwal said in a post on X. In a video statement, AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj said, 'Today, news is coming in that Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was attacked, someone tried to slap her. This is absolutely condemnable. Any form of violence has no place in our society, and Mahatma Gandhi taught us this hundred years ago. The question is—which parties and which ideologies are promoting violence in the country and in society? Who is patronising violence, encouraging it, legitimising it?' Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said the security lapse indicated the 'deteriorating law and order situation in the Capital with crimes against women witnessing a sharp spike.' 'When the Chief Minister of Delhi is not safe, how will the security of the common people of Delhi and women working outside their homes be ensured? The blatant attack on CM Rekha Gupta by a man against whom there are many police complaints pending, is a huge security lapse. It raises a big question about the poor law and order as those in power seems to be in deep slumber with crimes proliferating everywhere, including the business of drug in every nook and corner of the city,' Yadav said.


Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
State doubles down on 6-6-5 matrix for Scheduled Castes, plans panel to monitor reservation
Bengaluru: Barely 24 hours after a special cabinet meeting which decided on a 6-6-5 formula for internal reservation among Scheduled Castes, chief minister Siddaramaiah said the govt will set up a Permanent Scheduled Castes Commission to periodically study socio-economic mobility of communities and recommend changes in the quota structure. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Making a formal statement in the assembly Wednesday, Siddaramaiah clarified that the govt had not rejected the Justice HN Nagamohan Das Commission report as alleged by the opposition. "The govt is pleased to place before this House that the report of Justice Nagamohan Das has been accepted with modifications," Siddaramaiah said. "We believe that this decision will do justice to the decades-long struggle for internal reservation." He said the got will soon begin recruitment under the new matrix, with a one-time relaxation in age limit. He also said cases filed against activists who fought for internal reservation will be withdrawn and future revisions in quota distribution would be based on data from the upcoming national census. He said restructuring of the Commission's report was intended to ensure fairness. "These changes were made to ensure equality and fairness in access to education, employment and other opportunities for all 101 Scheduled Castes. In making this decision, the cabinet has adhered to the principles outlined in the Supreme Court judgment," he said. Detailing modifications, Siddaramaiah said: "Communities identified by the Commission as Left-Hand section will be provided 6% internal reservation; the Commission had grouped castes such as Paraya and Mogera (Right-Hand) with the Left-Hand section. The cabinet decided to retain these communities with the Right-Hand group, and therefore, 6% reservation will be given to the Right-Hand section." Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Justice Nagamohan Das had suggested 4% reservation for touchable castes and 1% for 59 castes with a combined population of 5,22,099, categorised as sub-group A. Siddaramaiah said the cabinet had merged these two categories for administrative reasons and provide 5% reservation together. Siddaramaiah said the govt's move was consistent with constitutional provisions and referred to Supreme Court judgments to assert that the state govt has the authority to sub-classify SCs. While Congress hailed the decision as a milestone in social justice, opposition BJP said the framework was prepared by its govt earlier and Congress was only rehashing and presenting it again. With speaker UT Khader disallowing a debate, BJP members staged a walkout in protest. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar remarked: "We have resolved an issue that was pending for 25 years. The Scheduled Caste community is happy. I appeal to you (opposition) to be happy too." Khader said that while the opposition's demand for a debate was valid, the govt was also within its rights to refuse. He said the matter may be taken up on Friday if time permits.