The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted regular bail to activist Teesta Setalvad in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence to frame innocent people in the 2002 post-Godhra riots cases.
A three-judge bench of Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna and Dipankar Datta set aside the order of the Gujarat High Court rejecting her plea for regular bail.
The top court said a charge sheet has been filed in the case against Setalvad and her custodial interrogation is not necessary. ”The passport of the appellant already surrendered will be in custody of session court. The appellant shall not make any attempt to influence witnesses and shall stay away from them,” the bench said.
The bench also granted the Gujarat Police liberty to directly move the apex court if attempt is made to influence witnesses in the case.
Setalvad was taken into custody on June 25 last year along with former Gujarat Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a case registered by the Ahmedabad crime branch police for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in the post-Godhra riots cases.
An Ahmedabad sessions court had on July 30, 2022 rejected the bail applications of Setalvad and Sreekumar, saying their release will send a message to wrongdoers that a person can level allegations with impunity and get away with it.
The High Court had on August 3, 2022, issued a notice to the state government on the bail plea of Setalvad and fixed the matter for hearing on September 19.
Meanwhile, she moved the Supreme Court (SC) for interim bail after the high court refused to consider her plea.
The apex court, on September 2 last year, granted her interim bail and asked her to surrender her passport with the trial court till the time the Gujarat High Court decided her regular bail plea.
Ajit Pawar and his rebel ministers are trying to convince Sharad Pawar into joining the NDA? 4
There are some reconciliation activities within the NCP, the sources said Ajit Pawar is making all efforts to convince Sharad Pawar on alliance with BJP. Within two days, deputy CM Ajit Pawar and working president of the party’s Ajit group Praful Patel met Sharad Pawar for the second time. The venue was the same—Y B Chavan Centre at Nariman Point—and so apparently was the purpose, with Patel saying they sought his blessings and urged him to take steps to keep the party united. The back-to-back meetings between uncle and nephew created speculations about whether reconciliation was possible. According to the inner sources of Sharad Pawar, the supremo later met 16 NCP legislators who are still loyal to him.
Pawar gave ear to all his ministers and heard what all they wanted to say. “He listened to us but did not say anything on it,” senior NCP leader Praful Patel told reporters after the meeting. On the same day, Ajit attended an NDA meeting, Sharad Pawar in opposition met. At the NDA meeting scheduled to be held in Delhi on July 18, Patel said that both he and Ajit Pawar would be attending the talks. Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar is expected to attend the opposition meeting that is being hosted by the Congress in Bengaluru on the same day.
The junior Pawar has claimed that he has the support of around 40 of the 53 NCP MLAs. Patel added that while only NCP ministers met the party chief on Sunday, many NCP MLAs were present during Monday’s meeting. First meeting after rebellion On Sunday, the Ajit Pawar camp had held an unscheduled meeting with senior Pawar at the YB Chavan Centre. This was the first meeting between Sharad and the group-led by Ajit Pawar after he rebelled against his uncle and joined the Eknath Shinde government on July 2.
Praful Patel, told the media “We came here without asking for any appointment. Sharad Pawar Hours after Sunday’s meeting made it clear that he cannot support the BJP and will continue with his “progressive politics”.
During his address to youth wing workers from Nashik on Sunday, the 82-year-old veteran politician reaffirmed the NCP’s ideology, emphasising their opposition to the “divisive politics of the BJP”. He urged the workers to stand firm on the principles of inclusivity, equality, secularism, and democracy. Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis had tried to play down Sunday’s meeting, stating that Sharad Pawar had led the party for 20 years and the meeting was “no big deal”.
Devendra Fadnavis,Maharashtra,Deputy Chief Minister | Image : PTI
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said in the state assembly that detention centres would be set up for foreign nationals indulging in drug peddling, overstaying their visa limit and committing petty crimes to evade deportation.
The government has also decided to appoint Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) as the nodal agency to control the distribution of the banned drugs, he said responding to a question raised by NCP member Rohit Pawar.
“We have noticed that some Nigerians as well as other foreign nationals are involved in the supply of narcotics drugs. They overstay here violating the visa norms. To avoid deportation for such violation, they indulge in petty crimes and manage to stay here longer,” said Fadnavis, who is also the state home minister.
“To prevent such practices, the Maharashtra government has decided to set up detention centres where these foreign nationals will be kept until their deportation. We have also decided to appoint the ATS as the nodal agency to control the distribution of drugs,” he said.
Commenting on drug transportation via containers at ports, Fadnavis said the Union as well as state governments have tightened security at the borders, putting a check on the supply of such banned drugs. Hence, the suppliers have started using containers to transport drugs in large quantities, he said.
“It is true that ports like Mundra and JNPT have reported supply of drugs under the name of something else. The process of procurement of hi-tech scanners is going on. These scanners will be able to detect the banned substances,” he added.
Uttarakhand: Met dept issues "alert" amid heavy rainfall in Haridwar, Mussorie districts 7
Following continuous rainfall in parts of Uttarakhand the Met Department on Tuesday issued an alert regarding possible inundation of low-lying areas and landslides in hilly areas, an official statement said.
“Due to continuous rain/heavy rain in Koti, Mussoorie Tehsil/Block in Dehradun and Laksar Block/Tehsil in Haridwar districts, inundation of low-lying areas and landslides in hilly areas are likely to occur. People are advised to remain alert,” the statement read.
Earlier on Monday, Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force (STRF), continuously working in the Haridwar district for the rescue of people stranded in submerged houses in flooded areas of Haridwar, rescued a pregnant woman and a small girl from Laksar.
According to officials, SDRF, and state police immediately reached the spot after receiving information about a small girl, and a pregnant woman, who was having labour pain in a house submerged due to waterlogging in Laksar police station, Adarsh Nagar of district Haridwar.”
“Both, the girl and the pregnant woman were brought to a safe place by raft with full caution. After that, they were taken to the hospital by ambulance,” they said. Apart from this, other people, trapped, were also rescued and taken to a safer place by rafts.
Amid the persistent rainfall and a breach in the Sonali River dam have raised a threat of floods in the Laksar town of Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district.
Dislike the term 'acting', idea is to capture soul of character: Raghubir Yadav 9
Acting as a term reduces the magnitude of the profession, says film veteran Raghubir Yadav, who equates understanding the soul of a character to a ”spiritual journey”.
The National School of Drama (NSD) graduate believes it is important to get into the depth of characters even if it requires venturing into uncharted territories. ”Acting is a very dangerous term for me, I dislike it (Acting lafz mere liye bada khatarnak hai, usse main napasand karta hoon)… For me, it is about understanding the character and getting closer to the role. If someone says, ‘Yadav sahab, thoda zara iski acting kar dijiye’. ”Then, it is acting a character and not getting into the soul of a character. You need to feel the character and capture its soul. I enjoy getting into the depth,” Yadav told PTI in an interview.
The 66-year-old recalled while preparing for Mira Nair’s 1988 film ”Salaam Bombay!”, in which he played the character of a drug addict Chillum, he spent some time with real-life addicts on Nana Patekar’s advice. ”I don’t even smoke and I had to play this role. I told Nana that I have never smoked, so he made me sit among drug addicts and I would just observe them. Acting is like spirituality, meditation (Acting bhi ek tarah ka adhyatma hai, meditation hai). I keep learning and I feel I want to look for more such experiences,” he added.
After the graduating from the NSD, Yadav moved to Mumbai and his first film was 1985’s “Massey Sahib”. For his performance in the movie, he received many prestigious awards, including the best actor recognition at the Venice Film Festival as well as FIPRESCI Critics’ Award.
The Jabalpur-born actor followed it up with memorable TV shows such as “Mungerilala Ke Haseen Sapne”, ”Mullah Nasruddin” and went on to play varied roles in films such as ”Dharavi”, ”Bandit Queen”, ”Lagaan”, ”Firaaq”, ”Peepli Live”, ”Newton” and ”Pagglait”, among others.
The influx of digital platforms has also lent Yadav a canvas to paint interesting characters with series such as ”Panchayat”, ”The Great Indian Murder” and film anthology ”Ray”.
”I have lived so many lives through my characters. We have to get the soul and spirit of every other person that we play in films or theatre. Every character is different. It is about getting into the nitty-gritty. You become and live like the character,” he said.
There was a time in his career when people tried to box him as a comedian, said Yadav, adding that he would prefer to ”starve” rather than being repetitive.
”I would not do anything that I don’t believe in. I don’t want to do anything that will upset my audience… I have learnt this from theatre, where many stalwarts would die of hunger (bhookhe mar gaye) but never did something they didn’t have faith in.” The actor will next be seen in ”Minus 31 – The Nagpur Files”, a thriller movie directed by Pratik Moitro. Yadav plays the role of a former police officer, whose daughter, also a police officer essayed by Rucha Inamdar, is investigating a murder.
The father-daughter relationship in the film attracted him the most, he said. ”This love and banter between father and daughter was amazing, I had a lot of fun being part of the film. While working on this film I felt we all were like a family, so it was a great experience. I believe when you have a good time making a film, the film turns out good,” he added.
”Minus 31” also features Nisha Dhar, Rajesh Sharma, Jaya Bhattacharya, Kaambhaari, Santosh Juvekar, Shivankit Parihar, and Debashish Naha.
The movie, produced by Orangepixel Studios, is set to be released on Friday.
'Visionary leader', 'pillar of Congress': Condolences pour in on ex-Kerala CM Oommen Chandy's demise 11
Condolences poured in on Tuesday from political leaders after the demise of former Kerala Chief Minister and Congress veteran Oommen Chandy who passed away in Bengaluru today. In a Facebook post, Chandy’s son announced his father’s demise, stating, “Appa has passed away.” The 79-year-old leader had been undergoing treatment at a health facility in Bengaluru.
While Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge remembered Omen Chandy as a leader who stood tall as a leader of the masses, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that he was one of the Chief Ministers responsible for placing Kerala at the top of the Human Development Index. “My humble tribute to the stalwart Oommen Chandy, Former Kerala Chief Minister and a staunch Congress man who stood tall as a leader of the masses. His unwavering commitment and visionary leadership left an indelible mark on Kerala’s progress and the nation’s political landscape. He will be remembered for his dedication and service to the people. Heartfelt condolences to the family and supporters,” Mallikarjun Kharge tweeted.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “Deepest condolences to the family of Shri. Oommen Chandy. He was a pillar of the Congress party, a leader who dedicated his life to service and was deeply committed to the values we are fighting for today. We will all remember him with great respect and miss his wise counsel.” Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said, “The news of Oommen Chandy’s death, who was very dear to me, was shocking. Oommen Chandy was also one of the Chief Ministers responsible for placing the state of Kerala at the top of Human Development Index. He was the chief minister of Kerala state twice.”
“He served as the Chief Minister of Kerala from 2004 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2016. As General Secretary of AICC, Governor, Leader of Opposition in Kerala Legislative Assembly, he continuously strived to protect the aspirations and values of the Constitution and effectively carried forward the legacy of struggle politics,” he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also expressed grief over the development and said, “Saddened to hear about the passing of Sh. Oomen Chandy, former CM of Kerala. Heartfelt condolences to his family and his colleagues. May his soul rest in peace.”
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K Sudhakaran recalled Oommen Chandy as a leader who “touched the lives of countless individuals”. “The tale of the king who triumphed over the world with the power of ‘love’ finds its poignant end. Today, I am deeply saddened by the loss of a legend, @Oommen_Chandy,” Sudhakaran tweeted.
Reacting to his demise Kerala Congress tweeted, “We mourn the loss of former Kerala CM and Congress stalwart Shri Oommen Chandy. He was a champion of development, democracy and secularism.” The official Congress Twitter handle posted, “Deeply saddened by the passing of former Kerala CM and esteemed Congress leader, Oommen Chandy. A stalwart in politics, his contributions to Kerala’s progress and development will always be remembered. A true statesman, he leaves behind a legacy that will inspire generations. Our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”
Revolutionary Socialist Party MP N K Premachandran condoled the demise of the veteran leader and said that the latter was “always with the people, for the people and among the people.” “The basic concept of Oommen Chandy in his public activities and public activities is to help the poor and marginalized sections of society. He was always with the people, for the people and among the people. As the CM of Kerala, he did innovative works in the field of development. It is a big loss – not only for Kerala or Congress but entire humanity,” Premachandran said.
“He touched the lives of countless individuals, and his legacy will forever resonate within our souls. RIP!,” K Sudhakaran, the president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief tweeted. Remembering the time when he and Chandy came to politics, Kerala chief minster Pinarayi Vijayan said that the former was a “capable administrator and a person who was closely involved in people’s lives”.
“We were elected to the Legislative Assembly in the same year. It was at the same stage that we came to the political fore through student life. We led public life at the same time and it is extremely difficult to bid him farewell. Oommen Chandy was a capable administrator and a person who was closely involved in people’s lives,” Vijayan said.
Ahead of the meeting of Opposition parties on Monday, the Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray faction- leader Sanjay Raut said that discussions will he held on several issues including electronic voting (EVM) machines and Lok Sabha seat sharing. Addressing a press conference here Raut said, “The agenda of today’s meeting is to be one. Discussion will be held on many issues including EVM machines, Lok Sabha seat sharing, and also decide on what will be the name of the front.”
Raut further confirmed that Shiv Sena chiefs Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray will also participate in the meeting in Karnataka’s Bengaluru. “Shiv Sena chiefs Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray will also attend the meeting. This meeting will run in two sessions. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi will attend today’s meeting. NCP chief Sharad Pawar will attend the meeting tomorrow. Today we will discuss national level issues at the meeting”, he added.
Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party said that the NCP supremo will not participate on the first day of the two-day joint opposition meeting but will be present on Tuesday according to spokesperson Mahesh Bharet Tapase. Meanwhile, big posters and banners were seen put up on Race Course Road in Bengaluru welcoming leaders of various opposition parties for the joint opposition meeting at the Taj West End Hotel in the Karnataka capital.
Gearing up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, leaders of at least 26 Opposition parties are set to converge at a hotel in Bengaluru today and tomorrow as part of their efforts to present a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the Centre. Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh, and Congress general secretary, KC Venugopal held a joint press conference this morning. All the opposition leaders are scheduled to arrive for the afternoon meeting.
An informal meeting is scheduled at 6 pm after which there will be dinner at 8 pm. On July 18, the meeting will kick off at 11 am and will continue till 4 pm. Following this, there will be a press conference in which the campaign strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls may be announced.
The first mega Opposition meet was convened in Patna on June 23 by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. At the meeting, opposition heavyweights, including Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, brainstormed on a roadmap for an anti-BJP front in time for the next year’s Lok Sabha elections.
We will need someone like Rahane in form for South Africa tour: Rathour 14
Ajinkya Rahane’s assured approach in the middle has been the hallmark of his comeback and the Indian team will need him to maintain form when it tours South Africa later this year, said batting coach Vikram Rathour. Rahane’s 89 and 46 was probably the only positive for India in their loss to Australia in the World Test Championship final in London last month.
It was Rahane’s first Test in 18 months and following that, he was named vice-captain for the ongoing tour of the West Indies. However, the 35-year-old got out cheaply in the first Test here and would like to make amends in the second game starting in Port of Spain on July 20.
Talking about Rahane’s comeback, Rathour explained what has stood out for him. ”He played really well in the WTC final. He has always been a good player. He was dropped because of bad form. When it comes to technique, you constantly work on that but what stood out for for me that he was much more calm in his approach. ”He was playing late and close to the body. That has been the standout thing since his comeback. He is still batting the same way in the nets. We hope he will do well. Conditions in South Africa, you will need somebody like him to come good,” said Rathour.
India’s next Test series will be in South Africa in December-January.
Jaiswal has potential to play for 10 years
Rathour was hugely impressed with young Yashasvi Jaiswal’s performance in his debut Test. His 171 set up a massive win for India.
”I’ve been a selector before, so whenever you pick a player you should pick him with the intent that he will play for India for the next 10 years. He definitely has the potential. ”For me the most important thing though I haven’t worked with Yashasvi before, was that I had seen him scoring runs at the IPL, you saw how dynamic a batter he is, the kind of stroke-player he is. But he managed to change the game according to the situation of the team.
”On the second day he scored some 20 runs off 90 balls before Lunch. I think that for me was the highlight of the innings. Somebody who is able to do that, who can play against his character, his normal game, get through that phase and then score big runs, it was phenomenal to watch,” Rathour said. Shubman Gill could not do well last week after dropping himself down to number three in the batting order. But Rathour said Gill will get enough time to prove himself in his new batting position.
”He has a lot of potential, and he has reached that potential as well in other formats. He has also made runs in Test cricket. Sometimes it might take a bit of time in a particular format, and he is taking that time, but he has that time.
”He is taking some time but the good thing is that there is no dearth of hardwork, he is working out on things. And along with potential he also has the temperament, which makes one a big player. Again, there’s no doubt that he’ll play all three formats for a long time,” said Rathour.
Congress MLAs raise slogans against Maharashtra govt ahead of monsoon session 16
Ahead of the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature, legislators of the Opposition Congress on Monday shouted slogans against the state government, accusing it of indulging in corruption.
The legislators, led by former minister Yashomati Thakur and Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad, assembled on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan and raised slogans against the government.
From the Shiv Sena (UBT), only Ambadas Danve, who is the leader of opposition in the state Legislative Council, was present during the protest.
No legislator from the Sharad Pawar-led NCP camp was present during the protest.
The Opposition camp including Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar group) on Sunday boycotted the customary tea party hosted by the Maharashtra government on the eve of the state legislature’s monsoon session.
Danve told reporters on Sunday that they decided to boycott the high tea invitation of the state government as it has failed to solve the woes of people on several fronts. ”This government’s validity on constitutional norms is already in question,” he said.
He alleged the government seems to have deployed a policy of ”misusing” probe agencies to pressure the Opposition and force them to either join the government or face false charges and harassment.
“We are seeing a gory picture of democracy in Maharashtra as several constitutional norms are disregarded. The chief minister of Maharashtra himself is facing disqualification,” Danve said.
Study shows how racial discrimination increases risk for childhood obesity 18
As per a new study, children who suffer racial discrimination are more likely to have a higher BMI and a wider waistline later in life. The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, suggest that, in addition to other socioeconomic factors such as family poverty, racial discrimination may be a risk factor for young people developing obesity.
“Exposure to racial discrimination must be acknowledged as both a social determinant of obesity and a significant contributor to obesity disparities among children and adolescents,” said Adolfo Cuevas, assistant professor of social and behavioral sciences at the NYU School of Global Public Health and the study’s lead author. Childhood obesity is a major public health issue in the U.S., affecting nearly one in five children and teens. Black and Hispanic youth experience even higher rates of obesity, which research shows may stem from factors such as poverty, neighborhood access to healthy foods, and single-parent households.
A growing body of research finds that another known stressor, racial discrimination, puts people at risk for a range of health issues, including sleep problems, high cortisol levels, and poor mental health. While racial discrimination has been linked to higher BMI in adults, less is known about its impact on children and adolescents. The researchers examined data from 6,463 children ages 9 to 11 from across the U.S. who took part in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study from 2017 to 2019. They first measured young people’s experiences of racial discrimination by asking them to reflect on whether they were treated unfairly by others based on their race or ethnicity. A year later, they measured the participants’ BMI (calculated using weight and height) and waist circumference. The researchers found that kids who experienced greater racial discrimination had higher BMI and larger waist circumference a year later, even when adjusting for known socioeconomic risk factors for obesity, including household income and parents’ level of education. They conclude that reducing exposure to racial discrimination and its detrimental effects on wellbeing early in life could help limit the risk of weight gain across the lifespan.
“We tested discrimination at one time point, but it’s important to recognize that prolonged exposure to racial discrimination has the potential to further increase the risk of obesity. Therefore, preventing or at least mitigating the impact of discrimination sooner than later could potentially reduce the risk of obesity,” said Cuevas, who is also a scholar in the Center for Anti-Racism, Social Justice and Public Health at the NYU School of Global Public Health. “It is crucial for researchers, clinicians, educators, and policymakers to join forces with communities to establish evidence-based strategies aimed at preventing exposure to racial discrimination in order to improve obesity at the population level,” he added. In addition to Cuevas, study authors include Brennan Rhodes-Bratton and Shu Xi of NYU; Danielle Krobath, Jesulagbarami Omolade, and Aniyah Perry of Tufts; and Natalie Slopen of Harvard. The ABCD study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and additional federal partners.
