Varanasi Court to deliver verdict on clubbing half dozen cases related to Gyanvapi together

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November 30, 2022

Gyanwapi Case Varanasi Court — Image: PTI

A Varanasi court is set to deliver its verdict on Wednesday on the matter of clubbing together all the cases on the plea seeking worship rights of the ‘Shivling’ that the Hindu side claimed to be found on the Gyanvapi mosque premises. The matter will be heard in the district judge’s court after 2 pm.

During the proceedings of the Advocate Commissioner in the Gyanvapi Masjid case in the month of May, many new cases regarding the alleged Shivling found in the survey have also come before the court.

Notably, more than half a dozen cases have been filed in the court on the Gyanvapi case and hearing of all these is going on in different courts.

Now, the court will deliver a verdict on hearing many cases of one nature together.

The Supreme Court on November 11 had extended its earlier order to protect the area where the ‘Shivling’ was stated to be discovered at the Gyanvapi Mosque complex during the court survey.

During the previous hearings in the Varanasi court, it had refused to allow a “scientific investigation” of the purported ‘Shivling’.

The Hindu side had demanded carbon dating of the structure they claimed to be a Shivling found inside the Gyanvapi Mosque’s wazukhana. However, the Muslim side said that the structure found was a ‘fountain’.

The Hindu side had then submitted an application in the Varanasi District Court on September 22 that sought a carbon dating of the object they claimed to be ‘Shivling’.

The Hindu side said that they would approach the Supreme Court against the Varanasi court’s verdict refusing to allow a ‘scientific investigation’ of the purported ‘Shivling’, claiming to be found on the Gyanvapi mosque premises.

On September 29 hearing, the Hindu side demanded a scientific investigation of the ‘Shivling’ by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the carbon dating of ‘Argha’ and the area around it.

The Varanasi court said, “It would not be proper to order the survey of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and by giving such order the age, nature, and structure of the said Shivling is known, even this does not imply the possibility of a just solution”.

Advocate Vishnu Jain, representing the side in the Gyanvapi case, “Court has rejected our demand of seeking carbon dating. We’ll move to Supreme Court against this order and challenge it there. I cannot announce the date as of now, but we’ll soon challenge this order in Supreme Court.”

Another lawyer of the Hindu side Madan Mohan Yadav said, “Though the court has rejected the demand of seeking carbon dating, the option of going to the High Court is available and the Hindu side will place their point before the High Court as well.”

Referring to the order of May 17 of the Supreme Court, the Varanasi Court had said that “If the alleged Shivling is damaged by taking samples, then it will be in violation of the order of the Supreme Court”.

“If the Shivling is damaged, the religious sentiments of the general public can also get hurt”, the Varanasi Court had said. After hearing both sides’ arguments, the court reserved the order in the Gyanvapi Mosque-Shringar Gauri case.

On May 20, the Supreme Court ordered the transfer of the case related to worship at Gyanvapi mosque from the civil judge to the District Judge, Varanasi.

Notably, Akhlaq Ahmed, representing the Muslim side had said that the plea by the Hindu side is not maintainable as it is against the order of the Supreme Court that stated protecting the structure (which the Muslim side claims to be a fountain and the Hindu side claims to be a Shivling).

Pakistan policeman among two dead in Quetta suicide blast

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ANI

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November 30, 2022

Pakistan Baluchistan Quetta Suicide attack — Representative Image

Two people died and 24 other people sustained injuries in a suicide attack near Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Wednesday.

The blast that took place in the capital city Quetta’s Baleli area, killed a police officer and a civilian, the local newspaper reported.

Among the 24 injured in the attack, 20 were policemen and four civilians, according to Quetta Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Ghulam Azfar Mahesar.

“The explosion took place near the police truck due to the impact [of the blast], the vehicle which was on its way to provide security to police workers — toppled and fell into a ditch,” the police official told local media.

“Looking at the crime scene and given that the truck toppled, it is estimated that 25 kilograms of explosives were used (in the blast),” he added.

The senior police officer said the wounded have been moved to the Civil Hospital Quetta.

According to Pakistani media, the blast site has been cordoned off and an investigation is underway.

In a statement, Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo said he has instructed authorities to provide the injured persons best treatment facilities.

“All the elements involved in the incident and will be brought under the grip of the law,” Bizenjo was quoted as saying by local media.

UP: 6 charred to death in Firozabad, CM Yogi announces Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia

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ANI

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November 30, 2022

Uttar Pradesh Firozabad Building gutted a fire — Image: ANI

As many as six members of a family, including three children, were killed and three suffered burn injuries on Tuesday evening after a fire gutted a building in the Firozabad district of Uttar Pradesh.

According to police, the deceased Raman Kumar, an electronics and jewelry shop owner, used to live in the building that caught the blaze along with his family of nine members.

Prima facie the cause of the fire that broke out in a building in Padham town of Jasrana area under Firozabad district is believed to be a short circuit.

“Around 18 fire tenders of Agra, Etah, Mainpuri, and Firozabad and police personnel of 12 stations were immediately pressed into the service after receiving an intimation of the incident, Ashish Tiwari, SP Firozabad said.

The injured persons were rushed to the hospital and are undergoing treatment. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives and directed officials to provide immediate assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of the deceased.

Taking cognizance of the fire incident, the Chief Minister directed senior officials to reach the spot and get the relief work done at a speedy pace.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), praying for peace to the departed souls, the Chief Minister expressed his condolences to the bereaved families.

The Chief Minister has directed the officials of the district administration to take the injured to the hospital immediately and give them proper treatment and wished them a speedy recovery.

“The Chief Minister directed the district administration officials for the proper treatment of the injured admitted to the Hospital and prayed for their speedy recovery. Along with this, the senior district office bearers and police officers have been instructed to go to the spot and get relief work done on a war footing, the CMO said in a tweet.

“The Chief Minister has given instructions to immediately distribute financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased in this accident,” it added.

Govt to build helipad in every taluka: Maha CM Shinde

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ANI

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November 29, 2022

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday announced that the state government will develop a helipad in every taluka and undertake runway expansion work in the state for medical assistance.

The announcement was made by CM Shinde at the 81st meeting of the board of directors of Maharashtra Airport Development Company.

CM Shinde during the meeting also discussed runway and airport expansion works ongoing at different places in the state.

He also directed officials to take up both expansion of runways and the airports simultaneously.

“Each taluka should have a helipad, and land should be allotted for the same on priority. It can be used in airlifting of patients with critical health problems, especially in distant areas,” he said.

There are 15 airports and 28 airstrips in Maharashtra, informed the company’s managing director Deepak Kapoor.

CM Shinde also directed officials to conduct a review of the launch of seaplanes for tourism in Gosikhurd, Koyna, and Konkan areas to promote tourism.

During the meeting, CM Shinde also held a discussion on airports in Amravati, Shirdi, Gondia, Ratnagiri, and Solapur.

SC permits Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation for raising its plea over cut down of 84 trees at Aarey Colony

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PTI

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November 29, 2022

supreme court, Maharashtra,Aarey car shed — Supreme Court | Image: Representative

The Supreme Court on Monday permitted Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd to raise with the relevant authority its plea for felling 84 trees at Mumbai’s Aarey Colony for constructing train ramps at its car shed project.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Mumbai Metro, that the felling of 84 trees were needed for constructing ramps for the trains at the car shed. “The MMRCL should be permitted to pursue its application with the Tree Authority for felling 84 trees,” the bench said and fixed the main pleas against the Metro project for final hearing in February next year.

Earlier, the apex court had in 2019 taken suo moto cognizance of a letter petition addressed to the Chief Justice of India by law student Rishav Ranjan seeking a stay on the felling of trees in the colony. The apex court had restrained the authorities from felling any more trees after the Solicitor General submitted on behalf of the State of Maharashtra that no further trees will be cut.

The felling of trees in the colony has been opposed by environmentalists and residents.

“Maharashtra govt is not serious about measles outbreak” said Rajesh Tope

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PTI

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November 29, 2022

Rajesh Tope,former health Minister, Maharashtra — Rajesh Tope | Image :PTI

Former Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Tuesday alleged the Eknath Shinde-BJP government is not serious in tackling the measles outbreak.

Tope claimed 14 children have died due to measles in the state so far but the government is not doing enough. “Healthcare is the prime responsibility of the government which should wake up from its slumber,” he told reporters in Jalna.

Tope, who was the health minister in the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, suggested the government form task forces, speed up the vaccination programme and spread awareness about measles. “The government should rope in the education department for working with the health department. Measles is an infectious disease which spreads easily,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jalna district vaccination officer Jayshree Bhasure said four measles patients had been detected in the district and three of them recovered while one child is undergoing treatment. “68 suspected samples were sent to the laboratory of which 13 samples returned negative. We are awaiting the result of the remaining samples,” Bhasure said, adding 500 children have been vaccinated.

According to the National Immunisation Programme, the measles vaccine has to be administered in two doses at 9 and 15 months of age. Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that mostly affects younger children.

Tata Group announces merger of Air India and Vistara Airlines by 2024

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ANI

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November 29, 2022

Air India,Vistara,merger,Aircraft — Air India, Tata Group | Image: Agencies

The Tata Group on Tuesday announced the merger of its two airlines Vistara and Air India. With this consolidation, Air India will be India’s leading domestic and international carrier with a combined fleet of 218 aircraft, making it India’s largest international carrier and second-largest domestic carrier.

Vistara shall be merged with Air India post-receipt of requisite approvals.

As part of the merger transaction, SIA shall also invest Rs 2,059 crore in Air India. Post the consolidation, SIA shall hold 25.1 per cent shareholding in Air India. The transaction is estimated to be completed by March 2024.

Air India, an airline fully-owned by Tata Sons, has been the flag carrier of India.

Tata Sons, via its fully-owned subsidiary Talace Private Limited or Talace, had acquired 100 per cent stake in Air India on January 27, 2022.

Vistara, a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA), had been established in 2013 and is India’s leading full-service carrier with international operations in Middle East, Asia and Europe.

On this occasion, N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, said: “The merger of Vistara and Air India is an important milestone in our journey to make Air India a truly world-class airline. We are transforming Air India, with the aim of providing great customer experience, every time, for every customer. As part of the transformation, Air India is focusing on growing both its network and fleet, revamping its customer proposition, enhancing safety, reliability, and on-time performance.” The Chairman added, “We are excited with the opportunity of creating a strong Air India which would offer both full-service and low-cost service across domestic and international routes. We would like to thank Singapore Airlines for their continued partnership.”

Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines, said: “Tata Sons is one of the most established and respected names in India. Our collaboration to set up Vistara in 2013 resulted in a market-leading full-service carrier, which has won many global accolades in a short time.”

“With this merger, we have an opportunity to deepen our relationship with Tata and participate directly in an exciting new growth phase in India’s aviation market. We will work together to support Air India’s transformation programme, unlock its significant potential, and restore it to its position as a leading airline on the global stage,” the CEO said.

Actor Anupam Kher reacts to IFFI jury head comments on ‘The Kashmir Files’ said “He himself is vulgar and an opportunist”

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ANI

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November 29, 2022

Anupam Kher,IFFI,Kashmir Files — Anupam Kher | Image: ANI

Veteran actor Anupam Kher of the ‘The Kashmir Files’ fame on Tuesday said it is “shameful” on the part of IFFI (International Film Festival of India) jury head Nadav Lapid to term the film as “propaganda and vulgar” at the festival’s closing ceremony. Not just this! The veteran star stated that the person behind this act himself is “vulgar” and an “opportunist”.

During the closing ceremony of the IFFI on On November 28, Lapid termed ‘The Kashmir Files’ a “propaganda, vulgar film”, adding that he was “shocked” to see the film in the competition section of such a prestigious film festival.

“I feel that in every country those who exercise freedom of speech, do have some set of people who think they will use a platform like this to address their private opinion. Well, if you don’t like the movie you are most welcome to say it. But if you are a jury member you should be responsible enough to not use a platform like this to put forward such remarks. I think it’s a ‘vulgar’ remark by that person. And who himself is vulgar and is an opportunist who used this platform to put forth his ‘propaganda’ or whatever he believes in,” Kher said in a media interaction held on Tuesday.

Kher’s take on if IFFI jury head’s remarks will not impact India-Israel relations, he told Agencies, “Truth doesn’t get impacted by such things. One person or 10 people don’t impact the whole country. Pain brings people together. I got messages from Israel and they said wonderful things.”

On the other hand, Israel’s Consul General Kobbi Shoshani on Tuesday described IFFI jury head Nadav Lapid’s controversial remarks on ‘The Kashmir Files’ as a “big mistake”, and added that the comments made by the Israeli filmmaker don’t reflect the country’s position on the movie. “Concerning Nadav, we don’t accept it. I personally don’t accept it. The Ambassador, who was there with me in Goa last night, doesn’t accept it. It’s his own private opinion. He can say that it’s the opinion of the Jury which is alright. But it’s nothing to do with Israel,” Shoshani told Agencies.

“I told him after the speech that he made a big mistake, that it wasn’t appropriate. The Ambassador and I rolled out comments and tweets in a way that makes very clear what we think about using words like ‘propaganda’, we don’t accept it. He is not representing the State of Israel,” he added. Speaking about his own experiences with the movie “The Kashmir Files”, he said, tears came from his eyes when he saw the film. “It was not an easy film to see. I think it was shown in Israel too. We are Jews who suffered from horrible things and I think we’ve to share others’ suffering.” “From my point of view, I can’t force anyone to apologise. If you ask personally, yes I think he has to apologise because he entered a political dispute in India and it’s not something which he has to do,” he added.

On Monday, IFFI jury head Nadav Lapid called ‘The Kashmir Files’ as “vulgar” and “propaganda”. His remarks made during the closing ceremony of the film festival, have since gone viral and have invited widespread criticism.

Released earlier this year, the ‘The Kashmir Files’ was listed in the line-up for IFFI’s Indian Panorama segment for the year 2022. The film is based on the life of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990, during the Kashmir insurgency. It is a true story, based on video interviews of the first generation of victims of the genocide.

China should respect people’s right to peaceful protest: Human Rights Watch

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ANI

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November 29, 2022

China Peaceful Protest Human Rights — Representative Image

The Chinese government should respect the fundamental rights of people across China to peacefully protest the government’s draconian “zero Covid” restrictions and to call for freedom and human rights, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.

The New York-based rights group said the authorities should immediately release all wrongfully detained protesters and cease online censorship of protest-related information.

Over the weekend, thousands of people in Shanghai, China’s biggest city and financial centre, began publicly protesting the government’s strict Covid-19 measures and denouncing the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarian rule.

University students across the country gathered on their campuses to demonstrate, and that night, hundreds of people in Wuhan, where Covid-19 originated, Chengdu, Beijing, and other large cities, took to the streets.

“People across China are taking extraordinary risks to demand their human rights,” said Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“The Chinese authorities should not suppress the protests but instead allow everyone to peacefully express their views.”

The protest in Shanghai was in response to a November 24 fire at an apartment building in Urumqi, the capital of China’s northwest Xinjiang region, in which at least 10 people were killed.

Many people suspected, though Human Rights Watch could not confirm, that residents were prevented from escaping the blaze due to pandemic control barriers, and emergency responders were hampered by Covid-related restrictions.

Videos circulated online show dozens of police officers arriving at protest sites in Shanghai and elsewhere, trying to disperse the crowds, and dragging protesters into police vehicles.

Shanghai police handcuffed a BBC journalist covering the protest and took him to a police station, where they kicked and beat him.

One video shows an unidentified man in plain clothes snatching a lone woman holding a blank piece of paper standing on the steps of the Communication University of China in Nanjing.

Online censors removed social media posts and accounts providing news about the protests. Search functions on social media platforms also made protest-related information hard to find.

“While small-scale protests over specific government abuses happen occasionally in China, it is extremely rare for people to publicly call for President Xi Jinping to step down or for the end of Communist Party rule. The authorities punish any perceived challenge to the Party’s hold on power with long prison sentences under highly abusive conditions,” the HRW said.

According to the rights group, the Chinese government has a history of violently suppressing protests, with the most notable incident being the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre, when military forces killed an untold number of peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing.

Governments and international organizations that speak about human rights in China should express support for people’s rights to free speech and assembly, and urge the Chinese authorities not to suppress the protests, Human Rights Watch said.

“Chinese authorities have badly underestimated the willingness of people across China to risk all to have their rights and liberties respected,” Wang said.

“People in China with incredible courage are showing the Chinese Communist Party and the world that they, like everyone else, are entitled to have a say in how they are governed.”

A childless couple moves to Bombay High Court to set up district surrogacy board as per its act

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PTI

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November 29, 2022

Bombay High Court,surrogacy — Bombay High Court | Image: Agencies

A couple here has moved the Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the Maharashtra government to set up a district surrogacy board as per provisions of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 and to process registrations of infertility clinics in Mumbai.

A division bench headed by Justice S V Gangapurwala on Monday sought the government’s response to the plea and posted it for hearing on December 12.

As per the petition, the husband and wife, both in their 40s now, got married in 2016. The woman has been suffering from diabetes and other related ailments since a young age.

She failed to conceive following which they approached various fertility clinics and experts, but it did not result in pregnancy. According to the plea, the couple then decided to go for surrogacy, but learnt no clinic has been granted registration for surrogacy yet.

The plea claimed despite there being a law pertaining to surrogacy and Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART), no clinic in Mumbai has been granted registration. Without registration, no clinic can process surrogacy applications, it said.

Even the district surrogacy board has not been set up under provisions of the Act, the petition said. “Prohibiting the petitioners to undergo ART procedures would be against the fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India,” the plea said.