NATIONAL NEWS
A) Trinamool seeks Tushar Mehta’s removal as Solicitor General over his meeting with BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari; Mehta denies meeting him
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking the removal of Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta over his meeting with West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari in New Delhi. The letter, written by TMC MPs Derek O’Brien, Sukhendu Sekhar Roy and Mahua Moitra, stated that the meeting between Adhikari and the Solicitor General (SG) reeks of impropriety as the BJP MLA is an accused in the Narada and Saradha cases where investigations are underway. According to the letter, the meeting curiously took place subsequent to Adhikari’s meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah. The TMC MPs claimed that Adhikari was accused in various cases of cheating, bribery and illegal gratification related to the Narada and Saradha scam cases. The SG is appearing for the CBI in the Narada case in the Supreme Court and the high court, besides advising the investigation agency in the Saradha chit fund scam, they said. Leader of the Opposition in the Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari interacts with the media in Kolkata on July 2, 2021 as party leaders hold posters of alleged victims of post-poll violence. The meeting between Adhikari and the solicitor general not only reeks of impropriety, there is a direct conflict of interest and also taints the position of the second highest law officer of the country, the Solicitor General, they added. To maintain the neutrality and integrity of the office of the Solicitor General of India, necessary steps be taken for the removal of Mehta from the post, the TMC MPs said in the letter to the prime minister. Meanwhile, Mehta has issued a statement denying that he met the BJP leader. He claimed that Adhikari had come to his residence unannounced. Mehta said, Suvendu Adhikari came to my residence/office yesterday, unannounced. As I was in a pre-scheduled meet, my staff asked him to wait. After my meeting, my staff informed him of my inability to meet him. He left without insisting to meet me. Hence, the question of my meeting with him did not arise. Reacting to Mehta’s denial, Moitra tweeted, Z category BJP protectee enters high security official residence of Solicitor General of India uninvited, waits 20 mins over a cup of tea & apparently leaves without a mtng. CCTV footage to back your version, Mr. SG? Truth never been your forte!
B) Jammu drone attack an act of terror, says Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria; LeT could be behind it, says J&K DGP
Security agencies suspected the role of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in the twin drone-driven blasts on the Indian Air Force’s technical airport in Jammu on June 27. The drones could have come from across the border, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh said on Friday. The investigation [into the airbase blasts] is in progress. We haven’t reached any conclusion as to who is actually involved. However, on the basis of the past history of the LeT using drones to drop weapons, narcotics and ready-made improvised explosive devices (IED), we suspect the outfit is involved, Singh said in Jammu. Meanwhile, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said on Friday that the drone strikes were an act of terror aimed at targeting key military assets. He added that the Indian Air Force is in the process of bolstering its capabilities to deal with such security challenges. The Chief of Air Staff said the IAF has carried out a detailed analysis in terms of implications of drones and other similar capabilities falling into the hands of non-state actors, and taking a series of measures to counter them. What happened at Jammu was essentially a terrorist act which attempted to target our assets there. The attempt failed of course. The assets were not damaged. Two explosives were used, he said, in an interactive session at a think tank. Explosives-laden drones were used to carry out an attack on the Jammu Air Force station on Sunday in the first such instance of suspected Pakistan-based terrorists deploying unmanned aerial vehicles to strike at vital military installations in India. The Chief of Air Staff said a detailed investigation into the attacks was underway and that all sets of measures would be on the table based on the findings of the probe. We have gone over the subject in terms of the implications of this kind of capabilities in the hands of non-state actors and the kind of effect the armed drone capabilities would have in future conflicts, Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said. He said the IAF analysed to a large extent the requirements in terms of planning and required systems and infrastructure to enhance its abilities to go for a soft kill and to have a counter-drone system.
C) Former Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala released from Tihar Jail; plans to visit protesting farmers
Released from Tihar Central Jail on Friday on completion of a 10-year jail term in a teachers’ recruitment scam, former Haryana Chief Minister and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Om Prakash Chautala said he planned to visit farmers at protest sites. Addressing party workers assembled at the Delhi-Gurugram border to welcome the octogenarian leader, Chautala thanked them for supporting his party against the wrong policies of the government and assured them that he would continue to fight for the poor, the downtrodden and the farmers. Chautala said doctors had advised him a few days of rest, after which he would visit the protesting sites to meet farmers and seek their blessings. He said he will visit villages across the country. He was jailed in 2013 in connection with the Junior Basic Training teachers recruitment scam case. He was on emergency parole since March 26, 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Sunaina Chautala, principal general secretary, women’s cell, INLD, said the release of Chautala had infused new energy into the workers and the party would return to power with a thumping majority. A large number of workers holding party flags with the INLD symbol and sporting green headgear turned up at the Delhi-Gurugram border on National Highway-48 to welcome Chautala.
D) Assets of Ahmed Patel’s son-in-law, Dino Morea, DJ Aqeel attached in money-laundering case
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached the assets of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel’s son-in-law, actors Dino Morea and Sanjay Khan, and DJ Aqeel in a money-laundering case involving Gujarat-based pharmaceutical company Sterling Biotech group, PTI reported. It said a provisional order was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach the assets of the four people, valued at ₹8.79 crore. Out of this, the value of attachment of assets for Khan is ₹3 crore, for Dino Morea it is ₹1.4 crore, for Aqeel Abdulkhalil Bachooali, popularly known as DJ Aqeel, it is ₹ 1.98 crore, and for Irfan Ahmed Siddiqui, who is Patel’s son-in-law, it is ₹2.41 crore, the central probe agency said in a statement. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that Nitin Sandesara and Chetan Sandesara, absconding promoters of the Sterling Biotech group, have diverted proceeds of their crime to the four people. The promoter brothers Nitin Sandesara, Chetan Sandesara, Chetan’s wife Dipti Sandesara and Hitesh Patel have been declared fugitive economic offenders by a special court, it said. The money-laundering case pertains to the alleged ₹14,500-crore bank-loan fraud said to have been perpetrated by Sterling Biotech and its main promoters and directors.
E) Police action over actor Chetan Kumar’s remarks on ‘brahminism’ sparks row in Karnataka
Kannada actor and activist Chetan Kumar has been questioned thrice this month after an FIR was filed by the Bengaluru Police for his critical remarks on brahmanism. Some members of the Brahmin community have objected to his comments, arguing that the very use of the word was defamatory and abusive and had hurt their sentiments. Attempts to criminalise use of the term brahmanism — widely used by several anti-caste thinkers including Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and Periyar E. V. Ramasamy to denote caste-based hierarchy, discrimination and notions of superiority — have sparked a controversy in Karnataka. While several writers and intellectuals have rallied behind the actor, his detractors have been vociferous, especially on social media. State Labour Minister A. Shivaram Hebbar, also a Brahmin, termed the use of the term defamatory and called for Kumar’s arrest. He also alleged the actor was making these statements for monetary gains, prompting the latter to sue the Minister for defamation seeking damages of ₹1 and a public apology. Defending his remarks, Kumar said he had only rearticulated what Bahujan thinkers have said.
F) Deciding cases not an easy task, have to keep in mind repercussions of setting a precedent, says CJI N.V. Ramana
Judging is not an easy task, Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana said on Friday. On one hand, the judge should focus on law, the precedents and facts of a case and, on the other, the human aspect. Judges should use the little discretion law allows to keep sight of the human suffering and toll behind every case. A decision of the court would echo through time. It would have repercussions. A judgment becomes the law of the land. A judge had to keep all this in mind while dealing with a case, he stated. Deciding cases is not an easy task. We not only have to focus on the law and precedents surrounding the issue before us, as well as the facts of the case, but also the repercussions of what we decide and the precedent we may be setting. This makes it necessary for us judges to be logical and objective and theoretically sound. However, we should not lose sight of the people and their difficulties behind the cases. The little discretion that is given to us, is the area in which a judge has flexibility to display his philosophy, he observed. The CJI was speaking at a farewell organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association for retiring judge Justice Ashok Bhushan. He said Justice Bhushan, besides his remarkable judgments, had, as a humanist judge, left a mark in the hearts and minds of the people of the country. The CJI termed the Bar the protector of the institution. He said, Lawyers must respect the institution and protect the judiciary from any onslaught which is likely to affect the functioning of the judicial system. I know, the Supreme Court Bar is always a frontrunner when it comes to supporting the institution from motivated attacks. They always cherish the contribution of judges and appreciate their hard work. They never forget the efforts of judges. The CJI underscored that the strength of the institution lay in the unity of the Bar and the Bench.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Six million EU citizens apply to stay in U.K.
More than six million EU citizens have applied to stay in the U.K. after Brexit, the government said on Friday, nearly twice the number thought be living in Britain before it left the bloc. There was a late flurry of applications ahead of a June 30 deadline for the settlement scheme, designed to allow EU citizens residing in the U.K. to retain the same rights as they enjoyed before Brexit. But since the end of the Brexit transition period on January 1, EU citizens wishing to settle or stay have faced tougher tests to secure residency and employment. The final figure of 6.02 million applications, with 5.1 million grants of status, is far higher than the 3.7 million EU nationals originally estimated to be in the country when the scheme launched in March 2019. More than 4,00,000 applications were made in the final month before the scheme ended, the Home Office said, adding that those who had missed the deadline on reasonable grounds could still make a late application. When we left the EU we promised to protect the rights of EU citizens who have made their life in the U.K ., and developed the hugely successful EU Settlement Scheme to ensure they could call the U.K. home in the years to come, Home Secretary Priti Patel said. The government has touted the settlement scheme as the successful delivery of promises made to EU nationals in the U.K. after Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc in December and the end of free movement. However, immigration rights campaigners have complained that the most vulnerable – including children placed in care, young adults previously in care, the homeless and the elderly – have been allowed to slip through the scheme’s net.
B) U.S. issues moratorium on death penalty at federal level.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has issued a moratorium on federal executions while it reviews policies and procedures, the Department said in a statement. U.S. President Joe Biden had said on his campaign website that he would legislate the end of capital punishment at the federal level and incentivise states to follow suit. The Department of Justice must ensure that everyone in the federal criminal justice system is not only afforded the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States, but is also treated fairly and humanely. That obligation has special force in capital cases. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement released on Thursday. Apart from the moral case against the death penalty, the data show that in its application, it is biased against racial minorities, especially African Americans. Under former President Donald Trump, the federal government carried out 13 executions. This is the highest number of executions under any presidency since the 19th Century, Reuters reported. The review, ordered by Mr. Garland, will include an assessment of the risk of pain and suffering caused by pentobarbital – a lethal injection drug. The Trump administration’s DoJ had adopted a single drug, instead of a three drug protocol. The review will also look into a November 2020 expansion of federal execution methods beyond lethal injection and policy changes to expedite executions.
