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02 Oct

Farm bills in Rajya Sabha: Validity of proceedings beyond question despite uproar

The unruly and unseemly scenes witnessed in the Rajya Sabha on September 20, 2020, following the so-called “illegal” passage of the farm Bills, made even the Leader of the Opposition, Ghulam Nabi Azad, admit that it was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The Bills, which amounted to signing the death warrant of farmers, saw tumultuous passage with MPs breaking microphones and standing on tables.

Harivansh Narayan Singh, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, rued the “disrobing of democracy” by these wanton acts and announced a 24-hour fast to atone for their sins. His “Gandhian” gesture of offering a cup of tea to the suspended members who were fasting and protesting in front of Gandhi’s statue inside the Parliament premises, went unreciprocated.

The Bills were the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020. The sequence of events on that fateful day was as follows.

The revised List of Business for the day catalogued Statutory Resolutions moved by the Opposition to the effect that the House disapproves the ordinances pro­mulgated by the President of India on June 5, 2020, in respect of these two Bills, as well as the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, promulgated simultaneously. Alongside were listed the three corresponding Bills for consideration and passing.

The common parliamentary practice is to take up the Statutory Resolution and the Bill together for discussion. Accordingly, the record of the proceedings of the House show that the Chairman decided to take up the Statutory Resolutions and the respective Bills relating to the two legislations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare together for consideration. After the moving of the Statutory Resolutions and the Bills, the Chairman invited members to move their amendments seeking to refer the two Bills to select committees of the Rajya Sabha. After doing so, discussion on all the matters relating to each Bill was taken up together.

The proceedings went smoothly with a large number of members speaking according to the time allotted to them, interspersed with the usual war of words and raising of points of order. In the end, the agriculture minister was invited to reply. In the course of his speech, the Deputy Chairman sought the permission of the House to extend its sitting till the disposal of the Bills. Some members, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, wanted the discussion to be carried over to the next day. The minister gamely continued and concluded his reply, amidst disturbances.

The Deputy Chairman then put the Statutory Resolution and the three amendments for reference of the first Bill to the select committee to a voice vote and decided that it had been negative. In view of the rising tempers and the Deputy Chairman advising certain members to resume their seats, the House was adjourned for 15 minutes. The motion moved by Narendra Singh Tomar for consideration of the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, was then put to vote and adopted. Adoption of the same process, amidst interruptions, led to passing of the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020. This, in short, is the parliamentary record of the proceedings.

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02 Oct

Karnataka govt gives nod to proposal to include transgenders in OBC category

The Karnataka government today submitted before the Karnataka High Court a proposal to include transgenders as one of the categories in “Other Backward Classes” (OBCs) for the purpose of recruitment.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Ashok S. Kinagi was hearing a petition filed by an organization named Sangama, challenging a police constable recruitment notification, since it violated the transgender person’s rights. The said notification said transgender people were not allowed to apply to the said posts.

The petitioner organization has urged the court to direct the respondents to treat transgender persons as a separate category in the appointment of special reserve police constables and bandsman posts and to make a reservation policy for them.

The state government submitted that a decision could be taken by the State government after consulting the State Commission for Backward Classes.

The bench, however, said that the role of the Commission in considering a backward class category was a question before the Court to be determined.

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02 Oct

Calcutta High Court upholds probate court order restraining HC Lodha from holding office in MP Birla group

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court yesterday refused to offer interim relief to Harsh Vardhan Lodha on an earlier probate court judgment that ordered his removal from all MP Birla group companies.

Last month Harsh Vardhan Lodha and MP Birla Group entities filed multiple applications before a division bench of the Calcutta High Court challenging the single bench order restraining Lodha from holding any post in the group. The court has asked for affidavits to be filed by October 21 and replies by November 17.

The 16-year-long legal dispute between the Birlas and the Lodha family took a fresh turn last month after a single bench of the High Court stopped Lodha from holding any position in the conglomerate.

In September, this year, a probate court had ruled that Lodha should be removed as chairman of Birla Corporation and also as a director on the boards of other MP Birla companies, including listed firms Vindhya Telelinks Ltd, Birla Cables Ltd, and Universal Cables Ltd. The order was a significant victory for the extended Birla family, which is contesting the legal validity of Priyamvada Birla’s will.

In Thursday’s order, a division bench of Chief Justice TB Radhakrishnan and Justice Shampa Sarkar said: “We are keeping open all issues for further consideration and are only proceeding to decide as to whether an ad-interim order is to be issued. We are not dealing with the judicial precedents referred to by the learned advocates for the appellants, though it is not as if we are not bearing in mind the fundamental principles brought in through those precedents, referable to the realm of testamentary jurisdiction and company law.”

Priyamvada Birla, who died in 2004, bequeathed her estate to the late Rajendra Singh Lodha, a chartered accountant who was an advisor to her for many years. Harsh Lodha is RS Lodha’s son, who currently heads the MP Birla Group.

RS Lodha, who succeeded Priyamvada Birla as chairman of the MP Birla Group, died in 2008.

The extended Birla family had opposed the will and, since 2004, have been fighting court cases against the Lodhas. Though in 2008, the Supreme Court ruled that most members of the Birla clan did not have a legitimate interest in Priyamvada Birla’s estate, they continue to fight Harsh Lodha in courts through relations.

Yesterday, while a spokesperson for the Birla family said “today’s judgment was a prodigious setback for Lodha”, an official statement from Debanjan Mandal, partner, Fox & Mandal, representing Lodha, said: “Our client wasn’t, in the first place, reappointed as a director in these companies on the strength of the estate of Priyamvada Devi Birla. So the order paves the way for his continuing to hold offices in these companies as he was doing uninterruptedly from before the death of Mrs. Birla.”

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02 Oct

Supreme Court to hear Sumedh Saini’s plea seeking protection from arrest, on October 5

The Supreme Court will resume hearing of the case of former Punjab Director General of Police Sumedh Saini on October 5. Saini has sought protection from arrest in the 1991 case of kidnapping and murder of a junior engineer, Balwant Singh Multani.

On September 15, the Supreme Court had issued notice to the Punjab government on Saini’s petition seeking anticipatory bail and had asked the state government to respond within three weeks. It also included another one week for Saini to file his rejoinder.

While granting an interim protection from arrest to the former Punjab DGP, the apex court had asked him to cooperate in the investigation.

Multani, a junior engineer with Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Corporation, was allegedly picked up by the police in December 1991. Saini was injured in the attack and three policemen were killed.

On September 8, the high court had dismissed Saini’s two pleas, including the one for anticipatory bail, observing that the same cannot be allowed as there is every likelihood of him stifling fair investigation and trial.

The 1982 batch IPS officer, was booked along with six others on May 6, at Mataur police station in Mohali for the alleged kidnapping of Multani. The murder charge was invoked in August after two of the accused policemen turned approvers and alleged that Saini was a culprit.

This is not the only case in which Saini is accused. He, along with three others, is on trial in a Special CBI Court in Delhi for allegedly abducting automobile businessman Vinod Kumar, his brother-in-law Ashok Kumar and their driver Mukhtiyar Singh. It has been alleged that the police picked up Vinod and Mukhtiyar from the parking lot of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 15, 1994.

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02 Oct

Banned for congenital heart condition: Let me play, appeals footballer before Delhi High Court

Even as a congenital heart condition threatens to end the budding career of FIFA U-17 World Cup team defender and current Mohammedan Sporting Club footballer Anwar Ali, the 20-year-old has reached the doors of the Delhi High Court for respite. He is fighting against a ban order by the Al India Football Federation (AIFF). The court yesterday adjourned his hearing to against the ban to October 20.

The players has been banned by the AIFF, because it is a life-threatening condition and a high tension sport such as football could end his life on the field. Such instances, though rare, have happened before.

The petition filed by Ali states that he has challenged “the letter and the proceedings pending before respondent No. 2 (the AIFF) as the same is being done in a bid to take away the right to earn a livelihood of the petitioner in a completely opaque, whimsical and arbitrary manner without following any rules, regulations or due procedure.”

The petition further states: “Due to the baseless and illegal proceedings and the impugned letter, the petitioner has not been allowed to play or train with the club and furthermore he is still not registered with the Respondents in order to play the official tournaments.”

During the course of proceedings before Justice Navin Chawla the counsel appearing for the AIFF submitted that though Ali was a brilliant player, he cannot be allowed to play since there is a risk to his life. He further submitted that Ali was free to appeal before the AIFF’s Sports Medical Committee.

The counsel appearing for Ali pleaded before the bench that Ali should be allowed to continue with the game till the consideration of the medical committee.

Ali has been diagnosed with hypercardio myopathy, after which the AIFF wrote a letter on September 7 to the Mohammedan Sporting Club directing the Club not to allow Ali to train with the team on account of his health condition.

Mohammedan Sporting start playing in the Indian Super League on October 8 and Ali would have been their mainstay in the defence.

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02 Oct

Turkey begins life under strict social media rules

Turkey on Thursday enters a new era of tight social media restrictions that threaten to erase the local presence of Facebook and Twitter should they fail to take down contentious posts.
The legislation was rammed through parliament by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AKP party and follows the government’s crackdown on opposition newspapers and television channels.

Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seen during his bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama, not shown, in New York, Tuesday, Sept., 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

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02 Oct

Shock, sympathy, mockery: World reacts to Trump testing Covid positive

The positive test reading for the leader of the world’s largest economy adds more uncertainty to investors’ worries, including how the infection might affect the November 3 election between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. US stock futures and Asian shares fell in the wake of the news. The future contracts for both the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials lost 1.9%. Oil prices also slipped. Stock prices in Japan and Australia tumbled.

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02 Oct

COVID-19 tally reaches 63,94,069 with a spike of 81,484 new cases and 1,095 deaths reported in last 24 hours

Coronavirus News LIVE Updates: India’s COVID-19 tally reaches 63,94,069 with a spike of 81,484 new cases and 1,095 deaths reported in last 24 hours. The total cases include 9,42,217 active cases, 53,52,078 cured/discharged/migrated and 99,773 deaths. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump test positive for COVID-19. They were in quarantine after one of his close advisors tested positive for the disease.

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01 Oct

Advani, 31 others acquitted in Babri Masjid demolition case; U.P. orders SIT probe into Hathras gang rape case, and more

Babri Masjid demolition | All 32 accused acquitted

The accused include former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, former Union Ministers M.M. Joshi and Uma Bharti, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, during whose tenure the structure was pulled down, besides Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Rithambara.
Babri Masjid demolition | Jai Shri Ram, says Advani on his acquittal

“It is a very important decision and a matter of happiness for us. When we heard the news of the court’s order, we welcomed it by chanting Jai Shri Ram,” Mr. Advani said in a video message. Mr. Advani was the face of the Ram Janambhoomi movement in 1992.
Babri Masjid demolition | Key conclusions by Liberhan Commission

The Justice Liberhan Commission, which probed the sequence of events that led to the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, submitted its report to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on June 30, 2009.
Hathras gang rape case | U.P. orders SIT probe after family alleges girl was forcibly cremated

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and said strict action should be taken against the culprits, the Chief Minister’s Office said on Twitter. The Chief Minister also constituted a three-member SIT to probe the case and asked that the trial be conducted in a fast track court. The SIT has been asked to submit its report in seven days, an official said.

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