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HC dismisses plea challenging ordinance on Triple Talaq

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The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected a plea challenging the ordinance which prescribes up to three years’ jail and or fine for a man who divorces his wife through Triple Talaq or instant divorce.

A bench of Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Rajendra Menon and Justice V. Kameswar Rao said that Triple Talaq has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and now it was upto the government to decide the issue.

The court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Shahid Azad.

“The ordinance is arbitrary and unnecessary bringing a draconian, illogical, unreasonable and vague legislation through the route of ordinance shows a lack of respect for parliament and the people whose faith lies in India’s secular constitution,” the plea said.

The advocate said that the ordinance is a coloured legislation which does not achieve its objects rather it is a remedy which is in itself a disease and creates more confusion.

The Union Cabinet cleared the ordinance last week and it was promulgated by the President.

IANS

Satyarthi for global action against online child sex abuse, pornography

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Kailash Satyarthi, the Nobel laureate and advocate for children’s rights, has called for the adoption of a legally-binding international convention outlawing online child sex abuse and pornography, an evil that has proliferated into a $8 billion curse of the digital age.

“We are demanding an international convention against child sex abuse, and online pronography that should be supported by a new global task force — an inter-agency, inter-governmental task force — to combat child trafficking, child pronography, online child pornography and sexual abuse,” he said in an interview to IANS on Thursday.

Child pornography and sexual abuse using digital technology are growing unchecked without such an UN convention into a $8 billion-industry, he said.

When governments shut down such websites, they sprout elsewhere because there is no international regime to control them effectively, he said.

He also demanded the creation of an international database and registry of child traffickers that would be hosted by Interpol and connect national and international law enforcement enabling access to comprehensive and timely information to crack down on traffickers and networks.

“It’s very sad and rather strange that in spite of all the technological advancement the world has been able to make and make so fast, we are not able to control the organised crime of human trafficking and that has become a $150 billion industry,” he said.

“The traffickers move around and they use some of the most modern equipment and they are so fast”, while “the police in most countries are still using some of the old methodologies in tracing them”, he said.

These were among the demands made by a group known as Laureates and Leaders for Children that comprises of eminent global citizens, Satyarthi said.

At their summit in Jordan in March they adopted the “Dead Sea Declaration” which includes these demands, as well as others to protect children.

Panama’s President Juan Carlos Varela, who is a member of the group, presented the demands to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday, Satyarthi said.

Satyarthi, who founded Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a movement against child labour, shared the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani advocate for girls’ education.

There are still about 152 million child labourers around the world, Satyarthi said.

“It is not true to say it is only a problem in developing countries, it is very much here,” and to say otherwise “would be a hypocrisy”, he added.

In the US, where he said he has been working with anti-child labour groups for more than 15 years, there is no law against children being made to work in agriculture, he said.

Children, including many of Latino ethnicity, work on tobacco farms in the US because of the lack of legal protection for them, he said.

There has been remarkable progress though against child labour in India, he said. According to government statistics, the number of child labourers has gone down from 12.3 million 15 years ago to 4.3 million now, he said.

(IANS)

Bangladeshi PM asks for early repatriation of Rohingya refugees

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Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked for early repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

In her speech at the UN General Assembly General Debate here on Thursday, Hasina regretted the fact that repatriation had not started in a permanent and sustainable manner, reports Xinhua news agency.

“Myanmar is one of our neighbours. From the outset, we have been trying to find a peaceful solution to the Rohingya crisis through bilateral consultations,” she said.

“So far, three bilateral arrangements have been concluded between Bangladesh and Myanmar for Rohingya repatriation. Despite their verbal commitment to take back the Rohingya, in reality the Myanmar authorities are yet to accept them back.

“The Rohingya crisis has had its origin in Myanmar. As such, its solution has to be found in Myanmar… We want an early, peaceful solution to the Rohingya crisis,” the Prime Minister added.

The Rohingya in Bangladesh are living in an uncertain situation, she said.

Bangladesh has made arrangements for their food, clothing, health care, child care and security to the best of its ability. Many countries and organisations, including the UN and the Commonwealth, have shown solidarity with the Rohingya and extended support and assistance for them.

Bangladesh has started working on a new housing facility for the refugees.

“So long the Rohingya are not able to return home, they should, as a temporary arrangement, be able to live in a good and healthy condition,” she said.

Hasina called upon international organisations to work with her country in the relocation of the Rohingya to the new facility.

According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), over 720,000 Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority living in mostly Myanmar’s Rakhine state, have fled to Bangladesh since violence broke out in August 2017.

They joined another 200,000 Rohingya who earlier fled into adjacent Bangladesh, said the UNHCR.

(IANS)

Parrikar conferred honorary doctorate by NIT Goa

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Ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was conferred an honorary doctorate by the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Goa, for his contribution to the coastal state and the country.

The honorary doctorate was handed over by Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu and received on Parrikar’s behalf by NIT Goa Director Ganesh Mugeraya.

Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said that Parrikar is one of the “best ideal political leaders of the country”.

“Manohar, as I could see from earlier days to now, is one of the exemplary characters. Honest, disciplined, very innovative and how could a man who was Defence Minister of the country leave the post to become the Chief Minister of his own state,” Naidu said.

Parrikar is currently admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the national capital where he is being treated for advanced pancreatic cancer.

The Vice President also wished Parrikar good health.

Lok Sabha Polls 2019 : EC says over 17 lakh VVPAT machines for polls

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The over 17 lakh paper trail machines required for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls will be supplied by the two public sector undertakings (PSUs) by the end of November, the Election Commission (EC) said on Wednesday.

The EC said it is committed to 100 percent deployment of paper trail machines at all polling stations in future Lok Sabha and legislative Assembly elections.

In a statement issued in New Delhi, it said in order to meet the requirement of 100 percent Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines for all polling stations for the Lok Sabha election, it had placed an order of 17.45 lakh units to Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bangalore, and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad.

“Till date, 9.45 lakh units have been produced by the PSUs. Both PSUs have assured the Commission that the remaining VVPAT units (8 lakh) will be manufactured and supplied to the various states/Union Territories comfortably before end of November, 2018,” the statement said.

The statement said the poll panel would like to allay any “unfounded apprehensions” regarding the supply of VVPATs for the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.

The statement is apparently in response to certain media reports reportedly questioning the availability of the machines ordered for the LS polls.

The commission, the statement said, has been consistently and periodically reviewing the status of production and supply of VVPATs with the heads of the two PSUs, as well as the Technical Expert Committee (TEC), to ensure that the design, production and supply activities of all the units of EVMs and VVPATs is streamlined and completed in a time-bound manner.

The commission has enhanced the requirement of additional VVPATs from 125 percent to 135 percent considering the trend of failure rate of the machines in past elections.

“The commission has estimated 171 percent Ballot Units, 125 percent Control Units and 135 percent VVPATs requirements for upcoming Lok Sabha elections… in case of any error in VVPAT, only VVPAT is replaced… in case of any error in Ballot Unit or Control Unit of the EVM, entire set of Ballot Unit, Control Unit and VVPAT is changed, resulting in an increase in requirement of VVPATs than the requirement of Control Units of EVMs,” the poll watchdog said.

VVPAT is a machine which dispenses a slip with the symbol of the party for which a person has voted for. The slip drops in a box but the voter cannot take it home.

The voters see voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slip for seven seconds, which would be an acknowledgement receipt for the party they voted for in the election.

The Supreme Court has supported the EC endeavour to use VVPATs in a phased manner to usher in more transparency in voting.

PTI

Trump ‘looks forward’ to visiting India: US official

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US President Donald Trump “looks forward” to visiting India but the timing will depend on his other commitments, according to a senior State Department official.

“I am certain that President Trump looks forward to being able to visit India at an appropriate time,” Alice Wells, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia, told IANS in an interview.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Trump to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations next year.

Asked if Trump would come to the celebrations or would schedule his visit for another time, Wells said that the White House will decide taking into account “both the domestic commitments he has here in the US as well as overseas”.

Wells pointed to the steady stream of US officials who visit India as a symbol of the close ties between the two countries at the official level.

“As somebody who helps manage India relationship, it’s amazing the number of cabinet officials and high-level visitors that we have in India every month of the year,” she said.

“That too reflects the density of the ties between our countries that I think we have over 40 major dialogues that take place between our government agencies and departments.”

Modi first met Trump in Washington in 2017, and also at other multilateral meetings.

A military parade is the centre of the Republic Day celebrations and Trump has been a fan of such parades and wants the US to have one, too.

While these parades are held annually across the globe world as part of patriotic celebrations, the US does not have one.

At Trump’s suggestion a parade was scheduled for November on Veterans Day, which honours former servicemen, and this year it would coincide with the centenary of the conclusion of the First World War.

However, having never having held such a parade, the Defence Department postponed it to possibly next year.

(IANS)

SC greenlight on probe against activists, says arrests not because of dissent

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In a two-to-one majority judgement, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere in the arrest of five activists in the Bhima Koregaon case in Maharashtra. It also declined to constitute Special Investigation Team (SIT), allowing Pune police to go ahead with its probe.
The house arrest of the five rights activists — Sudha Bhardwaj, Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira — will continue for four more weeks, a majority judgement, read out by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar also on behalf of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said.

He said that in perusal of documents submited before the banch it was not a case of arrest merely because of dissent or difference in political views.

In a dissenting judgement, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said liberty cherished by Constitution would have no meaning if persecution of the five rights activists were allowed without a proper investigation.

Justice Chandrachud lashed out at the Pune police for going public with evidence and termed it as disconcerting behaviour.

IANS

MBA Graduates was arrested for selling fake certificates

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Bengaluru, home to some of the best educational institutions in the country, is fast becoming a hub for dubious firms offering fake degree certificates. The city police’s most recent catch was last week, when an MBA graduate was arrested for selling 300 fake certificates of about four universities. Police believe that he has sold them to his customers for a price ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

Arjun (30), hailing from Andhra Pradesh, came to Bengaluru four years ago in search of employment. When he reportedly failed to find one, he, along with a few others, started an academy called Good Guide Educational Academy in Koramangala promising to help students pursue correspondence courses. “We found documents and fake marks cards of about 300 students. There might be more and we are probing,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police M B Boralingaiah.

The modus operandi used by him was to find students who have had a gap of three to four years after PUC or have done only one year of degree course. One such person to whom Arjun had promised to give a degree marks card from Periyar University approached the police after which the cops raided the office to find many marks sheets and birth, degree, and PG certificates with names of candidates written on them. There were many blank certificates too.

Many such scamsters
Police feel this is become a big scam and needs to be tackled soon. There are many people who have managed to get jobs in private firms with such fake certificates. It is only when the background verification is done by the companies that their fraud is revealed and many have lost jobs after that.

A senior police officer told TNIE that such rackets are spread across the country and more than 150 agents, who allegedly have close links with some of the universities whose fake mark sheets gets distributed, are involved in this. However, most of these scamsters do their “dealings” online. In 2017, the Central Crime Branch police raided an education consulting firm on MG Road and arrested a post-graduate who sold 2,000 fake marks cards.

Police then, with the help of a cyber forensic consultancy firm, and after the arrest of two such scamsters, skimmed through 39,600 emails which were recovered from them. “They had used email to contact clients and to distribute the fake documents. We went through each of those digital documents so as to identify the people who paid to get their degrees,” a senior officer who had conducted the raid said.

“While this is an old problem, over the last year there has been a spike in people venturing into this racket. These raids are just the tip of the iceberg,” the officer added. The employers, who conduct background checks, should always inform the police when they find something fishy, said a police officer.
Going by the raids in the recent past, as many as 40,000 people are working in and around the city with the fake degree certificates. Police rarely get formal complaints, and often take suo motu action.

PTI

Kovind, Modi greet Lata Mangeshkar on 89th birthday

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President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday wished legendary Indian playback singer and Bharat Ratna recipient Lata Mangeshkar on her 89th birthday, praying for her long life and good health.

“Birthday greetings and best wishes for a long and healthy life to Lata Mangeshkar, who has been honoured with the Bharat Ratna. May her melodious voice continue to mesmerise millions across the world for years to come,” the President tweeted.

Calling Mangeshkar as “Lata Didi”, the Prime Minister also expressed his best wishes on her birthday.

“Respected Lata Didi, best wishes to you on your birthday. Your exceptional work, spanning decades has endeared you to crores of Indians. You have always been passionate about our country’s development. May you lead a long life filled with good health,” Modi tweeted.

Born to a family of musicians on September 28, 1929, in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city, Mangeshkar is the second female vocalist after M.S. Subbulakshmi to receive the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, in 2001.

She is also the recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke award, three National Film awards and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement award besides many others.

A doyenne among playback singers, her career spans over seven decades.

(IANS)

JD(S) contest twelve seats in Lok Sabha polls : H Vishwanath

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By Express News Service


For the upcoming general elections in 2019, JD(S) state president H Vishwanath has stated that the party wants to contest for 12 Lok Sabha seats.

Speaking to reporters, Vishwanath informed that the party will carry its alliance with the Congress into the Lok Sabha elections as well. “Besides the 2 seats that the party had won in the 2014 general elections, they wants to contest in 12 more seats. The party has a solid organisation across the state,” he said.

“Naturally, in the state government, the Congress is enjoying the lion’s share because of its number of MLAs. But in the Lok Sabha elections, we want seats based on our organisational strength. So we are demanding 12 seats,” he added.

He also stated that efforts will be made to resolve issues between the activists of both the parties at the grass root level, to ensure better performance in the Lok Sabha elections.

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