Archives for June 2021

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that it would soon start home vaccination against COVID-19 for people who are immobile or bedridden on an experimental basis, and would not wait for an approval from the Centre.

“We will not refer the proposal to start home vaccination to the Centre for approval. We (state government) will take our own decision. We will explore this possibility (home vaccination) on a trial basis in Pune district,” Kumbhakoni said.

The state government on Tuesday filed an affidavit in the HC, saying there would be conditions imposed, like taking a written consent from the beneficiary’s family and a certificate from the family doctor taking responsibility in case of any adverse reaction to the vaccine.

The HC on Wednesday said the condition asking for a certificate from a doctor was “impractical”.

“We hope and trust that you (government) won’t insist on a doctor to certify. How can a doctor take responsibility? Do not put such an impractical condition,” Chief Justice Datta said.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by two advocates – Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari- seeking a direction to the Centre and the state government to introduce door-to-door vaccination for senior citizens above the age of 75, specially-abled people and those who are bed-ridden and hence, unable to move out of their homes.

On Tuesday, the government in its affidavit said it would have to first take approval from the Union government before starting home vaccinations against COVID-19.

This prompted the court to question why the approval was required when other states like Kerala, Jharkhand and Bihar have already started door-to-door vaccination.

The high court on Wednesday pointed out some media reports of nurses and doctors travelling to people’s homes in a hilly region of Tripura to administer the vaccine.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on Thursday in the judges’ chamber.

“We will hear the matter tomorrow in chambers in the presence of the chairman of the State COVID-19 Task Force,” the bench said.

The HC also said the state government can go ahead with its home vaccination drive on an experimental basis and need not wait for orders from the court.

LONDON: Wanted diamond merchant Nirav Modi on Tuesday renewed his appeal in the High Court in London against being extradited to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering in the estimated USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case.

Modi’s lawyers had five days to file a renewal application seeking an oral hearing to plead the case for permission to appeal against the extradition ordered by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel on April 16.

“A renewal hearing is listed for 21 July 2021,” a court official confirmed on Tuesday.

At the brief hearing next month, a High Court judge will determine if there are any grounds for an appeal against the Home Secretary’s decision or the Westminster Magistrates Court February ruling in favour of Modi’s extradition to India for the case should proceed to a full hearing.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which appears in court on behalf of the Indian authorities, has previously said it is waiting for the next stages in the process.

“If they are allowed to appeal then we would contest any appeal proceedings on behalf of the GOI [government of India],” the CPS had said last month.

Meanwhile, Modi remains in prison since his arrest over two years ago on March 19, 2019 and his repeated attempts at bail were rejected as he is deemed a flight risk.

In his ruling in February, District Judge Sam Goozee concluded that the diamond merchant has a case to answer before the Indian courts and that the bars to extradition under UK law do not apply in his case.

As part of a very comprehensive judgment, the judge concluded that he was satisfied that there is evidence upon which Nirav Modi could be convicted in relation to the conspiracy to defraud the PNB.

“A prima facie case is established,” he said, in relation to all counts of charges brought by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED), including money laundering, intimidation of witnesses and disappearance of evidence.

The court had also accepted that while Modi’s mental health had deteriorated due to the lengthy incarceration in a London prison, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, his risk of suicide did not meet the high threshold to conclude that it would be “unjust or oppressive” to extradite him.

Under assurances given by the Indian authorities in court, Modi is to be held at Barrack 12 Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai and provided required medical attention on being extradited to face trial in India.

Modi is the subject of two sets of criminal proceedings, with the CBI case relating to a large-scale fraud upon PNB through the fraudulent obtaining of letters of undertaking (LoUs) or loan agreements, and the ED case relating to the laundering of the proceeds of that fraud.

He also faces two additional charges of “causing the disappearance of evidence” and intimidating witnesses or “criminal intimidation to cause death”, which were added on to the CBI case.

“I do not accept the submissions that NDM [Nirav Deepak Modi] was involved in legitimate business and using the LoUs in a permissible fashion,” notes the magistrates’ court judgment forwarded to the Home Secretary.

India is a designated Part 2 country by virtue of the Extradition Act 2003, which means it is the Cabinet minister who has the authority to order a requested person’s extradition after considering all issues.

The Home Secretary’s order rarely goes against the court’s conclusions, as she has to consider only very narrow bars to extradition, which do not apply in Modi’s case.

The case will now go through the next stage of the High Court appeals process, with Modi’s lawyers set to argue in favour of a full appeal hearing against the extradition order.

RANCHI:The Jharkhand government has vowed to end the menaces of human trafficking and migrant workers’ exploitation, and steps taken by it so far have led to the rescue and rehabilitation of many people, including 30 minor girls and boys last week, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said on Tuesday.

Soren, shortly after taking charge as the CM, had asked all deputy commissioners to ensure strict action against people engaged in human trafficking.

“Removing the blot of human trafficking from Jharkhand is our priority. On 24 June 2021, a crackdown by the Jharkhand Police led to the rescue of 30 minor girls and boys from Ranchi railway station and Birsa Munda Airport. They were being trafficked to Delhi,” he explained.

Every measure is being taken to ensure the rehabilitation of girls rescued from the clutches of the traffickers, he said.

“They are being provided Rs 2,000 per month as living expense until they attain 18 years of age.

Apart from that, the girls are also entitled to free education, and vocational training which would help them become self-reliant,” the statement said.

Soren further said that his government was also concerned about the welfare of migrant workers.

The COVID-19 pandemic induced one of the biggest migration crises in the country, but the state has handled the matter sensitively, the CM maintained.

Migrant labourers are being provided with welfare benefits and jobs in accordance with their skill sets, he underlined.

Citing examples, the statement said that the Soren government had ensured the safe return of migrant labourers from Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh earlier this month.

“Thirty migrant labourers including women and children were escued and brought back to Jharkhand,” it maintained.

In yet another operation in February, the statement said, 14 minors, including 12 girls and two boys, were rescued from the national capital.

Similar measures have also been taken in the past, the CM stated, adding a proposal has been approved for the establishment of anti-human trafficking units especially in the vulnerable pockets of Jharkhand.

Also, women police officers will be appointed across the state to keep a check on human trafficking in the rural part of Jharkhand, he added.

The statement further added that the government will soon come up with a detailed plan for rehabilitation of children who have lost their parents to COVID-19.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to issue fresh guidelines for providing minimum standards of financial help to families of those who lost their lives to COVID-19.

The top court directed the Centre and the NDMA to issue fresh guidelines within six week for minimum standard of relief to be granted to families of victims of COVID-19.

It also directs the authorities to issue appropriate guidelines for simplification of process of issuance of death certificates for Covid fatalities.

The top court asked the Centre to consider formulating an insurance scheme for cremation workers as proposed by the Finance Commission.

The bench also rejected the argument of the Centre for reading ‘shall’ as ‘may’ in section 12 of the Disaster Management Act for grant of ex-gratia amount to victims of disaster, and said that the NDMA has failed to perform its statutory duties.

The top court’s verdict came on a batch of pleas seeking ex-gratia compensation of Rs four lakh to the dependents of those who died of Covid and formulation of uniform guidelines for issuance of death certificates for Covid fatalities.