Archives for June 2022

Stavanger (Norway): Former world champion Viswanathan Anand scored a win over Aryan Tari in the ninth and final round to finish third in the Norway Chess tournament which was won by world number one Magnus Carlsen.

The 52-year-old Indian chess legend won the Armageddon encounter against Tari after the classical match finished in a 22-move draw.

Anand was made to work hard by Tari in the sudden death tie-break as he needed 87 moves to secure the victory early on Saturday.

He finished with 14.5 points to sign off at the third place behind Carlsen (16.5 points) and Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (15.5).

The Indian GM started superbly, scoring victories in his first three matches (against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Veselin Topalov and Wang Hao) and then pulled off an impressive win over Carlsen.

He led the points table after the fifth round but appeared to lose steam in the second half of the tournament. A defeat at the hands of Mamedyarov in the Classical in round eight hurt his chances to a large extent.

Anand scored over long-time rival Carlsen in the Blitz event before prevailing over him again in the Classical tournament.

Carlsen was able to finish on top despite not being at his best and suffering defeats to So, compatriot Tari and Anand.

After all classical games on the final day ended in draws, there were wins for Vachier-Lagrave over Anish Giri (the Netherlands) and Anand.

Carlsen had to settle for a draw in the Armageddon against Topalov, while Mamedyarov was held by Radjabov and Wang Hao shared the honours with So.

Final standings: 1. Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 16.5 points, 2. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) 15.5, 3. Viswanathan Anand (India) 14.5, 4. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (14), 5. Wesley So (USA) 12.5, 6. Anish Giri (12), 7. Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) and Aryan Tari (Norway) 9.5, 9. Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) 8, 10. Wang Hao (China) 7.5.

Kochi: A court here has dismissed a plea by the Kerala government to withdraw the prosecution proceedings against actor Mohanlal in a case relating to illegal possession of two pairs of ivory.

The state government contented that proceeding with the case would be a futile exercise and wastage of the court’s time.

“…I am not inclined to allow the withdrawal petition for the time being,” Judicial First Class Magistrate, Anju Cletus said in her order.

The court noted that the withdrawal petition was filed in a hasty manner without addressing the challenges raised before the High Court regarding legality of the ownership certificate issued to the first accused (Mohanlal).

“At this stage of the proceedings, I am of the view that rather than presuming the validity of the ownership certificate issued to the accused no.1 and allowing the withdrawal petition forthwith, it would be in the interest of justice to consider whether the prosecution should continue or not in the light of the adjudication which is yet to be made by the Hon’ble High Court regarding the validity of the ownership certificate issued to the accused no.1.,” the court said.

The state government had on February 7, 2020 extended consent for withdrawal from prosecution in this case, the prosecution submitted before the court.

The court, in its order noted that there was no gazette notification in this case and hence the alleged certificate of ownership of the tusks has no legal sanctity and was void ab inito.

“The public prosecutor cannot rely on the illegal certificate of ownership granted to the 1st accused (Mohanlal) against which a challenge is pending before the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala. The doctrine of estoppel and legitimate expectation cannot be applied in the case of the public authorities to justify their wrongful actions,” it said.

The Magistrate court said the withdrawal petition does not serve the ends of justice and hence was liable to be dismissed.

Four elephant tusks were seized from the actor’s house in a raid conducted by the Income Tax authorities in June 2012, following which a case was registered against him.

The complainant had alleged that the actor had used his clout to bury the case without any further investigation.

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to appear before it on June 23 for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper, officials said Friday.

Gandhi, 75, was earlier asked to depose on June 8 but she sought a fresh date from the federal probe agency after she contracted the coronavirus infection.

Gandhi has been given the fresh date for June 23 to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi where her statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, officials said.

Her son and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is expected to be questioned in the same case on June 13.

The Lok Sabha member from Wayanad was first called on June 2 but after he sought a fresh date as he was abroad, the ED issued a fresh notice for June 13.

The opposition party has decided that all its top leaders and MPs will take out a protest march on June 13 to the ED headquarters here and stage a “satyagrah” against what the party called its “misuse” by the central government.

The probe pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper.

The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Pvt Limited.

The agency has questioned senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal in April as part of the investigation.

The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of the ED’s investigation to understand the share holding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL, officials had said.

The ED recently registered a fresh case under criminal provisions of the PMLA after a trial court here took cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe against Young Indian Pvt Ltd on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

The Congress party had called the ED action a “vendetta”.

The Congress has termed the charges “fake and baseless” and added the summonses to the Gandhis was part of the BJP’s “vendetta politics”.

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and shareholders of Young Indian.

Swamy had accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds, with Young Indian Pvt Ltd paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Ltd owed to the Congress.

The Delhi High Court in February last year issued a notice to the Gandhis for their response on Swamy’s plea seeking to lead evidence in the matter before the trial court.

The Gandhis had secured separate bails from the court in 2015 after they furnished personal bonds of Rs 50,000 and one surety.

They, however, contended in the Delhi High Court that the plea by Swamy was “misconceived and premature”.

The other accused in this case filed by Swamy are Suman Dubey and technocrat Sam Pitroda. They have earlier denied any wrongdoing.

Bengaluru: The ruling BJP in Karnataka had the last laugh as it won all the three Rajya Sabha seats it had contested in, out of total four from the state, that went for polls on Friday, while the Congress managed to win only one of the two seats to which it had fielded its candidates.

The JD(S) which had fielded one candidate despite not having enough votes, failed to win any, as Congress did not accept its request for support in the name of secularism.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, actor-politician Jaggesh, and outgoing MLC Lehar Singh Siroya of BJP, and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh of Congress were declared victorious by the poll officials after counting of votes.

Sitharaman and Ramesh have been re-elected from Karnataka to the Upper House of Parliament for a consecutive term after this election, for which Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) were the voters.

There was suspense over the outcome of the contest for the fourth seat, which witnessed a tight contest between all the three political parties, as they had fielded candidates despite none of them having adequate number of votes to win it, and thereby forcing an election.

A total of six candidates were in the fray for the Rajya Sabha elections to the four seats from the state, necessitating a contest for the fourth one.

The fight for the fourth seat saw a direct contest between Siroya (BJP’s third candidate), Mansoor Ali Khan (Congress’ second candidate) and D Kupendra Reddy (JDS’ lone candidate).

The election to four Rajya Sabha seats was necessitated as the term of office of members Nirmala Sitharaman and K C Ramamurthy of BJP and Jairam Ramesh — is due to expire on June 30. The fourth member Oscar Fernandes of the Congress passed away last year.

Chandigarh: An undated video showing Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar sitting on the sunroof of a moving car and purportedly putting his security men also at risk has triggered a controversy.

The opposition Akali Dal and the Congress slammed the minister for flouting traffic rules and asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann what action he planned against the minister.

The 28-second-long video shows the minister’s security men leaning out of the window and two gypsies of the Punjab Police escorting his vehicle. A Punjabi song plays in the background throughout.

Bhullar, however, sought to play down the issue saying the video is two months old.

Refuting his claim, Punjab Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira tweeted, “Tpt Minister is lying video is 3 months old how could he have 2 Gypsy escorts and 10 gunmen as Aap candidate? “Ek chori utton seena jori”

“Is this how @Arvind Kejriwal and @Bhagwant Mann intend to end Vip culture? Do Aam Aadmi’s behave like this? this is gross violation of MV Act Sec 841,” Khaira, also a sitting MLA, said in the tweet.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Daljeet Singh Cheema took a jibe at Bhullar and described him “Udta Mantri”.

He sought to know how the transport minister, who is himself seen violating traffic rules, could preach to the public to follow them.

He asked the chief minister what action he had planned against Bhullar.

The Punjab Lok Congress, founded by former chief minister Amarinder Singh, said on Twitter, “@AAPPunjab’s Transport Minister openly flouting rules and regulations and taking them literally for a ride is a testament to the current govt’s attitude and seriousness towards Pb’s law and order.

“How can they ask citizens to follow rules when the minister himself is flouting these?” it asked.

Jaipur: The ruling Congress on Friday won three of the four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan, overcoming the challenge posed by BJP-backed independent candidate Subhash Chandra, according to the party.

The BJP got the fourth seat.

Congress candidates Randeep Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tiwari were elected to the Rajya Sabha, according to a tweet by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

BJP candidate and former minister Ghanshyam Tiwari said he had also won, polling 43 votes.

“Congress’s victory on three Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan is a victory of democracy. I congratulate all the three newly elected MPs Shri Pramod Tiwari, Shri Mukul Wasnik and Shri Randeep Surjewala. I am sure that all the three MPs will be able to strongly advocate the rights of Rajasthan in Delhi,” Gehlot tweeted.

Speaking to reporters, Tiwari said, “I am thankful to the state and the central leadership for making me the candidate. I got 43 votes.”

The statements came before the official announcement of the results.

All 200 Rajasthan MLAs had cast their votes for the Rajya Sabha elections by Friday afternoon.

In the House, the Congress has 108 MLAs, BJP 71, Independents 13, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) three, and the CPI(M) and the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) two each.

Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala

New Delhi: The Delhi Police has identified six shooters allegedly involved in the murder of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, a senior police officer said on Friday.

H S Dhaliwal, Special Commissioner of Police, Special Cell, told media that the singer’s death was an organised and brazen killing.

During the media briefing, he said the police had issued eight pictures of the suspects and six of the shooters were identified.

Out of them, the role of four in the murder, which took place in Punjab’s Mansa last month, has been established.

The Delhi Police had on Wednesday said gangster Lawrence Bishnoi was the mastermind behind the murder.

Siddhesh Hiraman Kamle alias Mahakal was arrested earlier this week from Pune in a joint operation with the Maharashtra Police in a case under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act in connection with the incident.

New Delhi, Jun 10: The government on Friday announced new guidelines to curb misleading advertisements and endorsers by banning surrogate ads, while imposing strict norms for those advertisements that seek to lure consumers offering discounts and free claims.

The new guidelines on “Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022” also seeks to regulate advertisements targeting children.

The guidelines, notified by the consumer affairs ministry and that have come into force with immediate effect, also specify due diligence to be carried out while endorsing in advertisements.

Action against violation of the new guidelines will be taken as per the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), which provides for a penalty of Rs 10 lakh for first offence and Rs 50 lakh for subsequent contravention.

Announcing the guidelines, consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said: “Advertisements have great interest for consumers. Under the CCPA Act, there are provisions to handle misleading advertisements affecting consumers rights.

“But to make it more explicit, clear and aware to the industry, the government has come out with guidelines for fair advertising with effect from today,” he said.

The guidelines will be applicable to advertisements published on all platforms like print, television and online.

Stating that these guidelines will not bring change overnight, the secretary said, however, it gives a framework for the industry stakeholders to prevent misleading ads even by mistake and will also empower consumers and consumer organisations to file complaints against misleading ads.

The secretary also mentioned that these guidelines will apply to government advertisements issued by PSUs engaged in providing consumer services, he said.

The advertising guidelines for self-regulation issued by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) will also be in place in a parallel manner, he added.

Elaborating on the guidelines, regulator Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) Chief Commissioner and Additional Secretary in the Consumer Affairs Ministry Nidhi Khare said: “CCPA has taken action against misleading ads during the pandemic. We felt that there was a need to have guidelines, so that stakeholders are aware of them and do not violate without knowledge.”

Misleading advertisement has already been defined under section 2(28) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The present guidelines define “bait advertisement”, “surrogate advertisement” and clearly provides what constitutes as “free claim advertisements”.

Bait advertisement means an advertisement in which goods, products or service is offered for sale at a low price to attract consumers.

Besides, the guidelines lay down conditions to be complied with while issuing bait advertisements and free claims advertisements, enumerating various factors to be considered in publishing ads especially targeting children.

The guidelines forbid advertisements from exaggerating the features of product or service in such manner as to lead children to have unrealistic expectations of such product or service and claim any health or nutritional claims or benefits without being adequately and scientifically substantiated by a recognized body.

In a statement issued later, the government said advertisement targeting children should not feature any personalities from the field of sports, music or cinema for products which under any law requires a health warning for such advertisement or cannot be purchased by children.

Since the disclaimers in advertisements play a pivotal role from consumer perspective since, in a way it limits the responsibility of the company, the guidelines stipulates that disclaimer should not attempt to hide material information with respect to any claim made in such advertisement, the omission or absence of which is likely to make the advertisement deceptive or conceal its commercial intent and should not attempt to correct a misleading claim made in an advertisement.

Further, it provides that a disclaimer should be in the same language as the claim made in the advertisement and the font used in a disclaimer shall be the same as that used in the claim.

That apart, clear guidelines are laid for duties of manufacturer, service provider, advertiser and advertising agency, due diligence to be carried out before endorsing and others.

Khare said, “Any endorsement must reflect the genuine, reasonably current opinion of the individual, group or organisations making such representation and must be based on adequate information about, or experience with, the identified goods, product or service.”

Where Indian professionals are barred under any law from making endorsement in any advertisement, foreign professionals of such profession are not permitted to make endorsement in such ads, she said.

The guidelines aim to protect consumers interest through bringing in more transparency and clarity in the way advertisements are being published, so that, consumers are able to make informed decisions based on facts rather than false narratives and exaggerations.

The government said the penalty for violating the guidelines are also clearly outlined. The consumer protection regulator can impose a penalty of up to Rs 10 lakh on manufacturers, advertisers and endorsers for any misleading advertisements. For subsequent contravention, CCPA may impose a penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh.

The authority can prohibit the endorser of a misleading advertisement from making any endorsement for up to 1 year and for subsequent contravention, prohibition can extend up to 3 years.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Friday issued an advisory to Muslim scholars and intellectuals against participating in television debates which intent to make mockery and insult Islam and Muslims.

In a press note, the board added that the decision was taken in consideration with the views of the President, Vice-Presidents and General Secretary of the board.

It was said that participating in such programs they are not able to do any service to Islam and Muslims, instead, they become reason for their own direct insult by involving Muslims and Islam.

“The intention of these programs are not to reach any conclusions through constructive discourse but to ridicule and defame Islam and Muslims” an official press statement added.

“If we boycott such programs and channels not only it will affect their TRP negatively, but they will also fail in achieving their desired outcome through these debates” it further added.