Archives for 2023

Bengaluru The High Court of Karnataka has issued notice to the State government on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition, challenging the non-implementation of the national e-vidhan application (NeVA) scheme.

The State government went ahead with its own e-vidhan scheme instead. The PIL, filed by former MLC Ramesh Babu, was being heard by a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice P B Varale.

The NeVA aims at promoting digitalisation to provide a platform for the functioning of both Houses of Parliament, Assemblies and councils. The Centre shares 60 per cent of the cost of the platform for the State which has a total outlay of Rs. 673.94 crore
Karnataka decided to implement its own scheme at a cost of Rs 253 crore based on a report submitted by KEONICS.

The PIL says the State government is unnecessarily spending Rs.253 crore, when it could have availed itself of by merging the scheme with the Centre’s.

“The present PIL if filed seeking further steps in implementation of NeVA which is beneficial and safeguards Central portal with economic benefits to the implementing State in place of implementation of e-Vidhan scheme through KEONICS which entails substantial loss to the public exchequer as the provisioning of this scheme is to tune of Rs.254 crores,” according to the PIL.

The PIL seeks “implementation of NeVA scheme which entails substantial savings to the State exchequer and further keeps intact the integrity of this nation by acceding to the principle of One Nation-One E-Platform’.”

It further states that the State government agency KEONICS has identified a third party to implement the scheme without any competitive bidding.

On Tuesday, the High Court adjourned further hearing of the PIL after issuance of notice to the State.

New Delhi: Air India on Wednesday said it has imposed a 30-day flying ban on a passenger who had urinated on a female co-passenger onboard a flight from New York to Delhi in November last year and set up an internal panel to probe whether there were lapses on the part of their crew in addressing the situation.

Aviation regulator DGCA said it has sought a report from the airline on the incident, which happened on November 26 and will “take action against those found negligent”.

Air India said it has filed a police complaint about the incident but did not specify when the 30-day flying ban on the passenger came into effect.

Delhi Police on Wednesday said several teams have been formed to catch the passenger and registered a case against the accused.

Based on the complaint given by the victim, Delhi Police has registered a case under sections 294 (does any obscene act in any public place), 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 510 (Misconduct in public by a drunken person) of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant section of Aircraft rule.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women has written to the Air India Limited chairman to intervene in the matter. It said the action violated the woman’s right to live a life of dignity and safety.

Airlines have the power to impose a flying ban on an individual for unruly behaviour for up to a lifetime. While Air India has banned the passenger from taking its flights, other carriers can decide whether a flying ban should be imposed on the individual concerned.

On November 26, an inebriated male passenger urinated on a female co-passenger during a flight from New York to Delhi, according to reports.

Without mentioning the details about the incident, an Air India spokesperson on Wednesday said the airline has taken a very serious view of the incident, where a passenger behaved in an unacceptable and undignified manner on the New York-Delhi flight that caused extreme distress to a fellow passenger.

Air India has “banned the passenger for 30 days, the maximum it is permitted to unilaterally do so, and reported the matter to the DGCA for further action,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

However, Air India declined to provide details about when the flying ban was imposed.

“We have also constituted an internal committee to probe lapses on part of Air India’s crew and address the deficiencies that delayed quick redressal of the situation,” the statement said.

Further, the airline said it is also in regular contact with the aggrieved passenger and her family during the investigation and reporting process.

A senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in the morning said the regulator is “seeking a report from the airline and shall take action against those found negligent”.

The airline had not reported the incident to the regulator earlier.

Under the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) issued by DGCA in 2017, regarding the handling of unruly passengers, an airline has the power to ban an individual from flying for a lifetime.

If one airline places a person on the no-fly list, then other airlines have the option of whether to impose a similar ban on the individual concerned.

The ban period varies depending on the violations being classified as Level 1, 2 or 3.

For Level 1, which pertains to unruly behaviour such as “physical gestures, verbal harassment, unruly inebriation”, the ban can be for up to three months.

The debarment will be up to six months for Level 2, which pertains to physically abusive behaviour like “pushing, kicking, hitting, grabbing or inappropriate touching or sexual harassment”.

For Level 3 when there is a life-threatening behaviour like damage to aircraft operating systems, “physical violence such as choking, eye gouging, murderous assault, attempted or actual breach of the flight crew compartment etc”, the ban can be from a minimum of two years or more without a limit, as per the norms.

The home ministry can also provide DGCA and airlines, with a list of individuals identified as national security threats for inclusion in the no-fly list under the CAR.

Against the backdrop of the Air India incident, stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra on Wednesday tweeted ‘2 Air India’s” and shared a screenshot of Air India banning him sometime back following alleged unruly behaviour onboard an IndiGo flight.

Kamra also shared a screenshot of a media report saying that Air India has banned the passenger who urinated on a female co-passenger for 30 days.

Mannapuram (Kerala): A 10-year-old Karnataka boy died on the spot while three others sustained critical injuries in a tragic road accident in Kerala while they were returning to their native Dharwad from Sabarimala pilgrimage.

The deceased boy has been identified as Sumeet Pandey, while other family members injured in the accident have been identified as Saroj Pandey, Nikhil Pandey, and Sushant Pandey.

According to the reports, the family had visited the Sabarimala pilgrimage on January 1 and were returning back to Dharwad when they met a road accident in Mannapuram in Kerala.

Ratlam (MP): After being acquitted of gang rape charges, a man from Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam has sought compensation of more than Rs 10,000 crore from the state government citing “suffering and mental agony” caused to him as his incarceration sent his family to the brink of starvation.

Of the Rs 10,006.02 crore compensation, the man has sought Rs 2 lakh towards the “loss of God’s gift to humans e.g. sexual pleasure”, as per his petition.

Kantu, alias Kantilal Bheel (35), moved the district and sessions court after a local court on October 20, 2022, dropped the gang rape charges, said his lawyer Vijay Singh Yadav. His case against the MP government and the investigators will be heard on January 10.

Asked about the whopping recompense, Yadav said Rs 10,000 crore has been sought on the grounds that “human life is precious”, while the remaining Rs 6.02 crore is for various reasons, including legal expenses of Rs 2 lakh, mental agony and suffering by his family.

In his petition, Bheel said he was the sole breadwinner for his family when the police arrested him in the gang rape case on December 23, 2020. Yadav said Bheel supported his ageing mother, wife and their three children.

Yadav said his client has sought Rs 10,006.02 crore citing suffering and mental agony to him and his family due to the fake charges of gang rape. In his absence, Bheel’s family was on the verge of starvation, he said.

According to Yadav, a woman filed a complaint on July 20, 2018, against Bheel at Manasa police station, accusing him of raping her on the pretext of dropping her at her brother’s home.

She alleged Bheel handed her over to another person who she claimed raped her for six months before allowing her to go, said the lawyer.

The complaint led to Bheel’s arrest and incarceration for nearly two years.

Mehbooba Mufti

Srinagar: Separatism is an idea which cannot be confiscated or jailed and has to be addressed through dialogue and reconciliation, the PDP has said.

It also said the Centre’s current approach is only “serving to further alienate” Kashmiris and strengthen the separatist sentiment.

In the January edition of its monthly newsletter ‘Speak Up’, which was released here on Tuesday, the party said the gulf of “mistrust” between Kashmiris and other Indians is now “wider than ever”.

“That is why on top of Aaadhar and other mandatory ID documents, Kashmiris will now be required to have a ‘JK family ID’ that ties individuals to their families so they can avail social benefits. This unique family ID will be just another way for the government to tighten its iron grip around us so they can profile and surveil Kashmiris wherever they go,” the PDP said.

The party, led by Mehbooba Mufti, said Kashmiris were nothing more than the inhabitants of a coveted piece of land – a fact that is made evident by the different land laws that are thrown us at every few months.

“The latest of these is the Land Grant Rules-2022 under which leased land will have to be surrendered to the government. This is another land grab by GOI that will uproot local businesses, hotels and other establishments,” it said.

The land will eventually be taken over by “their corporate friends” just like many airports, railways stations, LIC and other national assets, it claimed.

“These drastic changes to our land laws in the name of reforms that end owners’ rights to their properties is another attempt to disempower our citizens and take away their land,” the newsletter said.

The PDP said the figures presented in Parliament about the actual investment in Jammu and Kashmir after 2019 have “called off GOI’s bluff” about the deluge of investments that Kashmir received post the abrogation of Article 370.

“The figures for the last year were less than half of what we received in 2017-18. Contrary to GOI’s false assertions, the abrogation was not the panacea to our problems. Despite leaving no stone unturned, having unleashed every government agency and using every anti-terror law possible, GOI’s thirst for vengeance has not been quenched,” it claimed.

The party said the measures to deal with Kashmir are only becoming more stringent with time as properties worth hundreds of crores that belonged to Jamaat-e-Islami have been seized by the State Investigation Agency (SIA) on the pretext of cracking down on separatism.

“But separatism is an idea and it can’t be confiscated or jailed,” the PDP said.

The party said separatism has to be addressed through dialogue and reconciliation.

“However, through their current approach, GOI is only serving to further alienate Kashmiris and strengthen the separatist sentiment,” it added.

While the Centre claims to be following former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayjee’s footsteps in Kashmir, “this statement couldn’t be further from the truth”, it charged.

“Unfortunately, the chances of this government realizing Vajpayjee’s vision for Kashmir and engaging in dialogue are about the same as the dog eating your homework,” the party said.

Referring to the recent encounter in Sidhra area of Jammu in which four militants were killed, the PDP said it has “exposed false claims” of end of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The recent encounter in Sidhra, if it was an encounter at all, has exposed false claims of the end of militancy in J-K which has now spread to the Jammu region that was relatively more peaceful. And now another heartbreaking incident at Dongri where six people including two children were killed,” it said.

Erode/Chennai:Congress MLA from Erode East constituency in Tamil Nadu and son of former Union minister E V K S Elangovan, E Thirumahan Everaa, died on Wednesday following illness, the party said. He was 46.

The MLA is the great-grandson of rational leader E V Ramasamy ‘Periyar.’ The legislator is survived by his wife and a daughter.

TNCC President K S Alagiri condoled his party colleague’s death and expressed his sympathies with Elangovan, a former chief of the Congress’ state unit.

In a condolence message, Alagiri expressed shock and anguish over Everaa’s demise and hailed him as a progressive youngster. Everaa died following illness, he added.

“All of 46, his demise is an irreparable loss to the Congress,” Alagiri said.

PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss also condoled Everaa’s death.

Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi was admitted to Ganga Ram Hospital here on Wednesday for routine check-up, sources said.

Her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accompanied her to the hospital, they said.

According to them, Sonia Gandhi has been suffering from a respiratory infection.

Sources added that Sonia Gandhi has been unwell since Tuesday which is why Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had returned to Delhi after walking seven kilometres in the Bharat Jodo Yatra that entered Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday evening.

The Congress’ Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed its journey at 6 am on Wednesday after halting for the night at Mavikalan in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat.

Priyanka Gandhi did not, however, join Rahul Gandhi at the yatra’s resumption. She is likely to join after noon, party sources said.