The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to look into request for for early hearing of a plea filed for the review of judgment on Rafale deal. Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi told petitioner Prashant Bhushan that he would consider his plea for early hearing in the Rafale case.

CJI Gogoi, however, refused to give a specific date for the hearing saying that an appropriate bench of the Supreme Court is yet to be constituted in the matter. CJI Gogoi told Bhushan that he would do something for the listing of the case.

India and France signed a defence deal in 2016, replacing the one being negotiated during the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets. The deal ran into controversy with the opposition parties led by the Congress alleged irregularities and favouritism in the Rafale contract.

The government rejected the allegations leveled by the Congress and other opposition parties saying that the Rafale deal was in the best interest of the country.

Some people including former Union ministers Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha, and Bhushan filed petitions seeking the Supreme Court’s direction for a probe into the Rafale deal. The Supreme Court had delivered its judgment in December last year. The apex court ruling virtually vindicated the government’s stand that due process was followed in finalising the Rs 59,000 crore deal with France.

The court refused to order a probe into the deal and also ruled out “commercial favouritism” in the defence contract. The apex court ruling fuelled more controversy over reference to the Rafale deal pricing details having been seen by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament.

The Congress leaders including party president Rahul Gandhi countered it saying the CAG report on Rafale had not come to the PAC. Fresh media reports gave more ammunition to the opposition, which tried to corner the government over the issue.

The government blamed the reference to CAG in the Supreme Court ruling on typographical error and moved a plea for correction in the judgment.

Later, more petitions were filed in the Supreme Court seeking review of its judgment in the case. Bhushan is one of the petitioners seeking review of the Supreme Court judgment on Rafale deal alleging that the government misled the court and tried to hide information from it.

The apex court is yet to constitute a bench for hearing the petitions for review of the December ruling in Rafale deal case. Meanwhile, on February 15, the Supreme Court expressed unhappiness with some of the review pleas pointing out that defective petitions were filed with the intention of seeking publicity in media.

Agencies

Nasheman News :A Delhi Court on Thursday adjourned to March 7 a case against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, accused of abetting suicide of Sunanda Pushkar, his wife.

Special Judge Arun Bhardwaj adjourned the hearing after Delhi Police sought more time to prepare its argument on the issue of framing of charges against the parliamentarian.

Tharoor’s lawyer Vikas Pahwa told the court there are some discrepancies in documents provided by the police in the case.

Meanwhile, Tharoor moved an application seeking to travel to Bahrain and Qatar. The court said it will hear the Congress leader’s plea seeking permission for foreign visit on Friday.

On May 14, 2018, police submitted the charge sheet against Tharoor under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) pertaining to abetment of suicide and cruelty to wife.

Pushkar, 51, died under mysterious circumstances at a hotel in south Delhi on January 17, 2014, days after she alleged that Tharoor was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist.

Nasheman News :  A Pakistani prisoner in the Jaipur central jail was allegedly murdered by group of fellow prisoners on Wednesday after an argument over a TV programme, officials said.

The incident comes in wake of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama left 40 Central Reserve Police Force troopers dead.

Inspector General, Jails, Rupinder Singh identified the prisoner as Shakarullah, alias Mohammad Haneef, 45, who was undergoing imprisonment after being convicted for spying.

According to Additional Commissioner of Police Lakshman Gaur, Shakarullah was killed after an argument over a TV programme with other prisoners turned violent.

Speaking to media, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Rajeev Swaroop also attributed the cause of the prisoner’s death to an argument. “At 1.20 p.m., nine prisoners were watching TV when they had a quarrel over a programme. As the tension escalated, Shakarulla was stoned to death,” he said.

The other prisoners at the spot were identified as Ajeet, Manoj, Kulvendra, Bhajan Meena, Haaji Khan, Mahesh, Nandlal and Mallaki. 

A case has been registered and investigations are on, Swaroop said, adding that there has never been any case of fighting among the 66 prisoners lodged in the same ward.

Asked about the formalities to be completed for sending back the body, Rajasthan’s Director General, Jails, N.R.K. Reddy said, “The post mortem will be conducted soon. The Home and the External Affairs Ministries have been informed about the incident. We are completing all formalities in this case.”

He said that Shakarulla was undergoing life imprisonment under being convicted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and had been imprisoned there since 2010.

Meanwhile, security for other Pakistani prisoners is being enhanced, a police official said. 

Nasheman News : A day after 49 CRPF troopers were killed in a terror strike in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday collected materials required for forensic evaluation from the blast site, officials said.

An NIA official said: “Considering the status of the scene of crime, the team will continue with shifting of the material tomorrow as well. The outcome would be made known after the analysis is over,” he said.

In the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in 1989, a suicide bomber on Thursday rammed his SUV packed with explosives into a CRPF bus on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in Pulwama district, killing at least 49 troopers and leaving the security established stunned.

Nasheman News :India on Friday summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood and lodged a strong protest over the Pulwama terror attack that claimed the lives of 45 CRPF troopers in Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Foreign Secretary Vijay Keshav Gokhale summoned Mahmood to the MEA at 2 p.m. and issued a “very strong demarche” in connection with the terror attack on Thursday that also left 38 troopers injured.

Gokhale conveyed that Pakistan must take immediate and verifiable action against the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), which claimed responsibility immediately after the attack, and that it must immediately stop any groups or individuals associated with terrorism and operating from Pakistani territory. 

He also rejected the statement made by the Pakistan Foreign Ministry denying any involvement in the suicide attack, that has been called the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy began there in 1989.

The JeM, a Pakistan-based outfit, claimed responsibility for the attack in which a suicide bomber on Thursday rammed his SUV packed with explosives into a Central Reserve Police Force bus that was part of a large convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar highway around 3.15 p.m., killing 45 troopers and leaving the security establishment stunned.

Nasheman News :Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Wednesday expressed her satisfaction over the performance of the 16th Lok Sabha, as its sitting came to an end on the last day of the Budget Session, saying the House passed 205 of the 219 Bills introduced during the entire period.

In her valedictory speech, she said that in the last five years since June 2014, the House had a total of 331 sittings of 1,612 hours, out of which 422 hours went in vain due to disruptions.

Mahajan was elected as Speaker on June 6, 2014 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over the reins.

She thanked the members for their cooperation in smooth conduct of the House and also expressed her regret, if her words or rulings hurt their sentiments.

She also asked all the members to impartially introspect whether they lived up to the expectations of people whom they represented.

“In the last session of the 16th Lok Sabha, it is time that we introspect whether we have lived up to the expectation of the people during the last five years. What we have achieved and what still needs to be done. We should do an impartial analysis,” Mahajan said wishing good luck to the members for the ensuing general elections.

She said the major legislations passed in the Lok Sabha include Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Bill, 2015; Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015; Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016; Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2016; Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Bill, 2016 regarding introduction of the Goods and Services Tax. 

The other Bills include Integrated Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017; Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016; Mental Healthcare Bill, 2017; Constitution (One Hundred and Second Amendment) Bill, 2018 regarding constitution of the National Commission for Backward Classes under the newly inserted article 338 B of the Constitution; Fugitive Economic Offender Bill, 2018; Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018 and the Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Bill. 

Nasheman News : The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave no relief to five activists named in the Bhima Koregaon caste violence case and set aside a Bombay High Court order allowing another 90 days to the Maharashtra Police to file charge sheet.

The five accused activists — Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawale, Mahesh Rout, Roma Wilson and Soma Sen — will not be able to have the benefit of default as the apex court said they now must apply for regular bail.

A trial court had under the Unlawful Prevention Activities Act granted the Maharashtra Police additional 90 days time to file a charge sheet that was beyond a 90-day deadline under the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The activists were arrested from various locations in August 2018 for their alleged role in instigating caste violence in Maharashtra’s Bhima Koregaon village on January 1, 2018.

Nasheman News : The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2018, that provides for a comprehensive mechanism to protect the interest of depositors was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

However, the Bill, introduced by Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, could not be taken up for discussion.

Soon after the Bill was introduced, Biju Janata Dal’s Bhratruhari Mahtab urged the Chair to delay the discussion to Wednesday.

He also urged the Chair to pass the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2018. “There is unanimity on these two Bills,” he said.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Narendra Singh Tomar urged the members to pass the Bill to facilitate its passage by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, after considering the view of the House said if all agree, she would suspend the Question Hour to take up the Bill. She then, adjourned the House.

The bill was initially introduced in Parliament on July 18, 2018, and was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance.

The last day (February 13) of the Winter Session, which would also be the last day of the 16th Lok Sabha, is all set to witness suspension of Question Hour.

Nasheman News :“Go and sit in the corner,” Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi told former acting CBI Director M. Nageswara Rao, after holding him guilty of contempt of the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

A bench headed by the Chief Justice was in no mood to listen to Rao’s explanations on the issue of transferring out Additional Director A.K. Sharma, who was probing the Bihar shelter home horror, without the court’s permission.

Rao and CBI’s in-charge of prosecution S. Bhasuran were held guilty of contempt of court for disobeying its order to not transfer out Sharma. They were also fined Rs 1 lakh each.

Refusing to accept the unconditional apology tendered by Rao on Monday, the bench, also comprising Justice L. Nageswara Rao and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, directed the CBI officer to sit in the courtroom for the remaining working hours of the day. 

“The dignity of the court must be maintained, but this is brazen,” Chief Justice Gogoi said. 

Nasheman News :The Supreme Court has held that a consensual sexual relationship between live-in partners would not amount to rape in some cases such as when the man, due to adverse circumstances beyond his control, does not marry the woman.

“The acknowledged consensual relationship between the parties would not constitute an offence under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code,” said the bench of Justice A. K. Sikri and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer in a recent judgment. 

“There may be a case where where the prosecutrix agrees to have sexual intercourse on account of her love and passion for the accused and not solely on account of misconception created by accused, or where an accused on account of circumstance which he could not have foreseen or which were beyond his control, was unable to marry her despite having every intention to do so. Such cases must be treated differently,” the bench said.

The court said this while quashing an FIR lodged against a doctor by a Maharashtra based nurse who were, for quite some time, in a live-in relationship. 

Pointing to clear distinction between rape and consensual sex between live-in partners, the court said, “The courts, in such cases must very carefully examine whether the complainant had actually wanted to marry the victim or had mala fide motives and had made a false promise to this effect only to satisfy his lust, as the later falls within the ambit of cheating or deception.”