Archives for 2024

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea challenging the power vested in the Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) to nominate five members to the Legislative Assembly of the union territory.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar asked the petitioner Ravinder Kumar Sharma to approach the high court.

“In cases where we have entertained a petition at the first instance, we find that many things are left out,” the bench said as it gave liberty to the petitioner to approach the high court.

In the recently concluded election, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference-Congress alliance got a majority with 48 seats in the 90-member assembly.

The bench said it is not inclined to entertain the petition under Article 32 of the Constitution and clarified that it has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the issue.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the petitioner, said that such nomination could throttle the electoral verdict and it was an issue, which dealt with the basic structure of the Constitution.

“We are three above the majority. The total of all the others is 42. If you nominate five, they become 47 and I become 48. You have to only get one more person…You can easily nullify the elected mandate. The electoral verdict of numbers can be negated…,” submitted Singhvi.

Justice Khanna said that the said power of the LG had not been exercised as of now and the petitioner should approach the high court first.

CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami, whose party was in alliance with the National Conference and Congress also won the election from Kulgam constituency.

Several other independents and lone Aam Aadmi Party MLA has also extended support to the National Conference-Congress alliance.

New Delhi/Bengaluru: Over seven lakh people in the Bellary Lok Sabha seat were given Rs 200 each to vote in favour of the Congress candidate during the general elections this year and this money came from the cash siphoned in the alleged Valmiki scam by former Karnataka tribal minister B Nagendra along with his aides, the ED has claimed in its charge sheet.

It also charged that the legislator utilised these government funds to “cover” his personal expenses, like booking flights for himself and his associates, payment of electricity bills, vehicle maintenance and paying the monthly salaries of household staff.

Nagendra, 53, was granted bail by a special court for people’s representatives in Bengaluru on Monday.

The federal agency had filed its first charge sheet in this case last month before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Bengaluru listing Nagendra as the accused no. 1, apart from 24 others which included his aides, linked persons and some companies.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Karnataka Police and the CBI where it was alleged that funds worth crores of rupees were diverted from the accounts of the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki ST Development Corporation (KMVSTDC) and sent to “fake accounts” and later laundered through shell entities.

The corporation was established in 2006 with a primary focus on the socio-economic development of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities in Karnataka by running welfare schemes for them.

The alleged irregularities came to the fore after the accounts superintendent of the Valmiki Corporation, Chandrasekharan P, was found dead on May 21. He wrote a suicide note alleging illegal transfer of money from the Corporation to various bank accounts.

Nagendra and five others allegedly linked to him were arrested by the ED in this case.

The former minister told the ED that J G Padmanabha, the managing director of the Valmiki Corporation under his ministry, “fraudulently” transferred funds of the corporation without his knowledge or approval from the board. He denied any wrongdoing saying he did not benefit personally from the siphoned funds.

In his statements, Padmanabha told the ED that he was acting on the orders of the higher officials, including Nagendra, and he had no real control over the fraudulent activities.

Nagendra, an MLA from Bellary rural seat, had resigned as minister in the face of these allegations.

Talking about the role of Nagedra’s personal assistants — B Vijay Kumar Gowda and Nekkenti Nagaraj– and his associate Rudrayya, the ED claimed that they “admitted” to handling large sums of money, which aligns with the broader scheme of siphoning funds for electoral purposes.

Nagendra, the agency said, handled a “substantial portion” of the proceeds of crime, primarily in the form of cash, which was used to support activities related to the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

“This cash, siphoned from Valmiki Corporation, was received and distributed by Vijay Kumar Gowda, personal assistant to B Nagendra, under his direct instructions,” it said.

Gowda, the ED said, recorded in his statement with the agency that he had handed over cash to the persons instructed by Nagendra which “eventually went to party workers and voters, following instructions from B Nagendra, for the purpose of election-related activities.”

The agency said Gowda gave the agency a statement describing how cash was distributed in the Bellary LS seat during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

“To incentivise voters to cast their vote in favour of Sh. E Tukaram, the INC (Congress) candidate, Rs 200 was distributed to each voter.

“Additionally, Rs 10,000 was allocated to each polling booth to compensate the Congress Party workers responsible for assisting voters and overseeing the booths,” the ED said in the charge sheet.

It further alleged that Nagendra, in coordination with Bellary LS seat MLAs like Nara Bharath Reddy (Bellary city), MLA Ganesh (Kampli) and Kudligi MLA Dr N T Srinivas distributed cash funds as per the assigned polling stations among them.

As per the ED, these MLAs “ensured” that the cash was disbursed to voters and party workers in their respective constituencies and this was ” corroborated” by the evidence gathered during the investigation.

The agency drew up a tabular column in the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) to show that 7,40,112 voters in Bellary were given Rs 200 each from the Valmiki funds totalling more than Rs 14 crore apart from Rs 10,000 each to party workers in each booth totalling over Rs 72 lakh.

It claimed that when Nagendra was confronted with this evidence, including pictures of cash wads found on the mobile of his PA Gowda, the former minister “remained evasive and refused to provide a clear response”.

The agency said its probe found that both the Tribal Welfare and Finance Departments of the Karnataka government disbursed funds in violation of established guidelines, releasing them despite minimal utilisation of previously disbursed funds.

The probe, the ED said, uncovered a “complex” money laundering operation within the Valmiki Corporation with more than Rs 187.33 crore intended for welfare schemes being fraudulently siphoned off from the corporation’s account between March-May, 2024.

The ED also claimed that Nagendra’s movements during the period of the “scam” and the disposal of his three iPhones suggest “an intent to destroy the evidence”.

The agency charged that Nagendra, in his capacity as the minister of the Tribal Welfare Department, was “actively involved” in pooling, routing, and siphoning of KMVSTDC funds.

“B Nagendra’s role in the conspiracy, his attempts to destroy evidence and the failure of departments under his ministry point to deliberate misconduct.

“His claims of ignorance and non-involvement are contradicted by evidence, including forensic data, statements, and financial records,” the ED alleged.

It said unexplained transactions, managed by his PAs, suggest a “deliberate effort to conceal financial misconduct, aligning with broader fraudulent activities under investigation”.

UP Chief Minister Adityanath

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government will soon introduce a new law against sellers who “hide their identity” and mix human waste or inedible material in food items and beverages, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday.

Imprisonment and fine will be ensured against those who violate the law and action should be taken considering such crimes as cognizable and non-bailable, the chief minister said, adding that sellers will be mandated to put up a signboard with their names at the establishment.

Adityanath, according to a statement, made the announcement during a meeting here to discuss the proposed new law to put a permanent stop to the incidents of adulteration of food items such as juice, dal and roti by mixing human waste or inedible material, recently reported in various parts of the country.

He said such incidents are “horrific” and have an adverse effect on social harmony and health of the consumers, according to the release.

“Such nefarious attempts cannot be accepted at all,” he added.

Keeping in view the importance of ensuring the purity of food items and maintaining the confidence of consumers, it is necessary to make strict laws, Adityanath said, directing officers to prepare “clear” regulations to prevent such incidents in hotels, restaurants, dhabas, and street food stalls.

Stating that every consumer has the right to get necessary information about the sellers of the food and beverages they consume, the chief minister said it should be mandatory for the establishment owners to put up a signboard with their names.

It should be mandatory for all the personnel working in the food establishment to wear an identity card and there should be a provision for the strictest punishment against those who use pseudonyms and give wrong information, the release said.

The chief minister said every food establishment should compulsorily install a sufficient number of CCTV cameras for continuous monitoring of the kitchen and dining areas. The footage for at least one month should be made available at all times on demand by the district administration, he added.

It should be made compulsory to cover the head, wear a mask and gloves while cooking food in the kitchen and serving it in the food establishment, the statement said.

The food business operator should provide the details of the personnel working in the establishment to the department concerned, Adityanath said, adding that if any person in the establishment is confirmed to be an intruder or an illegal foreign citizen, strict action should be taken against them.

Clear provisions should be made in the law in this regard, he directed officials.

Union Minister Suresh Gopi

Thrissur (Kerala): The Thrissur city police have launched a preliminary inquiry into allegations that Union Minister Suresh Gopi misused an ambulance during the Thrissur Pooram festival held in April this year, a police source said on Monday.

The police initiated the inquiry against the Union Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum based on a complaint lodged by a local CPI leader.

According to a police source, the preliminary inquiry aims to determine whether there is sufficient merit to register an FIR regarding the incident, which occurred before the Lok Sabha elections.

The complaint has been forwarded to the Thrissur city Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) for the preliminary inquiry, the source told PTI.

Gopi won the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket in the elections held after the Pooram festival, defeating his nearest rivals, V S Sunil Kumar of the CPI and K Muraleedharan of the Congress.

The complaint, filed by the local CPI leader, claims that Gopi arrived at the Pooram grounds in a Seva Bharati ambulance after the Thiruvambady faction temporarily paused the festival. It alleges that the ambulance, meant for medical emergencies, was used for non-medical purposes.

Additionally, the complaint states that Gopi was transported to a restricted area where other vehicles were prohibited.

This year’s Pooram festivities were marred by controversy, allegedly due to police interventions and subsequent disputes.

The Kerala government has ordered a three-level probe, including an investigation into the alleged role of the police in the matter.

For the first time in the history of the festival, the display of fireworks–a major attraction of the event–was held in broad daylight the following day instead of the early morning hours, leading to disappointment among festival-goers.