Kochi/New Delhi: The Lakshadweep administration, which has been facing widespread protests from the islands’ people over some of its policies, has mooted a proposal to shift its legal jurisdiction from the Kerala High Court to the Karnataka High Court, officials said.

The proposal was initiated by the administration after several litigations were moved before the Kerala High Court against the decisions taken by the islands’ new administrator Praful Khoda Patel.

These decisions included revising standard operating procedures for Covid appropriate behaviour, introduction of the “goonda act” and demolishing hutments of fishermen for widening of roads.

Patel, who is the administrator of Daman and Diu, was given the additional charge of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep in the first week of December last year, when the former administrator Dineshwar Sharma died after a brief illness.

This year, as many as 23 applications, including 11 writ petitions, have been filed against the administrator of Lakshadweep and also against the alleged high-handedness of either the police or the local government of the islands.

However, for reasons best known to the island’s administration, which is under the spotlight over its handling of these issues, it has made a proposal for shifting its legal jurisdiction from the high court of Kerala to Karnataka.

Efforts to seek comments from the advisor of the administrator, A Anbarasu, and Collector of Lakshadweep S Asker Ali did not fructify.

Mails to their official e-mails and WhatsApp messages did not elicit any response to a question asking the rationale behind mooting of the proposal for shifting of legal jurisdiction.

The jurisdiction of a high court can be shifted only through an act of Parliament, according to the law.

“Parliament may by law constitute a high court for a Union Territory or declare any court in any such territory to be a high court for all or any of the purposes of this Constitution,” according to Article 241 of the Constitution.

Section 4 of the same article mentions that “nothing in this article derogates from the power of Parliament to extend or exclude the jurisdiction of a high court for a state to, or from, any Union Territory or part thereof”.

Talking to PTI over phone, Lok Sabha member Mohammed Faizal P P said, “This was his (Patel) first attempt to shift the judicial jurisdiction from Kerala to Karnataka.”

“Why was he so particular to transfer it… it’s totally a misappropriation of the post. The mother tongue of the people on these islands is Malayalam,” he said.

“One should not forget the name of the high court is Kerala and Lakshadweep High Court. This proposal was conceived during his first visit to the islands,” Faizal said and asked was there a need for this and how could he justify the proposal.

Faizal said there have been 36 administrators before Patel and no one had this kind of an idea.

“However, if this proposal will see any light of the day, we will oppose it tooth and nail on the floor of Parliament as well as with the judiciary,” the Lok Sabha member from Nationalist Congress Party said.

He said the Save Lakshadweep Front (SLF) has been making appeals to the Centre for changing the administrator at the earliest.

“The SLF is a non-violent people’s movement which has been requesting the central leadership to change Patel with someone who can be people’s administrator,” he added.

Legal experts from Lakshadweep said that Malayalam is the spoken as well as the written language both in Kerala and Lakshadweep and, therefore, the process could be streamlined.

Shifting of the jurisdiction of the high court will change the entire judicial system of the islands as all the judicial officers are sent from the Kerala High Court because of the common language and script.

Prominent lawyer from Lakshadweep, C N Noorul Hidya, said that she had heard about the issue of changing jurisdiction.

“But that is not the right move. How can they change the jurisdiction when we share the bond of language and the court documents are accepted in Malayalam language only,” Hidya told PTI over phone from Lakshadweep.

She said that most of the people will be opposing any such move as that would virtually lead them to denial of justice.

“One has to understand that the high court in Kerala is just 400 kms away whereas that of Karnataka is over 1,000 kms with no direct connectivity as well,” Hidya said.

Legal experts also opined that changing of high court would also mean extra-burden on the exchequer as all the cases, at present under trial, would have to be heard again afresh.

New Delhi: The Centre has told the Supreme Court that ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh cannot be paid to the families of those who have died of COVID-19 as it is beyond fiscal affordability and the finances of central and state governments are under severe strain.

In an affidavit filed before the top court, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the Centre submitted that it has by ways of “Minimum Standard Relief”, under section 12 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, taken several steps providing for substantial and speedy measures by way of increase in health, infrastructure, ensuring food safety to every citizen.

“The prayer of the petitioner for payment of ex-gratia to all deceased persons due to COVID-19 is beyond the fiscal affordability of the state governments. Already the finances of state governments and the central government are under severe strain due to the reduction in tax revenues and increase in health expenses on account of the pandemic.

“Thus, utilisation of scarce resources for giving ex-gratia may have unfortunate consequences of affecting the pandemic response and health expenditure in other aspects and hence cause more damage than good. It is an unfortunate but important fact that the resources of the governments have limits and any additional burden through ex-gratia will reduce the funds available for other health and welfare schemes,” the affidavit filed by the Centre said.

It further submitted that under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, Section 12, it is the “National Authority” which is empowered to recommend guidelines for the minimum standards of relief, including ex-gratia assistance and this is the function entrusted to the authority by the law passed by the Parliament.

“It is well settled through numerous judgements of the Supreme Court that this is a matter which should be performed by the authority, to whom it has been entrusted and not one where the Court will substitute its own judgement for the decision to be taken by the Executive.

“Any attempt to second guess may create unintended and unfortunate constitutional and administrative ramifications. It may also be noted that the term ‘ex-gratia’ itself connotes that the amount is not based on legal entitlement,” the affidavit stated.

The Centre told the apex court that it is wrong to state that the help can be provided only through ex-gratia assistance as “it would be a rather pedantic and narrow approach”.

“A broader approach, which involves health interventions, social protection, and economic recovery for the affected communities, would be a more prudent, responsible, and sustainable approach. Globally, the governments in other countries too have followed this approach, and have announced interventions that provide fiscal stimulus. Government of India has followed a similar approach,” it said.

Earlier, on June 11 , the Centre had told the top court that issues raised in the pleas, seeking directions for ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4,00,000 to the families of those who have died of COVID-19, are genuine and are under consideration of the government.

On May 24, the top court had sought the Centre’s reply on two petitions seeking ex-gratia compensation of Rs four lakh to the families of those who have died of COVID-19 and had said that there should be a uniform policy for issuing death certificates to those succumbing to the virus.

The court had also asked the Centre to place before it the ICMR guidelines on death certificates for COVID-19 victims, saying there should be a uniform policy for issuing such documents.

The counsel appearing for the Centre had on May 24 sought time to obtain instructions and bring all relevant materials regarding the scheme under Section 12(iii) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 as well as the letter dated April 8, 2015, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs with regard to compensation.

The apex court is hearing two separate pleas seeking directions to the Centre and the states to provide Rs 4 lakh compensation to the families of coronavirus victims as provisioned under the act, and a uniform policy for issuing death certificates.

Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, one of the petitioners in the matter, had argued that under section 12(iii) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, every family whose member died due to disaster is entitled for ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh.

He had argued that since COVID-19 has been declared as a disaster and as per the order dated April 8, 2015, every family whose member dies due to disaster is entitled for ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh.

The counsel, appearing for another petitioner Reepak Kansal, had argued that a large number of deaths were taking place due to COVID-19 and death certificates need to be issued, as only after that the affected family members can claim compensation under section 12 (iii) of the Act.

In his plea, Kansal has said that states should be directed to fulfil their obligation to take care of victims of COVID-19 and also their family members.

Agartala: Three people were allegedly lynched in the Khowai district of Tripura on suspicion of cattle theft in the early hours of Sunday, police said.

Villagers of Namanjoypara spotted a mini-truck heading towards Agartala, carrying five cattle, around 4.30 am, Superintendent of Police Kiran Kumar said.

They chased it and managed to stop the vehicle near North Maharanipur village, he said.

The villagers started thrashing the three people on the mini-truck with “lethal weapons”, and lynched two of them, while the other managed to flee, he said.

The mob got hold of the other person at Mungiakami, a tribal hamlet near North Maharanipur, and he was lynched there, the officer added.

Police reached the two locations immediately and took them first to a nearby hospital and then to the Agartala Government Medical College where the attending doctors declared that they were brought dead, Kumar said.

A case was registered and an investigation is underway, he said.

No arrests were made yet, police said.

Those killed were identified as Jayed Hossain (30), Billal Miah (28) and Saiful Islam (18), all residents of Sonamura subdivision in the Sepahijala district, they said.

Jaipur: A local Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the lynching of Rakbar alias Akbar Khan on suspicion of cattle smuggling in Rajasthan’s Alwar district in 2018, police said on Sunday.

This is the fifth arrest made by the Ramgarh Police in the case.

Police had filed a charge sheet against four accused — Paramjeet Singh, Naresh Sharma, Vijay Kumar and Dharmendra Yadav — in 2019. Final arguments in the case are yet to be heard by the court.

Alwar SP Tejaswini Gautam said VHP leader Naval Kishore Sharma was arrested three-four days ago by the Ramgarh Police and the case was being investigated by an ASP-rank officer.

Rakbar and his friend Aslam were beaten up severely by a group of people on suspicion of cow smuggling in Ramgarh on July 20, 2018.

Rakbar’s family had accused Naval Kishore Sharma, the chief of Gau Raksha cell in Ramgarh, of leading a mob to beat him to death.

ASP (Rural) Shriman Meena, the investigating officer in the case, said the VHP leader was arrested on Thursday under IPC sections 302 (murder), 304 (culpable homicide) and others.

Naval Kishore Sharma has been taken under 10-day police remand, he said.

Special Public Prosecutor Ashok Kumar Sharma said Naval Kishore Sharma’s telephonic conversations were being examined for a long time after which his arrest was made.

He said the VHP leader gave an impression that he was helping the police in the case, but he was a part of the criminal conspiracy.

Rakbar and Aslam had allegedly purchased cows from Ladpura village and were taking them to their village in Haryana through a forested area near Lalawandi village when they were attacked by the accused.

Aslam had managed to escape, but Rakbar succumbed to injuries in a hospital.

New Delhi: A video purportedly showing a monkey roaming inside a coach of a Delhi Metro train surfaced on the social media on Saturday.

The video clip on Twitter showed the simian first roaming around in the carriage and eventually settling on a seat next to a commuter.

In the video of the purported incident, a person can be heard saying Yamuna Bank Station, which falls on the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro.

Though the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) could not immediately confirm the incident, but in response to a video shared on Twitter, the Delhi Metro authorities asked to furnish coach details.

“Hi, thank you for reaching out. Kindly mention the coach number and current station for further assistance,” it said in response to a tweet by a user on the micro-blogging site.

Allahabad: In an observation, the Allahabad High Court said it is not against live-in-relationship but denied protection to a couple recently as one of the partners was married.

A Division Bench of Justices Kaushal Jayendra Thaker and Dinesh Pathak said this hearing a plea seeking protection for a couple, who was into a live-in-relationship but married during the pendency of the petition.

The High Court had earlier dismissed a plea filed by a married woman and her live-in partner.

The court also imposed a cost of Rs 5,000 on them, observing that the woman is already married and in live-in-relationship with another man, an act against the “mandate” of the Hindu Marriage Act.

While granting protection to the couple in the latest case, the court said, We are not against live-in-relation.

Earlier, we rejected a plea as the protection was sought during subsistence of marriage of one of the petitioners, it said.

The court directed police to provide protection to the petitioners, saying they were in a live-in-relationship but subsequently married each other.

Hence, in view of the orders given by the apex court in the past, they are entitled to protection, the HC said.

The petitioners had approached the HC on an apprehension that they might face harassment from their families.

Union Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

Pune: Union Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday asked social media platforms to not lecture India on “freedom of speech” and “democracy”, and asserted that if these “profit-making” firms want to earn money in India, they will have to follow the “Indian Constitution and Indian laws”.

Addressing a lecture on the topic ‘Social Media & Social Security’ and ‘Criminal Justice System Reforms: An Unfinished Agenda’ organized by Symbiosis International University as part of the Symbiosis Golden Jubilee Lecture Series, the minister said the new IT guidelines do not deal with the use of social media, but with the “abuse” and “misuse” of social media platforms.

The new IT rules, which were originally announced in February, give users of the platform a forum for redressal for their grievances, Prasad said, adding that they are aimed at regulating content on social media firms and making likes of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter more accountable to legal requests for swift removal of posts and sharing of details on the originators of messages.

“The new rules require social media companies to set up an India-based grievance redressal officer, compliance officer, and the nodal officer so that millions of social media users get a forum for grievance redressal,” Prasad said, adding that no one was “asking for the moon” by getting firms to appoint three officers based in the country for this purpose.

“These are basic requirements. Let me reiterate emphatically that India does not need a lecture on freedom of speech and democracy from a profit-making company that stays in America. India has free and fair elections, an independent judiciary, media, civil society. Here I am talking to students and taking questions, and this is true democracy. So these profit-making companies should not lecture us on democracy,” he said.

“When Indian companies go to do business in America, do they not follow American laws? You earn good money, good profits as India is a digital market, there is no problem. Criticize the prime minister, criticize me, ask tough questions, but why would you not obey Indian laws? If you want to do business in India, you have to follow India’s Constitution and India’s laws,” the minister, who also holds the law and justice portfolio, emphasised.

Prasad said these firms got three months to comply with the new IT rules, the period expiring on May 26.

“I said I will give them extra time by a way of goodwill gesture. They did not comply. Therefore, it was exhausted because of the consequences of the law and not because of me. Now, what will happen? They will have to respond to court proceedings, investigative proceedings,” Prasad said.

The Central government recently withdrew Twitter’s ‘intermediary platform’ status due to non-compliance with new IT rules.

New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday asked state governments to register cases and invoke the stringent Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020 against those who indulge in assault on doctors and healthcare professionals.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla’s letter to States and Union Territories came following several incidents of attack on doctors and healthcare professionals in different parts of the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You will agree that any incident of threat or assault on doctors or healthcare professionals may dampen their morale and create a sense of insecurity amongst them. This may adversely affect the healthcare response system,” Bhalla wrote.

The home secretary said in the present circumstances, it has become imperative that strict action be taken against those who assault healthcare professionals.

“Institutional FIRs should be registered against assaulters and such cases should be fast-tracked. You may also like to invoke provisions of the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020, where applicable,” he said.

According to this law, anyone involved in the assault on doctors and healthcare professionals are liable to be punished with imprisonment up to five years, and a fine up to Rs two lakh.

This offence may be compounded by the victim with the permission of the court.

Further, if an act of violence against a healthcare service personnel causes grievous harm, the person committing the offence will be punishable with imprisonment up to seven years and a fine up to Rs five lakh.

These offences will be cognisable and non-bailable.

“I would also like to reiterate that a close watch be kept on any objectionable content in social media which may exacerbate such situations. Concerted efforts should be made through posters in hospitals, social media, etc. to emphasise the valuable contribution being made by doctors and other healthcare personnel in the fight against COVID-19,” Bhalla said.

Silchar: A shopkeeper arrested by police for keeping his shop open during curfew died in police custody in Assam’s Cachar district following which 500 people came out in the streets alleging that he was tortured and demanded action against police personnel, officials said on Saturday.

The grocery shop owner of Koratigram area under Rongpur police station, was arrested along with a customer on Friday evening for keeping his shop open during curfew hours imposed due to COVID-19 restrictions, police said.

The 50-year-old shopkeeper, Babul Banik, complained of breathlessness in police custody and was rushed to Silchar Civil Hospital where doctors referred him to Silchar Medical College Hospital where he was declared dead.

Following his death more than 500 people came out in the area, defying curfew orders, and demanded that the police personnel who had allegedly tortured him in custody be arrested immediately.

Senior police officials, including Cachar Superintendent of Police V C Chandrakant rushed to the spot and assured the crowd that necessary action will be taken after the postmortem report is received.

If any police personnel is found to be guilty of torture, necessary action will be definitely taken, the SP added.

The deceased’s wife claimed that he did not suffer from any ailment and had not opened the shop during curfew time but had gone to bring sugar for the family.

The situation though tense in the area was under control, police added.