The day the Supreme Court dismissing petitions seeking an SIT probe into the death of Judge B.H. Loya, the BJP asked its MPs to attack Congress President Rahul Gandhi demanding his apology by holding press conferences and on social media platforms.

A letter issued by BJP Parliamentary party on Thursday also provided written material for all the party MPs asking them to run campaign against Gandhi and the Congress for defaming party President Amit Shah in their respective constituencies.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud on Thursday dismissed the PIL seeking the SIT probe into the death of Judge Loya in 2014 in Maharashtra’s Nagpur.

Loya was heading the trial court that was holding a trial in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh alleged fake shootout case in which Amit Shah is an accused.

“Every MP should give byte to local TV channels, issue a press statement and hold press conference asking Rahul Gandhi to apologize for defaming Amit Shah,” the letter issued with a sign of BJP’s parliamentary secretary Balasubrahmanyam Kamarsu read.

The party also asked the MPs to use all the social media platforms, including Twitter and WhatsApp or SMS, to campaign over the issue.

“Retweet the tweets by central BJP leaders and use local languages,” the letter read.

Congress Spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala posted the letter on his twitter account, saying the effort was to stop an enquiry into the case.

“Lameduck efforts by a vile BJP to stop an enquiry into Judge Loya death reaches its zenith as copycats are regimented to toe the fascist line!,” Surjewala said in a tweet.

He said: “So much for democratic functioning where power to think, speak and tweet is held captive by self anointed shenanigans of free speech!!!”

A political slugfest erupted on Thursday after the court’s verdict with the BJP accusing Rahul Gandhi as the “invisible hand” behind the pleas for “character assassination” of Amit Shah.

Gandhi had attacked Shah, saying truth has its own way of catching up with people like him.

(IANS)

The Congress-led seven opposition parties on Friday met Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu and submitted an impeachment motion for the removal of Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

“We have moved an impeachment motion for removal of CJI Dipak Misra under five listed grounds,” Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad told a press conference after meeting Vice President Naidu.

He said while submitting the motion, the opposition party leaders did not discuss its merits but just requested that “this is our motion and the number required is sufficient under the constitution”.

He said that 71 MPs from seven political parties had signed the impeachment motion but as seven have retired, the number is now 64.

The BJP on Friday April 20 released its third list of candidates for the crucial Karnataka assembly elections.

The BJP has named 59 candidates in its third list. In the first two lists, it had named a total of 154 candidates.

From the coveted constituency of Mangaluru South, BJP has fielded Vedavyas Kamath. He will be up against Congress’ sitting MLA J R Lobo.

Santosh Kumar Rai has been fielded from Mangaluru (Ullal) constituency, against Congress’ minister and MLA U T Khader.

Vedavyas Kamath (L) and Raghupati Bhat

In Mangaluru North, the BJP has decided to bank on Dr Bharath Shetty as the candidate against Congress’ sitting MLA Mohiuddin Bava.

In Udupi, former MLA Raghupati Bhat has been given the ticket. He will be facing sitting MLA and minister Pramod Madhwaraj of Congress.

In Kaup, it will be BJP’s former MLA Lalaji R Mendon against Congress candidate and sitting MLA Vinay Kumar Sorake.

Accusing the Congress of using impeachment as a political tool, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said it was a revenge petition to intimidate the judiciary following the Supreme Court’s verdict on Judge B.H. Loya’s death.

“It (impeachment motion) is a revenge petition after the falsehood of the Congress has been established in the Justice Loya death case,” he said in a Facebook post under the heading “Judge Loya Death Case – The One That Almost Created a Judicial Mutiny.”

His comments came after opposition leaders met Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu and submitted an impeachment motion for the removal of Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

“It is an attempt to intimidate a judge and send a message to other judges that if you don’t agree with us, 50 MPs are enough for a revenge action,” he said, adding that Congress and “its friends” had started using impeachment as a “political tool”.

The Minister said impeachment of a Supreme Court judge was to be done only in the case of either his incapacity or on proven misconduct.

“Trivialising the use of that power is a dangerous event… To use the power as intimidatory tactics when neither you have a case of ‘proven misconduct’ or the numbers on your side is a serious threat to judicial independence,” he said.

It was not difficult to collect 50 signatures of the Rajya Sabha or hundred signatures of the Lok Sabha members even on frivolous issues, he said, referring to the 71 MPs who signed the impeachment motion.

Jaitley said the judgement on Judge Loya exposed the conspiracy to generate falsehood as propaganda in the public and political space and alleged that there was connivance among some politicians, judges, lawyers and media.

“Never ever so blatantly in the past have national political parties, a few retired judges and some senior lawyers so closely identified themselves with the generation of falsehood that they almost come out as conspirators,” he said.

Jaitley said BJP President Amit Shah had no role in the Sohrabuddin case and that “the Caravan Magazine’s stories and investigations are a textbook example of fake news”.

The news website had reported about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Judge Loya in Nagpur in November 2014. Loya was hearing the alleged fake encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in Gujarat in 2005 in which now BJP President Amit Shah was an accused.

Holding that public interest crusaders had graduated into “institution disruptors” picking up false causes, Jaitley said the Congress through its lawyers was too willing to identify with these “institution disruptors” and thus intimidate courts.

“A divided court is finding itself helpless to respond to these initimidatory tactics,” he said.

Referring to the press conference in January where four senior judges of the Supreme Court virtually revolted against the Chief Justice over allocation of cases including Judge Loya’s case, Jaitley said a divided court was the single greatest threat to judicial independence.

“What has happened today is a price the Indian judiciary has to pay for misadventures of many. There is no better time for judicial statesmanship and political foresight,” he added.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has once again said that the party leadership will decide his candidature from the Badami seat and he will abide by its decision.The chief minister said: “Whatever the party leadership says, I will abide by it”.

Addressing media persons in Mysuru on Friday, the CM said, “the party leaders from Bagalkot and Vijaypur districts, S R Patil, M B Patil, Thimmapur and others have requested me to contest from Badami. However, I denied. Still, they have submitted a request to the high-command. I will follow the decision of the high-command.”

Earlier, though Siddaramaiah’s contest from Badami was still uncertain, his son Dr. Yathindra had tweeted that the CM will file the nomination papers from Badami constituency on April 23 and deleted the tweet within minutes. It created more confusion among the Congress leaders, workers as well as the opposing team which is preparing a sketch to defeat the CM if he contests from the Chamundeshwary constituency.

It is sure that the CM will contest from Chamundeshwari constituency and he has expressed his wish to contest from Badami as well. However, it is said that the party leaders had culled the idea saying that it would give a sense of strong signal.

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Central Government to seize properties of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in Mumbai.

A bench headed by Justice RK Agrawal dismissed the plea filed by Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parker and his mother Amina Bi Kaskar against attachment of their properties by the government, saying they belong to the fugitive underworld don.

The prime properties in Mumbai’s Nagpada belonged to Dawood but his mother and sister, both dead, had taken possession of them.

In 1988, the government sealed the properties under a law that allows the takeover of properties of smugglers, foreign exchange manipulators and their relatives.

Dawood’s mother and sister had challenged the takeover, which were initiated after the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai in which 257 were killed. Dawood had fled the country and the departments concerned sought to seize properties belonging to the fugitive don.

Amina Bi Kaskar and Hasina Parkar had moved the apex court after the tribunal and the Delhi High Court dismissed their challenge to the takeover order in July 1998.

In November 2012 Supreme Court ordered status quo in the case.

The government had claimed that several opportunities were given to Amina and Hasina to show legal sources of income to acquire the properties but no valid document was filed.

The two women reportedly had seven residential properties in their names – two in Amina Bi’s name and five in Hasina Parkar’s name. The properties, worth crores, were allegedly acquired with Dawood’s illegal wealth.

In November 2017, three south Mumbai properties belonging to the fugitive don were auctioned for Rs 11.58 crore. The properties were put on auction by the ministry of finance, under the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property) Act. The three properties were the Hotel Raunaq Afroz, also known as Delhi Zaika, Shabnam Guest House and six rooms in Damarwala building.

Dawood Ibrahim is the mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. He is listed as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council’s IS and al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.

India’s assertion that he has been sheltered by Pakistan was confirmed recently when the latest list of terror organisations and terrorists released by the UN Security Council included Dawood Ibrahim and his Karachi address.