THREAT TO HUMAN RIGHTS IS HIGHEST IN POLICE STATIONS: CJI
Pointing out that custodial torture and other police atrocities are problems that still prevail in society, Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on August 8 said the “threat to human rights and bodily integrity are the highest in police stations”. He flagged the issues of human rights and dignity, saying these are “sacrosanct”. “The threat to human rights and bodily integrity are the highest in police stations. Custodial torture and other police atrocities are problems that still prevail in our society. In spite of constitutional declarations and guarantees, the lack of effective legal representation at the police stations is a huge detriment to arrested/detained persons,” the CJI said, addressing an event organised by National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). “The decisions taken in these early hours will later determine the ability of the accused to defend himself. Going by the recent reports even the privileged are not spared third-degree treatment,” he said.
NO CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST MPs, MLAs BE WITHDRAWN: SC
The Supreme Court on August 10 directed that no criminal case against MLAs and MPs can be withdrawn without prior permission of the high court of the concerned state. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Vineet Saran, and Justice Surya Kant further ordered that judges hearing the criminal cases against MLA and MPs in special courts will continue in their current posts until further orders of the Supreme Court, LiveLaw reported. The apex court was hearing a petition regarding the pendency of criminal cases against MPs and MLAs. The plea had sought a speedy trial of the cases in special courts. Advocate Hansaria informed the court that various state governments, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka, are seeking to withdraw cases against their party MPs and MLAs. According to a Bar & Bench report, the amicus curiae report prepared with the assistance of lawyer Sneha Kalita indicated that 4,859 cases against MPs and MLAs were pending in 2020.
‘SULLI DEALS’: DCW SUMMONS DELHI POLICE CYBER CELL CHIEF
The Delhi Commission for Women has summoned the deputy commissioner of police of the cyber cell in relation to a case where unidentified people created an app last month where Muslim women were put up for “online auction”. The police in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh’s Noida had filed separate first information reports in the case. The police officer has been summoned on August 18 for not providing satisfactory information on the matter to the Delhi Commission for Women. The women’s body had issued a notice to the Delhi Police on August 2 seeking information on the case. However, the next day, the Delhi Police responded that their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh had not provided them with a complaint. “This reply is totally unsatisfactory as the commission itself had annexed copies of more than 250 complaints received in the commission, with its notice, and had asked for specific point-wise information with respect to the case,” the summons order from Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal stated.
ON TRIAL RUN OF MINI HELICOPTER, MAN DIES IN MISHAP
Sheikh Ismail, 28-year old, who dreamed of making his own helicopter and launching a manufacturing company one day, died from the impact of one of the rotor blades of the copter during a trial run at Fulsawangi village in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra on August 10. His friends said Sheikh Ismail was preparing to launch his ‘Munna Helicopter’ on Independence Day. He wanted the helicopter to be a low-cost alternative for personal use or for the government, to be deployed for rescue operations during floods and other calamities. Ismail had studied only up to Class 7 but was famous as Yavatmal’s ‘Rancho’ for his mechanical experiments. A metal sheet worker, he ran a small workshop at his village, where he was pursuing his dream of making his own helicopter over the last three years.
FIR SOUGHT AGAINST VHP LEADER FOR HATE SPEECH AGAINST MUSLIMS
Activists from as many as 14 civil society organisations, including women’s organisations have filed a complaint with the Karnataka Director General of Police (DGP) against alleged communal hate speech by Sharan Pumpwell, a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), asking for an FIR to be registered against him. Pumpwell, in a press briefing on August 9 in Mangaluru, threatened the Muslim community while accusing the community of shielding terrorists and supporting “love jihad”. In the complaint, activists sought registration of an FIR against Sharan, and said that the language used in the press conference was an “assault on the Constitution, democracy, and secularism.” They said that the Pumpwell’s hate speech needs to be seen from the context of various hate speech incidents across the country.