S KAPPAN GETS BAIL AFTER ABOUT TWO YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT
Journalist Siddique Kappan, jailed in Uttar Pradesh for nearly two years, was granted bail on September 9 by the Supreme Court, which said, “Every person has freedom of expression.” A reporter for Malayalam news portal Azhimukham, Siddique Kappan was arrested on his way to Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, where he said he was going to report on a 19-year-old’s gang-rape and murder. He was charged under UAPA for alleged terror funding. The journalist has always said he is being framed. “The person (Kappan) has been in custody for two years,” the Chief Justice of India, UU Lalit, noted. The Supreme Court questioned the evidence against Mr. Kappan. “What was found with Kappan? No explosives were found, material was not found with him but in the car and they weren’t used for propagating,” Chief Justice Lalit said. Mr. Kappan is also facing a money-laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate. The Supreme Court said he could apply for bail in that case too.
HEMANT SOREN GOVERNMENT WINS ‘BATTLE OF PERCEPTION’
In the battle of perception, Hemant Soren-led United Progressive Alliance on September 5 defeated the opposition or more precisely Bharatiya Janata Party in Jharkhand. A trust vote, which was called by the ruling party itself given the confusion engulfing the state for a fortnight now over the issue of chief minister Hemant Soren’s disqualification. UPA got 48 votes, including endorsement from CPI-ML and an independent MLA as well. The majority mark is 41 in the Jharkhand assembly. BJP and Ajsu walked out of the assembly during the voting. Last month, the state election commission, which was hearing the case of Hemant Soren’s office of profit, sent its report to Governor Ramesh Bais. However, the governor is yet to make the report public, while media reports suggest that Soren has been disqualified.
But today, Hemant Soren gave a fiery speech inside the assembly. The chief minister not only attacked the BJP and the Governor for creating confusion and political crisis in the state, but also mentioned his government’s future course of action.
CAN’T QUESTION CHOICE OF ‘QUALIFIED MINORITY PRINCIPAL’: DELHI HC
The Delhi High Court has observed that a court cannot go into the merits of the choice of a minority educational institution that appoints a qualified person from the “minority community” as its Vice Principal or Principal. Highlighting Article 30(1), Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said: “Once the management of the Minority Educational Institution makes a conscious choice of a qualified person from the ‘minority community’ to lead the institution, either as a Vice Principal or Principal, then Court cannot go into the merits of the choice or the rationality or propriety of the process of choice.” The petitioner submitted that the selected person who has been recommended by the school for the post of Vice Principal is junior to him. After the detailed submissions, the court said the School is a “linguistic minority institution” and therefore, the selection of the Vice Principal made by the School is not contrary to the settled law. Therefore, there are no reasons to interfere in the school’s decision, the court held.
SC SEEKS ENTIRE RECORD OF BILKIS BANO CASE FROM GUJARAT GOVT
The Supreme Court on September 9 asked the Gujarat government to file the entire record of the proceedings in the Bilkis Bano case, including the remission order given to the 11 convicts who had gang-raped Bano and murdered her family members during the 2002 Godhra riots. A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and BV Nagarathna granted two weeks to the Gujarat government to produce all relevant records in the case. The bench also issued notice to the Gujarat government and convicts on a plea filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra against the release of the convicts. Earlier, the apex court had issued notice to the Gujarat government on the plea filed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) member Subhashini Ali, journalist Revati Laul, and social activist and professor Roop Rekha Verma. It asked the petitioner to impede convicts in the petition. The plea has sought setting aside of order granting remission to 11 convicts and directing their immediate re-arrest.
GUJARAT GOVERNOR CALL HINDUS ‘BIGGEST BIGOTS’
Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat’s statement has sparked a controversy after he called Hindus ‘biggest bigots’. He made this statement in the Poicha village of the Narmada district while addressing a seminar on ‘Organic Farming In Nature’s Lap’ on September 7. State’s two leading newspapers have quoted Governor Acharya Devvrat: “People chant ‘Jai Gau Mata’, but they keep cow in their stable till she is giving milk. Once she stops giving milk, they abandon her on roads. That is why I say Hindus are bigots number 1. Hindu religion and cow are interlinked, but here people chant ‘Jai Gau Mata’ out of selfishness.” He stated further: “People visit temples, mosques, church, Gurudwara, to pray to God, so that God will bless them. I announce that if you return to organic farming, God will be automatically happy with you. I, with scientific evidence, am saying that with the use of chemical fertiliser you are killing cattle. If you go for organic farming, then you will give life to cattle.”
WOMAN WHO WENT MISSING JUNKS ‘LOVE JIHAD’ ALLEGATION
A 19-year-old woman, who had gone missing from Amravati city sparking ‘love jihad’ allegations by local BJP leaders and Independent Lok Sabha member Navneet Rana, said she had not eloped. She also told the media that whatever Rana spoke about her is false. The woman, whose identity police have withheld, had left her home in Amravati city Tuesday (September 6) afternoon and her parents had approached the local Rajapeth police station and subsequently, a missing complaint was registered. She was found at the Satara railway station next night. The woman said she is being “defamed” and added, “Whatever Navneet Rana has spoken about me is false. I did not elope with anyone. I request people to stop defaming me. I had left home alone.” Rana had termed the girl to be a victim of ‘love jihad’. An accused, who is in his 20s, was detained by the police.
Image with caption: Nilufar Ahmed won gold in the 60-65kg category of the 44th National Arm Wrestling Championship
NILUFAR WINS GOLD AT 44TH NATIONAL ARM WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP
Nilufar Ahmed, 20, of Guwahati, Assam, won gold in the 60-65kg category of the 44th National Arm Wrestling Championship held in Jammu & Kashmir. She reverberates ‘Joi Aai Axom’ slogan across the idyllic hills of Kashmir. The tournament was held from August 18th to August 22nd, 2022 in the Ganderbal of Jammu and Kashmir. Nilufar is the daughter of Mustaq Ahmed and Safia Begum of Ambari, Guwahati. She is currently pursuing Bachelor of Computer Applications (B.C.A) with specialisation in Cloud Technology and Information Security (CTIS) from Assam Downtown University. Earlier Nilufar has also clinched the Champion of the Champions title at the 44th Kamrup District Arm Wrestling Championship held at Bihdia on August 18.