CJI sets up 5-judge constitution bench to hear major issues

Agencies
January 16, 2018

New Delhi, Jan 16: Amid a virtual rift between the Chief Justice Dipak Misra and four senior-most judges over assignment of important cases, the Supreme Court on Monday announced the composition of a 5-judge constitution bench headed by the CJI, which does not include them.

None of the four judges — Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, feature in the list of members of the 5-judge constitution bench.

As per official information, the 5-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A K Sikri, Justice A M Khanwilkar, Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan, will commence the hearing on a range of crucial matters from January 17.

Meanwhile, court sources said it was not confirmed whether the CJI on Monday met the four judges who had hurled accusations against him at their controversial press conference on January 12.

As per the list of business for Tuesday, the 5-judge bench will hear major cases such as those challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act and its 2013 judgment re-criminalising gay sex between consenting adults.

The same combination of judges had last year heard various constitution bench matters from October 10, including the power tussle between the Centre and the Delhi government over administrative jurisdiction and a matter relating to passive euthanasia.

This bench would also hear the contentious issue of the ban on the entry of women between 10 and 50 years of age in Kerala's Sabarimala temple and resume hearing a legal query on whether a Parsi woman would lose her religious identity if she marries a man from a different religion.

Another contentious matter relates to the challenge to the validity of a penal law on adultery, which only punishes a married man for having an extra-marital sexual relationship with a woman married to someone else.

The other issues to be dealt with by constitution bench include the pleas, which have raised a question as to when will a lawmaker, facing criminal trial, stand disqualified.

All these matters were earlier referred to larger benches for adjudication by different benches of the apex court.

The daily list of business for tomorrow shows that the two PILs seeking probe into Loya's death are listed before a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra, against whom aspersions were cast by a senior advocate in public.

In their unprecedented press conference on Friday, the four senior judges of the apex court had mounted a virtual revolt against the CJI, listing a litany of problems, including the assignment of cases. They had also raised questions over listing of PILs concerning Loya's death.

An office bearer of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) said a copy of their resolution was submitted by its president Vikas Singh to the CJI yesterday, but have not heard anything from the top court as yet.

Singh had expressed hope that all judges of the apex court would consider the SCBA resolution seeking a full court discussion to defuse the crisis plaguing the higher judiciary.

The SCBA, at an emergency meeting on Saturday, had passed the resolution expressing grave concern over the differences of four senior-most judges with the CJI.

It had said that all public interest litigation (PIL) matters, including the pending PILs, should be either taken up by the CJI or be assigned for adjudication to four senior judges who are part of the apex court collegium.

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s
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Tuesday, 16 Jan 2018

what about triple talaq that also looks like handiwork of BJP/RSS

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News Network
January 1,2020

Jammu, Jan 1: As many as 160 terrorists were killed in Jammu and Kashmir this year, while 250 terrorists, including 102 of Pakistani origin, were active in the Valley, Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh said on Tuesday, noting that terror incidents and the number of local youths turning towards terrorism have decreased.

"250 terrorists have been active in Jammu and Kashmir. There is a decrease in number of active terrorists as compared to last year," Mr Singh said at the annual press conference at police headquarters in Jammu.

The DGP said that there is 30 per cent fall in terrorist incidents, less civilian killings and 36 per cent decrease in law and order incidents as compared to 2018.

"218 such (local) youths joined militant outfits in 2018 but only 139 joined in 2019," he said. Out of these new recruits only 89 have survived.

"The rest have been eliminated as their shelf life is between 24 hours to 2-3 months after joining militancy. There are hardly few old terrorists surviving, which include Jehangir Saroori and Riyaz Nayikoo", he said.

There have been only 481 law and order incidents this year as compared to 625 last year, he said.

There were 80 per cent successful anti-terror operations in which 160 terrorists, including foreigners, have been killed during the year.

Mr Singh said 102 terrorists have been arrested and 10 terrorists surrendered during the year.

He said that 102 Pakistan origin terrorists are still operating in Kashmir.

"Eleven valiant police personnel from Jammu and Kashmir besides 72 from other other security forces have been martyred," he said.

There was no collateral damage during anti-terror operation as people fully cooperated. "There was zero law and order problem this year (during anti terror operations)," he added.

The DGP said that "there has been a high degree of incidents of infiltration attempts from across the border this year and also ceasefire violations. But security forces have successfully foiled these attempted as 130 infiltrators have entered in 2019 as compared to 143 last year".

He said Jammu and Kashmir Police has set an example by handling the law and order situation in the most "exemplary" way following the abrogation of Article 370 provisions.

It was the biggest challenge faced by the force in 2019, but "we handled the most critical phase in the best way" and there was no civilian casualty during the period, he said.

Dismissing claims of minors being arrested by police in Kashmir, he said that it is being used as propaganda by some people and asserted that the J-K police has acted within the limits of law.

"We are open to scrutiny. The issue reached the Supreme Court which referred it to Jammu and Kashmir high court. The matter was inquired by the HC committee. The SC said that there is no misuse of law by law enforcement agency. J-K police has acted within the limits of law," he said.

Replying to queries on restoration of internet, the DGP said it is under consideration. "I think J-K is moving towards such a situation (on law and order front). Very soon you will hear positive announcement," Mr Singh said.

He said that though some people will try to misuse internet, "in the past, we took care of them and we will take care of such people in the future too".

Internet services in all government-run hospitals and SMS to all mobile phones will be restored from December 31 midnight in the Kashmir Valley, Jammu and Kashmir official spokesman Rohit Kansal said on Tuesday.

On December 10, some short message service (SMS) were enabled on mobile phones in order to facilitate students, scholarship applicants, traders and others. It has now been decided to fully restore the service throughout Kashmir from midnight of December 31, Kansal said.

Mobile Internet services were restored in Kargil district of Ladakh on Friday after remaining suspended for 145 days in the wake of the Centre abrogating provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, officials said.

Internet services were suspended on August 4, a day before the Centre announced abrogation of Article 370 and division of the state into the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

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News Network
January 18,2020

New Delhi, Jan 18: Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal has granted the power of detaining authority to the Delhi Police Commissioner under the National Security Act (NSA), according to a notification. The NSA allows preventive detention of an individual for months if the authorities feel that the individual is a threat to the national security, and law and order, sources said.

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3, read with clause (c) of Section 2 of the National Security Act, 1980, the Lt Governor is pleased to direct that during the period January 19 to April 18, the Delhi Police Commissioner may also exercise the powers of detaining authority under sub-section (2) of the section 3 of the aforesaid Act, the notification stated.

The notification has been issued on January 10 following the approval of the LG.

It comes at a time when the national capital has been witnessing a number of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

However, the Delhi Police said it is a routine order that has been issued in every quarter and has nothing to do with the current situation.

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News Network
May 27,2020

Muzaffarpur, May 27: A toddler's vain attempt to wake up his dead mother from eternal sleep on a railway platform in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Wednesday presented the most poignant picture of the massive migrant tragedy unfolding across several states.

A video tweeted by Sanjay Yadav, an aide to RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, shows the child walking unsteadily up to his mother's body, tugging at the blanket placed over her, and when failing to wake her up, covering his own head with it.

As the mother still lay still, he wobbles away from her, announcements continuing in the background about the arrival and departure of trains that would bring in tens of thousands of people in a rush to get away from hunger and hardship they face in large cities that could sustain them no more.

"This small child doesn't know that the bedsheet with which he is playing is the shroud of his mother who has gone into eternal sleep. This mother died of hunger and thirst after being on a train for four days. Who is responsible for these deaths on trains? Shouldn't the opposition ask uncomfortable questions?" tweeted Yadav.

However, police had a different story to tell.

Ramakant Upadhyay, the Dy SP of the Government Railway Police in Muzaffarpur, said the incident occurred on May 25 when the migrant woman was on way to Muzaffarpur from Ahmedabad by a Shramik Special train.

He told reporters the woman, who was accompanied by her sister and brother-in-law, had died on the Madhubani bound train.

"My sister-in-law died suddenly on the train. We did not face any problem getting food or water," the officer said, quoting the deceased's brother-in-law who he did not name.

He said on getting information, poice brought down the body and sent it for postmortem.

Citing the brother-in-law of the deceased, Upadhyay said she was aged 35 years and was undergoing treatment for "some disease" for the last one year in Ahmedabad. "She was also mentally unstable," he said.

When persistently queried about the cause of death, he said,"Only doctors can tell".

A massive exodus of migrant workers is on in several parts of the country, unprecedented in magnitude since Partition.

The humanitarian crisis still unfolding on highways and railway platforms has shone light on disturbing tales of entire families walking hundreds of kilometres with little children on foot in a seemingly endless march to escape hunger.

People have been found travelling on trucks and in the hollow of concrete mixing plants, and in many cases, dying from hunger and exhaustion before reaching their destinations.

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