Coronation of next Naib Imam not legal, says High Court

November 21, 2014

New Delhi, Nov 21: The Delhi High Court today said the ceremony (dastarbandi) to anoint Shahi Imam Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari's son as the Naib Imam of Jama Masjid "would not amount to an appointment".

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw made the observation after taking into account the contentions of the Centre, Delhi Wakf Board and petitioners, who have challenged the ceremony, adding that in such a situation there is no need to stay the function.

The court also noted that under the Wakf Act, 1995, the law only "provides for a mutawalli (manager) of a wakf and contains no provision for appointment of Imams of Wakf properties, even if a masjid".

"We are of the opinion, that in the face of the contentions of the petitioners that Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari has no right in law or otherwise to anoint his son as the Naib Imam and which is supported by the Delhi Wakf board...

"...the anointment ceremony (Dastarbandi) scheduled on November 22, 2014, even if not stayed, would not amount to anointment/appointment of the said son of Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari as the Naib Imam of the Jama Masjid. We, therefore, do not feel any need to pass any ad-interim order restraining the same," the bench said.

The court also did not restrain Bukhari from holding the ceremony at Jama Masjid, as sought by the petitioners, saying he and his family have been using the same as their residence for the last several years.

"However, we clarify that the ceremony so held and the anointment made therein of the youngest son of Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari or any other person as the Naib Imam of the Jama Masjid shall be subject to further orders in this petition and shall not vest/ create any rights or special equities in favour of any person," the court said.

It also issued notice and sought responses of the Archaeological Survey of India, Delhi government, DDA, MCD, city police, Wakf Board, CBI as well as Bukhari by the next date of hearing on January 28, 2015.

The bench also noted that "no answer is forthcoming" from the Wakf Board as to why it "has not exercised any rights or supervision over the Jama Masjid" or why it has "allowed Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari to appropriate all earnings from the said Masjid and also not taken any action for accounts thereof being not rendered inspite of court directions".

The court's order came on three PILs challenging the Shahi Imam's decision to appoint his son as the Naib Imam.

Yesterday, during arguments on the three petitions, the Centre and the Wakf Board had submitted before the court that the ceremony by Jama Masjid Shahi Imam anointing his son as his deputy and successor has no legal sanctity.

The Board, in its response to the court's query as to what was their legal position on the issue, had also said that it would be holding a meeting soon and action will be taken against Bukhari for what he has done.

Earlier, the Centre had said that the Mughal-era mosque Jama Masjid is a Wakf property and it has to decide how the rule of primogeniture applies on anointment of new Shahi Imam, which has come under challenge.

ASI had also requested the court to declare the city's Jama Masjid as an ancient monument because of its national importance while contending that it needs to be protected.

The PILs filed by Suhail Ahmed Khan, Ajay Gautam and advocate V K Anand had said Jama Masjid is a property of Delhi Wakf Board and Bukhari as its employee cannot appoint his son as Naib Imam (deputy Imam).

The petitions had said Shahi Imam had announced on October 30 that his 19-year-old son would succeed him as the next Shahi Imam and the ceremony of 'Dastarbandi' would be held on November 22.

The pleas had alleged that the Shahi Imam was a public post and not the "personal property" of Syed Ahmed Bukhari and IMAMAT (the position of a divinely-appointed leader) is not transferable.

The PILs had also asked the court to declare as invalid the appointment of Bukhari as the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid and had also sought directions for Delhi Wakf Board to take over the affairs of Jama Masjid and appoint a new Shahi Imam.

Bukhari had recently sparked a controversy by announcing that he has invited Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for the ceremony for anointing his son as the deputy Imam but did not invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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After CAA, Centre might bring population control law: Niranjan Jyoti

News Network

March 2,2020

Mathura, Mar 2: Union Minister of state Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on Sunday said after the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the Centre might bring a population control law.

Jyoti claimed that she has already spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard.

She said she believes that this issue is under the prime minister's consideration and he himself has discussed the importance of bringing this law.

Jyoti arrived here on Sunday to attend a tribute meeting held at Swami Vamdev Jyotirmath in Chaitanya Vihar. Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj was also present at the event.

"There was a time when abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir was impossible. It was feared that if such thing happens, there will be bloodbath. No one will be hold the national flag in Kashmir. But this government can bring any law in favour of the nation," Jyoti said.

"Now, everyone believes that if Article 370 can be removed...Prime Minister Narendra Modi can bring any law which is important for the country," she added.

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already people are childless. struggling for IVF treatment. no need of population control. it is automatically getting control byu nature.

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India lost nearly $1.3 bn to internet shutdowns in 2019

News Network

January 13,2020

Jan 13: India lost more than $1.33 billion to internet restrictions in 2019 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government pushed ahead with his party’s Hindu nationalist agenda, raising tensions and sparking nationwide protests.

The worst shutdown has been in Kashmir, where after intermittent closures in the first half of the year, the internet has been cut off since Aug. 5 following the government’s decision to revoke the special autonomous status of the country’s only Muslim-majority state, a study said. The prologued closure was criticized by India’s highest court, which ruled Friday that the “limitless” internet shutdown enforced by the government for the last five months was illegal and asked that it be reviewed.

India imposed more internet restrictions than any other large democracy, according to the Cost of Internet Shutdowns 2019 report released by Top10VPN, a U.K.-based digital privacy and security research group. The South Asian nation recorded the third-highest losses after Iraq and Sudan, which lost $2.31 billion and $1.86 billion respectively to disruptions. Worldwide internet restrictions caused losses worth $8.05 billion, the report said.

The cost of internet blackouts was calculated using indicators from groups including the World Bank, International Telecommunication Union, and the Delhi-based Software Freedom Law Center. It includes social media shutdowns in its calculations.

India’s ministry of information and technology didn’t respond to an email seeking a response to the report’s findings.

‘Conservative Estimates’

Through 2019, India shut access to the internet for over 4,000 hours. The report added shutdowns in India were often narrowly targeted, down to the level of blocking city districts for a few hours to allow security forces to restore order. Many of these incidents were not included in the report.

“These are conservative estimates,” said Simon Migliano, head of research at U.K.-based Top10VPN. “Internet shutdowns are increasing and it shows a damaging trend.”

India’s other major internet disruptions coincided with two moves by the government that affect India’s Muslim minority. The first disruption took place in November in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan after the Supreme Court handed a victory to Hindu groups over Muslim petitioners in a long-simmering dispute over a plot of land.

There were further disruptions in December when protests erupted against the introduction of a religion-based law that allows undocumented migrants of all faiths except Islam from neighbouring countries to seek Indian citizenship. The government enforced shutdowns across Uttar Pradesh and some Northeastern states in order to quell the protests, the report said.

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EPFO cuts interest rate on deposits to 8.5% for 2019-20

News Network

March 5,2020

New Delhi, Mar 5: Retirement fund body EPFO on Thursday lowered interest rate on provident fund deposits to 8.5 per cent for the current financial year, said Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar on Thursday.

The EPFO had provided 8.65 per cent rate of interest on EPF for 2018-19 to its around six crore subscribers. The decision was taken at a meeting of the the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) apex decision making body -- the Central Board of Trustee.

"The EPFO has decided to provide 8.5 per cent interest rate on EPF deposits for 2019-20 in the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) meeting today," Gangwar told reporters after the meeting here.

Now, the labour ministry requires the finance ministry's concurrence on the matter. Since the Government of India is the guarantor, the finance ministry has to vet the proposal for EPF interest rate to avoid any liability on account of shortfall in the EPFO income for a fiscal.

The finance ministry has been nudging the labour ministry for aligning the EPF interest rate with other small saving schemes run by the government like the public provident fund and post office saving schemes.

The EPFO had provided 8.65 per cent rate of interest to its subscribers for 2016-17 and 8.55 per cent in 2017-18. The rate of interest was slightly higher at 8.8 per cent in 2015-16.

It had given 8.75 per cent rate of interest in 2013-14 as well as 2014-15, higher than 8.5 per cent for 2012-13.

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