De-freezing of accounts: SC dismisses Teesta Setalvad's plea

Agencies
December 15, 2017

New Delhi, Dec 15: The Supreme Court today dismissed the pleas of activist Teesta Setalvad, her husband and her two NGOs challenging the Gujarat High Court order rejecting their pleas for de-freezing of their personal bank accounts.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the pleas are dismissed.

Setalvad, her husband Javed Anand and their two NGOs -- Sabrang Trust and Citizens for Justice and Peace -- had challenged the October 7, 2015 verdict of the high court in the alleged misappropriation of funds received by their NGOs for Gujarat riot victims of 2002.

The apex court had reserved its verdict on July 5 this year.

Earlier the top court had questioned the source of money in the bank accounts of Setalvad and others which were frozen by the Ahmedabad Police in 2015 after the allegations of misappropriation had surfaced.

One of the residents of Gulberg society, Firoz Khan Pathan, had filed a complaint against Setalvad and others alleging that money was raised to make a museum at Gulberg Society in the memory of 69 people killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but it had not been utilised for the purpose.

The freezing of the accounts by Ahmedabad Police had come soon after its crime branch had started probing a case in which Setalvad and others were accused of embezzling Rs 1.51 crore collected to convert Gulbarg Society into a museum.

The high court had upheld the verdict of a lower court in this regard observing that the probe was at a serious point in the alleged case of Gulbarg society fund embezzlement.

In the embezzlement case lodged by the Gujarat Police, the couple had challenged the cancellation of bail in the apex court, while in the alleged FCRA violation case, CBI has challenged the anticipatory bail granted to them by the Bombay High Court. Both matters are pending before the apex court.

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News Network
May 12,2020

New Delhi, May 12: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was admitted to the AIIMS here after suffering reaction to a new medication, was discharged on Tuesday.

The 87-year-old Congress leader was discharged around 12:30 pm, hospital sources said.

Manmohan Singh was shifted to a private ward in the Cardio-Neuro tower on Monday night. He was also tested for Covid-19 and his results had come out negative, the sources said. The Congress leader was admitted to the hospital on Sunday evening after he complained of uneasiness.

The sources said that Singh had developed a reaction to a new medication and was admitted to AIIMS for observation and investigation.

Manmohan Singh is currently a Member of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. He was the prime minister between 2004 and 2014.

In 2009, Singh underwent a successful coronary bypass surgery at the AIIMS.

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Agencies
May 5,2020

Jammu and Kashmir, May 5: Awarding the prestigious Pulitzer Prize to three Indian photographers, the Pulitzer Board at Columbia University claimed that it was for their work in Kashmir as "India revoked its independence".

The award to Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin in the feature photography category for their pictures for the Associated Press was announced on Monday.

The prizes, considered the most prestigious for US journalism, are associated with the university's Graduate School of Journalism where the judging is done and is announced, although this year it was done remotely.

Besides a certificate, the prizes carry a cash award of $15,000, except the public service category for which a gold medal is awarded.

The public service prize went to The Anchorage Daily News for a series that dealt with policing in Alaska state.

In making the award to the three, the Board said on its website that it was "for striking images of life in the contested territory of Kashmir as India revoked its independence, executed through a communications blackout".

Besides making the false claim about "independence" of Kashmir being "revoked", the board that includes several leading journalists did not explain how their photographs could have reached the AP within hours of the incidents recorded "through a communication blackout".

India's Central government only revoked Article 370 of the Constitution that gave Jammu and Kashmir a special status and it was not independent.

Indian journalists were allowed to operate in Kashmir, while only non-Indian journalists were barred.

The wording of the award announcement calls into question the credibility of the Pulitzer Board that gives out what are considered prestigious journalism awards.

The portfolio of pictures by the three on the Pulitzer web site included one of a masked person attacking a police vehicle and another of masked people with variants of the Kashmir flag, besides photos of mourners and protesters.

One of the finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism was a reporter of Indian descent at The Los Angeles Times, Swetha Kannan, who was nominated for her work with two colleagues on the seas rising due to climate change.

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News Network
January 7,2020

Mumbai, Jan 7: People protesting against the JNU violence were evicted from Gateway of India here on Tuesday morning as roads were getting blocked and tourists and common people were facing problems, a police official said.

Police had appealed to the protesters to shift but they didn't listen, so they were "relocated" to Azad Maidan, the official said.

Hundreds of people, including students, women and senior citizens - who assembled at the iconic Gateway of India since Sunday midnight - demanded action against the culprits and called for Union Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation.

Violence broke out in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi on Sunday night as masked men armed with sticks and rods attacked students and teachers and damaged property on the campus.

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