SC directive to do away with sterilisation camps a 'landmark' verdict: PFI

September 18, 2016

New Delhi, Sep 18: Terming the Supreme Court's directive to the Centre to do away with sterilisation camps within three years as a "landmark" judgement, a policy advocacy body has said that it will help in strengthening the implementation and monitoring of the family planning programme.court-Reu-L

"PFI welcomes the SC judgement which we consider a landmark one. Providing quality services to and upholding the dignity of women will now be placed strongly on the national agenda.

"This judgement will help in ensuring that at the state and district levels as well, the judgement is taken seriously. This will also help to strengthen the implementation and monitoring of the family planning programme," said Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India (PFI).

The apex court had recently directed the Centre to do away with sterilisation camps within three years and strengthen the primary healthcare centre system, saying, "It is time that women and men are treated with respect and dignity and not as mere statistics in the sterilisation programme."

Referring to the Bilaspur sterilisation camp incident in 2014 where 16 women lost their lives, Muttreja said that a PFI report had demonstrated evidence on why the camps' approach should be ended and instead fixed date services instituted as the norm for sterilisation services.

"Since Bilaspur, we have seen a very collaborative and supportive government at the Centre. "In December 2014, the Health Ministry issued a directive to all principal secretaries for health at the state level to adhere to the guidelines and protocols to deliver quality family planning services in a spirit of voluntarism and within a rights and accountability framework," Muttreja said.

She noted that there were several positives as a result of the judgement and the Ministry has been encouraged to promote gender equity in the family planning programmes.

"It has made clear that family planning is not just about women but also about men and the need for their increased involvement in family planning, that the sterilisation programme cannot be primarily targeted towards women but must also actively include men as well.

"Looking at the bigger picture, the judgement makes a strong case for India to address itself to gender equity, directing it to ensure strict adherence to the guidelines and standard operating procedures that it has issued in various manuals," Muttreja said.

She said the best part of the judgement is that it fosters collaboration between the Centre and the states to find remedies to problems and improve the well being of its people and has the potential to to shape India's family planning program into a program of national significance.

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March 31,2020

New Delhi, Mar 31: India is likely to blacklist about 300 foreigners who came from 16 countries, including Malaysia and Thailand, on tourist visas but attended an Islamic congregation at Nizamuddin here that has become a key source for the spread of coronavirus in the country, officials said on Tuesday.

These foreigners were among around 8,000 people who attended the Tabligh-e-Jamaat at Nizamuddin Markaz facility in March, many of whom have shown symptoms of COVID-19, a Union Home Ministry officlal said.

About 30 of those who attended the Nizamuddin event in mid-March tested positive and at least three have succumbed to the infection in last few days.

"Those who came on tourist visa but attended the Nizamuddin event stands being in our blacklist as they have violated the visa conditions. Tourist visa holders can't attend religious function," a Union Home ministry official said.

If a foreigner is put in the Home ministry's blacklist, he or she can't travel to India in future.

A total of 281 foreigners were found by the police at the Nizamuddin campus in the last two days.

They include 19 people from Nepal, 20 people from Malaysia, one from Afghanistan, 33 from Myanmar, one from Algeria, one from Djibouti, 28 from Kyrgystan, 72 from Indonesia, 7 from Thailand, 34 from Sri Lanka, 19 from Bangladesh, three from England, one from Singapore, four from Fiji, one from France and one from Kuwait.

Most of these foreigners came on a tourist visa, an official said.

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March 13,2020

New Delhi, Mar 13: Delhi's Tis Hazari Court on Friday sentenced expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and six others to 10 years imprisonment for the death of Unnao rape survivor's father. Sengar is already serving life imprisonment for raping the minor.

While sentencing them, District Judge Dharmesh Sharma said, "There can be no denying that rule of law was broken. Sengar was a public functionary and had to maintain the rule of law. The way the crime has been committed, it does not call for leniency."

Sengar and his brother Atul has been directed to give 10 lakh compensation to family of the victim for loss of their father. "There are four minor children involved, three girls and one boy. They have also been uprooted from native place," the judge said.

Seven people, including Sengar, his brother and two police personnel, were held guilty for culpable homicide and criminal conspiracy, earlier this month.

The case pertains to the death of rape survivor's father in custody on April 9, 2018. It was alleged that he was assaulted following a quarrel with some of the accused in the case.

He was taken to the police station and then framed for allegedly possessing an illegal firearm. Pursuant to this, he was sent to custodial remand, during which he died.

The case was transferred to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh on the Supreme Court's directions in August last year. Both the death and illegal firearm case was later clubbed by the court.

During the arguments on sentencing on March 12, Sengar had told the court that he should be "hanged and acid poured into his eyes if he has done anything wrong".

The former MLA had also raped the daughter of the deceased in 2017 in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao district and was sent to jail for "remainder of his natural biological life", last year.

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March 24,2020

New Delhi, Mar 24: Thirty-two states and Union Territories (UTs) have announced complete lockdown to check the spread of the coronavirus in the country, informed the Central government on Tuesday.
There is a complete lockdown in as many as 560 districts of the country affecting several hundred million people.
Earlier, the complete lockdown was imposed in 30 districts, as of now, almost the entire country is in lockdown to restrict public movement in an attempt to break the chain of transmission of coronavirus.
Three states -- Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha -- have announced lockdown in select districts with the governments continuously monitoring the situation and ready to extend the restrictions to other districts as well.
The Union Territory of Lakshadweep has announced restrictions on certain activities.
The Indian Railways has suspended all passenger train operations till March 31 in view of coronavirus.

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