SC grants bail to journalist Kanojia, says citizen's liberty sacrosanct

Agencies
June 11, 2019

New Delhi, Jun 11: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to journalist Prashant Kanojia, who was arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday for making "objectionable comments" against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on social media.

The order for his immediate release on bail was passed by a vacation bench comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi on a petition filed by Kanojia's wife Jigisha.

During the hearing, Justice Banerjee said, "Liberty of a citizen is sacrosanct and non-negotiable. It is guaranteed by the Constitution and it cannot be infringed upon."

She said, "We can understand that the tweets should not have been made. But arresting..."

The bench observed, "Opinions may vary. He (Prashant) probably should not have published or written the tweets, but on what basis was he arrested."

It also asked the UP government to show "magnanimity in releasing him".

The lawyer arguing on behalf of the state said that the tweets were highly inflammatory, "Very, very strong and inflammatory tweets were made by the accused," the counsel submitted.

Kanojia was arrested from Delhi by the UP Police for making certain "objectionable comments" against Adityanath on social media and for "spreading rumours". He was taken into custody after a case was registered at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow.

Kanojia has been booked under sections 500 (defamation), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code and section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.

On Sunday, the Editors Guild of India had condemned the arrest of Kanojia, Eshika Singh, head of Noida-based new channel Nation Live, and Anuj Shukla, an editor of the channel, in connection with the case.

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News Network
February 27,2020

New Delhi, Feb 27: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday attacked the government over the transfer of Delhi High Court Judge S Muralidhar, saying the Centre's attempts to "muzzle" justice and "break people's faith in an upright judiciary are deplorable".

Delhi HC Judge S Muralidhar was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, days after the Supreme Court collegium made the recommendation.

"The midnight transfer of Justice Muralidhar isn't shocking given the current dispensation, but it is certainly sad & shameful," Priyanka Gandhi tweeted. "Millions of Indians have faith in a resilient & upright judiciary, the government’s attempts to muzzle justice & break their faith are deplorable," she said.

The judge was hearing the Delhi violence case and the late evening notification came on the day when a bench headed by him expressed "anguish" over the Delhi Police's failure to register FIRs against alleged hate speeches by three BJP leaders.

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News Network
March 4,2020

New Delhi, Mar 4: The Supreme Court on Wednesday revoked the ban of cryptocurrency imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2018.

Pronouncing the verdict, the three-judge bench of the apex court said the ban was 'disproportionate'.

The bench included Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice V Ramasubramanian.

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), whose members include cryptocurrency exchanges, and others had approached the top court objecting to a 2018 RBI circular directing regulated entities to not deal with cryptocurrencies.

Advocate Ashim Sood, appearing for IAMI, submitted that Reserve Bank of India lacked jurisdiction to forbid dealings in cryptocurrencies. The blanket ban was based on an erroneous understanding that it was impossible to regulate cryptocurrencies, Sood submitted.

The petitioners had argued that the RBI's circular taking cryptocurrencies out of the banking channels would deplete the ability of law enforcement agencies to regulate illegal activities in the industry.

IAMAI had claimed the move of RBI had effectively banned legitimate business activity via the virtual currencies (VCs).

The RBI on April 6, 2018, had issued the circular that barred RBI-regulated entities from "providing any service in relation to virtual currencies, including those of transfer or receipt of money in accounts relating to the purchase or sale of virtual currencies".

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Agencies
February 16,2020

New Delhi, Feb 16: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal was on Sunday sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Delhi for the third time in a row at Ramlila Maidan here, after his party registered a massive victory in the recently concluded Delhi Assembly polls.

Kejriwal was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.

The sprawling Ramlila Maidan reverberated with sounds of thousands of people cheering for the AAP leader.

Kejriwal who received a hero's welcome here had extended an invitation to the people of Delhi urging them to attend the swearing-in ceremony to witness "the son of Delhi" taking oath today.

The AAP nearly repeated its 2015 performance in the elections, sweeping the Assembly polls winning 62 seats in the 70-member Assembly, in the face of a high-voltage campaign by the BJP, which fielded a battery of Union Ministers and Chief Ministers in its electioneering spearheaded by Home Minister Amit Shah. 

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