Maha CM Fadnavis to face trial for non-disclosure of criminal cases in poll affidavit

Agencies
October 1, 2019

Mumbai, Oct 1: In a jolt to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said the BJP leader will have to face trial for allegedly failing to furnish details of two pending criminal cases in his election affidavit in 2014.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi set aside the Bombay High Court order which had given a clean chit to Fadnavis and had held that he did not deserve to be tried for the alleged offences under the Representation of Peoples (RP) Act.

"The respondent (Fadnavis) has the knowledge of the two pending cases," the bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose, said.

The apex court's verdict came on the appeal of one Satish Uikey against the HC verdict.

On July 23, the top court, while reserving the verdict, had said that the alleged "omission" by Fadnavis of not disclosing information about two criminal cases in his election affidavit may be decided in the trial.

The apex court had said that it was concerned with a limited issue whether prima facie Section 125A of the RP Act is attracted or not.

The provision deals with the penalty for "filing a false affidavit" and says that if a candidate or his proposer fails to furnish or gives false or conceals any information in his nomination paper on issues like pending criminal cases then the person may be awarded six months jail term or fine or both.

Ukey had contended that the chief minister filed a false affidavit by not disclosing two criminal matters and yet the trial court and the high court held that there no prima facie case was made out for prosecution of the chief minister.

He had said that a candidate was under a mandatory legal obligation to disclose details of all cases, in which either charges have been framed or the trial court had taken cognizance, in the nomination papers.

The petitioner had alleged that Fadnavis, in his election affidavit filed in 2014, had failed to disclose the pendency of two criminal cases against him.

It was contended that the chief minister did not disclose the information as required of him under the election law and the non-disclosure of these two pending criminal cases was in violation of Section 125A of the RP Act and constituted an offence in itself.

The two cases of alleged cheating and forgery were filed against Fadnavis in 1996 and 1998 but charges were not framed.

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News Network
March 26,2020

Mar 26: As Kashmir reported its first COVID-19 death on Thursday, Islamic scholars urged people to follow the Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines on funeral and burial of those who die due to coronavirus pandemic.

“Medical science can’t be ignored and whatever directions there are in the (MHA) guidelines should be followed. As far as the funeral of the person, only family members should participate in the funeral and burial after wearing the protection kits,” the scholars said.

The MHA has stressed that there should be no bathing, kissing, hugging and reciting of verses while the body should be transported in a secured bag. Health experts have stressed that the grave for the person should be dug eight feet deep instead of normal six feet.

“The body of the person should be transported in a secured bag and the vehicle in which he is transported has to be decontaminated by the trained staff who should be wearing N-95 masks and protection equipment,” read the MHA guidelines.

Kashmir witnessed the first death of a COVID-19 patient from uptown city Hyderpora, who had a travel history of outside J&K as he was part of a ‘Tableegi Jamaat’.

Dr Naveed, Head of Department, at Chest Diseases Hospital Srinagar, said that no one from the family should go closer to the body and if someone from the family wants to see the face, he/she has to wear a complete protective gear.

“Burial bath is not recommended for the body. Grave for him should be dug eight feet deep instead of normal six feet,” he said.

As far as funeral prayers, he said, those intending to offer funeral should wear protective gear and maintain sufficient distance between the body and people.

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News Network
January 24,2020

Kochi/Mumbai, Jan 24: Two students who recently returned from China have been kept under medical observation at the Ernakulam Government Medical College here for possible exposure to the coronavirus, an outbreak of which in China has triggered a global health scare.

Reports from Mumbai said two persons there too have been put observation at the civic-run Kasturba Hospital in Chinchpokali, PTI reported.

Health officials said no cases of the deadly infection have been detected.

One of the students being screened in Kerala and both being screen in Mumai have reported symptoms such as cold and fever and has been kept in isolation wards.

The additional district medical officer of Ernakulam, Dr S Sreedevi, said samples of the student’s body fluids would be sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for tests.

The youngster consulted a doctor at a private hospital and was referred to the Ernakulam hospital in the wake of the virus outbreak in Wuhan city of China.

A stringent screening system has been set up at the Kochi International Airport to screen passengers who have been in the affected province in China. Persons who have been to Wuhan and showing symptoms of cold, cough and fever are being immediately shifted to the Ernakulam hospital.

All quariantine facilities have been put in place there including an isolation ward and a ventilator.

The other person under observation in Kerala is an MBBS student from Kottayam district who recently returned from his college in China. The district medical office said she has no health issues. She was put under observation as a precautionary measure.

In Mumbai, 1,789 passengers have undergone thermal screening at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for the coronavirus since January 19.

Coronavirus cases were first reported from Wuhan, the capital of central Chinas Hubei province in China.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in China, doctors at international airports have been asked to screen travellers for symptoms if they are returning from China. All private doctors have been asked to alert the authorities if they observe symptoms of the coronavirus.

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News Network
June 13,2020

New Delhi, Jun 13: Veteran Urdu poet Anand Mohan Zutshi 'Gulzar' Dehlvi passed away on Friday afternoon, five days after he recovered from COVID-19.

He died at his Noida home, and was a month shy of turning 94.

"His corona test came negative on June 7 and we brought him home. Today he had lunch and at around 2.30pm he passed away," his son Anoop Zutshi told PTI.

"He was quite old, and the infection had left him very weak. So doctors are thinking it was possible a cardiac arrest," he added.

A freedom fighter and a premier 'inquilabi' poet, Dehlvi was admitted to a private hospital on June 1 after testing positive for coronavirus.

Born in old Delhi's Gali Kashmeerian in 1926, he was also the editor of 'Science ki Duniya', the first Urdu science magazine published by the Government of India in 1975.

Remembering her fond memories of Dehlvi, historian-writer Rana Safvi recalled seeing the poet at most 'mushairas' in Delhi.

"I cannot express how big a loss it is. We used to see him at every 'mushaira' in Delhi. It's a big loss to Delhi and the world of poetry," Safvi said.

She also took to Twitter to express her condolences.

"Sad to hear about Gulzar Dehlvi saheb's demise. He was the quintessential Dilli waala. May he rest in peace," she tweeted.

According to Delhi-based poet and lawyer Saif Mahmood, Dehlvi was "the presiding bard of Delhi", following in the footsteps of iconic poets like Mirza Ghalib, and Mir Taqi Mir.

His death is the "end of an era", he said.

"No one knew the nooks and crannies of Mir and Ghalib's Delhi like him. Gulzar saheb claimed that his father, Allama Pandit Tribhuvan Nath Zutshi 'Zaar Dehlvi', was a disciple of the renowned poet Daagh Dehlvi," he said, while reminiscing his meeting with Dehlvi three years back.

The poet had recited a still unpublished 'sher' (couplet) then, Mahmood said, which seems more relevant now in the aftermath of his demise.

"Mere baad aane waalon, meri baat yaad rakhna/ mere naqsh-e-pa se behtar, koi raasta nahin hai". (Those who come after, remember what I say/ there’s no better way than to follow my footprints).

"He was a true exemplar of not just the Urdu language but also of the Urdu culture. In fact he was a living and breathing form of Urdu tehzeeb," Mahmood said.

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