1.‘Needed: Noisy Judges, Independent Journalists, Judiciary on Front Foot’, Says Justice Ranjan Gogoi
Noisy judges and independent journalists are democracy’s first line of defence and a revolution, not mere reform, is needed to keep the institution of the judiciary responsive to the changes in society, the second most senior judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, said on Thursday, 12 July.
In line to be the Chief Justice of India, Justice Gogoi, while delivering the Third Ramnath Goenka Memorial Lecture on “The Vision of Justice”, told a packed Teen Murti Bhavan auditorium in New Delhi that the judiciary was the “last bastion of hope” and it needed to be “uncontaminated”, more “pro-active” and on the “front foot” to preserve its moral and institutional leverage.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Being Gay is Variation, Not an Aberration: Supreme Court Signal on Section 377
Stating that homosexuality is a “variation, not an aberration”, the Supreme Court, on Thursday, said members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community do not get proper medical care because of the “prejudices” against them.
Hearing a clutch of petitions to strike down Indian Penal Code Section 377, which criminalises same-sex relations between two consenting adults in private, Justice Indu Malhotra, one of the five judges on the Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, said: “They (LGBTQ) don’t get proper medical aid because of these prejudices and inhibitions.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Amit Shah Meets Nitish Kumar, Says BJP Knows How to Take Care of Allies
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, on Thursday, said his party knew very well how to take care of its allies and respect them. He added that since 2014, only TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu had quit the NDA, but Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar rejoining the alliance had strengthened it.
He was speaking at a party function soon after he met Nitish over breakfast at the state guesthouse. The meeting comes in the wake of several JD (U) leaders trying to assert the party’s supremacy in the NDA in Bihar. Nitish emerged with a smile after the breakfast, but refrained from talking to the media.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. Six Die in Poisonous Gas Leak at Steel Plant in Andhra Pradesh’s Tadipatri
A poisonous gas leak at a steel factory owned by a Brazilian company killed six workers at Tadipatri in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district on Thursday evening.
The gas leak was detected at 5:30 pm at the Gerdau Steel India Ltd factory on the outskirts of the town, police said. The plant’s owner Gerdau SA is based in Sao Paolo and is one of the largest steel manufacturers in the Americas.
“Some poisonous gas seems to have leaked from the plant accidentally, choking the workers who were close to the furnace. The exact nature of the gas and the reasons for the leakage are yet to be ascertained. We are now focussing on shifting the dead to the hospital for post-mortem,” sub-inspector Ramakrishna Reddy said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. The Costs of Not Adhering to the US Sanctions Are Quite Stiff: Arvind Subramanian
The compensation payable to the States for revenue loss arising due to GST is just ₹5,000 crore, far lower than was estimated, according to Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian.
In a candid interview to The Hindu, the outgoing CEA also batted for the lateral entry of talent into the government, saying that it was a “no brainer” in a situation where demand for talent outstripped the supply within the government.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Shashi Tharoor Kicks up Row With 'Hindu Pakistan' Jibe
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor sparked off a controversy with his statement that if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is voted to power again, it will rewrite the Constitution that will eventually create a “Hindu Pakistan.”
The BJP demanded an apology from Tharoor and called his statement “an attack on Indian democracy and Hindus”, while the Congress distanced itself and advised its leaders on “responsible phraseology.”
(Source: The Hindu)
7. JNU Student Missing Since 2016: May Close Probe in Najeeb Case, Unable to Find Clues, CBI Tells Delhi HC
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday indicated to the Delhi High Court that it may close the investigation into the disappearance of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmad, as it could not find any clue in the matter.
A bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Vinod Goel was further told by the agency that it could not get any clue from the mobile phones of the suspects. “We have no trail as of today. The investigation reports are negative. We are not able to trace Najeeb Ahmad till date,” said CBI counsel Nikhil Goel.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Mid-Air Collision Between Two Indigo Aircraft Averted Over Bengaluru
Two IndiGo aircraft with nearly 330 passengers on board avoided a collision over Bengaluru on Tuesday after an automatically generated warning alerted the pilots of the planes, prompting authorities to launch a probe into the incident.
“The TCAS-Resolution Advisory system was triggered on two of our aircraft operating Coimbatore-Hyderabad and Bangalore-Cochin routes respectively on 10 July. Following normal procedure this has been reported to the regulator,” the airlines said in a statement.
It was referring to the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA).
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. Unacceptable to Use Students for Fee: Arvind Kejriwal to Rabea School
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Education Minister Manish Sisodia, on Thursday, visited Rabea Girls Public School in central Delhi’s Hauz Qazi, and spoke to the school management and the principal about the alleged confinement of 16 kindergarten students in the basement over non-payment of school fee.
Kejriwal said they interacted with the principal, Naheed Usmani, and strictly warned her that this kind of treatment towards children would not be tolerated.
A case has been registered by police in the matter, and the Delhi government is also conducting an inquiry.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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