1. Naidu Rejects Bid to Oust CJI
The political fight over an attempt to remove the Chief Justice of India escalated on Monday with Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu, the Vice President of India, rejecting a notice by the Opposition to the effect, and the Congress deciding to appeal his decision in the Supreme Court.
Naidu issued a 10-page order saying the notice — which had the signatures of 64 parliamentarians across seven parties — lacked substantial merit and that initiating a removal proceedings on such basis would “undermine the faith of the common person in the judicial system”.
It is “imperative” that one should have “extraordinary, important and substantial grounds for the removal of a judge,” Naidu said. “MPs who presented the motion are themselves unsure of the charges, as they use words like, ‘may have been’, ‘likely’, ‘appears to be’...” the order read.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Karnataka Elections: No BJP Tickets Yet for Yeddyurappa Son, Close Aide, Angry Supporters Protest
Former Karnataka chief minister and BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa announced Monday that his son B Y Vijayendra will not contest the Karnataka assembly elections from Varuna constituency in Mysuru, where Congress Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s son Yathindra is a candidate.
Yeddyurappa made the announcement at a party meeting at Nanjanagudu, near Mysuru, which immediately triggered protests by his supporters who flung chairs and furniture and were finally dispersed by police. The protests had the BJP rushing party general secretary in charge of Karnataka P Muralidhar Rao and Union Minister Prakash Javadekar to Mysuru.
“There has been a lot of news in the media recently that my son Vijayendra will be contesting from the Varuna seat. After a great deal of analysis I have taken a decision myself against fielding Vijayendra in the election,” Yeddyurappa said in an official statement Monday evening.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Is Death a Deterrent? HC Questions Ordinance for Tougher Law on Child Rape
Two days after the Centre approved an ordinance that allows courts to award the death penalty to those convicted of raping children below 12 years of age, the Delhi High Court Monday questioned the move and asked the Centre if any scientific assessment was conducted or the view of victims taken before the ordinance was approved.
The HC also sought to know if authorities concerned had considered the consequences of the ordinance to victims. “Have you (Centre) conducted any scientific assessment or study before passing of your ordinance,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said, adding “is death penalty deterrent to rape now?”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. AFSPA Removed From Meghalaya After 27 Years
With insurgency-related incidents in the northeast region down by 85% from the levels recorded at the peak of militancy two decades ago, the Centre has withdrawn the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) totally from Meghalaya as well as from eight out of 16 police stations in Arunachal Pradesh, with effect from 31 March, 2018.
AFSPA, which gives special powers and immunity to the armed forces deployed in areas declared “disturbed” under the Act, had been in force in Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh for almost 27 years.
(Source: The Times of India)
5. Jessica, Tandoor Case Convicts May Walk Free
On Tuesday afternoon, a judge, a top policeman, Delhi’s home minister and four senior government officials are meeting to decide the fate of 90 prisoners who have either served their time in prison or are up for an early release.
Among the names on the list are those of Manu Sharma and Sushil Sharma, two murder convicts linked with the cases that rank among the country’s most high-profile crime stories, senior officials familiar with the development said.
Manu Sharma (real name Siddhartha Vashishta) is the son of former Haryana minister Venod Sharma. He was convicted of shooting dead model Jessica Lall at point blank range at a private party in 1999 when she refused to serve him a drink. He has served over 15 years in prison.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Gadchiroli Encounter: Six More Maoists Confirmed Dead, Toll Rises to 22
A day after 16 Maoists were killed in an operation near Kasnasur village in Bhamragad tehsil of Maharashtra, the Gadchiroli Police on Monday said six more rebels were killed near Rajaram Khanla village in Aheri tehsil. The encounter took place between 7 pm and 8 pm, sources said, in which Nandu, said to be a Dalam commander, was also killed.
Additional Superintendent of Police Maheshwar Reddy said: “Six Naxals have been killed in the encounter that took place between Damrancha and Rajaram Khanla.”
The encounter on Monday comes a day after what Maharashtra Police said was the biggest-ever success in its anti-Maoist operations. Earlier on Monday, Director General of Maharashtra Police, Satish Mathur appealed to the Maoists to surrender.
(Source: The Indian Express)
7. Before Cautioning Officials Against Dalai Lama Events, New Delhi Sounded Beijing
.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
Days before the government sent out a note asking “senior leaders” and “government functionaries” of the Centre and states to stay away from events planned for March-end and early April by the “Tibetan leadership in India” to mark the start of 60 years in exile of the Dalai Lama, South Block had informed Beijing about India’s move, sources have told The Indian Express.
This was conveyed through diplomatic channels as a mark of goodwill that was sought to be generated in Beijing, and set the ball rolling for a reset in ties with China, now culminating in an “informal summit” between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan on 27-28 April.
“They were told about the letter on Dalai Lama before it was sent out,” sources said, adding that a similar letter had been sent on the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama’s exile, but this time the relations were far more strained than the earlier occasion.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Gay Hotelier Moves SC Against Sec 377
Well-known hotelier Keshav Suri, who runs the Lalit Group of hotels, approached the Supreme Court on Monday for decriminalising gay sex and to quash Section 377 of the IPC which makes carnal intercourse “against the order of nature” a crime punishable with imprisonment of up to 10 years. The court agreed to hear his plea and issued notice to the Centre.
Armed with recent verdicts of the apex court upholding the right of choice and right to privacy of citizens, the 33-year-old businessman, who claims to be in a committed relationship with a man, said the penal provision was discriminatory and there was no logic for declaring intercourse between two individuals of the same sex as against the order of nature.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. Open to Permanent Commission of Women in Army, Govt Tells SC
The Centre is considering granting permanent commission (PC) to short service commission (SSC) women army officers, it told the Supreme Court on Monday, in a move that could bring an end to an 8-year-old battle in the apex court, and which will make the army the last of India’s armed forces to do so.
The court also asked the Centre why it was not granting PCs to women army officers in combat roles and asked it to file an affidavit, with a comprehensive policy on the PCs within two weeks.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
More From The Quint
ABP-CSDS Poll: Hung Assembly in Karnataka With BJP Largest Party
8 Months No Bail, Am I Really Guilty: Read Dr Kafeel Khan’s Letter
Aruna Roy On The Historic Journey That Concluded In The RTI Act
Asaram Bapu & His ‘Unholy’ Crimes: Why’s the ‘Godman’ Behind Bars?
Karnataka Election: Lankan Tamil Repatriates Want Homes For Votes
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)