1. Woman Can't Abort Foetus With Down Syndrome: SC
The Supreme Court rejected on Tuesday the plea of a Mumbai woman to abort her 26-week-old foetus which, reports show, suffers from 'Down Syndrome' and may be born with physical and mental abnormalities.
Sympathising with the 37-year-old woman, a bench of Justices SA Bobde and LN Rao said while it was sad for a mother to bring up a mentally challenged child, it could not permit her to abort it. The judges said that abortion of a foetus over 20 weeks old could be allowed only if there was a danger to the life of the mother or if the foetus had no chance of survival.
The apex court passed the order on the basis of a medical report prepared by a group of senior doctors from Mumbai's KEM Hospital.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Politicians Join Students, Teachers at Campus March against ABVP
Hundreds of students and teachers of the Delhi University hit the streets on Tuesday afternoon to protest against campus violence as more political leaders and sportspeople joined the swirling nationalism row.
A crowd of about 2,000 – comprising pupils from several DU colleges and other city universities – marched from SGTB Khalsa College to arts faculty, shouting slogans against the ABVP that allegedly thrashed several students last week.
As a student of DU it was time for me to stand against aggressive culture before it was too late.Samudra Gogoi, Student, DSE
The march was joined by political leaders such as CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Janata Dal (United)’s KC Tyagi and Swaraj Abhiyan’s Yogendra Yadav.
Delhi Police lodged a case against unknown persons for alleged rape threats made to Lady Shri Ram College student Gurmehar Kaur, who hit the headlines on Monday for condemning the ABVP in a social media post.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Promises Are All That Nirbhaya's Village Got
The horrifying gang rape of Nirbhaya in New Delhi in December 2012 sparked international outrage and turned the spotlight on her otherwise little-known east UP village. Politicians made a beeline for Medaura Kalan to mark their presence in her last rites in January 2013. They made myriad promises about sprucing up amenities, schools and roads to honour her memory.
Four years on, nothing has changed. As Nirbhaya’s village votes on 4 March, girls here still trudge 10 km to the nearest high school — the promised government inter-college remains a pipe dream.
"Let's see when the inter college comes up. It's only on paper," an elderly Dev Muni says. People here have lost faith in politicians' promises.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. Under New Juvenile Law, Two Minors Get Life for Murder
In possibly the first such case under the amended juvenile justice law, a sessions court in Jhabua on Tuesday sentenced two teenagers to life imprisonment for killing another teenager.
The victim, Radhu Nana Palia, 16, was stabbed in Jhabua on 5 December last year, allegedly for Rs 500. Palia, a Class IX student, was rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
A day later, two minors — a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old — were detained and sent to a correction home. They were examined by a board, which found them physically and mentally fit, and aware of the “consequences of the offence”. A chargesheet was filed within 18 days.
Additional District and Sessions Judge AA Khan on Tuesday, convicted them and handed life term under IPC Section 302 (murder), and Sections 15 and 18 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
(Source: Indian Express)
5. Firing Professor Will Hurt Ashoka, Says Faculty Body as 3 Staff Exit over Kashmir Petition
Ashoka University claimed it did not coerce two managers and one professor to leave the university for signing a Kashmir petition along with 85 students. But two emails by the university’s Faculty Council, an elected body representing all Ashoka teachers, say otherwise.
Mathematics professor Rajendran Narayanan; Saurav Goswami, deputy manager of academic affairs; and Adil Mushtaq Shah, programme manager of academic affairs, signed a petition in July 2016 condemning the violence over Hizbul militant Burhan Wani’s death and calling for a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir.
Narayanan resigned from the university’s mathematics department citing “ethical reasons” on 15 December. Goswami and Shah resigned on 7 October 2016, sparking a debate over curbs on freedom of speech on campus.
(Source: Indian Express)
6. Unsafe Women in MP: 11 Raped Every Day, 6 Gang-Raped Every Week over Last Year
Eleven women were raped every day and six gang-raped every week in Madhya Pradesh over the last year, figures presented in the state Assembly on Monday revealed. More than half of these victims were minors, the data shows.
The latest figures, presented in the state Assembly for last six months, coupled with figures submitted to the House in July last year, show that between 1 February 2016 and mid-February 2017, as many as 4,279 women were raped of which 2,260 were minors. The data also shows that 248 gang rapes were reported during the period.
Social activists working for the cause of women expressed concern over the rise in sexual violence in the state.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Speak English in Public Places, Telangana Group Tells Members in US
Survival instinct often forces people to make behavioural changes in times of fear and anxiety. And the killing of engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Kansas seems to have prompted a similar response from an Indian group.
An association of Telangana NRIs has issued an advisory on its Facebook page asking those from the state in the US to avoid confrontation or speaking in their mother tongue in public spaces.
The general secretary of the Virginia-based Telangana American Telugu Association (TATA), Vikram Jangam, offers the following "tips":
“Do not get into argument (sic) with others at public places. Should someone be provoking you, avoid confronting (sic) and please leave the place immediately. As much as we love talking in our mother tongue, it can often be misconstrued. Please see if you can communicate in English in public places.”
(Source: The Times of India)
8. Kansas Hero Ian Grillot Bats for Equality, Wants to Visit India in 'Near Future'
A week after he became known round the world when he tried to intervene as a US Navy veteran opened fire at two Indian engineers at a Kansas bar, fame sits lightly on the shoulders of Ian Grillot.
Recovering from serious injuries caused by a bullet that pierced his hand and lodged in his chest, the 24-year-old says what he did at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe last Wednesday was what he’d have expected anyone to do.
Nobody deserves to be treated in that manner, my folks raised me (in such a way) that everybody is an equal... Everybody’s a human, let’s treat everybody as that. So I mean it was just, I felt I had no choice. I would just hope that somebody would do that for me.Ian Grillot
“I understand he (Purinton) may have been going through a lot of personal things in his life but that does not give somebody the excuse to act in the manner that he did,” he said in a hoarse voice as the bullet affected a branch of the nerve that serves the vocal chords.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. India Got Healthier in Last 10 Years: Survey
India's health indicators show significant improvement over the last decade with a decline in infant mortality complimented by a better sex ratio, more institutional deliveries and wider vaccine coverage.
The population rate is also a showing positive change, according to the new set of government data gathered during the fourth phase of National Family Health Survey. "The results show that if we invest and design good programmes in health, results will follow," health secretary CK Mishra said.
Haryana projected a commendable change in its sex ratio at birth. While 762 females were born per 1,000 males in Haryana during NFHS 3 (2005-06), the ratio improved to 836 females per 1,000 males in the survey in 2014-15.
India's total fertility rate also declined to 2.2 from 2.7 over last decade, inching closer to the replacement level of 2.1. Overall, the level declined by 1.2 children per woman from NFHS 1 to NFHS 4.
(Source: The Times of India)
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