1. Law is in: Instant Triple Talaq Becomes a Crime
Nearly two years after the Supreme Court set aside the centuries-old practice of instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat calling it un-Islamic, arbitrary and not an integral part of religious practice, The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 got the stamp of Parliament when it was cleared by Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, 30 July, five days after it got the nod from Lok Sabha.
The passage of the instant triple talaq bill is a major win for the government given that ruling NDA lacks numbers in Rajya Sabha. The Bill was passed with 99 votes in favour and 84 opposed after BJD came out in support, allies JD (U) and AIADMK walked out while the Opposition BSP, TDP and TRS did a no-show.
A motion by CPM member Elamaram Kareem to refer the bill to a Select Committee was defeated 84-100.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Cafe Coffee Day Owner VG Siddhartha Found Dead
The body of VG Siddhartha, the founder-owner of Cafe Coffee Day, who was reported missing since Monday, was found on the banks of Netravati River in Mangaluru at 4.30 am Wednesday. Siddhartha, the son-in-law of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna, disappeared following a drive to Mangaluru with his driver and was last seen on the bridge over the Netravati river on Monday evening.
Hours before his disappearance was reported, Siddhartha called his personal staff at the company head office in Bengaluru and informed them about a letter to be disseminated. The purported letter referred to the “tremendous pressure” he was under from lenders and “harassment” from Income Tax officials. And that he was “very sorry to let down all the people that put their trust in me”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Three Months Ago, Unnao Victim’s Mother Filed Plea for Trial Transfer
As the Unnao rape survivor battles for life in a Lucknow hospital after a road crash on Sunday, 28 July, it has emerged that her mother approached the Supreme Court three months ago, seeking the transfer of the trial of the case to Delhi. The apex court is yet to take up the matter for detailed hearings.
In April this year, the mother filed a petition in the Supreme Court, claiming a threat to the family and the possibility of the suspects influencing witnesses, and sought the transfer.
The CBI is probing her daughter’s alleged rape in 2017 (the survivor was a minor at the time) by BJP legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar and last year’s death in custody of her father, who was arrested by UP police in what the family has claimed to be false case.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Mallya and Nirav Extradition Cases Pushed to Next Year
The trial in the Westminster Magistrates Court on India’s request to extradite fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi will be held in May next year while the high court of England and Wales is scheduled to hear businessman Vijay Mallya’s appeal against his extradition in February 2020, court officials said.
Modi, 48, who is lodged in the Wandsworth jail in southwest London, has been denied bail on four occasions and Mallya, 63, remains on bail after his application for permission to appeal against the home secretary’s order to extradite him was upheld on 2 July.
Several remand and case management hearings will be held in the magistrates court before Modi’s trial is held over five days in May.
Mallya’s appeal will be heard over three days from 11 February, according to the high court’s schedule.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. ‘Witness in AgustaWestland Case Missing, Must Have Been Killed'
The Enforcement Directorate told a Delhi court on Tuesday, 30 July, that they “believe” a witness in the AgustaWestland case “must have been killed” as he has been missing for the past four months. The ED’s statement was made while opposing the anticipatory bail of Ratul Puri, nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath.
Puri is under the scanner for allegedly receiving kickbacks in the AgustaWestland deal through his companies. His interim protection from arrest will now continue until Wednesday as hearing on his anticipatory bail could not be completed. The ED has also levelled allegations against Puri claiming that he received “proceeds of crime” from AgustaWestland middleman, Christian Michel.
ED Special Public Prosecutor DP Singh told the court that Puri was an influential person who posed a flight risk, could tamper with evidence and influence witnesses.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Substance Found in Cough Syrup Gets Prithvi Shaw 8-Month Ban
Indian cricket was hit by its biggest doping scandal on Tuesday, 30 July, when the BCCI announced that talented India opener Prithvi Shaw had been slapped with an eight-month ban from all forms of competitive cricket for failing a dope test.
Shaw tested positive for terbutaline during the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament this February. Along with Shaw, two other domestic players — Akshay Dullarwar of Vidarbha and Divya Gajraj of Rajasthan — were also found to have violated the BCCI’s anti-doping code. Dullarwar has been banned for eight months, while Gajraj has been suspended for six months.
Shaw is the second high-profile Indian cricketer after Yusuf Pathan, who was banned for five months by the BCCI in January 2018, to have been suspended on the grounds of a doping violation.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. Behind J&K Troop Surge, Move to Hoist Tricolour in All Panchayats on I-Day
The Centre is “infusing” troops in Jammu and Kashmir to provide security cover for a move to hoist the Tricolour in every panchayat in the state this Independence Day, government sources said.
“The government is infusing troops as many panchayat heads want to hoist the national flag this Independence Day. This deployment is being done to ensure no disruption to the process and avoid any untoward incident,” said sources. Over the weekend, reports of deployment of additional troops in the state had led to intense speculation over the Centre’s plans.
Sources said the ruling BJP has already given instructions to its units in every panchayat of the state to hoist the Tricolour on 15 August.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. In a First, CJI Allows CBI To File Case Against HC Judge
In an unprecedented decision, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on Tuesday, 30 July, gave permission to the CBI to register a case (FIR) against sitting Allahabad High Court judge Justice SN Shukla under the Prevention of Corruption Act for alleged favours to a private medical college for MBBS admissions.
Nearly 30 years ago, the apex court in the K Veeraswamy case on 25 July 1991 had prevented any investigating agency from lodging an FIR against a sitting Supreme Court or HC judge without first showing the evidence to the CJI for permission to investigate the judge.
Before 1991, no investigating agency had ever probed a sitting HC judge and this is the first time since then that the CJI granted permission to an investigating agency to lodge an FIR against a sitting judge.
(Source: The Times of India)
9. Top Jaish Commander Behind Massacre of 6 Securitymen Shot
A top Jaish-e-Mohammed commander who was the alleged mastermind of the Anantnag terror attack on 12 July that claimed the lives of five CRPF men and an SHO was killed during an anti-insurgency operation in the Valley on Tuesday, 30 July. Police have called Fayaz Ahmed Thokar’s encounter a “big achievement”.
Thokar and his aide Shan Showkat Bhat were gunned down at Bijbehara in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. A native of Tral in Pulwama district, Thokar was the brain behind the strike on CRPF personnnel at Anantnag’s busy Khanabal-Pahalgam road, which was the first terror attack on the paramilitary force after the 14 February suicide bombing in Pulwama.
In the 12 July attack, five CRPF personnel, including two officers, on picket duty were killed and five others were injured.
(Source: The Times of India)