Month: May 2022

Ahead of the much-anticipated release of his ‘Sarkaru Vaari Pata’ film, south star Mahesh Babu participated in the viral #Whatshappening Twitter trend.

In the Twitter video, Mahesh is seen dressed in comfy attire responding to some light-hearted questions like “Describe Sarkaru Vaari Paata in a tweet?”. To this the Telugu superstar said, “I think my fans are going to have a blast this summer.”

He was also asked who he would like to follow on the platform to which Mahesh replied that he would want to see his wife Namrata Shirodkar on Twitter, so he could follow her.

Mahesh is also producing ‘Sarkaaru Vaari Paata’ under his banner G Mahesh Babu Entertainment. The action-comedy directed by Parasuram Petla and also starring Keerthy Suresh in the leading role is set for theatrical release worldwide on May 12.

It has been jointly produced by Naveen Yerneni, Y. Ravi Shankar, Ram Achanta and Gopichand Achanta under Mythri Movie Makers, GMB Entertainment and 14 Reels Plus banners. (ANI)

The two-judge bench of Delhi High Court on Wednesday delivered spilt judgement on a batch of petitions seeking the criminalisation of marital rape.

The bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and C Hari Shankar had kept the order reserved in February earlier this year.
Justice Rajiv Shakdher ruled in favour of criminalising marital rape while Justice C Hari Shankar disagreed with the opinion and held that Exception 2 to Section 375 does not violate the Constitution as it is based on intelligible differences.

According to the order passed by Justice Rajiv Shakdher, husbands can be held criminally liable for sexual relations without the consent of the wife. Justice Hari Shankar expressed disagreement with this view.

The high court was hearing a bunch of public interest litigations filed in 2015 by non-profit RIT Foundation, All India Democratic Women’s Association and two individuals who sought striking down the exception in Indian rape laws on the grounds that it discriminated against married women who were sexually assaulted by their husbands.

Advocate Juhi Arora, an activist in legal issues related to women, said Delhi High Court delivered a split decision on criminalising the issue of marital rape and referred the case to the Supreme Court.

“Both Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice Hari Shankar have opposing views on Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code’s exception 2. On one hand, Justice Rajiv Shakdher upheld the exception given under Section 375 of the IPC as unconstitutional, on the other hand, Justice Hari Shankar is of the opinion that exception 2 of Section 375 of the IPC doesn’t violate the Constitution,” she said.

The Centre had earlier stated that considering the social impact involved, intimate family relations being the subject matter and this Court not having the privilege of being fully familiarised with ground realities prevailing in different parts of society of the large, populous and diverse country, taking a decision merely based upon the arguments of a few lawyers may not serve the ends of justice.

The Centre had also said that it is committed to fully and meaningfully protecting the liberty, dignity and rights of every woman who is the fundamental foundation and a pillar of a civilized society. The matter, therefore, needs a comprehensive approach rather than a strictly legal approach, the government had said.

The Central Government in 2017 affidavit opposed the plea demanding criminalisation of marital rape. In its fresh affidavit filed on January 12, 2022, the government said they have sought suggestions from various stakeholders as the government is in process of making comprehensive amendments to criminal laws.

Amicus and Senior Advocate Rebecca John had told the Delhi High Court that there can be a legitimate expectation regarding sex in a marriage, but it cannot lead to forcible sex with the wife.

“There can be an expectation but expectation cannot lead to forcible sex with your wife,” said Rebecca John, who appeared as amicus curiae in the matter relating to marital sex.

She submitted before the court that if a married woman can be subjected to sexual intercourse without her consent, then Exception 2 must be viewed as an instrument of oppression.

“And if consequences, intended or unintended are that a married woman can be subjected to sexual intercourse without her consent then it is my submission that Exception 2 must be viewed as an instrument of oppression,” she argued before Delhi High Court.

Appearing for Men Welfare Trust (MWT), Advocate J Sai Deepak had submitted that the judiciary has to restrain itself while exercising powers of judicial review and it cannot direct the Parliament to make a particular kind of enactment. He also argued that the courts have a limited role in the aspect of policy and the judiciary has a larger role on the issue of civil liberties.

He has cited various judgements that the court shall not intervene with the issues and concluded his submission by stating that the Lakshman Rekha has to be drawn in light of the judgements cited by him. (ANI)

Sri Lanka’s former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was airlifted to Trincomalee naval base for security reasons, Defense Secretary Kamal Gunaratne told the media on Wednesday.

The Sri Lanka Defense Secretary said that the former prime minister will be moved to a location he wishes, once the situation in the country returns to normalcy.
Gunaratne said that the military will provide security to Rajapaksa as long as it takes because as a former president he is entitled to security for life.

Rajapaksa was serving as Sri Lankan president from 2005 and 2015 and was sworn in as prime minister in 2019. He resigned on Monday as protests turned violent in the country.

Several violent incidents have taken place in the country after pro-government groups clashed with anti-government protesters on Monday, leaving eight people dead and over 200 others injured. A curfew was imposed on Monday and extended several times until Thursday morning.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sri Lankan media reported that some politicians had fled the island as anti-government protests in the country continue to escalate.

Responding to the media reports, the Indian High Commission said recent reports claiming Sri Lankan politicians and their family members are fleeing to India are groundless and false.

“High Commission has recently noticed rumours circulating in sections of media and social media that certain political persons and their families have fled to India. These are fake and blatantly false reports, devoid of any truth or substance. High Commission strongly denies them,” the commission tweeted. (ANI)

In a historic development, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises the offence of sedition be kept in abeyance till the government’s exercise of reviewing the law is complete.

A bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli also asked the Central government and States not to register any cases under Section 124A.
It added that if such cases are registered in future, the parties are at liberty to approach the court and the court has to expeditiously dispose of the same, the bench added.

The apex court also said that those already booked under Section 124A IPC and are in jail can approach the concerned courts for bail.

“It would be appropriate to put the provision on abeyance,” the bench ordered.

Allowing the Central government to re-examine and reconsider the provisions of Section 124A, the apex court said that it will be appropriate not to use the provision of law till further re-examination is over.

The bench now posted the hearing of a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the sedition law, in July.

In its order, the bench stated, “The court is cognizant of the duty of the State on one hand and citizens’ civil liberties on the other. There is a requirement of the balance of consideration. The case of the petitioner is that this provision of law dated back to 1870 and is being misused. The Attorney General had also given instances of glaring misuse like cases registered for a recital of Hanuman Chalisa.”

“It is clear that the Central government agrees that rigours of Section 124A is not in tune with the current situation and it was intended for the time when the country was under colonial law. Thus Centre may reconsider it… it will be appropriate not to use this provision of law till further re-examination is over. We hope Centre and States will desist from registering any FIR under 124A or initiate a proceeding under the same till re-examination is over,” it added.

At the outset of the hearing Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta appearing for the Centre told the top court government cannot prevent police from registering a cognisable offence under sedition provision, but an FIR under Section 124A would be registered only if the area Superintendent of Police (SP) is satisfied that facts of a case involve sedition offence.

“Once there is cognisable offence and it is held valid by Constitution bench then staying the effect may not be the correct course of action. that is why responsible officers must take responsibility. His satisfaction would be subject to judicial review before a magistrate,” Mehta submitted.

Solicitor General said pending sedition cases can be reviewed during the re-examination process of the provision by the Centre for early grant of bail to those booked under Section 124A IPC.

Yesterday, the top court asked the Centre to inform it if the registration of future cases for sedition can be kept in abeyance till it completes the reconsideration process with respect to sedition law. It had also asked the Central government what it proposes to do about pending and future sedition cases as the Centre decided to re-examine the validity of Section 124A.

On Monday while filing a fresh affidavit, the Centre told the apex court that it has decided to re-examine and reconsider the provisions of Section 124A and requested it not to take up the case till the matter is examined by the government.

During the hearing yesterday senior advocate, Kapil Sibal appearing for petitioners told the bench that the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had termed Section 124A as the most obnoxious provision aimed at stifling dissent and Mahatma Gandhi had termed this as a most potent weapon to silence opposition to govt.

Solicitor General Mehta replied that this government is trying to do what Pandit Nehru could not do then.

“What the government headed by Nehru Ji could not do, we are doing it now,” Solicitor General had said.

In the affidavit, the Centre said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is of the firm view that the baggage of colonial-era laws, which outlived their utility, must be scrapped during the period of ‘Azadi Ka Marti Mahotsav’ (75 yrs of independence).

In that spirit, the government of India has scrapped over 1500 outdated laws since 2014-15, it said on Monday.

However, on Saturday the Central government told the Supreme Court that the 1962 verdict of the five-judge Constitution bench case which upheld the validity of the offence of sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, is binding and continues to be is a “good law and needs no reconsideration”.

It had said that the 1962 five-judge bench judgement of the top court in the Kedar Nath Singh v/s State of Bihar case which upheld the validity of Section 124A of IPC has stood the test of time and applied till date in tune with modern constitutional principles.

It said the 1962 verdict is a good precedent and that it requires no consideration and isolated instances of misuse cannot be a ground to uproot the precedent that has withstood the test of time for over six decades.

The Centre further submitted that a three-judge bench cannot hear a legal challenge to Constitutionality of Section 124A and only a bench of co-equal strength of Kedar Nath Singh can pose any doubts on the verdict.

Earlier, the bench had said that it will first decide the issue of whether the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 124A to be referred to the larger bench or not.

Attorney General of India KK Venugopal had on an earlier occasion told the Supreme Court that sedition law should not be struck down but there is a need of guidelines on this section. What is permissible and what is impermissible and what can come under sedition need to be seen, said Attorney General.

Various petitions were filed in the apex court challenging the constitutional validity of sedition law. The pleas were filed by former army officer Major-General SG Vombatkere (Retd), former Union minister Arun Shourie, NGO PUCL, Editors Guild of India, and journalists Patricia Mukhim and Anuradha Bhasin among others.

Last year, CJI Ramana had questioned the Central government on the requirement of sedition law even after 75 years of independence and observed that it was colonial law that was used against freedom fighters.

While pointing out that sedition law was used against freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the apex court had asked Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, why it can’t be repealed. It had observed that the Centre has repealed many stale laws and enquired why the government is not looking into repealing Section 124A (which deals with the offence of sedition) of the IPC.

It had further said that the court was concerned about the misuse of such laws.

CJI had said, “use of sedition is like giving a saw to the carpenter to cut a piece of wood and he uses it to cut the entire forest itself”.

The top court had further told Attorney General that the conviction rate under Section 124A is very low.

Section 124-A (sedition) under the IPC is a non-bailable provision.

Earlier, a different bench of the top court had sought a response from the Centre on a plea challenging the Constitutional validity of sedition law, filed by two journalists — Kishorechandra Wangkhemcha and Kanhaiya Lal Shukla — working in Manipur and Chhattisgarh respectively. (ANI)

While releasing the book ‘Modi @20: Dreams Meeting Delivery’, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a leader who demonstrated to the world that dreams can indeed be realized.

At the release event, Naidu complimented the authors of the book for their “incisive analysis and cogent presentation”. “The authors have masterfully traced the contours of an iconic leader’s fascinating journey of 20 years,” he said.
“The book is a rare compilation that gives the readers a ringside view of the evolution of one of the most popular and iconic leaders of modern India,” Naidu said.

He further said that the first Prime Minister born after independence, Narendrabhai Damodardas Modi, has over the last 20 years carved out a unique place in the history of post-independent India while being the Chief Minister of Gujarat for about 13 years and over the last eight years as the Prime Minister.

“The Prime Minister is a phenomenon at the national level. The book presents different facets of the distinct thought process, the pioneering, pro-active approach and the quintessential, transformational leadership style that Narendra Modi has come to be so closely identified with,” added the Vice President.

“The journey, the words and deeds and the dreams of Modi ji and their realization in scale needs to be presented and understood. This publication certainly helps in decoding Modi and helps understand how he has the courage to dream big for the people of his country and the grit to translate these dreams into tangible reality positively impacting the lives of crores of Indians,” Naidu said. (ANI)

The Red Carpet event at the 75th Cannes Film Festival will be a gala event for the Indian audience as celebrities from the cine world across India are set to walk there as part of the Indian delegation on the festival’s opening day, May 17.
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur will lead the delegation from India to Cannes. The list of celebrities will also comprise stars from major music industries across India.

The delegation will include actor-producer R Madhavan, Akshay Kumar, music composer AR Rahman, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pooja Hegde and Nayanthara along with CBFC Chief Prasoon Joshi, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and music composer Ricky Rej amongst others.

At a time when India is celebrating the 75th year of its independence and has launched ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, India and France are also celebrating 75 years of their association as is the annual Cannes Film Festival.

Further, for the first time in its history, India has been named the official ‘Country of Honour’ at the upcoming Marche’ Du Film, which is organized alongside the Cannes Film Festival, in France. Under this title 5 new Start-Ups will be given an opportunity to pitch to the Audio-Visual Industry. Ten professionals will participate in Animation Day.

Among the highlights of this year’s festival will be the world premiere of the film by R. Madhavan titled ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’, a biographical drama film based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, a former scientist and aerospace engineer of the Indian Space Research Organisation who was falsely accused of espionage. The film which is produced by Madhavan will be showcased on May 19.

India has also been given an opportunity to pitch 5 selected movies at the ‘Goes to Cannes Section’. These films are part of the WIP lab under the Film Bazaar.

A Cinema Hall called the Olympia Screen has been dedicated to India on May 22, 2022, for screening ‘Unreleased Movies’. There are 5 Movies which have been selected under this category. Also, a remastered classic of Satyajit Ray Classic – ‘Pratidwandi’ will be screened at the Cannes Classic section. This is to mark his centenary celebration.

This year’s Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 17 to May 26 and the organisers have done away with wearing masks or asking for any COVID tests. (ANI)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah presented the President’s Colours to the Assam Police for their exemplary services in Guwahati on Tuesday, said a press release by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

In his address, Shah said that on this historic occasion, I am proud that Assam Police are the tenth police force in the country to receive this honour, added the statement.
Receiving the President’s Colours is an extraordinary achievement for any police organization and today, the Assam Police have registered their name in this proud club and it is a matter of great pride for Assam.

Shah added that there would hardly be any force in the country which has faced such difficult situations. Remembering the rich and proud history of about 200 years of Assam Police, in 1826, the British started this police force by appointing some policemen at a district headquarters.

The Assam Police also has the distinction of giving genesis to the country’s oldest anti-militant force, the Assam Rifles. At the time of Independence, the number of Assam Police was 8,000, which has increased to more than 70,000 today, he added.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, state Director General of Police and several dignitaries were present on the occasion. (ANI)

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Pandit Sukh Ram passed away on Wednesday.

He was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after he suffered a brain stroke. “He was admitted to AIIMS and was undergoing treatment for the brain stroke,” his son Anil Sharma told ANI.

His grandson Aashray Sharma wrote in a Facebook post, “Goodbye grandfather; Now the phone will not ring.” (Roughly translated from a video post along with the caption in Hindi).

Sharma posted several messages over his personal Facebook account mentioning the “end of an era”.

According to a press note shared by the former leader’s grandson, he (Sukh Ram) suffered a brain stroke on May 4 in Manali, from where he was later taken to AIIMS, Delhi.

Leaving the Congress in 2017, the 95-year old leader had rejoined the party in 2019, calling it his ‘homecoming’.

He had served in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology from 1993 to 1996. The former Lok Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi constituency was a five-time MLA in Himachal Pradesh Assembly and had won the Lok Sabha elections thrice. (ANI)

As Sri Lanka faces one of the worst economic crises accompanied by ongoing protests, eight persons have lost their lives during the violent clash in  Negombo on Monday.

According to the Sri Lanka Police, the protesters had staged a demonstration in support of Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, reported the Colombo Page. Several vehicles and properties of political leaders were damaged well.

As per Police Media Division, six deaths were reported from the Western Province of Sri Lanka while two deaths were recorded from the Southern Province.
Amongst those who lost their lives included Amarakeerthi Athukorala, an SLPP parliamentarian along with his security guard. Reportedly, they died by suicide after a mob of protesters had surrounded Athukorala’s vehicle in Nittambuwa, reported the Colombo Page.

Further, following an explosion of a tear gas canister, a 28-year-old Sri Lankan Police Inspector lost his life upon his admission to the Colombo National Hospital. Apart from that, a youth was also shot at by the MP.

A.V. Sarath Kumara, the chairman of Imaduwa Pradeshiya Sabha, succumbed to his injuries during an attack on his residence on Monday and died from heart attack, reported the Colombo Page.

Meanwhile, the 216 individuals who were injured in the clashes held in Colombo have been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital. According to hospital sources, five of the injured are being treated in the Intensive Care Unit.

Moreover, amidst escalating conflicts, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defense has announced that the Armed Forces have been ordered to kill anyone who robs or destroys public property or causes injury to others.

Earlier, a gang of mobs broke into the Mahahunupitiya area in Negombo and attacked a group of residents of the area with sharp weapons and set fire to several vehicles. A van, three three-wheelers, eight motorcycles and five bicycles were reportedly set on fire.

Further, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa urged people to remain calm, and refrain from violence and acts of revenge against others, adding that all efforts will be made to restore political stability through consensus. (ANI)

A 22-year-old man was allegedly stabbed to death in the Kotwali Police Station area of Bhilwara on Tuesday night, said police.

In the wake of tensions in the area, the internet services have been suspended till 6 am on Thursday.
“Internet services in Bhilwara to remain suspended till 6 am on Thursday, 12th May,” said Ashish Modi, Bhilwara District Collector

Meanwhile, the police also registered an FIR in connection with the incident.

The police forces have been deployed in the area to beef up the security.

Further investigation is underway.

Last week, two persons were attacked by unidentified people and their bike was set on fire. The incident was reported in the Sanganer area of Bhilwara last night.

Rajasthan has been witnessing various incidents of violence over the past two months.

Tension gripped Gehlot’s hometown Jodhpur hours before Eid on Tuesday, prompting the authorities to suspend mobile internet services and impose a curfew in 10 police station areas of the city. There was agitation over putting up religious flags on the Jalori gate circle in Jodhpur, which led to stone-pelting in which five policemen were injured.

In Karauli, violence broke out after the stone-pelting incident took place at a religious procession in April this year, while a 300-year-old temple was allegedly demolished using a bulldozer in Alwar’s Rajgarh. (ANI)