Month: April 2024

The Indian Army has recently given its ‘no objection’ if a soldier accused of spying is dealt with under the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

This case pertains to the transmission of secret information relating to the Indian Army to Pakistan by accused persons with the connivance of a soldier through the Pakistan High Commission.

A Special judge at Tis Hazari Court noted that a ‘no objection certificate’ has been placed on record by the concerned officer of the Indian Army.

“Army Captain has placed on record the “no objection certificate” issued by Major General GOC, Headquarter, Armed Forces Special Operation Division that they have no objection if this court deals Naik / Clerk (SD) Paramjit Kumar under Indian Official Secret Act, 1923,” the court noted in the order of April 24.

During the hearing, on the court inquiry, Captain informed the court that after registration of the present case and after coming to know of the facts of the present case and the said documents being secret, confidential and classified documents which have been leaked in the present matter and to ensure the safety in future, the corrective actions have been taken by the Defence Forces so that the said documents which have come on record in the present chargesheet could not be misused against the security of the state in future.*

The court had asked the officer that as the classified documents which are available in the present chargesheet are part of a public document, whether the defence forces have ensured that the said classified documents could not be misused by any miscreant against the sovereignty of the country as well as against the security of the state in future.

Now the matter has been listed for arguements on charge in July.

Earlier, the Court had requested the top officials of the Indian Army to depute a Commanding officer to appear in court.

The court had noted that, as per a report from the Military Intelligence of the Indian Army, all the documents recovered from the other accused, Habib Ur Rehman, are confidential secrets.

The court had said that, as per the chargesheet, the accused Paramjeet Kumar, is a Naik of the military base unit at Agra Cantt., Uttar Pradesh and is a military personnel and governed under the Military Law and to ensure a fair trial as per law.

“A letter of request is sent to the Commanding Officer of the unit HQ AFSOD, Agra Cantt., Uttar Pradesh, as well as their Head Office and their Vigilance Branch, as well as Integrated Defence Staff at Sena Bhawan, New Delhi with a request to depute a commanding officer in the present matter to appear in person on the next date of hearing,” a special judge at Tis Hazari Court ordered in December 2023.

The court had observed, “There are allegations against accused Paramjeet Kumar, a military official, that he has transmitted classified and confidential documents relating to Indian Army and the same is detrimental to the National security and sovereignty of the country alleged to be provided to accused Habibur Rehman, who in turn would provide it to the official of Pakistan High Commission.”

Before passing the order, the special judge had noted the oral submissions of Investigation Officer (IO) ACP Pankaj Arora, who stated that there are allegations that the documents recovered from accused Habib Ur Rehman were of military secrets of the Indian Army and on interrogation, accused Habib Ur Rehman disclosed that the same were transmitted to him through accused Paramjeet Kumar, a military official of Indian Army under the commanding unit of HQ AFSOD, Agra Cantt., Uttar Pradesh.

IO had further stated that accused Habib Ur Rehman further disclosed that he used to supply these military secrets to an official of the Pakistan High Commission in lieu of money either paid directly or through accused Mohsin Khan at the behest of the said official of the Pakistan High Commission.

It was further stated by the IO that the alleged role of the accused, Paramjeet Kumar, while being posted as a military clerk was receiving official documents in an official capacity.

He prepared duplicate keys of the office as well as the office almirah and he used to open the said locks and click the photographs of classified and confidential military documents and then transmit them through phone and other electronic modes as well as physically to the accused Habib Ur Rehman as well as sometimes directly to the official of Pakistan High Commission and he was in constant touch with the said official of Pakistan High Commission, the IO had added.

The court had also noted that the IO has received a report from the Military Intelligence of the Indian Army that all the documents recovered from accused Habib Ur Rehman are confidential secrets and classified documents of the Indian Army and any unauthorized disclosure of the contents of the said documents could be expected to cause damage to national security, could be prejudicial to the national interest or would embarrass the government of India in its functioning.

Delhi police had registered a case under sections of the Official Secret Act, Criminal Conspiracy, Criminal Breach of Trust, etc. in the year 2021.

A chargesheet has already been filed and the case is at the stage of framing charges. Three people have been charge-sheeted by the Delhi police. (ANI)

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Fans and well-wishers of popular television actor Gurucharan Singh, known for his role as Sodhi in the series ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah,’ are concerned with his mysterious disappearance over the past few days.

Singh, who is believed to have been visiting his parents in Delhi, was expected to return to Mumbai but has not been heard from since April 22.

Rohit Meena, DCP South West Delhi, told ANI, “Gurucharan’s family registered a complaint that he has been missing since April 22. He was supposed to go to Mumbai, but he didn’t. We have registered a case under Section 365 of the IPC. We have put together a team to probe the matter and our technical team is also working on the case. We are in the process of going over the CCTV footage where he is seen walking by himself.”

The actor’s father, deeply distressed, filed a complaint with the Delhi Police, detailing his son’s sudden disappearance since his departure for Mumbai.

Despite efforts, Singh, aged 50, has neither reached Mumbai, where he works for a living, nor returned home. His phone remains unreachable, exacerbating the worries of his family.

Assuring a prompt and time-bound inquiry, a Delhi Police officer said, “We are looking into the matter and a probe was instituted since we received a complaint.”

Asserting that his son wasn’t in a state of mental distress, Gurucharan’s father said couldn’t explain his disappearance.

Gurucharan, who became a household name with his comic turns in ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah,’ bid adieu to the show a few years ago. (ANI)

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal filed his response to the Directorate of Enforcement’s (ED) affidavit in the Supreme Court on Saturday and said that there exists “no proof or material” demonstrating that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) received funds or advanced kickbacks from the South group, let alone utilising them in the Goa election campaign.

“Not a single Rupee was traced back to the AAP, and the allegations put forth in this regard are devoid of any tangible evidence, rendering them vague and baseless without any corroboration,” Kejriwal said in response to the ED affidavit.

“No proof of even any cash payment was given. There exists no proof or material demonstrating that the AAP received funds or advanced kickbacks from the South group, let alone utilised them in the Goa election campaign. Not a single Rupee was traced back to the AAP, and the allegations put forth in this regard are devoid of any tangible evidence, rendering them vague, baseless without any corroboration,” the affidavit stated.

Recently, ED had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing Delhi Chief Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest. Filing his rejoinder on ED’s affidavit, Kejriwal said that the central agency is abusing its power of arrest in the middle of the general election.

He said that the mode, manner and timing of his arrest just before the schedule of the Lok Sabha elections had been announced and the Model Code of Conduct had come into play, speaks volumes about the “arbitrariness” of the ED.

“This timeline establishes the fact that Kejriwal has been arrested intentionally with a malafide intent without any necessity to arrest,” stated the rejoinder of the Chief Minister.

The present case is a “classic case” of how the ruling party-led central government has misused the central agency- ED and its wide powers under PMLA to crush its biggest political opponent -Aam Aadmi Party and its leaders, it added.

Kejriwal in his response further said that there is a glaring absence of material indicating his involvement in any criminal activity relating to the predicate offence whether it be concealment, possession, acquisition, or utilisation of proceeds of crime to attract the vice of Section 3 PMLA.

ED illegally ‘picked up’ a sitting Chief Minister and the National Convenor of one of the six national Opposition parties in India on March 21, 2024, that is, five days after the general elections were called and the Model Code of Conduct was put in place, affidavit further stated.

Kejriwal said that the AAP is in direct opposition to the ruling political party at the Centre in the ongoing general elections and voting has already commenced as of April 19.

The affidavit further said that during an election cycle when political activity is at its highest, Kejriwal’s illegal arrest has caused grave prejudice to his political party and will give the ruling party at the Centre an unjust upper hand in the ongoing elections.

“A level playing field–which is a pre-requisite for ‘free and fair elections’- has clearly been compromised with the illegal arrest of the Petitioner,” the affidavit read.

He said he has always cooperated with the investigation, and the apex court has held in various judgements that non-cooperation does not mean that the person be arrested.

The affidavit of the Chief Minister further said that ED attributed the alleged “large-scale destruction of evidence” as a ground to arrest Kejriwal, however, it said, “there is not even a single averment alleging the destruction of evidence of any kind by Kejriwal and hence the said ground is devoid of any merit.”

“Moreover, the respondent (ED), being devoid of any cogent reason, is now raising frivolous and fictitious grounds for justifying the illegal arrest of the Petitioner (Kejriwal),” stated the rejoined.

Kejriwal had approached the top court challenging his arrest by ED and his subsequent remand in the excise policy case. The apex court had earlier asked the central agency to file its response to Kejriwal’s plea.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kejriwal had challenged a Delhi High Court judgement that dismissed his plea against arrest by the ED and his subsequent remand in the excise policy case.

Kejriwal, while filing an appeal in the apex court, contended that his arrest after the announcement of the general elections was “motivated by extraneous considerations.”.

On April 9, the High Court dismissed his plea for release from jail and rejected his argument of political vendetta amid the looming Lok Sabha elections.

The High Court had said that Kejriwal’s absence from nine ED summons over six months undermined any claims of special privilege as Chief Minister, suggesting his arrest was an inevitable consequence of his non-cooperation.

Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy 2021-22. (ANI)

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In a major boost for firepower of its fighter aircraft fleet, the Indian Air Force has inducted the Rampage long-range supersonic air-to-ground missiles which can hit targets at around 250 Km.

The missile known as the High-Speed Low Drag-Mark 2 missile in the Indian Air Force was reportedly used in a big way by the Israeli Air Force during its recent attacks on Iranian targets.

The Indian Air Force has inducted the Rampage in its Russian-origin aircraft fleet including the Su-30 MKI and MiG-29 fighters along with the Jaguar fighter jets, defence sources told ANI.

The Indian Navy has also inducted the missile in its fleet for the MiG-29K naval fighter jets, they said.

The stand-off weapon will give Indian fighter pilots the option of engaging and taking out targets like communication centres or radar stations, the sources said.

The procurement was part of the emergency powers given by the Defence Ministry to the armed forces to equip themselves with critical weapons and equipment after the standoff with China started in 2020.

The missiles have a longer range than the Spice-2000s used in the Balakot air strikes in 2019.

The Indian Air Force has gone in for multiple weapon systems including the long-range systems from both aboard and Indian vendors.

Indian Air Force recently tested the ROCKS or the Crystal Maze-2 missile in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory.

The air-launched ballistic missile had hit its target successfully in the trials done around a fortnight ago.

Induction of the Rampage and integration with the Russian Su-30 has given a big boost to the Russian aircraft fleet which can now fire multiple long-range air-to-ground missiles including the over 400 Km strike range BrahMos supersonic missiles.

The Indian Air Force is now also mulling if the Rampage can be produced under the Make in India programme and be inducted in large numbers. (ANI)

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Ujjwal Nikam, who was a special public prosecutor in the Mumbai 26/11 terror attack, from Mumbai North Central in the Lok Sabha elections.

Nikam, a senior public prosecutor, has appeared for the government in several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 Mumbai attack case.

Ujjwal Nikam will be contesting the polls against Congress’s Varsha Gaikwad.

The BJP decided to drop sitting MP Poonam Mahajan, the two-time party MP from the Mumbai North Central seat.

In 2014, she secured victory from the Mumbai North Central seat, triumphing over incumbent MP Priya Dutt, daughter of the late actor and Congress leader Sunil Dutt. Poonam repeated this success in 2019 too.

The State, with its 48 Lok Sabha seats, is the second-largest contributor to the Lower House of Parliament after Uttar Pradesh.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 23 out of 25 contested seats, while the undivided Shiv Sena secured 18 out of 23 seats.

The undivided NCP, part of the opposition alliance, contested 19 seats and won four. Following the split in the Shiva Sena 2022, Eknath Shinde faction aligned with the BJP.

Mumbai North-Central will go to poll on May 20. (ANI)

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The Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan in connection with the Enforcement Directorate’s recent complaint filed against him for alleged non-attendance of the summons in Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case.

Amanatullah Khan appeared before the court following summons issued to him by the court. The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM), Divya Malhotra, noted his presence, granting him bail on a personal bond of Rs 15,000 and one surety of like amount.

ED recently had moved a complaint against him for not appearing before the agency and not joining the probe in the case related to the alleged irregularities in appointment in Delhi Waqf Board and leasing of its properties.

ED’s complaint was moved under section 174 of the IPC, 1860, read with section 63 (4) of PMLA, 2002 for non-attendance in compliance of Section 50, PMLA, 2002.

Special public prosecutor (SPP) Simon Benjamin appeared for the Enforcement Directorate in the matter.

The federal probe agency has alleged that Amanatullah Kham has elevated his role from witness to accused by filing an anticipatory bail plea and running away from the investigation. ED’s lawyer further stated that they were never able to conclude the probe against him because he was not presenting himself before the agency.

All the other people are the aides of this particular person. His role is much larger than that of the other accused persons who have already been arrested and charge-sheeted, Advocate Simon Benjamin added.

The Rouse Avenue court on March 1 dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of AAP MLA Amanat Ullah Khan. This case is related to the purchase of a property worth Rs 36 crore in the Okhla area at the alleged behest of Amanat Ullah Khan, who is also the sitting MLA from that area.

A charge sheet has already been filed against four accused persons and one firm. It has been alleged that Rs 100 crore Waqf Properties were given on lease illegally. It is also alleged that 32 contractual employees were appointed in the Delhi Waqf Board during the chairmanship of Amanat Ullah Khan, who flouted the rules. (ANI)

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The government expects food prices to come down after rains, as the India Metrological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal monsoon, the finance ministry said in its recent monthly economic review. The report further said that above normal rainfall will lead to higher production of crops.

“Further easing of food prices is on the anvil as IMD has predicted above-normal rainfall during the monsoon season, which is likely to lead to higher production, assuming good spatial and temporal distribution of the rainfall,” the March 2024, monthly economic review of the finance ministry said.

In India, food inflation has declined from 8.7 per cent in February to 8.5 per cent in March. Higher food inflation is mainly because of the high prices of vegetables and pulses. The government has taken measures to check prices it including imposition of stock limits to prevent hoardings, strengthening buffers of key food items, and periodic open market releases.

It has also eased imports of essential food items and channelized supplies through designated retail outlets.

The government is negotiating with new markets like Brazil and Argentina for long-term contract of pulses imports, government sources told ANI earlier. Over 20,000 tonnes of urad will be imported from Brazil and negotiations are almost at the final stage to import arhar from Argentina.

The government has also contracted with Mozambique, Tanzania and Myanmar to import pulses.

With regard to vegetables, CRISIL recent report suggests that, Vegetable prices will ease post June. The report says “The IMD has predicted an above-normal southwest monsoon in 2024. This augurs well for vegetable prices, but the distribution of monsoon is also crucial. IMD expects above normal temperatures till June, which could keep vegetable prices elevated for the next few months.”

This March, vegetable inflation was recorded at 28.3 percent, down from 30. percent in February but way off the 8.4 percent deflation seen a year earlier. Fiscal 2024 saw huge volatility, from a low of -7.9 percent in May 2023 to a high of 37.4 percent in July 2023.

The volatility, measured by standard deviation, stood at 15.4, the highest since fiscal 2020.

Vegetables were responsible for about 30 percent of food inflation in fiscal 2024, much higher than their 15.5 percent share in the food index.

RBI’s monetary policy too has raised concerns on escalating food prices, it says

“While a record Rabi crop will help in moderating cereal prices, the increasing occurrence of weather shocks poses an upside risk to food prices. Geopolitical tensions and their effect on oil prices add to this risk. However, Kharif crop prospects look bright at this early stage with the IMD’s prediction of an above-normal monsoon this year.”

High food inflation remains a challenge in several major economies in the world. For instance, countries like Germany, Italy, South Africa, France and the United Kingdom are facing high food prices.

Globally, the situation calls for continued efforts to address food price pressures. (ANI)

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Congress will hold a Central Election Committee (CEC) today to discuss candidates for highly anticipated seats in Uttar Pradesh–Raebareli and Amethi.

According to party sources, leaders of the UP Congress and the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge of UP, Avinash Pandey, have also been called for a meeting today.

Earlier, a proposal was given from the UP Congress to the CEC that the Gandhi family should contest the Amethi and Raibareli seats and the decision was left to the CEC and top leadership.

A senior party functionary told ANI that the situation is very good and they are very positive for the proposal to be considered in a true spirit.

There is a high chance that Congress can announce Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi as their candidates for the Amethi and Rae Bareli seats respectively.

Smriti Irani defeated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi. Irani has again been fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party from the seat.

Notably, the businessman-husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had earlier expressed his desire to contest from the Amethi parliamentary seat, has said that the entire country wishes for him to get into active politics. He also said that Smriti Irani, the sitting MP from Amethi has not fulfilled her promises.

“The voice is coming from the entire country. They want me to get into active politics as I have always been among the people of the country. People always want me to be there in their region. I have campaigned there (Amethi) since 1999. Smriti Irani, the sitting MP from hasn’t fulfilled her promises,” Vadra said on Friday when asked whether he would contest from Amethi Lok Sabha seat.

Rae Bareli has been a Congress bastion since 1960 with both Feroze Gandhi and Indira Gandhi having represented it. Sonia Gandhi has been the MP from the constituency since she won the 2006 by-poll.

With Sonia moving to the upper house, the Congress is likely to field Priyanka Gandhi who is the general secretary in the party.

Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies will vote in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 20. (ANI)

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The ruling Trinamool Congress lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer of the state on Saturday over the raids in Sandeshkhali by a joint team of the CBI and bomb squads of the elite National Security Guard (NSG).

During Phase 2 of polling for the Lok Sabha in the state on Friday, the CBI and the NSG bomb squads carried out raids in Sandeshkhali and the North 24 Parganas district, recovering a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the house of Abu Taleb, a relative of local TMC leader Hafzul Khan, who is alleged to be a close aide of now-expelled ruling party strongman Sheikh Shahjahan.

In its complaint with the CEO, the TMC alleged that despite repeated representations, the state poll panel chief failed to stop central probe agencies from “throttling the campaign efforts” of various political parties.

“While elections were going on, the CBI deliberately carried out an unscrupulous raid at an empty location in Sandeshkhali. Media reports suggest that the CBI called in additional forces, including the bomb squad of the National Security Guard (NSG). It has also been reported that arms and ammunition were recovered from a house during such a raid,” the TMC stated in its complaint.

The ruling party in the state alleged further that the CBI did not issue ‘actionable notice’ to the state government or the police administration before carrying out the raids.

“Further, the State Police has a fully functional bomb disposal squad, which could have assisted the entire operation if the CBI indeed felt that a bomb squad was required during such a raid. However, no such assistance was sought by the CBI. It is further astonishing to notice that media personnel were already present during the raid even before the State administration arrived at the spot. At this point in time, it was already nationwide news that weapons had been recovered during the raid. There is no way of knowing with certainty whether these weapons were indeed recovered during the search and seizure procedure or whether they were surreptitiously planted by the CBI/NSG,” the ruling party in the state alleged further.

Further, according to the complaint, in the absence of any representative of the state government, the “purported recovery of arms and ammunition” was a ploy by the BJP, which is in cahoots with the CBI and the NSG to “plant such weapons at the site”.

The TMC demanded that the CEO issue “immediate guidelines/framework, whereby, political parties and their functionaries are not taken steps against by any central investigating agency, including the CBI, during the period of elections”.

“Issue immediate directions to the agencies and the media to remove all references to AITC in their reporting and issue such other orders as may be deemed fit and proper,” the complaint added. (ANI)

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