‘Unverified video can’t be used for sedition charges’
Sedition charges cannot be pressed on the basis of an unauthenticated, unreliable video, a Delhi court said on Tuesday after it was shown a footage of alleged “anti-national” sloganeering at the Ramjas College.
Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra, while hearing arguments on a plea seeking FIR against those who allegedly raised anti-national slogans at the college in the Delhi University on February 21 this year, said that authenticity of the video was to be ascertained by the police.
“Authenticity of the video is not established. What is the source of this video? On the basis of unreliable material, how can we press charges of sedition? You have to be confident of authenticity of the video,” the court asked complainant Vivek Garg. It also said that several doctored videos were circulated which need to be authenticated.
“Tomorrow if AISA and ABVP clash again, will it be termed as sedition,” the court observed.
The court was hearing Garg’s plea seeking a separate FIR into the anti-national slogans allegedly raised by members of students groups All India Students’ Association (AISA) and Students Federation of India (SFI) in February this year.
The plea, which sought registration of an FIR for alleged offences of sedition, criminal conspiracy, waging war against the state and defamation under the IPC, also demanded action against Delhi Police officials for not lodging the complaint.
The police had on August 3 submitted an action taken report in the matter and said it was examining students and teachers to identify the culprits involved in the Ramjas College clashes that broke out between the ABVP and Left-affiliated AISA .
During the proceedings on Tuesday, Garg argued that the police filed the action taken report on the incident after five months and has not yet begun interrogating students. “Such incidents are spreading like wildfire. The police is trying to evade their duty,” Garg said.
The court, however, granted an opportunity to the complainant to argue on the ingredients of sedition and posted the matter for hearing on September 5.
“It has to be ensured adequately that marital rape does not become a phenomenon which may destabilise the institution of marriage apart from being an easy tool for harassing the husbands,” it said. What could appear to be marital rape to one, might not appear the same to others, it said, warning against aping the West blindly.
Appearing for a petitioner, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves said marriage licence shouldn’t be viewed as a licence for a husband to rape his wife with impunity. Marital rape remains a divisive issue.
Supreme Court lawyer Swaraj Kaushal, who is the husband of external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, stirred a row on social media when he tweeted, “There is nothing like marital rape. Our homes should not become police stations.” He was reacting to the government’s affidavit.
The Centre was, however, hammered by rights activists.
People’s Union for Civil Liberties national secretary Kavita Srivastava called its stand retrograde. “Rape is rape, whether on marital bed or elsewhere, whether by husband or a stranger, and it’s time the governments understood this,” she said.
The government should criminalise marital rape, Lad Kumari Jain, former chairperson of the Rajasthan State Commission for Women, said.
A men’s rights group on Monday told the court that existing laws were “very much capable of dealing with the cases of sexual abuse of women”.
The court will continue hearing the case on Wednesday.
Modi will also be meeting other leaders of the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) during the summit.
From China, the Prime Minister will leave for Myanmar on a two-day visit from September 5 at the invitation of its President U Htin Kyaw.
During the visit, he will also hold discussions with state counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on matters of mutual interest and call on President U Htin Kyaw.
Apart from his engagements in Myanmar capital, Nay Pyi Taw, Modi will visit Yangon and Bagan, an ancient city.
It will be Modi’s first bilateral visit to Myanmar. He had visited Nay Pyi Taw in November 2014 to attend the summit of association of South East Asian countries. was botched up and police had not arrested the real accused.
The CBI has not said anything about the role of the policemen in the death of the 29-year-old labourer, whose wife accused the police of framing her husband.
The state government and police faced severe criticism for their handling of the case, as people blocked roads and held candlelight vigils demanding justice for the Class 10 student who was found dead in the woods of Halaila village on July 4.
A close relative of a Himachal Pradesh law officer was a suspect in the rape case, CBI sources said, adding he had been questioned by the agency.
The CBI took over the probe into the rape-and-murder case and the custodial death on July 22 on the orders of the Himachal Pradesh high court.
Flights were delayed by over 45 minutes, at least six cancelled and as many diverted as runways of the city’s busy airport were inundated.
Officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport said heavy rain, strong winds and poor visibility disrupted air traffic. National carrier Air India waived all penalties for flyers such as on no-show and date change because of the weather.
Passengers of the NagpurMumbai Duronto Express had a lucky escape as nine coaches derailed near Asangaon, about 70km north of the city.
Authorities said a rain-induced landslide damaged portions of the tracks. “The driver saw the landslide and applied the brakes. That’s why there were no injuries,” Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani told reporters in New Delhi.
The train had 18 Linke Hofmann Busch coaches made in Kapurthala. These Germany-designed carriages don’t turn over in a collision or derailment, officials said.
Most schools in Mumbai were closed as the city is celebrating its most revered annual Hindu festival, Ganeshotsav.
Maharashtra education minister Vinod Tawde instructed colleges and schools to remain shut on Wednesday as well.
But the civic administration has its hands full as people were flocking temples and temporary stages where god Ganesh is being worshipped.
The trouble began on Tuesday when the train service was stopped from 12.30pm. Many businesses asked employees to leave early in expectation of traffic jams. Office-goers streamed out and started walking home along flooded roads that were chock-a-block with vehicles. The buses and cars hadn’t moved an inch in hours.
Many people stayed put at their offices, while some made it to the homes of friends or relatives living nearby.
Rainwater flooded the King Edward Memorial Hospital in central Mumbai, forcing doctors to vacate the paediatric ward on the ground floor.
“We are worried about infections ... the rainwater is circulating rubbish that is now entering parts of the emergency ward,” said Ashutosh Desai, a doctor in the 1,800-bed hospital.
The Maharashtra government and the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is using close to 140 pumps to flush out the floodwater, appealed to people to stay indoors unless it is absolutely necessary to step out.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too urged the people to stay safe and take essential precautions. He spoke to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and assured full central help.
Helicopters and divers were placed on standby to meet any eventuality in the rain-battered city and its satellite towns, the navy said.
For his part, President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted: “Thoughts with families, especially children, in Mumbai & western parts of country hit by heavy downpour.”
Mumbai struggles with flooding from incessant monsoon rain every year. Unabated construction on floodplains and coastal areas, as well as storm-water drains and waterways clogged by plastic garbage and silt, has made the city increasingly vulnerable to floods.