SC STAYS DISMANTLING OF INS VIRAAT

The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the dismantling of Navy's aircraft carrier INS Viraat, which was decommissioned in March 2017 on a petition by a Navi Mumbai-based firm which wants to convert the ship into a maritime museum and a multi-functional adventure centre.

Issuing notices to the Centre and Shree Ram Group of Industries, a ship-breaking firm of Bhavnagar, Gujarat, which had bought the carrier for Rs38.54 crore in an auction in July last year, a Bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde agreed to examine the price at which the ship can be bought by M/s Envitech Marine Consultants Private Limited of Vishnukant Sharma and his wife Rupali.

Rupali Sharma appeared as petitioner-in-person offering Rs100 crore to the buyer and told the court she has come in appeal against a Bombay High Court order on November 3 which dismissed the petition after the Defence Ministry submitted the government is no more concerned with the warship since after the bidder won the auction, the sale process completed in September and the government has received the money.

In its brief order, the apex court directed the Shree Ram Group "to maintain status quo with regard to dismantling/breaking of the subject-ship known as INS Viraat, as on date."

TOO LATE: Mukesh Patel, chairman of Shri Ram Group based at Alang in Bhavnagar district, however, said in Ahmedabad it is too late since “over 40% of the dismantling work has been already completed.” His firm began dismantling the carrier at its ship-breaking yard at Alang in December 2020 and now it is impossible to reassemble the parts that have been cut.

HC RAPE RULING: SC TO HEAR NCW

The SC on Wednesday agreed to hear a plea by the National Commission for Women challenging the Bombay HC verdict which said groping a minor's breast without "skin to skin contact" cannot be termed as sexual assault, as defined under the POCSO Act. The SC had on January 27 stayed the HC’s verdict after Attorney General KK Venugopal mentioned the matter before it and said that the judgment was "unprecedented" and was likely to set a "dangerous precedent".

Hearing the matter on Wednesday, a bench headed by CJI Bobde issued notice to Maharashtra government seeking its response on the NCW's plea.