English हिन्दी
Connect with us

India News

Centre wants special panel to deal with emergency abortion cases

Published

on

Indu Malhotra to be first woman to be promoted from Bar to SC judgeship

The move, if approved by the Supreme Court, could help expedite appeals by scores of women who wish to abort a foetus due to medical complications or rape survivors who have been impregnated by their tormentor

In a bold move, the Centre has asked the Supreme Court to lay down directions for the formation of a body or board which will expeditiously deal with cases wherein a woman has sought legal sanction for aborting a foetus after expiry of the 20-week limit for the medical procedure that is prescribed under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1972.

If the Supreme Court accepts the Centre’s request, it would grant huge relief to scores of women across India who move various courts seeking an abortion due to medical complications suffered by themselves or their foetus or rape survivors who get become pregnant after the crime.

Given the tardy pace of court proceedings and long-winding legal procedures that need to be settled before a court can rule in such cases, often crucial time is lost for the woman. In the event of an adverse order by the court, the woman is either forced to deliver a baby that she doesn’t want, or risk her life during delivery because the court failed to rule in her favour or lost time in doing so, or worse still – resort to an illegal abortion and claim that she had a miscarriage.

A number of cases have come to the Supreme Court and to other courts across the country in the recent past in which women whose pregnancies have run over 20 weeks have asked for permission to abort.

Some of these cases have been rather delicate, as was shown in a recent abortion attempt by parents of a 10-year-old rape victim. She arrived at the top court’s door when she was already 26 weeks pregnant. Formalities (such as forming a medical board) took up time, and when she was finally denied permission to abort (because it was too dangerous for her health), the child had to undergo a C-section surgery as she was 32 weeks into her pregnancy.Centre wants special panel to deal with emergency abortion cases

Recently, a Mumbai-based woman in her mid-30s who had conceived her first child discovered that her baby could be born with Down’s Syndrome. However, by the time the woman and her husband realised that the foetus had signs of the debilitating syndrome, she was already 21-weeks pregnant – a week more than the legal limit for abortion. The woman is now left with two options – either to take the pregnancy to term, or move court seeking an abortion – a process that will not only be long drawn but also full of personal trauma for her and her husband.

The Centre’s submission for setting up a body to deal with such cases was made, on Thursday (August 31), before the Supreme Court bench of Justices SA Bobde and L Nageshwara Rao.

The counsel for the Centre cited an order of August 25, by the bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta in another case (Nipun Saxena vs Union of India Ministry Of Home Affairs) in which the court had issued notice to the Medical Council of India and medical boards of all the states and Union Territories regarding the early consideration of cases in which the termination of pregnancy is sine qua non in lieu of Section 5 of MTP Act, 1972.

The reference to this by the government counsel came up during hearing in a case in which a woman (mentioned as Mrs A) in her 20s has been pregnant for about 24 weeks and wants an abortion.

At the last hearing the court had ordered the formation of a medical board, comprising a well-known gynaecologist and obstetrician to examine her. This was to decide if medical termination of pregnancy would be life-threatening for the petitioner.

On Thursday, the petitioner’s counsel submitted that procurement and service of that detailed medical report, mentioning the current health status of woman and her child, has not taken place, because of the non-availability of the man/husband who has begotten her pregnant.

In most cases where permission to abort is sought from the courts and a medical board is formed to give its opinion, the testimony of the man or husband who has got the petitioner pregnant is a legal pre-requisite – unless it is establishment that the pregnancy was the result of rape.

If the Supreme Court indeed grants its approval for setting up a permanent body – equipped with medical as well as legal experts – that would examine pleas for abortion in an expeditious manner, legal complications like waiting for all testimonies to be recorded, getting relevant medical examinations conducted seeking dates for hearing the matter, etc may all be resolved, much to the relief of the woman who seeks a termination of her pregnancy.

India News

Tax terrorism has to stop, says Congress after Income Tax Department issues fresh Rs 1,700 crore notice

The Congress has accused the BJP of squeezing it financially and of using tax authorities against it ahead of Lok Sabha elections beginning April 19.

Published

on

Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the Congress’ financial woes worsened once again with the Income Tax Department issuing a fresh Rs 1,700 crore notice. The tax department issued the notice due to discrepancies in tax returns. 

The fresh notice is for assessment years 2017-18 to 2020-21 and includes penalty and interest. This comes a day after the Delhi High Court dismissed the party’s petition challenging the tax notices. 

The opposition party is already facing a funds crunch after Income Tax authorities imposed a penalty of Rs 200 crore and froze its funds. Furthermore, the party has not received any relief from the High Court in the case and is likely to approach the Supreme Court. The Congress has accused the BJP of squeezing it financially and of using tax authorities against it ahead of Lok Sabha elections beginning April 19.

Addressing a press conference, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that the notices are being sent to cripple the party financially. Calling the action as tax terrorism, Jairam Ramesh said that this attack on Congress has to stop.

Earlier in February, the Income Tax department had found fault in the party’s tax returns and demanded Rs 200 crore. Subsequently, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) had asked the party to pay the dues and froze their accounts. The Congress stated the tax tribunal’s order freezing its funds was an attack on democracy as the order came just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal stated that this is a deliberate attempt by the Narendra Modi-led to bankrupt the Congress ahead of elections. He mentioned that the timing of the penalty notice, following the Delhi High Court’s dismissal of Congress petitions challenging tax reassessment proceedings, reeks of political vendetta.

He underlined that while political parties are typically exempt from taxes, this penalty is allegedly due to delayed filing of returns. He asserted that it is a blatant move by the Modi government to cripple the Congress financially, especially during the elections. He further asserted that in response to the notice, the Congress plans to stage a nationwide protest, condemning BJP’s exploitation of central agencies to target opposition parties. 

Continue Reading

India News

Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Tejashwi Yadav mourns demise of Mukhtar Ansari, demand probe

Akhilesh Yadav mentioned that such doubtful cases should be investigated under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge.

Published

on

Mukhtar Ansari, gangster turned politician, who has been in jail since 2005, died due to cardiac arrest on Thursday. After Ansari’s death, his family alleged that the politician had been poisoned in the jail.  

Expressing sorrow, several opposition leaders demanded a probe into the death of Mukhtar Ansari. Notably, the gangster turned politician submitted an application in Barabanki court, alleging he was given some poisonous substance along with his food. He claimed that on March 19, his nerves and limbs started paining after he consumed the food.

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Tejashwi Yadav wrote on X that a few days ago Mukhtar Ansari complained that he had been poisoned in jail, yet it was not taken seriously. He added that prima facie the move does not seem justifiable and humane. He stated that constitutional institutions should take suo motu cognizance of such strange cases and incidents.

Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi Party Chief, Akhilesh Yadav said that the state is going through the worst phase of government anarchy. He added that it is the responsibility and duty of the government to protect someone’s life in every situation and at every place. 

The former Chief Minister added that the death of a hostage or prisoner while being confined in the police station, in a fight inside the jail, on falling ill inside the prison, while being taken to court, while being taken to hospital or during treatment in hospital will erode public confidence in the judicial process. He mentioned that such doubtful cases should be investigated under the supervision of a Supreme Court judge. He claimed that the way the government bypasses the judicial process and adopts other methods is completely illegal. 

Taking to social media platform X, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati said that the persistent apprehensions and serious allegations made by Mukhtar Ansari’s family regarding his death in jail require a high-level investigation so that the facts in his death can be revealed. 

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said that the people of Ghazipur lost their favourite son and brother. He added that Mukhtar Ansari had made serious allegations against the administration that he was poisoned, but the government did not pay any attention to his treatment.

Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput stated that custodial deaths and firing in jail has become very common in Uttar Pradesh. He added that high level investigation should be conducted.

Continue Reading

India News

Uttar Pradesh on high alert after gangster turned politician Mukhtar Ansari death, probe ordered on poisoned in jail charge

Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), Prashant Kumar said that as a precautionary measure, Section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed across the state.

Published

on

Several towns in Uttar Pradesh are on high alert and security has been strengthened after jailed gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari died of cardiac arrest. His family alleged that the gangster, who has been in jail since 2005, was poisoned. 

The jailed gangster was hurried to a hospital after he fell unconscious at district jail on Thursday night. After a few hours, he was declared dead by the doctors at the Rani Durgavati Medical College. 

Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP), Prashant Kumar said that as a precautionary measure, Section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed across the state. The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has also been called in to assist the police. Reportedly, the CRPF units have already been deployed in Banda, Mau, Ghazipur, and Varanasi.

Additionally, the social media cell of the Uttar Pradesh Police is also on high alert to track unlawful elements that may try to spark a riot. Furthermore, a magisterial investigation into the death of Mukhtar Ansari will be carried out by a three member team, reports said.

A former five-time MLA from Mau Sadar seat Muktar Ansari, had 60 criminal cases pending against him. The gangster turned politician was sentenced in eight cases since September 2022 by different courts of Uttar Pradesh and was lodged in the Banda jail.

Earlier, the former five-time MLA from Mau submitted an application in Barabanki court, alleging he was given some poisonous substance along with his food. He claimed that on March 19, his nerves and limbs started paining after he consumed the food.

Muktar Ansari was born into a family with deep roots in the independence struggle. His grandfather served as the Indian National Congress president in 1927. He was initially affiliated with the Bahujan Samaj Party before forming the Quami Ekta Dal (QED) after being expelled.

Continue Reading

Trending

-->

© Copyright 2022 APNLIVE.com