India News
Ranjan Gogoi book brings back focus on his key judgments
Apart from the sexual harassment case, Gogoi has passed several key decisions either individually or as part of a bench which are a tad controversial.

By Deeksha Sharma
Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has been in the news recently for his autobiography, Justice for the Judge. The book was released on Wednesday. But it has been a topic for both ridicule and amusement because of its title and its attempt to salvage Gogoi’s reputation.
Now a nominated Rajya Sabha member, Gogoi said in an interview, “We all make mistakes and I have no difficulty in saying so”, when asked about the propriety of him leading the bench hearing the sexual harassment case against him.
On December 8, Rupa Publications held a grand launch for the book which was released by Gogoi’s successor in the Supreme Court, Justice (retired) S.A. Bobde.
At the book launch and after, he gave interviews and was asked several questions about his decisions, judgements and, of course, the sexual harassment case levelled against him, in which he himself scheduled the hearing of the case and made observations about the motive and conduct of the complainant and claimed he was being targeted and maligned by vested interests. All in the name of tarnishing the judiciary.
Apart from the sexual harassment case, Gogoi has passed several key decisions either individually or as part of a bench which are a tad controversial.
Sabarimala Judgement
In 2019, the Supreme Court bench led by then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi reviewed petitions challenging the Apex Court’s 2018 decision to allow women of all ages to enter Sabarimala temple, which said that matter should be considered by a larger bench.
This decision was taken with a 3-2 majority, Justices R.F. Nariman (now retired) and D.Y. Chandrachud were the dissenters and were part of the majority in the 4-1 verdict of the 2018 order.
In the hearing, Gogoi said whether a court can intervene in matters that are essential to religion is yet to be decided, and this case is in reference to a larger bench of issues.
Rafale clean chit
In the same year, another bench headed by Gogoi gave a clean chit to the Narendra Modi government over allegations of corruption in India’s purchase of 36 Rafale jets from France’s Dassault Aviation. The deal had come under the corruption cloud because the initial contract was for 126 planes. Further, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s chowkidar comment had also queered the pitch. Rafale was the opposition’s main plank in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections but the surgical strike in response to the Pulwama killing of CRPF jawans and the nation rallying behind him saw PM Modi back in the office.
Sexual harassment case levelled against Former CJI Ranjan Gogoi
In 2019, a staffer of the Supreme Court, who was assigned duties at the Gogoi residence said that she had been sexually harassed by him.
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After this, he took suo motu cognisance of the matter and titled it as ‘In Re Matter of Great Public Importance Touching Upon the Independence of Judiciary.’ Not only this, he also heard the matter on a holiday and the bench was headed by him. Legal experts have decried Gogoi on several counts for the sheer lack of judicial propriety in his dealing with the case.
NRC
At a media house’s event, Gogoi said, “National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a game, a big game by the politicians.” But this statement is nothing as he himself has part of the game and part of the bench that directed and saw the implementation of the NRC in Assam from 2014 till its finalisation in 2019.
The NRC is the first of the two-card bogey (the second being the Citizenship Amendment Act) that had put Indian Muslims especially in the Northeast and West Bengal on tenterhooks. The CAA led to several struggles including the now legendary sit-in by Muslim women at Shaheen Bagh.
India News
Rajasthan High Court acquits 4 accused in 2008 Jaipur serial blasts
The four accused are Sarwar Azmi, Mohammed Salman, Mohammed Said, and Saifurehman Ansari and were found guilty by a trial court in 2019.

The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday sentenced all 4 accused people to death in connection with the deadly serial blasts in Jaipur in 2008. The blasts took 71 lives and left more than 180 people injured.
The four accused are Sarwar Azmi, Mohammed Salman, Mohammed Said, and Saifurehman Ansari and were found guilty by a trial court in 2019.
The accused men were convicted and awarded the death penalty by a sessions court on August 8, 2020, for the nine ammonium nitrate-based bombs that were blasted within a span of twenty minutes.
A division bench of Justices Pankaj Bhandari and Sameer Jain pronounced the verdict after approving 28 appeals. The High Court also upheld the decision of the lower court to release one of the accused, Shahbaz.
The 4 accused were convicted and were found guilty of murder, attempt to murder, voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means, conspiracy and under relevant sections of the Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
While Mohammed Saif was arrested in the blast at Manak Chowk police station, Mohammad Salman was nabbed for blasts in Sanganeri Hanuman temple. Sarwar Azmi was arrested for carrying out a blast at the Chandpole Hanuman temple and Saifurehman Ansari was found guilty of planting bombs at five different places in Jaipur.
Reports said 13 people were arrested by police, out of which three are in Hyderabad and Delhi jails and the other three are still absconding. 2 were shot in the Batla House encounter while four others were sent to Jaipur jail.
India News
Amritpal Singh releases first video amid manhunt, mocks Punjab Police | WATCH
Amritpal Singh, who returned from Dubai in 2022 and took over Waris De Chief, is on the run since March 18.

Pro-Khalistani leader and Waris De Chief Amritpal Singh released his first video message amid the high-voltage drama of Punjab Police to nab him.
In the viral video, Singh can be heard mocking the efforts made by the Bhagwant Mann’s police and saying he managed to escape despite their best efforts. He put a full stop to the media reports speculating that he would surrender.
He also said if the Punjab government had the intention to arrest him, the police could have arrested him from his house.
Singh continued that his aides have been arrested in false cases and had been sent to the Assam jail just for preaching the Sikh religion. Further, he urged his supporters to keep fighting for him and support him.
Read Also: Amritpal Singh likely to surrender in Golden Temple before Akal Takht, says report
Watch the viral video:
The Punjab government on Wednesday informed the Haryana and Punjab High Court that they failed to arrest the radical preacher despite their best efforts.
The cops also carried out a flag march around the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Multiple media reports stated that Singh will surrender at the Golden Temple in public in the presence of the media.
Amritpal Singh, who returned from Dubai in 2022 and took over Waris De Chief, is on the run since March 18. The Punjab government declared him a fugitive and is in search of the pro-khalistani leader.
On Wednesday, Singh along with his close aide Papalpreet Singh managed to dodge the police and escape. Reports said an Innova vehicle with three people onboard was stopped by the police on Tuesday night at a checkpoint, however, they managed to escape in the dark.
Multiple videos of Singh are being circulated on social media. In one of the videos, Singh was seen walking in a street in Delhi market without a turban and covering his mouth with a mask.
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India News
Video of UP policemen trampling, kicking man sleeping on train platform goes viral, users enraged | WATCH
The video also shows the policemen and the man exchanging words, however, one of the policemen can again be seen trampling the man’s feet by stepping on it.

A bizarre video has come to light from Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura Railway station where 2 policemen can be seen misbehaving with a man sleeping on the railway platform as he waits for the train. After the video went viral, many user came forward to condemn Police’s actions.
In the video, two policemen can be seen harassing a man lying on the railway platform as he waits for his train. In the video, one policeman can be seen blinding the man with torch, whereas another can be seen kicking him.
The video also shows the policemen and the man exchanging words, however, one of the policemen can again be seen trampling the man’s feet by stepping on it. The man can be seen continuing to talk to the policemen despite being harassed.
Read Also: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge hits back at PM Modi’s corruption remark, says stop image makeover
Watch video here:
User’s reaction
After the video of the incident went viral on social media, many users came forward to add their take on the incident as one user sarcastically wrote and urged the authorities to award them with bravery award, sarcastically implying at the way they behaved with man in a cowardly manner.
One user wrote and also urged other followers to share the video to make it go viral so the unruly policemen can be held accountable by the authorities.
One user wrote and added a quippy take on the narrative of new india put forth by the BJP as they wrote that they never thought that the new india will function like this, implying that the new India is even a step back from the prevailing situation in the nation.
One user wrote and said that such policemen never treat bigwig mafias or goons in such manner of hostility, implying that the police only use their arbitrary powers against the helpless and never against the people who actually deserve them.
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