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Collegium recommends making 37 additional judges in 5 high courts permanent

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NRI admission to minority college: SC refers case back to high court

The Supreme Court Collegium of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices J Chelameswar and Ranjan Gogoi has unanimously recommended to the Centre to appoint 37 additional judges – including five women judges – serving across five high courts as permanent judges.

The decision of the Collegium comes at a time when there is uncertainty over whether or not the Centre will accept its earlier recommendation of appointing two judges to the Supreme Court.

The Collegium had last month unanimously recommended to the Centre to elevate Uttarakhand Chief Justice KM Joseph as judge of the apex court. It had also recommended the appointment of senior advocate Indu Malhotra as a Supreme Court judge; if the Centre accepts this recommendation then Malhotra would become the first ever woman lawyer to be elevated straight from the Bar to the Supreme Court bench. However, it is learnt that the Centre is reluctant to accept these recommendations, particularly the elevation of Justice Joseph, of the Collegium.

On Friday, the Collegium passed five resolutions recommending that the 37 additional judges in the high courts of Allahabad, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bombay be made permanent.

According to the Collegium’s resolution with regard to appointments at the Bombay High Court, additional judges Justices Prakash Deu Naik, Makarand Subhash Karnik, Swapna Sanjiv Joshi, Kishor Kalesh Sonawane, Sangitrao Shamrao Patil, and Nutan Dattaram Sardessai, have been recommended to be made permanent. They were appointed as additional judges of the High Court in March 2016.

Though not naming any particular judge from this list, the Collegium’s resolution states: “We have taken note of certain complaints making allegations against some of the above-named recommendees (of the Bombay High Court). We do not see any merit in the aforesaid complaints as the allegations made therein are false, frivolous or without any substance. In our considered view, the said complaints deserve to be ignored, particularly, in the light of positive material on record… the Collegium finds all the above-named Additional Judges suitable for being appointed as Permanent Judges.”

Similarly, the Collegium has recommended that all seven additional judges of the Gujarat High Court be made permanent. Justices RP Dholaria, Ashutosh J Shastri, Biren A Vaishnav, Alpesh Y Kogje, Arvindsingh I Supehia, and BN Karia figure in this list. Further, Justice KJ Thaker, an additional judge from the Gujarat High Court who had been transferred to the Allahabad High Court, has also been recommended to be made a permanent judge and will continue to serve in his current posting.

The Collegium’s resolution with regard to the additional judges of the Gujarat High Court states: “As per record, Dr. Justice K.J. Thaker (who hails from Gujarat High Court and at present is functioning, on transfer, in Allahabad High Court) and Mr. Justice R.P. Dholaria were initially appointed for a period of two years on 4th May, 2013 and their term as Additional Judges had to be extended for a period of one year w.e.f. 4th May, 2015 since at the relevant time permanent vacancies were not available to accommodate them. The record further shows that their term having been further extended for a period of two years is now due to expire on 3rd May, 2018.”

With specific reference to Justice KJ Thaker, the Collegium resolution says: “As regards Dr. Justice K.J. Thaker, the record shows that the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court has forwarded statistics for the period of his tenure in that High Court and has stated inter alia that he has not received any written complaint against Dr. Justice K J Thaker either from the office bearers or members of the Bar Association.” It further adds: “We have taken note of certain complaint/s placed in the file by the Department of Justice as well as those received in the office of Chief Justice of India. Therein, allegations have been made against some of the above-named recommendees (from the Gujarat High Court). We do not see any merit in the aforesaid  complaints as the allegations made therein are found to be false, without any substance or are not supported by any reliable evidence/document. As they do not call for any action, in our considered view, the said complaints deserve to be ignored…”

From the Kerala High Court, the Collegium has decided to recommend that additional judges Justices Sathish Ninan, Devan Ramachandran, P Somarajan, V Shircy, and AM Babu be made permanent judges.

The maximum number of additional judges to be recommended for being made permanent – 10 – are from the Rajasthan High Court.

From the Rajasthan High Court, the Collegium has recommended that Justices Ganga Ram Moolchandani, Deepak Maheshwari, Vijay Kumar Vyas, Goverdhan Bardhar, Pankaj Bhandari, Dinesh Chandra Somani, Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati, Dinesh Mehta, and Vinit Kumar Mathur be made permanent. The resolution noted that there were “certain complaints making allegations” against some of these judges too but that the Collegium did not see any merit in these complaints that the “complaints deserve to be ignored”.

The additional judges recommended to be made permanent at the Allahabad High Court are: Justices Rajul Bhargava, Siddhartha Varma, Sangeeta Chandra, Daya Shankar Tripathi, Shailendra Kumar Agrawal, Sanjay Harkauli, Krishna Pratap Singh, Rekha Dikshit, and Satya Narain Agnihotri.

Interestingly, while the Collegium of the Allahabad High Court, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had collectively endorsed names of 10 additional judges of the Allahabad High Court to be made permanent, the Supreme Court Collegium has approved only the above mentioned nine judges while holding back the name of Justice Mr. Justice Virendra Kumar-II.

The Collegium’s resolution on the Allahabad High Court judges says: “Taking into consideration the material on record, the recommendation of the High Court Collegium, views of our consultee-colleagues and the report of the Judgment Evaluation Committee, the Collegium finds the above-named Additional Judges, except Mr. Justice Virendra Kumar-II, suitable for being appointed as Permanent Judges. We are of the view that the working of Mr. Justice Virendra Kumar-II as Additional Judge needs to be observed for some more time.”

— With Agency inputs

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RJD slams PM Modi over his unfulfilled promise to revive Bihar sugar mills

She sarcastically asked, “Why did he not fulfill his own promise? Has he developed diabetes?”

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The RJD on Saturday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his unfulfilled promise to revive sugar mills in Bihar and wondered whether the Prime Minister has given up on his promise because of diabetes.

RJD MP Misa Bharti humorously remarked on PM Modi’s unfulfilled commitment to enjoy tea sweetened with sugar from Bihar’s sugar mills, which have remained inactive for many years.

Bharti, the eldest daughter of RJD leader Lalu Prasad, asserted that the sugar industry in Bihar has not been revived so far and questioned whether Modi had abandoned his promise due to diabetes.

“The PM is enjoying his third consecutive term in office and has not fulfilled any of the promises he made before ascending to power,” she stated, emphasising her disappointment as a resident of Bihar who recalls Modi’s grand declarations about revitalizing the state’s sugar mills.

She sarcastically asked, “Why did he not fulfill his own promise? Has he developed diabetes?”

Responding to media inquiries, Bharti also dismissed the concept of “One nation one poll” as a “shigoofa” (gimmick) from the Modi government, arguing that they struggle to conduct elections in four states simultaneously, let alone nationwide.

Her comment referenced the Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand occurring after recent elections in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

Affiliated with the INDIA coalition, Bharti expressed confidence in the alliance’s success in upcoming Assembly elections and by-polls. Additionally, she condemned derogatory comments made by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant against a candidate from Eknath Shinde’s faction, asserting that “no offensive remarks should be made about a woman, even if she is a rival.”

Furthermore, she criticised inflammatory statements from Union Minister Giriraj Singh during the Hindu Swabhiman Yatra, saying it is “appalling” that a Union Minister could incite violence without facing repercussions.

Bharti also raised concerns about the BJP’s silence regarding a new political outfit formed by former Union Minister RCP Singh, who had transitioned to the BJP after being ousted from Nitish Kumar’s JD(U).

She took issue with Prashant Kishor, the Jan Suraaj founder, for making commitments that he never asked BJP and Nitish Kumar to fulfill while he was managing their campaign.

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India condemns Canada’s allegations against Amit Shah, calls it baseless

“Such irresponsible actions will have serious consequences for bilateral ties,” said the MEA.

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India on Saturday condemned the recent allegations made by the Canadian government against Amit Shah that he was purportedly involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, calling it absurd and baseless.

Addressing a press conference, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India had summoned the Canadian High Commissioner yesterday to protest in the strongest terms for the references made to the Union Home Minister of India before the Committee by Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison.

On Tuesday, Morrison claimed that Shah orchestrated a campaign of violence, intimidation, and intelligence-gathering aimed at Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. He informed members of Canada’s national security committee in Parliament that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which was the first to report the allegations. However, Morrison did not provide details on how Canada became aware of Shah’s alleged involvement.

Jaiswal said the revelation that high Canadian officials deliberately leak unfounded insinuations to the international media as part of a conscious strategy to discredit India and influence other nations only confirms the view that the government of India has long held about the current Canadian government’s political agenda and behavioural pattern.

“Such irresponsible actions will have serious consequences for bilateral ties,” said the MEA.

On the reports of a cancelled Diwali celebration, Jaiswal said, “We have seen some reports in this regard. It is unfortunate that the prevailing atmosphere in Canada has reached high levels of intolerance and extremism.”

He also spoke on the reduction in the number of Visas by the Canadian government and said the ministry has been monitoring the well-being of Indian students and professionals who are working in Canada. “Our concern for their safety and security remains strong,” he added.

The Ministry of External Affairs said some of its Consular officials were recently informed by the Canadian government that they have been and continue to be under audio and video surveillance as well as their communications have also been intercepted. “We have formally protested to the Canadian Government as we deem these actions to be a flagrant violation of relevant diplomatic and consular conventions,” the Ministry said.

By citing technicalities, the Canadian government cannot justify the fact that it is indulging in harassment and intimidation, Jaiswal said, adding that India’s diplomatic and consular personnel have already been functioning in an environment of extremism and violence.

He said such action of the Canadian government aggravates the situation and is incompatible with established diplomatic norms and practices.

Regarding the sanction of 19 Indian companies, Jaiswal noted that India has a robust legal and regulatory framework on strategic trade and non-proliferation controls.

India is also a member of three key multilateral non-proliferation export control regimes – the Vasinar Arrangement, the Australia Group and the Missile Technology Control Regime, and has been effectively implementing relevant UNSC sanctions and UNSC Resolution 1540 on non-proliferation, he added.

“Our understanding is that the sanction, transactions and companies are not in violation of Indian laws. Nevertheless, in keeping with India’s established non-proliferation credentials, we are working with all the relevant Indian departments and agencies to sensitize Indian companies on applicable export control provisions and also inform them of new measures being implemented that could impact Indian companies in certain circumstances,” the MEA said.

Regarding deportations from the United States, Jaiswal noted, “We have a consistent dialogue with the United States concerning migration and mobility, aimed at establishing more avenues for legal migration. As part of our ongoing consular arrangements, we have facilitated the movement of individuals who are residing in the United States illegally. This collaboration has been in effect for some time, and we anticipate that through our engagement with the United States on mobility and migration, we can work to deter illegal immigration.”

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Hemant Soren urges PM Modi to clear Jharkhand’s Rs 1.36 lakh crore coal dues

“I would also appeal to my BJP colleagues, especially the MPs, to help Jharkhandis in getting our dues,” Soren posted on X, sharing a copy of a letter to the Prime Minister.

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Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to clear Rs 1.36 lakh crore coal dues to the state.

PM Modi and Shah are scheduled to visit poll-bound Jharkhand. The Prime Minister will address two rallies on November 4 while Shah will address three public meetings on November 3.

In a post on X, Soren said, “The PM and the home minister are coming to Jharkhand. I once again request them with folded hands to clear the outstanding (coal dues) of Rs 1.36 lakh crore to Jharkhandis. This amount is crucial for Jharkhand.” Soren also appealed to BJP MPs to facilitate clearance of the amount.

Soren stressed that the outstanding payments owed by central public sector undertakings, particularly Coal India, are legitimate entitlements of Jharkhand and argued that “the delay in payment is causing irreparable harm to the state’s development.”

“I would also appeal to my BJP colleagues, especially the MPs, to help Jharkhandis in getting our dues,” Soren posted on X, sharing a copy of a letter to the Prime Minister.

In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, he stated, “I, Hemant Soren, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, would like to bring to your attention a grave issue that is obstructing the development of our state. Our dues from coal companies amount to Rs 1.36 lakh crore.”

He added that, despite legal provisions and judicial verdicts, coal companies have failed to make any payments. “These issues have been raised at various forums, including your esteemed office, the Finance Ministry, and NITI Aayog, yet the compensation of Rs 1.36 lakh crore remains unpaid,” Soren mentioned.

A recent decision by a nine-judge Supreme Court bench reaffirmed the state’s right to collect its mining and royalty dues. Soren pointed out that the non-payment of these dues is hindering vital socio-economic projects in Jharkhand, which is already an under-developed state.

“Numerous socio-economic development projects are being stalled due to the non-payment of our legitimate claims,” he noted.

Last month, he proposed a direct debit arrangement from Coal India’s account to the state, similar to what was established for the Jharkhand State Electricity Board’s dues to the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC).

“This continued delay in addressing our rightful demands has compelled me to reach out to you, as this negligence inflicts irreparable damage on Jharkhand and its people. Many social sector initiatives in education, health, women’s and child development, clean drinking water, and last-mile connectivity cannot be implemented due to insufficient funding,” Soren asserted.

He previously accused the central government of being indifferent to the challenges faced by the state, drawing attention to the unequal treatment regarding outstanding dues. The Jharkhand Assembly elections are set to take place in two phases on November 13 and 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23.

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