Former Chief Justice of India Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah launched the much-awaited multilingual India Legal App of the India Legal Research Foundation today. The IndiaLegal app is a path-breaking legal helpline that allows every citizen of India to access high calibre legal help from the safety of her/his home at the touch of a button.

Former CJI Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah is also the Chief Patron of India Legal magazine,  in Bengaluru. Several legal luminaries of the country attended the event online in a webinar.

Former Chief Justice of India Justice U.U. Lalit, Attorney General R. Venkataramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, Senior Advocate and Balaji Foundation Chairperson Pradeep Rai, National Law University Delhi Vice Chancellor Prof (Dr) GS Bajpai, Former IIM Bangalore Dean Prof Trilochan Sastry, Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association President Manoj K. Mishra and India Legal Editor-in-Chief Inderjit Badhwar will take part in the webinar. The event will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube on the India Legal and APN News accounts.

The India Legal App intends to change the way legal aid is made available to the people. The app gives ease of access, as a person can have a jargon-free discussion on complex matters with lawyers.

The complete assurance of privacy and easy payment methods is certain to make the legal experience of people very different from interminable hassles they may have heard about.

The app can be used in 6 Indian languages,  including English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali and Punjabi.  

The app is also useful in times of distress as a person sensing trouble or threat can contact a legal ‘friend’ till the time the police arrives.

Lawyers associated with the India Legal App assure to help people 24×7, ready to guide them through extremely tough situations, wherever they are in the country.

The India Legal App is an embodiment of trust and faith. Any individual can install this app on their mobile and directly communicate with a lawyer.

Slowly, this facility will extend to even those without mobile phones. They can avail of this service through their nearest common service centres, or Jan Suvidha Kendra/Setu/e-Seva Kendra/Pragya Kendra.

The service will be available at a reasonable cost, which can then also be paid at that service centre.

The India Legal App services include:

• 1. Free legal advice over the phone.

• 2. Payment of a specified amount for legal advice through audio and video calls.

• 3. Payment of a specified amount for document preparation.

• 4. Payment of annual membership fees to receive legal services.

Additionally, the India Legal App provides legal information and related videos to ensure users of the India Legal App are well-informed about legal matters.

India Legal is a respected politico-legal weekly magazine (both print and online) in the country, with complete professional journalistic and expert inputs. Its readers include lawyers, law firms and those related to the judiciary and justice system.

The India Legal Research Foundation (ILRF) is a non-profit organisation equipped with senior lawyers and devoted to bring justice to those who deserve it, but cannot afford it. ILRF provides free legal aid to the deserving and people in need.

International wrestling referee Jagbir Singh claimed he has been an eyewitness to Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh misbehaving with female wrestlers on multiple occasions in the past. 

Jagbir Singh claimed that the WFI chief engaged in inappropriate behaviour with female wrestlers during the trials of the Asian Championship Wrestling trials on March 25, 2022.

The international wrestling referee made these statement during an interview with a private TV news channel. Elaborating the unfortunate incident, Jagbir Singh said, during the photo session, a female wrestler was standing next to the WFI chief, the woman expressed discomfort about something and everyone attention turned towards her. Later, she freed herself, pushed away, mumbled and moved away.

Jagbir Singh further added that he saw Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh place his hands inappropriately on the female wrestler. Jasbir who has been an international wrestling referee since 2007, has supported the wrestlers allegations in his testimony to the Delhi Police. As per the FIR, the WFI chief forcibly held her by the shoulder before she could break free and move to the front row of the photograph.

In addition, recalling another incident in Thailand during the Junior Asia Championship in 2013, Jagbir said Brij Bhushan behaved inappropriately with minor female wrestlers. He narrated that the WFI chief had told the minor girls that he would arrange Indian food for them for dinner at their hotel, as they weren’t used to eating meat and later, Brij Bhushan was accompanied by his friends at the hotel and they were intoxicated. He further alleged that they touched the young girls inappropriately.

Jagbir Singh’s statement comes after the minor wrestler’s father who lodged a police complaint against Brij Bhushan affirmed that he deliberately filed a false case against him due to anger. Earlier in the FIR, the minor’s father revealed several instances when his daughter was sexually harassed by the WFI chief. He had claimed that WFI chief has touched her inappropriately and asked her to support him.

Nevertheless, the father affirmed that they have not taken back any complaint but they have recorded another statement on June 5, where they have alleged that he discriminated against the wrestler when it came to wrestling and he did not sexually harass her.

The BJP and the Congress are divided over the inclusion of RSS founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in chapters of school textbooks in Karnataka.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar said the alleged removal of the chapters on the RSS founder was a crime against Youth. The BJP has hit out at the Karnataka government demanding an apology that it is distorting history.

BJP Leader CN Ashwath Narayan said the Congress should take its time and should not take decisions in a hurry. He further added, as a government it should take into account the concerns of all sections of the society.

While the Congress MLC BK Hari Prasad said the Karnataka government will not include chapters on the RSS founder because he considered him as a coward and a fake freedom fighter.

Karnataka Education minister Madhu Bangarappa said the school syllabus will be changed from this year itself. He said old textbooks would not be recalled but supplementary textbooks will be sent to the teachers explaining what topics to be taught and what topics to be left out.

He said the changes in the syllabus was being made keeping in mind the future of the children. He added, the Congress had already made the announcement in the pre election manifesto itself.

He did not go into the details and said a special technical team is going to handle the process of revision of the textbooks.

The Congress had promised in thier election manifesto that they would remove the National Education Policy. He also added, the changes in the syllabus would be minimum so that no inconvenience is caused to the students in their studies.

The technical team will give their suggestions and recommendations which will be sent to the Education Minister.The Minister will discuss the changes in the syllabus with the cabinet members. This process will take 10-15 days.

After winning the recent held state election, the Congress said they are going to change the syllabus of the textbooks. They said they are not going to allow texts and lessons to poison the minds of their children.