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Supreme Court grants bail to four 2002 Gujarat riot convicts, says conviction debatable

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Supreme Court on Tuesday, Jan 22, ordered the release on bail of four convicts in 2002 Gujarat riots case of Naroda Patiya, which saw one of the worst massacres, calling their conviction “debatable”.

The convicts, Umeshbhai Bharwad, Rajkumar, Harshad and Prakashbhai Rathod, had been found guilty and sentenced to a 10-year jail term for arson and rioting by the Gujarat High Court on June 25 last year.

The top court also said it is seized of appeals by others convicted in the case, including Babu Bajrangi.

At least 97 Muslims were killed in Naroda Patiya near Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002, which saw one of the worst instances of mob violence when nearly 100 Muslims were slaughtered by a mob of thousands during the communal riots that followed the Godhra train burning in which 59 Hindu train passengers were killed.

In June last year, the Gujarat High Court had sentenced the convicts to 10 years rigorous imprisonment, observing that their punishment must be consistent with the brutality of the crime.

The high court had convicted 16 people, including Babu Bajrangi, and acquitted 18 others, among them former BJP minister Maya Kodnani for want of evidence.

“The court cannot set aside the agony and anguish of the victims… Offences are not against individuals but society at large and has consequences of polarising society,” Gujarat high court had said while convicting them.

“Imposing too lenient a sentence would amount to travesty of justice… Imposition of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment would be adequate punishment,” the court held.

The court further observed that any liberal attitude with respect to such offences would be “counter-productive” and “against the interest of society”.

On Tuesday, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar granted bail to four convicts on the chief grounds that the High Court verdict of conviction was “debatable” and that they should be released on bail since their appeal would take much time for disposal.

In three bail orders, the Supreme Court has expressed serious doubts over the conviction.

All these accused were held guilty under Section 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) of the Indian Penal Code, along with other provisions relating to unlawful assembly.

The bench released Umeshbhai Surabhai Bharwad, Rajkumar, Padmendrasinh Jaswantsinh Rajput and Harshad alias Mungda Jila Govind Chhara Parmar on bail after imposing ordinary conditions to be laid out by the trial court.

The Supreme Court, while deciding the bail plea, noted that the Gujarat HC had primarily relied upon identification of these convicts by police officials but in some cases, no identification parade was conducted and the appeals raised doubt over their identification in a group of around 15,000 persons.

“Prima facie, we find that the approach of the High court is debatable,” said the bench, while granting bail to Bharwad. It also noted that Bharwad was undergoing treatment for HIV and that he had been on bail during the trial of the case.

Taking up the bail plea by Rajkumar, the apex court noted that the HC convicted him while observing that even in absence of any specific role attributed to the applicant his presence being established, the charge of being a member of the unlawful assembly must hold good.

“Prima facie, we find this approach to be doubtful, especially when the witnesses relied upon by the prosecution are police officials and no identification parade of this applicant was conducted during the investigation by the Police,” noted the bench, granting bail to Rajkumar.

The court further noted that Harshad alias Mungda Jila was sentenced to 10 years in jail. “He has already undergone more than five years of actual imprisonment coupled with the fact that the hearing of the appeal is not likely to take place in the immediate near future. Accordingly, applicant is ordered to be released on bail to the satisfaction of the trial court,” directed the bench.

It also released another convict, Prakashbhai Sureshbhai Rathod, on interim bail between January 28 and February 15 to attend his daughter’s wedding.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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DPS Dwarka, Amity, several other Delhi-NCR schools get bomb threat, Central agencies launch probe

Schools in Delhi get bomb threat emails, police searching premises.

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A bomb threat was sent by email on Wednesday morning to over 60 schools in Delhi and one in Noida, resulting in widespread evacuations, according to police officials.

The Delhi Police claims that several schools, including Mother Marry School in East Mayur Vihar, Amity School in Pushp Vihar, DAV School in South West Delhi, Mother Marry School in Dwarka, and Vasant Kunj sections of Delhi Public School (DPS), received the bomb threat. A similar bomb threat was also received by DPS Noida.

The moment the threat was received, the school’s grounds were evacuated, and the pupils were sent home, according to sources.

Following the bomb threat received by DPS Dwarka at six in the morning, members of the Delhi Police, several fire tenders, and the bomb disposal squad (BDS) were dispatched to the scene.

The police officials said that although a comprehensive investigation of the school’s grounds was carried out, nothing suspicious was found. In a similar manner, Mother Mary School, Sanskriti School, Amity School, and DPS Noida campuses were also searched.

The principal of Delhi Public School in Noida released the a statement saying, an email threatening the students’ safety and security has been received by Delhi Public School in Noida. We are sending the students back home right now as a precaution.

According to preliminary findings, the emails used to send the threat had IP addresses from countries other than India. The Delhi Police believed that a VPN might be used to hide the IP address.

In relation to the matter, an investigation is in underway.

Teams are looking, but so far nothing unusual has been discovered. We’re looking into the IP that sent the email. Early in the morning, the email was received, DCP Dwarka informed the media in a statement.

Meanwhile, Delhi Minister Atishi said that government representatives maintained continuous communication with the Delhi Police and educational authorities. She also asked the parents to be calm.

A bomb threat was received by Delhi Public School, RK Puram, earlier in February of this year. Police searched the area, but they found nothing untoward.

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Sunita Kejriwal, Atishi meet Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar jail, discuss Delhi governance

AAP had earlier accused the Tihar jail administration of cancelling Sunita Kejriwal’s meeting with Arvind Kejriwal.

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Delhi Chief Minister’s wife Sunita Kejriwal and AAP minister Atishi met Arvind Kejriwal in the Tihar Jail today. After their meeting, both dicussed the specifics of their meeting with CM. They said that the jailed CM was asking about the Delhi governance matter.

Kejriwal is expected to see Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwan Mann tomorrow.

Atishi, who is in charge of six departments in the Delhi Cabinet, said, she visited with the Chief Minister. When she asked how he was doing, he skipped answering her, rather he asked how the work is going in Delhi. He said, not to ask about his condition. During their meet, the Delhhi CM also asked about the school kids that are they getting books? Does Mohalla Clinic have access to medications? Atishi continued.

The Chief Minister said that as summer is approaching, Delhi shouldn’t have any water-related issues. He sent a message to the women of Delhi, saying he is planning to give them Rs 1000.

The Aam Aadmi Party had earlier claimed that Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, was not allowed to see him. However, in a statement, Delhi minister Atishi said that Sunita Kejriwal will see her husband later on in the day and that two people were granted permission, but Sunita ji’s was cancelled. Athishi said, every day, new laws are enacted, she did not have permission, but when their lawyers won this legal battle, she was permitted to see Kejriwal.

AAP’s campaign for the Lok Sabha in the national capital and other states will be led by Mrs. Kejriwal, the party said. The campaign kicked off with a roadshow to support AAP’s candidate for East Delhi, Kuldeep Kumar. This is the first time that Mrs. Kejriwal has entered the political sphere actively.

Party leader Sanjay Singh asserted last week that Atishi’s name was added to the list of visitors for Mr. Kejriwal following the name of Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj.

Meanwhile, in the Delhi Liquor Policy case, Arvind Kejriwal was taken into custody in March. On March 21, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) detained him in connection with a money laundering case. In the same case, Manish Sisodia, his former deputy, is jailed.

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FIR filed against YouTube channel in Punjab for defaming AAP MP Raghav Chadha

The case was filed on the complaint of the son of an AAP candidate from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat.

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A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed by Punjab Police against a YouTube channel for allegedly linking Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha to wanted man Vijay Mallya.

The AAP candidate for the Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency, Ashok Pappi Prashar’s son, Vikas Prashar, filed a formal complaint against the YouTube station Capital TV. The complainant held the channel accountable for airing misleading and defamatory content.

The statements/contents of false videos on Capital TV channel and others shall harm the public peace and harmony…and is likely to promote enmity between different groups in the country on grounds of religion, caste, race and community, the complaint said.

In his complaint, Vikas allegedly claimed that the YouTube channel was disseminating misleading information and that it was defaming Raghav Chadha by equating him with Mallya.

Vijay Mallya fled to the UK after taking public money, and similarly, a Rajya Sabha member left for England, claiming it was for eye treatment, according to the FIR, which noted claims made by the YouTube channel.

The AAP leader will reportedly get a vitrectomy in the UK to save the retina from detaching from the eye earlier. According to the research, this disorder, which is characterized by the formation of tiny holes in the retina, is very dangerous for vision and must be treated immediately to prevent irreversible damage.

The channel referred to Chadha as a Khalistani supporter following his encounter with UK MP Preet Gill, according to the complaint.

Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) deals with inciting religious hatred among various groups, Section 469 deals with forgeries, and Section 505 deals with making statements that could incite public disturbances.

The FIR also contains Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, which addresses offenses involving computers.

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