The Supreme Court on Thursday wondered why the Gujarat High Court has listed the bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad for hearing on September 19, six weeks after it sent a notice to the state government seeking a response to her application, and asked the state to inform it by 2 pm on Friday about whether such a precedent existed there, PTI reported. A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia posted the plea of Setalvad for further hearing on Friday.
Setalvad was arrested for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame “innocent people” in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases. “We will hear this case tomorrow at 2 pm. Give us instances where a lady accused in such cases has got such dates from high court. Either this lady has been made an exception....How can the court give this date? Is this standard practice in Gujarat?” an apparently displeased CJI said.
The Gujarat High Court had on August 3 issued a notice to the state government on the bail plea of Setalvad and fixed the matter for hearing on September 19. An Ahmedabad sessions court had on July 30 rejected the bail applications of Setalvad and former Director General of Police R B Sreekumar in the case, saying that if they were released, it will send a message to wrongdoers that a person can level allegations with impunity and get away with it.
Setalvad and Sreekumar, both arrested in June, are accused of fabricating evidence to frame “innocent people” in the post-Godhra riots cases of 2002. They are lodged in the Sabarmati central jail. Sreekumar has also moved the high court for bail.
Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, the third accused in the case, has not applied for bail. Bhatt was already in jail for another criminal matter when he was arrested in this case.
They were arrested by the Ahmedabad city crime branch in June after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against them under Indian Penal Code sections 468 (forgery for cheating) and 194 (fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offences).
Mumbai-based Setalvad and Sreekumar were arrested within a couple of days after the Supreme Court on June 24 dismissed a petition filed by Zakia Jafri, whose husband and former Congress MP Ehsaan Jafri was killed during the riots in Ahmedabad, challenging the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people in the riots, including the then chief minister Narendra Modi.
Shocked over selective leaks on CM’s disqualification as MLA: UPA delegation to Jharkhand Governor
A UPA delegation on Thursday told Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais that it was shocked over “selective leaks” on Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s disqualification as a legislator.
The UPA delegation, in a representation to Bais, said such leaks created chaos, confusion and uncertainty. It also asked the governor to clear the confusion over the ECI ruling on the matter.
The delegation said that speculations on Soren's fate has encouraged the destablisation of a democratically elected government. It asserted that disqualification of the CM as MLA will not affect the government, as the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD coalition enjoys an absolute majority in the 81-member House.
Following a petition by the BJP seeking Soren’s disqualification from the assembly in an office of profit case, the Election Commission has sent its decision to Bais on August 25.
Though the EC’s decision is not yet made official, there was a buzz that the poll panel has recommended the chief minister’s disqualification as an MLA. The Raj Bhavan did not announce anything on this matter since then.
Twitter starts testing ‘Edit Tweet’ feature
Twitter users may soon see some tweets with ‘last edited’ label as the company starts testing the ‘edit tweet’ feature — the most requested feature till now, internally. Twitter will also soon expand the test base for the feature to the subscribers of its paid monthly subscription Twitter Blue.
“It’s true: Edit Tweet is being tested by our team internally. The test will then be initially expanded to Twitter Blue subscribers in the coming weeks,” the company said in a blog.
It added that it is its most requested feature to date and even those whose who are not part of the test group will be able to see if a Tweet has been edited. The Edit feature will allows users to make changes to their tweet after it’s been published. “Think of it as a short period of time to do things like fix typos, add missed tags, and more,” as per Twitter.
The U. S.-headquartered firm had in April this year announced that it had been working on an edit feature since last year.
For the testing, users will be able to edit tweets a few times within 30 minutes following their publication. The edited tweets will appear with an icon, timestamp, and label so it’s clear to readers that the original Tweet has been modified. Tapping the label will take viewers to the Tweet’s Edit History, which includes past versions of the Tweet.
“For context, the time limit and version history play an important role here. They help protect the integrity of the conversation and create a publicly accessible record of what was said,” it added.
Twitter added that like any new feature, the company is intentionally testing Edit Tweet with a smaller group to help us incorporate feedback while identifying and resolving potential issues. “This includes how people might misuse the feature. You can never be too careful.” it said.
“Later this month, we’ll be expanding Edit Tweet access to Twitter Blue subscribers. As part of their subscription, they receive early access to features and help us test them before they come to Twitter,” it said, adding that the test will be localised to a single country at first and expand as we learn and observe how people use Edit Tweet.
Indian-American doctor files lawsuit against PM Modi, Jagan Mohan Reddy, Adani
An Indian-American doctor has filed a lawsuit in Washington against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, and business tycoon Gautam Adani on a host of issues, including corruption and Pegasus spyware.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has issued summons to all these leaders, along with several others, which were served on them in India earlier this year. Eminent Indian-American attorney from New York Ravi Batra has termed it a “dead on arrival lawsuit”.
The lawsuit against Modi, Reddy and Adani has been filed by Richmond-based gastroenterologist Dr. Lokesh Vuyurru. Among others named in the lawsuit is Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and chairman of the World Economic forum (WEF).
Without any documentary evidence, the Indian-American physician, who comes from Andhra Pradesh, alleged that Modi, Reddy and Adani, along with others, are engaged in corruption, including massive cash transfers to the U.S. and use of Pegasus spyware against political opponents.
The lawsuit was filed on May 24, following which the court issued the summons on July 22. The summons were served on them in India on August 4 and to Schwab in Switzerland on August 2.
Dr. Vuyyuru submitted the evidence of submission of the summons before the court on August 19. Asked about the lawsuit, Batra said Vuyyuru had too much free time on his hands.
“Lokesh Vuyyuru has too much free time on his hands, seeing his improper use of our federal courts by filing his 53-page complaint to defame and disparage an American ally, India, and despite the presumption against extra-territoriality and foreign sovereign immunity act — something we helped flush out by repeatedly winning dismissal of SFJ v INC and SFJ v Sonia Gandhi — he slashes and burns indiscriminately as if there was no Rule 11 to teach him respect for Article III courts,” he told PTI.
In Brief
Russian energy firm Lukoil said Thursday its chairman Ravil Maganov had died following a “serious illness”, after Russian media reports said he died after falling out of a hospital window. Lukoil was one of the few major Russian companies to call for end of fighting in Ukraine after Moscow sent its troops to the pro-Western country in February. Several Russian media had earlier reported that Maganov died after falling out of a window of a Moscow hospital that is often called the Kremlin Hospital because it counts Russia’s political and business elites among its patients. “This morning Maganov fell out of a window of the Central Clinical Hospital. He died from his injuries,” Interfax news agency reported quoting an “informed” source. According to a police source of RBC business daily, Maganov fell from the sixth-floor window of the hospital.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow