Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu greeted the nation on the birth anniversary of Tamil poet, philosopher and saint, Thiruvalluvar. While tweeting, the office of VP had tweeted an image of the poet wearing saffron robes.
Tweet by VP Secretariat on Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar’s birth anniversary, now deleted.
However, soon after he tweeted, the ‘secular’ brigade outraged that using Thiruvalluvar’s picture wearing saffron robes is ‘appropriating’ him and alleged that this disrespected him.
வள்ளுவரில் காவி நிறம். அவமானம். அவர் ஒரு துணை ஜனாதிபதியாக இருக்க தகுதியுடையவரா? சங்கி, கோல்டி, கோமியம். வள்ளுவருக்கு பெரிய அவமரியாதை. வெங்காய நாயுடு. poyidu https://t.co/iR1ZumaBG0
For a State party unit to use this portrait of Thiruvallur is one thing. I supported BJP’s right to use this picture. But shouldn’t a person holding a Constitutional post use the Govt approved picture? #thiruvalluvarhttps://t.co/DuuoRDuh7h
He alleged that the saffron robe worn by saint Thiruvalluvar in the picture depicted religion and caste.
Saint Thiruvalluvar
For the record, there is no official record on what kind of clothes Saint Thiruvalluvar wore or any details about his life and portraits of him are also artistic imagery of the poet-saint. In fact, as per reports, there is inadequate information even on his name as well as his poetic work. However, it is generally believed that he lived sometime between 4th and 6th century BC.
However, after the ‘secular’ outrage, Vice President of India deleted his original tweet and posted a new tweet to greet the nation on the poet-saint’s birth anniversary.
Considered as one of the greatest classics in #Tamil#Literature on morality, values and ethics, the treatise on a variety of subjects, including governance remains relevant for all times. #Thiruvalluvar
Shekhar Gupta’s The Print had recently published a report claiming that in a meeting with India’s top pharmaceutical companies, PM Modi had asked them “not to bribe doctors with women, foreign trips and gadgets”.
The Print had cited “government sources” behind their claim, without naming them. The report, citing an unnamed government official, had even claimed, “The issue of unethical use of marketing tactics has been escalated to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) which, in turn, made calls to some top drug-makers and fixed a meeting with the PM.”
Report in The printThe report in The Print, dated 13 January
The Print’s report had conveniently mentioned that they had written emails to the offices of the pharma companies and also made calls and sent text messages to the PMO for a statement on this issue but they had received no replies.
Following The Print’s report, The Indian Medical Association shot off a scathing statement warning the Prime Minister of India to “either prove his claim or apologise” for his alleged statement that The Print had claimed he made during the meeting with the heads of Pharma companies.
The IMA letter stated, “IMA seeks clarification from the office of the PM if such a meeting ever happened and if so the statement is authentic. IMA has noted that the PMO has not denied the report”.
Going further, the IMA also mocked the PM for not being able to prove the allegations, spectacularly ignoring the irony that it is them who are making unfounded allegations over a fake news report credited to unnamed ‘sources’.
“The IMA, however, is sceptical about the government being able to prove these allegations. If the surmise of the Prime Minister is based on unverified information it is only appropriate that he apologises to the doctors of the country”, preached the statement.
Letter by IMA, asking the PM to apologise over a fake report, image credit, Amit Thadhani on Twitter
Not stopping at ordering the PM to ‘prove or apologise’ over an unfounded claim, the IMA also went ahead to preach that the government is doing this to divert attention from the failure of Ayushman Bharat, which, they claimed, is a ‘non-starter.’
The Print then went ahead and published another report on the IMA’s statement. The IMA’s ‘bold’ order to the PM, asking him to “prove or apologise” was published by Congress mouthpiece National Herald and The Telegraph too.
The Print report on IMA letterThe Telegraph report on IMA letter
However, the reality was that the Prime Minister’s meeting with the heads of pharmaceutical companies was held to discuss the future roadmap for growth in the healthcare industry and there was no discussion on any marketing practices, as claimed by these reports.
The meeting was held on January 1 and the heads of several pharma and healthcare companies, namely Dr Reddy’s, Piramal Group, Cadila Healthcare, Sun Pharma, Wockhardt, Torrent, and Appolo Hospitals were present.
The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), an industry body representing many pharma and healthcare companies has issued a statement regarding the meeting with the PM.
In the statement, the IPA has stated that the focus of the discussion was to promote research and development, build an innovation ecosystem, improve access to high-quality medicine and strengthen the global competitiveness of the industry.
IPA statement over the fake news circulated by The Print, image via Amit Thadhani on Twitter
The statement clarified that there was no discussion regarding marketing practices, clarifying that the claims made by The Print’s report were false.
Even if one keeps the IPA statement aside, it will be preposterous to claim that the Prime Minister of the country would convene the heads and senior representatives of India’s largest pharma and healthcare companies and they will discuss issues like what pharma representatives try to bribe doctors with.
In addition, the Delhi Medical Association (DMA), as per a report in Times Of India, has condemned the IMA for demanding that the PM must ‘prove charges or apologise’.
The DMA has slammed the IMA for ‘unnecessarily’ criticising the Prime Minister. “The statement issued by the Association of Pharmaceutical Companies has clarified that no such discussion took place at all in the meeting. It is very deplorable that few IMA office bearers for their political compulsions are carrying out a defamatory campaign against our honourable PM which is against the national interest.”
The DMA statement also lauded the government for working to reduce the prices of various drugs and stents and bringing flagship schemes likes the Ayushman Bharat Yojna.
The Print, in another report yesterday, mentioned the IPA’s statement. However, they added that they had tried to reach out to the IPA’s secretary-general on 10 January and he had denied having information about any meeting. It claimed further citing ‘sources’ that the PM had intervened after the DoP had warned pharma companies about bringing statutory provisions for pharma marketing on December 23. It did not make any clarifications on their “bribing doctors with women, gadgets and foreign trip” claim.
It is indeed remarkable how, in our country, some individuals and organisations get away with blatant lies and fear-mongering. Shekhar Gupta, who had imagined and peddled the ‘coup’ theory out of nothing, has been caught peddling fake news via The Print on numerous occasions.
It is also a sad irony that the same individuals and organisations also are the most vociferous claimants of the ‘intolerance is rising’ and ‘press freedom is under threat’ narratives.
As reported by CNN News 18, Sanjay Raut said that I have always respected Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi despite being in the opposition. “You must have read my views earlier also even in Saamana. Whenever people have attacked Indira Gandhi, I have stood by her.”
Clarifying his statement, he said, “We were talking about Mumbai and were discussing what kind of atmosphere was there in Mumbai back then. A lot of people would come to meet Karim Lala, especially politicians. He used to keep the pictures in his house. The atmosphere back then was different. Karim Lala was member of a Pathan community, “Pakhtun-e-Hind” and he was a leader of Pathans. He was a world leader of Pathan community. He had come from Afghanistan. He was associated with Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who is also known as Frontier Gandhi. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Karim Lala, they all used to meet Indira Gandhi and other leaders to discuss issues concerning Pathans. That’s all I said that they had that kind of reputation.”
While Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was an independence activist who fought against the British rule alongside Mohandas Gandhi, Karim Lala was a dreaded gangster who terrorised Mumbai for over two decades operating from impoverished, crime-infested Muslim ghettos in Mumbai like Dongri and Nagpada. While Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was known as Frontier Gandhi for his non-violent movements and pacifist nature, Karim Lala was notorious for contract killings, forceful property eviction, kidnapping and extortion.
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) has been a bone of contention with the Islamists of India ever since its passage in the Parliament. The protests started with violent Muslim mobs running rampage in the country to anti-Hindu slogans and posters being raised. Now, another poster from Shaheen Bagh, flooded with anti-Hindu imagery has been shared by journalist Saba Naqvi.
The image that was shared rather proudly by Saba Naqvi shows three women wearing a Bindi in Burkha. Below that, are some lines from the Faiz poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’. And in the end, there is the Hindu Swastika being ‘smashed’ and disintegrating.
The imagery of the poster clearly points towards the establishment of Islamist supremacy over Hindus and the deep-seated Hinduphobia we have seen throughout the anti-CAA protests.
The women in Bindis wearing Hijab only remind us of how Islamists view Hindu women as conquests and objects to be ‘owned’. A straight parallel that comes to mind is from Kashmir. When the Kashmiri Hindus were being raped, murdered and driven away from their homes by Islamist hoards, apart from the ‘convert, flee or die’ slogans, one of the calls by Islamists in Kashmir was asking Hindu men to leave but to leave their women behind as conquests of the Muslims.
Right below the images of Islamists ‘conquering’ Hindu women, there are lines from the famous Faiz poem, ‘Hum dekhenge’. While the Shaheen Bagh protesters have clearly dropped the controversial lines from the poem that spoke about the destruction of idols and only the reign of Allah surviving, it has to imagine that nestled between the images of Hindu women being ‘conquered’ by Islamists and the Hindu Swastika being shattered, the protesters meant anything but that.
At the end of the poster, is, of course, the sacred Hindu symbol of Swastika that lays shattered.
One must recall that it was at Shaheen Bagh that ‘Jinnah wali Azadi’ slogans were raised and that during the course of anti-CAA protests, we have even seen posters that compared Hinduism to Nazism and the blatant misuse of the Swastika.
Interestingly, while the anti-CAA protesters have been chanting ‘La illaha Illallah’, the image of the sacred Hindu Swastika has been tarnished by the Islamists, comparing it to the Nazi Haken Kreuz. ‘La illaha Illallah’ literally means ‘There is no God except Allah’ and is a phrase that is more connected with Nazism and Genocide than the Haken Kreuz has ever been related to the Swastika.
While Islamists always attempt to connect the Swastika with the Hitler Haken Kreuz, they have glossed over the fact that La Illaha Illallah is officially inscribed on the ISIS flag, that is very symbol of modern-day fascism and genocide.
Hitler himself never used the word ‘Swastika’ for the ‘Haken Kreuz’, but ISIS has, with thought and deliberation added La Illaha Illallah on their flag.
As always they will try to hide their anti-Hindu bigotry by saying this is composite culture (A Hindu woman showing solidarity by wearing the Hijab) and it’s not Swastika (But the Nazi symbol), but those will remain lame justifications.
What we are seeing is how anti-CAA protests started with raw brute Islamist power with Muslim mobs attacking railway properties post-Friday prayers in Bengal to the same raw brute Islamist power sending the same messages via nicely drawn posters.
Once again in a span of five months, China, nudged by Pakistan, held an informal consultation on the Kashmir issue at United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in New York on Wednesday only to be told by the members that Kashmir calls for a bilateral solution. The UNSC’s closed door meeting was called to discuss issues relating to an African country when China brought up Kashmir issue under the agenda “any other business points”.
As per reports, while China’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun cautioned against further escalating tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and said that he hoped that the UNCS will encourage both countries to initiate a dialogue, no other member commented on the same.
As reported by news agency ANI, members of the security council, on condition of anonymity, said that while China wanted a review of UN observer mission in Kashmir, majority of the other members stressing on need to de-escalate tensions, said that the Kashmir issue continues to remain a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan.
This is the second time since August, when India abrogated Article 370 and made erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir integral part of India, that China brought up the Kashmir issue in UNSC. However, the members, led by United States and France thwarted the issue stating that India and Pakistan should resolve it bilaterally.
Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, took to Twitter and said that today at UN, our Indian flag is flying high and those who launched a ‘false flag’ got a stinging response from many of our friends. As reported by news agency ANI, Akbaruddin said, “We are happy that neither the alarming scenario painted by the representatives of Pakistan nor any of the baseless allegations made repeatedly by various representatives of Pakistan in UN fora were found to be credible. Pakistan’s tactics of using false credences to distract from addressing the malice that afflicts it has run its course today.”
The Far-Left propaganda website, The Quint, has deleted the sob-story video of an alleged Muslim cab driver it had published earlier in the day in order to fuel an anti-NRC sentiment across the country. The deletion came after filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri accused the propaganda website of paying the ‘cab driver’ for the video and claimed that the alleged ‘cab driver’ was, in fact, a junior actor in Bollywood.
The alleged Muslim cab driver, Irshad Ahmed, fearmongers about the NRC without any rebuttal from the journalist. He says, “My heart starts pounding on just thinking about NRC. I don’t have land, neither do I have documents for land. What will I tell them to prove that I am an Indian.” He appeared to be putting some special effort into exaggerating concerns about the NRC and invents scenarios that are detached from reality. “What wrong have we done to deserve this?” the driver asks rather dramatically before adding “What is our crime?”
The reasons that The Quint provided for the deletion of the sob story video implores its readers to take amazing leaps of faith. The propagandist outlet claimed that the alleged Muslim cab driver requested them to take down the video from their website after “the trolling he faced online”.
It appears rather bizarre that a daily wage earner who doesn’t have documents to prove his citizenship would have the opportunity to log onto Twitter and check what people were saying about him.
EDITOR’S NOTE: On 13 January, The Quint published a video titled ”How to Prove I’m Indian?’ Muslim Driver Breaks Down Over NRC Fear’, in which a cab driver is seen speaking about his fears about a prospective nationwide NRC exercise.
(1/6)https://t.co/zRaJ2suWGPpic.twitter.com/0Elbaw5KsX
Furthermore, the person in the video was a nervous wreck and appeared to be on the verge of a mental breakdown. He claimed to be extremely worried about the NRC and appeared distraught that the people held only misery for him. A person at that frame of mind doesn’t seem likely to care much about a bit of online trolling because he has much greater things to worry about in life. Such as “detention centres”.
The Quint also revealed that they were not the ones who created the video. It was made by one Sumit Roy who “confirmed” to The Quint that the video was not scripted. Thus, it appears that The Quint independently did not verify whether the video was scripted or not. They took the word of the person who created it as gospel truth. Also, it was the driver who “confirmed” to them that he had never been an actor, they did not try to verify independently whether it was true or not.
In short, The Quint’s clarification and reasons have only served to tie them up in further knots. They did not independently verify whether the video was scripted or not, they had no way to verify it given the fact that they were not the ones who created the video in the first place. The Quint simply used the video someone else had created and the video was so dramatic it certainly looked scripted down to the last line.
Furthermore, a person who doesn’t have documents to prove his citizenship is more concerned about the trolling he received online. The whole thing appears staged and The Quint appears to have been caught in the act, following which it was forced to delete the video. It just goes on to show how the mainstream media operates and how dishonest it is in its conduct.
The controversial Islamic preacher, Zakir Naik, and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh are back in the news again. On 11th January 2020, Naik took to Youtube to claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah has sent a messenger to persuade him to support the abrogation of Article 370, in return for a “safe passage to India.”
He has claimed that the BJP government wanted to use his connections to strengthen ties with the Islamic World. He called the government’s move to scrap Article 370 “unconstitutional” and instigated Indian Muslims to voice their opinion against the so-called “injustice against Kashmiris.”
Zakir Naik who is currently residing in Malaysia is on the run from the law enforcement authorities since 2016. He has been charged by the NIA for “hate speech” and “inciting terrorism”.
Naik has been banned by Bangladesh. This was after two of the terrorists who executed the Dhaka Cafe bombing in July 2016 were inspired by Naik’s radical speeches. And for his disparaging and hateful remarks against other religions, he has also been banned by several other countries.
To lend credibility to Naik’s recent claims, Congressman Digvijaya Singh came to the fore. He questioned the Prime Minister and the Home Minister for not having condemned Naik’s statement.
Digivijaya Singh: Zakir Naik in a statement has said that in Sept 2019, Modi ji and Shah ji sent a messenger to him that if he supports abrogation of article 370 then Govt will withdraw all cases&he will be allowed to come back.Why haven’t Modi ji and Shah ji condemned this yet? pic.twitter.com/3E0lCv26TC
Firstly, there was no reason for the government to condemn the remarks of an Islamic extremist who is obviously lying to cover his tracks and gain the sympathy of elements like Digvijay Singh. In fact, it is pertinent to note here that Zakir Naik had also said that he will not return to India till the Modi government is in power. Now, it is anybody’s guess why Zakir Naik would not want to come back to India while PM Modi is in power but happily come back if the Congress comes to power again.
While it is usual for opposition leaders in India to target the government using dubious remarks by people evading criminal charges, there is more to the story than what just meets the eye.
Digvijaya Singh once shared the stage with Zakir Naik in 2012. In a video published on Peace TV, he can be seen praising the controversial preacher. Digvijay Singh remarked, “Zakir should travel all over India…I am very happy that he is spreading the message of peace….We need your message to reach the country”.
He was quick to disassociate himself from Naik after the Dhaka Cafe Blast. Now that the government has pressed charges against Naik, why is the Congress leader willing to side with the preacher and believe his outrageous claims?
If GOI or the Govt of Bangladesh has any evidence against Zakir Naik’s involvement with ISIS they should take action against him.
It may come as a surprise to many that Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT) have a long-standing association. IRF has donated Rs 50 lakh and Rs 25 lakh to RDCT on two separate occasions. And the trustees of RDCT happen to be Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.
Nevertheless, be it calling the 9/11 mastermind “Osamaji” or 26/11 mastermind “Saeed Sahab”, Singh has time and again tried to legitimize Islamic radicals. And Naik seems to be the latest hate preacher who is being legitimised by the Congress old guard.
An additional sessions court in Delhi has today granted bail to Bhim Army Chief Chandrashekhar Azad in a case registered against him related to anti-CAA riots in Delhi’s Daryaganj area last month, after imposing various conditions and furnishing a bail bond of Rs 25,000. The Bhim Army chief will be released from prison tomorrow.
While hearing the case, Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau imposed certain conditions and ordered the Bhim Army Chief should not stay in Delhi for the next four weeks owing to the upcoming Delhi elections.
As elections are around the corner, the judge expressed her concern regarding security in Delhi. Azad was strictly told to appear before an SHO in Saharanpur, his hometown, every Saturday for the next four weeks, and then every last Saturday of every month until the chargesheet is filed in the matter. He has even been prohibited from taking part in dharnas for next one month.
Azad has also been banned from joining the protest at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, as he had planned. Instead, he will be escorted back to Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
During the verdict pronouncement, Mahmood Pracha, the lawyer appearing for Azad said the Bhim Army chief faces threats in Uttar Pradesh.
Though Pracha attempted to convince the court that Azad should be allowed to stay in Delhi, the Court did not relent. Pracha even undertook to keep Azad at his home in Delhi. The Court, however, turned down the plea.
While reading out the verdict the Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) reprimanded Azad and said that taking names of RSS could be inciting. The ASJ furthered that the institutions and Prime Minister must not be attacked and should be respected. “Where there is right, there is remedy and cannot be Anarchy”, the ASJ said.
Azad had filed his bail application claiming that the Delhi police invoked “boilerplate” charges against him and arrested without following the due process of law.
Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar Azad had been arrested in connection with the violence in Old Delhi’s Daryagan on December 21, a day after his outfit defied a Police ban and organised a march from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar against the new citizenship law.
The Delhi Police had denied permission to Chandrashekhar Azad’s protest march against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act from Jama Masjid to Jantar Mantar. Reports say that thousands of Muslims gathered at Jama Masjid after the Friday prayers, joined by Bhim Army members.
On the day of the march, Azad had given a slip to the Delhi Police after the security personnel tried to detain him. He came outside Jama Masjid early Saturday (December 21) and was detained. He was arrested later, police said. After being detained, Azad was kept at the Crime Branch office in Chanakyapuri since he said he was unwell. He was later handed over to the central district police.
Police had suspected Azad instigated the crowd which turned violent near Delhi Gate and burnt a car.
Several anti-CAA demonstrators today carried out a protest rally in the National Capital to commemorate one month of the protest against the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act. The protest was also attended by JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh, against whom two FIRs have been lodged for her alleged involvement in the vandalism of server rooms in Jawaharlal Nehru University on January 4, 2020.
However, referring to the abrogation of Article 370, Ghosh added a new dimension to the protest against the CAA by dredging up the Kashmir issue and linking it with the demonstrations against the citizenship act.
JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh outside Jamia Millia Islamia: Hum is ladai mein Kashmir ka pichha aur unki baat nahi bhul sakte. Unke sath jo ho raha hai, kahin na kahin wahin se is sarkar ne shuru kiya tha ki hamare samvidhan ko hamse chheena jaye. pic.twitter.com/nnfnUQGjWx
“While we are in this fight, we cannot forget Kashmir and the people over there. Whatever is happening with the people in Kashmir, the process of depriving us of our constitution by the central government started from there,” Aishe claimed.
The JNUSU president’s remarks were in reference to the Central Government’s decision taken on August 4, 2019, to strip Jammu and Kashmir of its separate status by abrogating Article 370 and subsequently bifurcate the state into two union territories-Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The central government had claimed that the invalidation of Article 370 will enable the real integration of the state with the Indian Union while opening up a host of new economic opportunities for the residents.
However, JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh’s mention of Kashmir during the anti-CAA protests have unmasked the real intentions behind the demonstrations. It vindicates Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s stand who had earlier claimed that the anti-CAA protests are politically motivated and orchestrated by those having ulterior motives.
It is noteworthy to mention that Aishe Ghosh belongs to the hotbed of seditious elements, Jawaharlal Nehru University, where anti-India slogans of “Bharat tere tukde honge inshallah inshallah” and others were raised in 2016. Besides, JNU students also routinely indulge in chanting “Azaadi” slogans.
The Citizenship Amendment Act passed in December 2019 in both the houses of the Indian Parliament seeks to provide fast-track citizenship to the persecuted minorities from the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
However, the passage of the act sparked off sporadic protests in some parts of the country, especially at the leftist bastions, where the protestors have put forth perverse reasons claiming that the Act aims to disenfranchise Indian Muslims and is a step towards the transformation of India into a Hindu Rashtra.
The Delhi High court Wednesday declined to entertain the plea of one of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, Mukesh Singh, against the death warrant but gave him the liberty to challenge the same in the sessions court.
Refusing to interfere with the trial court January 7th order, a Division Bench of Justices Manmohan and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal opined that there was no error in trial court’s order issuing death warrant against convict Mukesh in Nirbhaya case.
The High Court also noted that the Supreme Court of India (SC) has rejected the appeal, review and curative pleas of the convict.
Convict Mukesh’s lawyers have approached the trial court and moved an application apprising the court about the mercy petition moved by him and seeking postponement of execution date (January 22). The trial court, in turn, has issued notice to State, saying hearing to be held tomorrow at 2 pm. Court has also sought response from parents of 2012 Delhi gangrape victim.
2012 Delhi gangrape case: The trial court has issued notice to State; hearing to be held tomorrow at 2pm. Court has also sought response from parents of 2012 Delhi gangrape victim. https://t.co/zsRH6YmhZA
Earlier in the day, during the hearing, the Aam Aadmi Party led-Delhi government standing counsel (criminal) Rahul Mehra told the bench that now that one of them has filed a mercy plea, the execution of none of the four can be carried out on January 22 as per the Prison Rules. He said that since Mukesh has moved a mercy plea, as per the rules they have to wait for the other co-convicts to exhaust their mercy pleas as well.
Quoting prison rules, the Kejriwal government told the court that they are duty-bound to wait for convict’s mercy plea to be decided for executing the death warrant.
To this, the bench said, “Then your rule is bad if you cannot take action till all the co-convicts have moved mercy plea. There has been no application of mind. The system is suffering from cancer.”
As per reports, Advocate Rahul Mehra, the standing counsel for the Tihar Jail authorities stated that ‘Execution of convicts (2012 Nirbhaya case) will surely not take place on January 22’. He added that the execution can take place only 14 days after the final mercy plea has been rejected by the president. The Tihar jail authorities have reportedly conveyed that they are duty-bound to serve a 14-day notice to the convict after the rejection of their mercy plea.
In response to the submission by prison authorities, the court said asked the authorities to put the house in order. “Your house is in disarray. The problem is people will lose confidence in the system. Things are not moving in the right direction. The system is capable of being exploited and we see a stratagem to exploit the system, which is oblivious about it,” the court said.
Apart from pulling up the prison authorities, the court expressed displeasure at the delay in filing curative and mercy pleas by Mukesh after the Supreme Court in May 2017 dismissed the appeals of the four convicts against their conviction and death sentence.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the curative petitions filed by two of the four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya case, Mukesh and Vinay Sharma, challenging the May 2017 judgment of the court that had upheld their conviction and death sentence.
Immediately after the Supreme court rejected the curative petitions, Mukesh had filed his mercy plea before the President.
As far as the status of Mukesh’s mercy petition is concerned, Mehra informed the Court that it is presently with the Home Department which will forward the same to the LG Office. The file will then be sent to the Home Ministry which will forward it to the President.
