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Children under attack from stray dogs: Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, stray dogs mauling kids to death across India

OpIndia Staff
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Children under attack from stray dogs: Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, stray dogs mauling kids to death across India

Recently, three separate incidents of children being attacked by stray dogs have come to light. The first was reported from Warangal town in Telangana, the second from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, and the third from the Sirohi district of Rajasthan.

On Wednesday, March 1, stray dogs attacked a seven-year-old boy playing outside his house near Pochamma Gudi in the Kashibugga area of Warangal town in Telangana.

When the boy, identified as Rohith, began screaming, villagers came to his aid and drove away the four dogs that had attacked him. The child had bite marks on his head and hands by then.

Rohith’s parents rushed him to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Hospital, where he is currently recovering.

Stray dogs mauling a toddler to death in Bareilly, UP

In Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, a pack of 15 to 20 stray dogs mauled a 3-year-old girl to death. The incident reportedly happened late on Tuesday (February 28) evening in the Bandia village where the victim resided. “The dogs dragged the toddler for around 100 meters and mauled her badly,” the police said.

The family members of the victim rushed her to hospitals where doctors declared her dead. According to the doctors, the victim, identified as Pari, daughter of Avdesh Gangwar, a labourer, had 200 bite marks on her body.

According to locals, on Tuesday evening, Pari went towards a field to play when around seven-eight stray dogs pounced on her. A youth heard her cry for help and rushed to rescue her. He too was bitten by the dogs when he rescued Pari from the dogs. Pari was rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

Pari’s uncle Jitendra Kumar said, “She walked far from the house and no one in the family could hear her screams for help. The dogs even dragged her and bit her all over the body, causing deep injuries, especially on the neck.”

Stray dogs enter the hospital, kill infant sleeping next to mother in Rajasthan

In a similar incident reported on Tuesday, February 28, a month-old baby boy was mauled to death by stray dogs in a district hospital in the Sirohi district of Rajasthan, while she was reportedly sleeping next to his mother. The body was found outside the hospital ward.

Rajasthan Police said the CCTV footage showed that two dogs went inside the TB ward of the hospital on Monday night and one of them returned with the infant.

SHO Kotwali, Sitaram sad Mahendra Meena, the child’s father, was brought to the hospital for silicosis treatment. He claimed that the child’s mother, Rekha, who was caring for the patient alongside her three children, fell asleep when the incident happened. He also claimed that no hospital staff was present at the time of the incident.

“Post-mortem has been conducted by a medical board. A case will be registered in the matter after further investigation,” the SHO said.

Meanwhile, the child’s father accused hospital and police officials of forcing his wife to sign blank papers and perform his child’s final rites without informing him.

“I was admitted to the hospital on Monday. Dogs were coming inside the ward and I chased them away. My wife woke up at 2 am and found the dogs mauling our child. Today, the hospital authorities and police took the signature of my wife on blank papers and got the last rites of my son done without informing me. I could not even see my son’s face,” Meena said.

The hospital administration has also initiated a probe into the matter.

Similar incident of dog attack happened in Hyderabad

On February 19, Sunday, stray street dogs killed a 4-year-old boy in a housing society in Hyderabad, Telangana. As per reports, the boy was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead. CCTV footage of the incident had then gone viral on social media.

Street dog menace

This is not the first time stray dogs have killed or attacked a child. There have been several such reports where a pack of dogs attacks children, women, elders, and vulnerable members across the country. Not only street dogs but incidents of pets attacking without provocation have also come to the fore many times.

As SC orders new system to appoint election commissioners, know about Navin Chawla, indicted in Shah Commission report, whom Sonia Gandhi had appointed as EC

OpIndia Staff
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As SC orders new system to appoint election commissioners, know about Navin Chawla, indicted in Shah Commission report, whom Sonia Gandhi had appointed as EC

On March 2, the Supreme Court of India ordered a new format for appointing Chief Election Commissioners and Election Commissioners. As per the SC orders, the appointment will be made by a committee comprising the PM, the opposition leader, and the Chief Justice of India. This brings to memory the case of Navin Chawla who was appointed as an election commissioner in 2005 by then Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Who is Navin Chawla?

Navin Chawla was working as a secretary in the information and broadcasting department before his appointment as an election commissioner. Navin Chawla was considered to be a bureaucrat close to the Gandhi family. Sonia Gandhi’s influence played a major role in getting him appointed as the election commissioner. He further went on to be the chief election commissioner during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

He was about to retire from his regular duties in 2005. According to a report by India Today, he was seen as the next home secretary of Sonia Gandhi’s choice, but he was appointed as the election commissioner instead. In general, an EC appointment is the greatest post-retirement opportunity for IAS officers. It permits people to work for up to six years or until they reach the age of 65, whichever comes first. Navin Chawla completed 65 years of age on 30th July 2009. It is clear that Sonia Gandhi wanted him to head the election commission during the 2009 Lok Sabha election.

Shah Commission’s remarks about Navin Chawla

Navin Chawla was not only closely associated with Sonia Gandhi but, in the past, he had been a trusted officer of Indira Gandhi, during the emergency. In 1977, the government of India appointed a commission headed by the former chief justice of India JC Shah to inquire about all the excesses committed during the emergency period. There were serious remarks against Navin Chawla in the report submitted by the Shah Commission.

During the 1975-77 Emergency, Navin Chawla worked as a private secretary to Kishan Chand, then lieutenant governor of Delhi. It is notable that Kishan Chand later committed suicide because he could not tolerate the so-called humiliation after the Shah Commission’s negative findings about him.

Shah Commission’s report observed about Navin Chawla and his cohorts that they “exercised enormous powers during the emergency because they had easy access to the then prime minister’s house. Their approach to the problems of the period relating to the citizens was authoritarian and callous. They grossly misused their position and abused their powers in cynical disregard of the welfare of the citizens, and in the process rendered themselves unfit to hold any public office which demands an attitude of fair play and consideration for others. In their relish for power, they completely subverted the normal channels of command and administrative procedures.”

Chawla was also found to have used ‘extra-statutory authority in jail issues,’ including the treatment of detainees. He didn’t just tell his master who was going to be arrested; he also instructed him how they were going to be treated in jail. For example, he advocated for the construction of specific cells with asbestos roofs to ‘bake’ some inmates. Kishan Chand miserably revealed before Judge Shah that he was not a free agent and that Chawla used to receive instructions straight from Sanjay Gandhi and that he (Kishan Chand) was simply in the picture to complete certain procedural requirements.

According to an article by BS Raghavan, LP Singh – a member of the commission headed by JC Shah – had said that the report by the Shah Commission “indeed made Chawla unfit to hold any public office and that he deserved to be summarily dismissed from service without any further inquiry or proceedings, invoking the special powers under provisos (b) and (c) of Article 311 of the Constitution.”

This is exactly what Chawla would have faced if the Janata Party administration had not fallen and Indira Gandhi had not returned to power, culminating in the restoration to coveted positions with a vengeance of all those accused by Justice Shah. Besides these remarks, the bureaucrat also has a book based on the life of Mother Teresa to his credit. When Sonia Gandhi became a power centre as the chief of the national advisory council and ran the Manmohan Singh government, in that period of the UPA regime, she appointed this Navin Chawla as the election commissioner who went on to head the panel during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Twitter user followed by Prakash Raj calls for the beheading of Brahmin women and children in the name of ‘Dalit empowerment’

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter user followed by Prakash Raj calls for the beheading of Brahmin women and children in the name of ‘Dalit empowerment’

On March 1, Tuesday, a Twitter user with the handle @kannadamando, identifying himself as belonging to the ‘Dravidian stock’ called for a genocide of Brahmins in India. The controversial Twitter account is followed by Kannada actor Prakash Raj, a left-wing ideologue. @kannadamando called for the beheading of Brahmin women and children by Dalits so that the Davidian-Marxist idea of social justice is achieved.

Dravidian ideology is an ideology propagated by British-era Tamil politician Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy, called ‘Periyar’ by his followers. Periyar had called the independence of India a ‘black day’ because his dream of a separate nation of Dravidians was not realized on 15th August 1947.

The self-identified Dravidian account @@kannadamando made this call for the mass killing of Brahmin women and children while ‘discussing’ the condition of Dalits in the Indian society with another Twitter user that identified itself as an ‘Ambedkarite’ i.e. following ideals of BR Ambedkar. The Ambedkarite didn’t seem to agree with the solution of mass killings of Brahmin women and children, but he/she agreed that Dalits needed to do more. Both of them however agreed on the need to eradicate Hinduism.

The call for the mass murder of Brahmin women and children was made on 1st March (Monday) by the Twitter user @kannadamando. It should be noted that the call for violence against Brahmins is a recurring theme among followers of Periyar. The said user has Marxist themes in his Twitter display picture and cover image and was not suspended for any violation of Twitter rules at the time of publishing of this report.

While the real identity of the Twitter user with genocidal tendencies is not known, the Twitter account is followed by Kannada actor Prakash Raj, who recently made light of the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus by terming ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie as ‘nonsense’.

SS of the Twitter user’s profile

Many Twitter users took offense to the open calls of violence against Brahmins. Condemning the Twitter user for his open display of hatred towards the Brahmin community while masking it under the ‘Dalit empowerment’ rhetoric, @agenetics1 called for police action against him.

The controversial Twitter account with wet dreams of a Brahmin genocide is still active and at the time this report was published, Twitter had not taken any action against these conspiracies of a genocide of Brahmins

The Caravan steals artwork of Netherlands based artist in latest issue attacking Dr Jaishankar

OpIndia Staff
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The Caravan steals artwork of Netherlands based artist in latest issue attacking Dr Jaishankar

Far left propaganda magazine The Caravan is accused of stealing artwork of a Netherlands based artist in its latest issue attacking External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar.

The Caravan accused of plagiarism

The Netherlands based artist, ‘Ghostly_t’, on its Instagram profile has shared that far left propaganda The Caravan stole their artwork for the cover. “Give credit, don’t steal artists works”, they added in the message. In subsequent story, the artist shared original artwork that appeared on the cover image of The Caravan.

Dr Jaishankar has come under fire by the leftist cabal after he criticised American billionaire George Soros for trying to interfere in India’s internal affairs right before 2024 general elections in what appears like meddling in electoral politics in India. In its March 2023 edition, The Caravan had attacked Dr Jaishankar and written a cover story on him being Modi government’s ‘Hindu nationalist foreign policy’ as if it were a bad thing.

By the time of this report, The Caravan has not yet reacted to allegations.

Update: After OpIndia article was published, The Caravan has acknowledged stealing someone else’s artwork without credit. In a series of tweets, The Caravan claimed that a freelance visual artist named Samyak Prajapati was hired for the cover image of the edition and claimed they had no knowledge of some other artist’s artwork being used by Samyak Prajapati who was hired by them.

Caravan claimed that they have added credit to original artist Tijana in their cover image.

Another inexplicable judgement from Judiciary: Bombay HC ignores forced circumcision of Hindu man saying he had relationship with accused Muslim woman

OpIndia Staff
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Another inexplicable judgement from Judiciary: Bombay HC ignores forced circumcision of Hindu man saying he had relationship with accused Muslim woman

A Bombay High Court bench said on Wednesday that a Muslim family can’t be accused of forcefully converting a Hindu man and forcefully circumcising him, as he was in a relationship with a Muslim woman from that family. Dismissing allegations of ‘love jihad’, a bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Abhay Waghwase granted anticipatory bail to the Muslim woman and her family who have been accused of forcefully performing circumcision (Khatana) on a Hindu man and forcing him to convert his religion to Islam.

The Bench said that just because persons involved in a relationship belong to two different religions, a religious angle cannot be imbibed in the case. “It appears that now the color has been tried to be given of love-jihad, but when love is accepted then there is less possibility of the person being trapped just for converting him into the other’s religion…Merely because the boy and girl are from different religions, it cannot have a religious (sic) angle. It can be a case of pure love for each other,” the Bench observed.

The case belongs to a Dalit man named Deepak Sonawane from Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra who stated that he was forced by his Muslim girlfriend Sana to convert his religion to Islam before marriage. He also said that he was tortured and humiliated by the woman and her family.

The Court on March 1 heard an anticipatory bail plea filed by the woman who alleged that the case was deliberately given a ‘love jihad’ angle after Deepak was asked to perform some financial transactions for the woman’s family.

The Bench noted that the man in the complaint had agreed that he was in love with the woman and that he had good relations with her family. “When the initial relationship was good and the caste or the religion was not the barrier for them, then the question of raising the issue of caste or community or religion at a later point of time will not arise,” the Court noted.

The Court further said that Deepak had filed a late complaint in this case and that he hadn’t severed his relationship with the woman though she was named as the main accused in the case. “The fact will have to be observed that when the base for the relationship was the love affair, there was no barrier of caste or religion and therefore, prima facie case under the Atrocities Act cannot be said to be made out,” the judgment stated.

It was reported earlier, that Sana had lured Deepak into a relationship and later forced him to convert his religion to Islam. Deepak was also tortured and humiliated for money by the family members of the accused who got constant support from the influential local MP Imtiaz Jaleel at every step in this matter.

Deepak Sonawane studied mechanical engineering at the Marathwada Institute of Technology in Sambhajinagar. Sana was his classmate. Both first became friends and then fell in love with each other. She later lured the former into marriage and asked him to embrace Islam and read Namaz.

The victim then met her parents and told them that he was a Dalit and that he had no intentions to convert his religion to Islam. He also said that he loved Sana but would not change his religion for marriage. “They assured me that they will explain their daughter properly and that I should not worry,” Deepak said.

According to Deepak then, the family members of Sana abducted him and tortured him. They urinated on him and performed his forceful circumcision (Khatana). The accused said that they would make Deepak Muslim before he would marry Sana. They also threatened Deepak saying that they would kill his family and make his video of circumcision viral over the internet.

Deepak Sonawane had also given a detailed account of how he was extorted by these Muslims and how they hurled casteist abuse at him. He said in his complaint that “Sana and his mother asked for Rs 11 lakh and threatened to defame me on the internet. I sent a total of Rs 11 lakh, but they demanded another Rs 25 lakh from me. I refused them as I did not have money at that time.”

Later, as per the complaint filed by Deepak, Sana registered a fake rape case against him as he refused to give Rs 25 lakhs. He also mentioned in the complaint that he was beaten and threatened by AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel and his bodyguards about the case. “I was beaten up there, they threatened to kill me and demanded money, and hurled casteist abuse at me. All this has been going on for the last two years,” he had said.

Deepak also said that he had filed several complaints at the local police stations and had approached several police officers but none of them took his case seriously. As reported earlier, the police also refused to register a case against the AIMIM MP.

Notably, the sessions court had granted bail to Deepak Sonawane who was charged with sections 354 and 376 of the IPC. The victim had then said that the judge had to give the bail because the allegations were fake, though the sections are meant for an unbailable offense.

On the present date, Sana happened to approach the High Court for anticipatory bail which has eventually been granted by the former. The Court said that as Deepak in the FIR mentioned that he was in love with Sana and that he had good relations with her and her family, no offense under the Atrocities Act could be made.

Though the duo was in love which was not forced as per Deepak’s complaint, the possibility of abduction, torture, casteist abuse, and forced Khatna shouldn’t have been ignored by the Court. The Court said that there was an inordinate delay in lodging the FIR and that the delay affects the story which ‘may’ lose its importance.

The Court also remarked that the investigation into the matter was practically concluded and that the police were probably going to submit a chargesheet soon. Hence, the Court continued, the petitioners would not require physical custody to conduct an inquiry.

On the ‘claims’ of forceful circumcision, the court said, “The expert was unable to say as to whether the circumcision was natural or was due to any surgical intervention. The expert was also unable to say as to whether it was done by any medical professional or in a traditional way of Islam by an unauthorized person. He was also unable to say as to when it would have been done.”

Arvind Kejriwal likens PM Modi to Indira Gandhi: Here is why it is not just about the Liquor Scam but Khalistan

Ashish Dev Priy Ojha
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Arvind Kejriwal likens PM Modi to Indira Gandhi: Here is why it is not just about the Liquor Scam but Khalistan

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has launched an attack on PM Narendra Modi following the arrest of Manish Sisodia, comparing PM Modi to Indira Gandhi. He said that PM Modi has crossed all limits, as Indira Gandhi had done.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Arvind Kejriwal said “Jaise ek zamane me Indira Gandhi ne ati kar di thi, aaj Pradhan Mantri Ji ati kar rahe hain. Aur jab ati ho jati hai tab prakriti apna kaam karti hai” (The PM has crossed all limits like Indira Gandhi had done. And when all limits are crossed, nature takes its course). The statement comes in the wake of the arrest of Manish Sisodia in the excise police scam months after the arrest of Satyendra Jain in a money laundering scam.

The Delhi CM alleged that PM Modi got them arrested because they were doing good work in the fields of education and health respectively. Kejriwal also said that he will send his councillors and other members to educate people on the Liquor Scam. Kejriwal was furious about the arrests, calling Sisodia and Jain ‘two of the best ministers,’ and went unhinged in his statements saying that they were arrested for ‘their good works’, not because of any scam.

Kejriwal went on to say “If Sisodia had not done good work, would Modi Ji still have him arrested? If Satyendra Jain had not done good work, would Modi Ji still have him arrested? They were arrested because they did good work in their flields. If Sisodia joins BJP today, all cases will be withdrawn and he will not be in jail anymore. The aim is not to end corruption but to harass ministers and use CBI and ED to stop the good work in the capital”.

It is notable that Manish Sisodia has been arrested in the excise police scam, where several irregularities have been found. The Delhi govt had changed the way liquor is sold in Delhi, marking the exit of all govt owned liquor shops, replaced by private retailers. However, the Delhi chief secretary had found irregularities and procedural lapses in the new liquor policy. In a report submitted to the Delhi LG, Manish Sisodia was accused of making changes to the excise policy without the authorisation of the Lieutenant Governor and providing ‘undue benefits’ to the liquor vendors. Following the expose, the Delhi govt was forced to revert to its earlier policy.

Similarly, Satyendar Jain, arrested in May 2022, is accused in a money laundering case and courts have denied him bail repeatedly, showing there is substantial evidence against him. But Arvind Kejriwal wants people to believe that they are arrested because ‘they were doing good work’, and compared Narendra Modi with Indira Gandhi, who had put opposition leaders in jail during the emergency.

It would be naive to view Kejriwal’s statement as a standalone one and unrelated to the politics of Punjab. Punjab has been in a perpetually restive state after Kejriwal’s AAP won the elections there. The Khalistani elements have never been as emboldened as they are now.

Amritpal Singh, the new face of the Khalistan movement, in a recent statement, issued threats to home minister Amit Shah saying that he will meet the fate of Indira Gandhi. Singh said on 20 February, “Indira tried to suppress, what happened? Now Amit Shah can fulfil his wish and see.”

Today Arvind Kejriwal made almost similar statements when he said that Modi’s actions were similar to that of Indira Gandhi. This is a classic example of pandering to the Khalistani elements. It is notable that Indira Gandhi was assassinated by the Khalistanis.

Former comedian and the current CM of Punjab Bhagwant Mann has been totally clueless about the Punjab situation and has failed to keep hate in check. The law and order situation in Punjab every now and then spirals out of control and verges on the edge of riots. The rioters have devised a new method to deter the police from taking any action against them, they would bring Palki Sahib with them during the riot or assault and if the police touches the Palki Sahib it would be considered Beadbi (Blasphemy). We saw this in display during the assault on Ajnala Police station to free Lovepreet Toofan, a close aide of Amritpal Singh.

Amritpal Singh

Amrilpal Singh’s statement and Kejriwal’s recent statements have the same language and the same tumultuous tone, this doesn’t seem to be a coincidence.

Amritpal Singh currently heads the pro-Khalistan group named Waris Punjab De, founded by singer Deep Sidhu. Singh became its chief after the death of Sidhu in a road accident. Since then, he has raised as a major Khalistani leader, following the footsteps of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. In fact, he has been trying to imitate Bhindranwale, and from attire to ideology and issues to speeches, everything that Amritpal Singh is doing reminds one of Bhindranwale.

KPS Gill in a 2017 interview said that the activities of certain political parties are fanning the radical secessionist sentiments in Punjab. Kumar Vishwas, a former aide of Kejriwal went a step further and said that Arvind Kejriwal once told him that he would either be the CM of Punjab or the first PM of the independent nation of Khalistan.

The Khalistan movement is funded mostly by the radicalised Khalistanis in countries like Canada, Australia etc. and by the Pakistani state. Any attempt to woo the Khalistanis must be seen as a threat to national security and must be stopped with firm force.

As results from elections in 3 North-Eastern states trickle in, read how Lumla in Arunachal Pradesh got an MLA without even voting

OpIndia Staff
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As results from elections in 3 North-Eastern states trickle in, read how Lumla in Arunachal Pradesh got an MLA without even voting

As the results for the 3 north-eastern states Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya trickle in, the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) candidate from the Lumla constituency in Arunachal Pradesh emerged victorious uncontested in the by-polls held on February 27. BJP fielded Tsering Lhamu in the Lumla assembly constituency in Tawang district and no opposition party fielded a candidate.

It is notable that in 2019, BJP leader Jambey Tashi was elected from Lumla after he defeated National People’s Party (NPP) candidate Jampa Thirnly Kunkhap by a margin of 1288 votes.

What necessitated the recently held by-polls was the sudden demise of the incumbent BJP leader in November last year at the age of 48. Jambey Tashi had represented the Lumla constituency for three consecutive terms since 2009.

The People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA) had fielded a ‘gaon burha’ or village headman Leki Norbu as its candidate, however, Norbu withdrew his nomination at the last moment. Lhamu was announced as the unopposed winner of the bypoll on February 10 and received the certificate of election from the returning officer, RD Thungon.

Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju in a tweet on February 10 congratulated Lhamu on her victory and wrote, “Congratulations to BJP Candidates Smt Tsering Lhamu of 1-Lumla Assembly Constituency (Bye-election) in Arunachal Pradesh and Shri @KazhetoKinimi of 31- Akuluto Assembly Constituency of Nagaland on getting elected unopposed. I wish both of them for a successful tenure.”

On February 16, Lhamu was sworn in as a member of the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly. At a ceremony held in the assembly, Speaker P D Sona administered the oath to Lhamu. S Sona congratulated Lhamu on winning the Lumla assembly seat without facing any opposition and expressed her hope that the MLA will uphold the dignity of the assembly and represent the interests of the people of her constituency. 

In a tweet posted on February 16, Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu extended his best wishes to the newly-elected representative from Lumla and wrote, “Hon Speaker Shri @pasang_sona ji administered the oath to Smt Tsering Lhamu ji, MLA, Lumla Assembly seat at Nokmey Namati Hall, which I attended along with DCM Shri @ChownaMeinBJP ji, Parliamentary Affairs Min Shri Felix Bamang ji & other esteemed guests. Best wishes to her!”

After Lhamu’s win, the ruling BJP now has 49 seats in the 60-member assembly. There are three Independent MLAs in addition to the four MLAs each of the opposition Congress and National Peoples’ Party (NPP).

CJI Chandrachud loses his cool against SC Bar Association President in court over land allocation issue: here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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CJI Chandrachud loses his cool against SC Bar Association President in court over land allocation issue: here is what happened

On Thursday, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud lost his calm while considering the SCBA land allocation case for hearing. “One cannot expect the bench to be cowered upon. I have never been browbeaten and I will not let this happen in the final two years of my career,” said CJI Chandrachud as senior advocate Vikas Singh pressed the court to take up the SCBA land allocation case.

Advocate Vikas Singh who is also the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of India (SCBA) stated that the SCBA land allocation case wasn’t taken up 9 times and that it needed immediate attention. “..just because the bar doesn’t do anything doesn’t mean it should be taken for granted. I feel strongly for this. 20 years lawyers have been waiting to be allotted chambers,” Singh said.

He also said that he would barge into CJI’s home for the case. “..then I have to escalate it. I will have to come to your residence,” he added. To this, CJI furiously replied saying, “Sit down. Keep quiet. Leave this court right now. You cannot expect the bench to be cowered on. I have never been browbeaten and I will not let this happen in the final two years of my career.”

The CJ further said that this is not how an SCBA president is supposed to behave. “Please don’t raise your voice. This is not the way to behave as the President of SCBA. You’re asking for land allotted to the SC to be given to the bar. I have made my decision. It will be taken on the 17th and it will not be first on board,” he ruled.

He also said that Singh would be treated as an ordinary litigant now. The case pertains to the conversion of buildings across Bhagwan Das Road into lawyer’s chambers. In September 2022, the Supreme Court declined to issue a notice to a petition seeking it to order the Ministry of Urban Development to build legal chamber blocks on the full 1.33-acre parcel of property that was recently allocated to the apex court and is located behind a gas station next to ITO on the Ring Road.

However, after the heated exchange today, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal issued an apology in the case and said that the Bar shouldn’t have transgressed the limits of decorum. “I am sorry for what happened this morning. I don’t think that bar should transgress the limits of decorum. I apologize,” said Sibal.

The Supreme Court stated that the matter would be heard next on March 17 and it will not be first on board.

SC, which rejected NJAC for appointment of judges, orders a similar system for Election Commission appointments

OpIndia Staff
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SC, which rejected NJAC for appointment of judges, orders a similar system for Election Commission appointments

On March 2, the Supreme Court of India ordered a new format for appointing Chief Election Commissioners and Election Commissioners. As per the SC orders, the appointment will be made by a committee comprising the PM, the Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India.

With this order, the apex court has asked the government to follow a format that the Court itself rejected for appointing judges under National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC).

The Supreme Court discussed the importance of “fair and legal” conduct during the electoral process. It added that the ECI is charged with the humongous task of conducting elections in the Parliament and the State Legislatures. The power that ECI has under Section 324 is plenary, subject only to any law made by the Parliament of the State Legislature. The Election Commission is duty-bound to act fairly and legally, abiding by the provisions of the Constitution and the directions of the Court.

The apex court said that the fate of the political parties, political leaders and democracy rests in the hands of the Election Commission. The power to the people through the ballot is central to democracy, and the means to gain power in a democracy must remain pure and abide by the Constitution and the laws, the Court said. Hinting towards “treating political parties with an uneven hand unfairly and arbitrarily”, the Court called the possibility of such aspects would breach the mandate of Article 14 that guarantees equality.

The Court emphasised that the EC must act within the Constitutional framework and the laws and cannot transgress either mandate and still claim to be independent. Moving ahead, the Court said that the appointment of CEC and ECs must be impartial, and anything that might give an impression that the Election Commission is appointed by less than fair means must be banished.

The Court said, “There cannot be any doubt that the ECI is to perform the arduous task of remaining aloof from all forms of subjugation by interference by an executive. An executive can bring an otherwise independent body to its knees by starving it off and cutting off the financial wherewithals and resources required for its efficient and Independent functioning.”

In its order, the Court said, “As far as the appointment to the post of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners are concerned, the said shall be done by the President of India based on the advice tendered by the committee consisting of the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, if no such leader then the leader of the largest party in opposition in the Lok Sabha having largest numerical strength and the CJI.”

The Court added that the orders would remain in place until the Parliament makes a law. It added, “As regard to the relief relating to putting in place a permanent Secretary for the ECI and charging its expenditure to the consolidated fund of India is concerned, the Court makes a fervent appeal that the Union of India and the Parliament make necessary changes so that the ECI becomes truly independent.”

It is interesting to see that the apex court ordered the government to make “necessary changes” to ensure ECI becomes “truly independent”, suggesting ECI, to date, was not working independently. The same can be applied to the appointment of the Supreme Court and the High Court as a closed group of judges known as the collegium does it.

Appointment of CEC in India

CEC heads the Election Commission of India and is appointed by the President. CEC is mostly an IAS officer. Once elected, it is not easy to remove the CEC from its post as two-thirds of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha must be present to vote against him/her.

Video of madarsa teacher Fahad Noorie assaulting a student 70 times in 70 seconds goes viral, FIR registered

OpIndia Staff
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Video of madarsa teacher Fahad Noorie assaulting a student 70 times in 70 seconds goes viral, FIR registered

In Bhiwandi, Thane district, Maharashtra, an FIR has been lodged by the Nizampura Police against 32-year-old madarsa teacher Fahad Bhagat Noorie. He is charged with brutally assaulting a 14-year-old kid for failing to study properly.

CCTV cameras captured the entire ordeal of the child. Noorie can be seen assaulting the student with a stick in the video. He struck the latter at least seventy times in only seventy seconds.

Nizampura police station sub-inspector RK Dalvi confirming the development said, “An FIR has been filed against the teacher, and we are looking for him.” Police reported that the perpetrator is currently on the run.

The incident took place on November 24 of last year, but the trustee of ‘Dini Madarsa’ only filed a police report after a video of the assault went viral on social media. The Islamic school is attached to ‘Darul Ulum Hasnain Kariman.’

In the clip, the boy can be seen pleading with the teacher to stop hitting him, but to no avail. The footage also revealed that Noorie ignored requests to let go of the child from two other teachers. Noorie had been teaching at a madrasa for the last 12 years.

Noor Ali Sayyed, the trustee of Dini Madarsa, responded to the video of the assault and said, “The assault took place last year on November 24 and when we came to know about the incident through the parents the next day, we immediately sacked Noorie and two other teachers who did not stop him as they should have stopped him,” he said in his defense.

He added that they asked the parents if they wanted to file an FIR at the time, but they were satisfied with madarsa’s response so FIR wasn’t filed. He further said, “But since someone had made the video viral, we took cognizance of the same and approached police and lodged an FIR.”

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