Page 1686 - Law Crime
Owaisi slams govt over Mecca Masjid verdict, seeks re-trial
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi has sought a re-trial in the Mecca Masjid blast case or an appeal against the verdict which set free all the five accused. Addressing a public meeting here last evening, the Hyderabad MP said he would meet Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana E S L Narasimhan and place before him the facts of the case. "Re-investigation can be taken up under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)," he said, adding, "we have also told Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and Deputy Chief Minister that they should take up the matter with the Centre seeking a re-trial or to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against this verdict." A special NIA court here last Monday acquitted all the five accused who stood trial, holding that the prosecution failed to prove "even a single" allegation against them. The five, including right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand, were acquitted for want of evidence. "When the trial started in the case, National Investigation ...
Cannot doubt statement of lower court judge accompanying Justice Loya: SC
The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday dismissed the petitions seeking Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Judge B.H. Loya's death case, saying that statement of the lower judges, accompanying the latter cannot be doubted.Nishant Karketakar, Maharashtra Government Counsel in Judge Loya death case while talking to the reporters after the verdict said that after examining all the documents related to the case, the apex court came to a conclusion that Judge Loya died a natural death."The court said that there is no chance to doubt the statement of the lower judges, who were accompanying Judge Loya. The court has assumed that somewhere the image of the judiciary is being maligned," Karketakar said.Meanwhile, the petitioner in the case, Tehseen Poonawalla expressed disappointment over the verdict of the court."We don't have any issue with the verdict of the apex court. What is important to know that whether there was any lacuna or not. That
Loya death: SC says attempts to scandalise judiciary, dismisses pleas
The Supreme Court today dismissed pleas seeking an independent probe into the death of special CBI judge B H Loya, ruling that the judge died of natural causes and the petitions were a serious attempt to scandalise and obstruct the course of justice. The apex court also held that all litigations concerning circumstances of death of judge Loya is concluded with this judgement. The top court dubbed the PILs into the death of judge Loya who was hearing the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, as frivolous and motivated litigations to settle political scores and rivalry were behind the "facade of the PIL" to malign the dignity of judicial officers and Bombay High Court judges. Loya had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. The top court said the judicial process will be reduced to a "charade" if the courts are burdened with such cases with extraneous reasons. A bench comprising Chief Justice ..
Indian-Americans protest against Kathua, Unnao rapes
Indian-Americans, including women and children, raising slogans like "Hate Murder, hate Crime: No more. No More" held peaceful protests in front of the Indian Embassy against the gang rape and murder of young girls in Kathua and Unnao, demanding swift justice. They displayed banners and posters seeking justice for the minor girl who was gang-raped by six men and then murdered in Jammu & Kashmir's Kathua. They were also protesting the rape of a teenage girl in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao. The young girl has alleged that a lawmaker had raped her last summer. Scores of Indian-Americans, including women and children, turned up for a peaceful protest at the Gandhi Statue in front of Indian Embassy in Washington to express their "outrage and disgust" over the gang-rape and murder of the young girls in Kathua and Unnao. "As the father of the minor girl has demanded, the case should be moved out from the Jammu High Court as there is not a conducive environment for a fair trial," said Syed ...
UP shocker: Man rapes daughter
In a shocking case, a man has been booked for raping his 35-year-old daughter along with two of his friends in Sitapur city in Uttar Pradesh, police said today. Additional SP (South) Martand Prakash Singh said the woman was raped by the men in Kamlapur area on April 15. She filed the police complaint the next day. While one of the accused has been arrested, the victim's father and another accused are absconding, he said. "The woman has a son. She married almost 20 years ago. However, she separated from her husband and was living with her father," the additional SP said. On April 15, the man took his daughter to a fair, an annual feature in Kamlapur, around 70 km from state capital Lucknow. There, he called up his friend Maan Singh and asked him to join them, police said. According to police, Maan Singh has partnered the woman's father in a number of crimes. The two men then convinced the woman to ride with them on a motorcycle to the residence of their friend Meraj. There, the men ...
Invisible hand behind Loya death probe plea is of Rahul Gandhi: BJP
The BJP today mounted an attack on the opposition Congress after the Supreme Court rejected pleas to probe the death of Judge B H Loya, alleging that the "invisible" hand behind the petitions was that of Rahul Gandhi who tried to use the judiciary for "character assassination" of Amit Shah. The Supreme Court today ruled that Judge Loya died of natural causes and that the petitions were a serious attempts to scandalise and obstruct the course of justice. Addressing a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra described the public interest litigations seeking the probe into the death of Judge Loya as "political interest litigation", and charged that Gandhi and his party were behind it. Noting that the Congress had held press conferences and Gandhi had led a delegation of opposition parties to the President for seeking a probe, Patra said he should "apologise" and be "ashamed" for his conspiracy to target Amit Shah, and Indian judiciary and democracy. The Congress engages in all ...
Resignation of judge who delivered Mecca Masjid blast verdict rejected
The High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Thursday rejected the resignation filed by the judge who delivered the Mecca Masjid Blast verdict.As per sources, Ravinder Reddy, the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) judge who delivered the verdict in the above case, has been asked to attend to his duties immediately.On Monday, a special NIA court at Nampally had acquitted all accused in the case due to lack of evidence provided against the latter.Hours after the verdict was pronounced, Reddy tendered his resignation.The blast, which took place on May 18, 2007, at the Mecca Masjid here during Friday prayers, had killed eight people and left 58 injured, and was allegedly carried out by a group of right-wing terrorists.The NIA had taken charge of the case from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2011, in which ten persons were named as accused. However, only five of them, namely Devendra Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Swami Aseemanand, Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar and Rajendra ..
Nepali citizen held with smack
A Nepali citizen was arrested with smack worth Rs 25 lakh in international market from Sonauli city in Maharajganj district, police said today. Nauraj Paundil, a resident of Butwal city in Nepal, was arrested along the India-Nepal border last evening and 25gm smack was seized from him, Superintendent of Police R P Singh told reporters. An FIR has been registered against Paundil at Sonauli police station and he was being interrogated.
SC for fair trial in Kathua rape-murder case
The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up Jammu lawyers for obstructing the filing of charge sheet in the Kathua minor rape and murder case even as they claimed they were protesting on a different issue.
Loya's death case: SC dismisses pleas for probe, says he died of natural causes
The Supreme Court today dismissed pleas seeking an independent probe into the alleged mysterious death of special CBI judge B H Loya, ruling that the judge died of natural causes and that the petitions were a serious attempts to scandalise and obstruct the course of justice. Loya, who was hearing the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh case, had allegedly died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said there was no reason to doubt statements of four judges on circumstances leading to the death of Loya and that documents placed on record and their scrutiny establishes that the death was due to natural cause. The top court said that with these petitions it becomes clear that a real attempt and frontal attack was made on the independence of judiciary. The apex court said frivolous and motivated litigations have been filed to
SC-LOYA-CHRONOLOGY
Following is the chronology of events leading to today's Supreme Court verdict dismissing pleas seeking independent probe into the death of special CBI judge B H Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case. *Dec 1, 2014: Loya dies of cardiac arrest in Nagpur, where he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. *Nov, 2017: The issue comes under spotlight after media reports quote his sister fuelling suspicion about the circumstances surrounding Loya's death and its link to the Sohrabuddin case. *Jan 11, 2018: SC agrees to hear two pleas seeking independent probe into Loya's death. *Jan 12: SC terms "serious matter" the alleged mysterious death of Loya, seeks response from Maharashtra government. *Jan 16: SC says Maharashtra government can decide which documents relating to the death of Loya could be handed over to the petitioners. *Jan 22: Terming "serious" the issues raised in the pleas on death of Loya, SC transfers to itself two petitions related to ...
Jammu HC Bar Association tells SC it did not support lawyers' protest in Kathua case
The Jammu High Court Bar Association today told the Supreme Court that it did not support lawyers' protest in connection with the Kathua gangrape and murder case. The Bar Council of India told a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that they have constituted a team, headed by a former high court judge, which will visit Kathua to assess the situation relating to lawyers protest. Meanwhile, the Kathua District Bar Association told the bench, comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, that they have already withdrawn the strike on April 12 itself. Advocate Shoeb Alam, appearing for the state opposed the tagging of plea filed by the victim's father, who is seeking the transfer of case from Kathua to Chandigarh, with the suo motu matter related to lawyers' protest there. The bench, while clarifying that the administration of justice can't be interfered with, asked the Jammu High Court Bar Association, BCI and others to file their affidavits by April 24 and listed the ...
Kathua rerun: 6-year-old raped in UP's Siddharthnagar
After the gruesome Kathua and Unnao cases shook the nation, another rape case came to the fore on Thursday involving a six-year-old in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharthnagar.A six-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a villager in Siddharthnagar area when she stepped out of her house to watch a 'Baraat' procession.The accused lured the girl into the fields and raped her. She was found lying unconscious out of the village.The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital.Meanwhile, police has arrested the culprit who executed the act.This comes amid an outrage over Kathua and Unnao rape cases, that have taken the country by a storm.An eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped, tortured, drugged, and murdered by eight men in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir in January this year.The details of the rape-murder revealed by the charge sheet have triggered public and political outrage in various parts of the country, as many are calling for speedy justice in the case.Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA ...
Loya verdict will raise more questions: Congress
The Congress said today that the Supreme Court judgment dismissing a batch of pleas seeking an independent probe into the alleged mysterious death of special CBI judge B H Loya will raise more questions and leave many of them unanswered unless logical reasons were found in it. "Dispassionate analysis of Loya judgement must await its full reasoning. But unless logical reasons found in it, it will raise more questions and leave many unanswered," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said on Twitter. In his first response to the verdict, Singhvi said the apex court can remove suspicions only by dealing with them directly. "Am prepared to accept a) heavy emphasis in SC Loya regarding veracity of accompanying judges b) anguish regarding scandalous arguments (c) initiation of contempt if it arises (d) provided it is accompanied by solid reasons rebutting the 7/8 suspicious circumstances raised. Absent that, above lamentations not enough (sic)," he tweeted. Judge Loya allegedly died of ...
Justice Loya case: SC dismiss petitions seeking SIT probe
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed petitions seeking the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Judge B.H. Loya's death case.A bench of apex court headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra passed the order."There is no merit in the petitions and there is no reason to doubt the statements of sitting Judges, attempt of the petitioners was to malign the judiciary," said SC while dismissing the petitions.The apex court had earlier asked the Maharashtra Government to submit the postmortem report of the CBI judge, who had died in alleged suspicious circumstances in 2014, citing that the "matter was very serious."As per the official records, Justice Loya died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur in 2014, a day after he attended the wedding and reception of his colleague's daughter.Maharashtra-based journalist B.S. Lone and activist Tehseen Poonavala had filed independent pleas seeking a fair probe into the death of Justice Loya alleging
SC rejects plea for SIT probe into Judge Loya's death
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed petition seeking SIT probe into the death of Judge Loya who was earlier holding trial in the Shorabuddin Sheikh staged shoot out case.
SC dismisses pleas seeking probe in special judge B H Loya's death case
The Supreme Court today dismissed a batch of pleas seeking an independent probe into the alleged mysterious death of special CBI judge B H Loya, who was hearing the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. Loya had allegedly died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said attempts were made to scandalise the judiciary by levelling serious allegations against judicial officers and judges of the Bombay High Court. There is no reason to doubt statements of four judges on circumstances leading to the death of Loya and the documents placed on record and their scrutiny establishes that Loya's death was due to natural cause, the bench said. The top court said that with these petitions it becomes clear that a real attempt and a frontal attack was made on the independence of the judiciary. The apex court said ...
Mecca verdict: Owaisi terms NIA blind, deaf
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi lashed out at the National Investigative Agency (NIA) over the acquittal of five accused in Mecca blast case.Addressing a rally here, Owaisi said that the investigative agency has turned deaf and blind and assured to provide help to the family of the victims against the verdict."If the family of any victim wants to appeal against the verdict, then I am ready to provide them legal help. People call NIA a caged parrot, but I will say that it is blind and deaf also," Owaisi said.On Monday, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court at Nampally acquitted five accused in the over a decade-long case, citing lack of evidence against them.Out of a total of 10 accused named in the case, only five faced trial, as one died while others are still absconding.The blast, which took place on May 18, 2007 at the Hyderabad mosque during Friday prayers, had killed eight people and left 58 injured. It was allegedly carried
Pak to file counter rejoinder in Jadhav's case by Jul 17: Report
Pakistan is expected to file its counter rejoinder on or before July 17 in the ICJ relating to the case of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court in April last year on charges of espionage and terrorism, a media report said today. Pakistan's rejoinder will be in response to a fresh set of pleadings filed by India in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on April 17 relating to the case. The office of Pakistan's attorney general, which is overseeing the case, is expected to receive the copy of the Indian rejoinder in a day or two, Dawn reported. Khawar Qureshi, who pleaded Pakistan's case at the initial stage, is expected to plead the case, the report said. India had moved the Hague-based ICJ in May last after Jadhav, 47, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism. A 10-member bench of the ICJ on May 18 had restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav till adjudication of the case. In ..
CAT rejects plea to remove cabinet secretary as party in case filed by Sanjiv Chaturvedi
The Central Administrative Tribunal has rejected a plea seeking the removal of the name of Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha as one of the respondents in a case filed by whistle-blower forest service officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi. The tribunal was hearing a case contesting the rejection of representations made by Chaturvedi against unsatisfactory assessment of his annual performance appraisal report (APAR) by officers concerned during his tenure at All India Institute of Medical Sciences here. Chaturvedi worked as chief vigilance officer who acts as a distant arm of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to check corruption in government departments and deputy secretary between June 2012 and June 2016. He exposed corrupt practices at the premier institute during his tenure. Chaturvedi has filed a case against the cabinet secretary, secretary of CVC, AIIMS director, Union Heath Minister J P Nadda, former AIIMS director M C Mishra and ex-deputy director AIIMS, V Srinivas, and others. Counsels ..