Page 1714 - Law Crime
Unnao rape case: CBI books BJP MLA, questions him
The CBI has taken over the investigation in three cases related to the alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and questioned the lawmaker in this regard at its Lucknow office, officials said today. The agency, which was referred the matter only yesterday, took immediate action by re-registering the FIRs lodged by the Uttar Pradesh police and brought the four-time MLA to its Lucknow office at around 5 am for questioning, they added. Sengar, an MLA from Bangarmau in Unnao district, was not arrested yet, the officials said. They added that a team of officials visited the crime scenes in Makhi village and talked to the family members of the victim, witnesses and officials of the hospital, where the victim and her father were taken for treatment. The first FIR pertains to the alleged rape of the girl in which Sengar and a woman, Shashi Singh, have been named as the accused. The second one pertains to rioting, in which four locals have been booked, and also the ..
No allegation of instigation against me: Sajjan to HC
Congress leader Sajjan Kumar today submitted in the Delhi High Court there was no allegation against him of instigating a mob against Sikhs on October 31, 1984, after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Anu Malhotra was informed by Kumar's counsel that initially the victim had named several persons before the authorities but not the former Member of Parliament and that he had no connection with the co-accused. Senior advocate Amit Sibal, appearing for Kumar, argued that there was also no allegation of any involvement of the leader in the October 31, 1984 incident either in the charge sheet in the court. The trial court had framed charges of instigation and abetment against him but there was no allegation, he claimed. Regarding the charge of criminal conspiracy, Sibal and advocate Anil Kumar Sharma, said no role was assigned to Kumar of his involvement with the co-accused and three prosecution witnesses had
CBI arrests Income Tax commissioner in a Rs 50 lakh bribery case
The CBI today arrested a Commissioner of the Income Tax department posted in Guwahati for allegedly demanding Rs 50 lakh for giving relief in a shell company matter to a businessman, officials said here. The officer, Shwetabh Suman, allegedly demanded the bribe for passing favourable orders in tax assessment of a businessman in a shell company matter, an official said. The amount was recovered from a middle-man and searches were carried out on the premises linked to Suman in Guwahati, Jorhat, Shillong, Noida and Delhi. The agency has also arrested Pratap Das, Income Tax Officer (Audit), Guwahati, Pranjol Sarmah, who transported the cash, and Ramesh Goenka, an advocate and Income Tax consultant. "It was alleged that during 2017-18, the Commissioner of Income Tax(Audit), Guwahati (Suman)... Has entered into a conspiracy with Income Tax Officer (Audit), Guwahati, and two other accused and said private firm and unknown others, and in pursuance, thereof, the commissioner agreed to show ...
Modi says Kathua, Unnao rape victims will get justice
Speaking for the first time over the shocking rape-murder of a minor in Jammu and Kashmir and the rape of another minor in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said such incidents have shamed the country and assured that justice will be done and culprits won't be allowed to escape.
Goa mining: HC asks CBI, CVC to examine complaints against MoEF officers
The Delhi High Court today asked the CBI and the CVC to examine complaints seeking a probe into the role of a minister and officers of the Ministry of Environment and Forests for allegedly illegally causing gain to private mining firms and loss to the exchequer while granting them mining leases. It asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to examine the complaint to the agency and communicate the decision to the petitioner, who has approached the court seeking a direction to the CBI and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to conduct a thorough probe into the matter. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar asked the CBI and the CVC to "examine the complaints of the petitioner in light of the applicable law within three months and communicate the decision to the petitioner" while disposing of the petition. The petition, filed by Sudip N Tamankar, said that he had made detailed complaints to both the CBI and the CVC seeking criminal investigation .
Criminals involved in Rs 25 lakh robbery held in Delhi
Three persons, who robbed a man of Rs 25 lakh cash and a scooty in the national capital earlier this month, were arrested on Friday, police said.
Not mandatory to appoint HC judge as SERC's head: SC
The Supreme Court has ruled that it is not "mandatory" to appoint a high court judge as the chairperson of State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC), which determines power tariff, in the states. The path-breaking verdict put to rest the vexatious question that had come to light due to conflicting judgements of Gujarat and the Madras high courts on the interpretation of a provision of the Electricity Act on the appointment of the Chairperson of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. Section 84 (2) of the Act said that the state government "may" appoint "any person as the chairperson from amongst the persons, who is, or has been, a Judge of the High Court". The Madras High Court, on February 7, 2014, held that that there was no such mandatory requirement to appoint a high court judge as the chairperson of Tamil Nadu State Electricity Commission. However, there was an option to appoint a judge, it had said. On the contrary, the Gujarat High Court, in a similar case, on ...
Unnao rape case: CBI questions accused BJP MLA; HC orders immediate arrest
Amid heightened public anger, the CBI today questioned BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, accused of raping a minor girl in Uttar Pradesh's Unnao, even as the Allahabad High Court ordered his immediate arrest saying he was influencing the "law and order machinery". As the Opposition upped the ante accusing the ruling BJP of shielding perpetrators of heinous crimes against women, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that no criminal will be spared and justice will be done to daughters of the nation. Facing flak over the delay in taking action against his MLA in the nearly year-old rape case, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said his government will not deviate from its zero-tolerance policy on crime and that it would firmly deal with criminals, no matter how influential they might be. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who led a midnight march last night in the national capital to protest the rape cases, hit out at the prime minister over his silence on violence against women and children, .
Sessions judge held on graft charge in Telangana
A lower court judge and two advocates were today arrested here by the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on the charge of taking Rs 7.5 lakh bribe for granting bail to an accused in a narcotics case. First Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Radhakrishna Murthy and advocates K Srinivas Rao and G Satish Kumar were arrested after a case was registered based on an order of the Hyderabad High Court, an ACB release said. The arrests followed searches conducted at the residences of the accused. The judge and the lawyers, booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act, were produced before a special court for ACB cases which remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days, it said. The two lawyers had allegedly collected Rs 7.50 lakh from an accused in the narcotics case on behalf of the judge for granting him bail, the release said. The high court had directed the ACB to register a case and investigate the matter after advocate T Srirangaro approached it alleging that ...
Omar asks PM to break silence over Kathua, Unnao incidents
Former chief minister Omar Abdullah today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to break his silence over the rape cases in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. In Unnao, a minor girl was allegedly raped by a BJP MLA, while in Kathua an eight-year-old girl was raped and killed. "When the Hon PM goes abroad & claims to be representing 1.3 billion Indians he doesn't mean it because if he did he would have two words of sympathy for the victims in #Kathua & #Unnao," Omar tweeted earlier in the day. However, this evening, in his first comments on the gruesome incidents of rape in Unnao and Kathua, Modi said that no criminal will be spared and daughters will get justice. In another tweet, the National Conference leader said, "Hon PM sir, there isn't a day when we don't hear you speak about things that are important to you yet there are times when you are completely silent about things that are important to others." Abdullah requested the prime minister not to let the
Unnao rape case: Akhilesh demands action against cops, Rs 50L compensation for victim
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav today demanded action against the policemen for their handling of the Unnao rape case, a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the victim's family and a government job to the victim. "The policemen involved in the incident should also be identified and punished. The victim's family should be given a Rs 50-lakh compensation and the victim should be given a government job, security, accommodation and other facilities," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said here. Claiming that the people of the state were living in fear and feeling insecure, he said, "After the (Allahabad) High Court's observation, it is proved that law-and-order has collapsed in the state. The governor should take suo motu congnizance and recommend President's Rule in Uttar Pradesh." The CBI has taken over the probe in three cases related to the alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar. The central probe agency had detained the Bangarmau MLA in the early
Minor girl kidnapped in Rajouri rescued
A minor girl who was allegedly kidnapped by a youth in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district was rescued from Mumbai, police said today. The girl was rescued on April 11 after the police received a complaint that she was kidnapped by a youth in Sounchal area in Kalakote belt of the district last week, the police said today. A police team from Kalakote Police Station headed by SHO Darshan Singh started an investigation and a special team raided a location in Mumbai and rescued the girl, he said. The accused was arrested by the police, the officer said, adding that the girl was later reunited with her family.
Shashwat claims innocence, demands high level probe
Arijit Shashwat, son of Union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey and an accused in a case of communal clashes, today claimed he was implicated in a false case and demanded that the state government initiate a high level probe into the matter. Shashwat and eight others were named in a case related to the communal clashes in Bhagalpur on March 17. He was arrested on April 1 and secured bail on April 9. "A fabricated case has been made against me. I am an innocent person. No one involved in firing and bombing were arrested," he told reporters. Shashwat said he would try to meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar tomorrow to know what action has been taken on the letter which he had written to him on March 22. In the letter, he had demanded a high level probe to find out those who gave communal colour to the incident which was a clash between some individuals. "It was RJD and Congress workers who started stone pelting and tried to vitiate the atmosphere by trying to create communal ...
Kathua rape case: SC warns lawyers, Delhi HC restrains media from naming victim
As the outrage over the Kathua rape case continued, the Supreme Court today stepped in to warn the lawyers in Jammu that they cannot obstruct the process of law while the Delhi High Court restrained the media from revealing the identity of the victim by any means. The top court took umbrage against the lawyers body of Kathua and Jammu for obstructing the way of the counsel of the victim's family in the trial court, saying that advocates' bodies have a solemn duty to not obstruct members of legal fraternity representing the parties. The Delhi High Court had also taken up on its own taken up the reports in the media disclosing the identity of the victim and asked them why action should not be taken against them, both print and electronic media, for violating the privacy of the minor. "A whole media trial is going on," it said. In the top court, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud sought responses on the conduct of lawyers from the Bar ...
Don't raise issue of judges' press conference before us: SC
The Supreme Court today took umbrage when an attempt was made to raise before it the issue relating to the unprecedented January 12 press conference by the four senior-most judges, who had accused the Chief Justice of India (CJI) of arbitrarily allocating cases. While hearing a PIL challenging the existing roster system and powers of the CJI to allocate cases, a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan made it clear that it was not concerned with the issue of the presser for "many reasons and obvious reasons". "We are not going to go into it. We are not concerned with it for many reasons and obvious reasons. Do not say all this. Do not bring it here," the bench told senior advocate Dushyant Dave, who was representing Bhushan. The observation by the bench came after Dave said, "Four of your colleagues have publicly took note of the failure of the system." When the bench referred to the apex court verdicts which held that the CJI is the "master of roster", Dave said a judgement ...
Petitioner in Ishrat Jahan encounter case killed in road accident
Gopinath Pillai, who was one of the petitioners in 2004 Ishrat Jahan encounter case, died in a car accident in Cherthala area of Kerala's Alappuzha district.According to reports, Pillai met with an accident on Wednesday when his car got hit by a truck.He was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.Ishrat, a 19-year-old Mumbai based girl along with Gopinath's son Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an alleged police encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.The Gujarat Police had claimed they had terror links and had plotted to kill the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.Pillai, who believed that his son was innocent, fought lengthy legal battles to bring justice to the victims of the alleged fake encounter.
Place UP under President's rule, demands SP
Samajwadi Party today demanded that President's rule be imposed in Uttar Pradesh because of the deteriorating law and order, especially after the Unnao rape case - in which a ruling party MLA is an accused. "This government should not continue even for a single day and Article 356 needs to be invoked and the state brought under President's rule," SP vice-president Kiranmoy Nanda told reporters here. The demand for imposition of President's rule came after the Central Bureau of Investigation today took over the probe in three cases related to the alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and detained the legislator for questioning. The victim has alleged that on June 4, 2017, she was raped by the Bangarmau legislator at his residence, when she had gone to meet him with a relative, seeking a job. After the case was filed, the victim's father was booked by police under the Arms Act on April 3 and put in jail on April 5. Frustrated with the alleged police inaction
BJP ministers who took part in rally in support of Kathua gangrape accused resign
Two BJP ministers, who were at the centre of a storm over their participation in a rally in support of the accused in the Kathua rape and murder case, today submitted their resignations to the party's state president Sat Sharma. "Yes, the two ministers have submitted their resignation to me," Sharma told PTI. He said a legislature party meeting of the BJP is scheduled to be held tomorrow in Jammu where the future course of action on this issue will be discussed. "We are going to discuss this and other issues at our legislature party meeting tomorrow," Sharma said when asked if he was going to forward the resignations to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. Forest Minister Chaudhary Lal Singh and Industries Minister Chander Prakash had attended the rally. Opposition National Conference and the Congress had demanded that Mehbooba sack the two ministers. The rape and killing of the girl, who belonged to the nomadic Bakerwal Muslim community, has become a national issue. The gory details of the
Road rage case: Sidhu puts on brave face after Punjab govt backs his conviction, Oppn after him
A day after the Punjab government favoured a court verdict convicting Navjot Singh Sidhu in a 30-year-old road rage case, the minister tried to put on a brave face, saying he was ready to carry "any burden" that he may have to because of his own government's stance, even as Opposition demanded he quit the Cabinet. The case against Sidhu was heard by the Supreme Court yesterday, where the state government favoured the Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict convicting and awarding a three-year jail term to Sidhu. The Tourism, Culture and Local Government minister today said the "explanation" for the state government's stand in the Supreme Court can be given by the chief minister. "Whether I am unhappy, shocked, astonished or hurt or whatever it is on account of what the Punjab government has said (in the apex court), Sidhu's shoulders are strong enough to carry that burden ...If there is any burden, I will prefer to carry on my shoulders," he said. "I prefer to carry that burden on my ...
SC asks French national to surrender in 3 days in sexual assault case
The Supreme Court today asked a French national, an active trustee of an international school in Mumbai, to surrender in three days in connection with a case of alleged sexual assault on a three-year-old girl. The top court, however, barred him from entering the school premises and directed the trial court to decide the matter as per material available on record. A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan clarified that the observations in the orders of the Bombay High Court and the sessions court are only in respect to the granting and cancellation of bail. "The petitioner shall surrender within three days. However, he will not visit the school. We make it clear that the observations of the sessions court as well as the high court are only in the context of granting and cancellation of bail. Needless to stay, the trial court is required to finally decide the matter on the basis of evidence which is produced before the court," the bench said. Accused Patrick Brilliant had ...