General
Beating around the bush: Supreme Court on Centre’s denial on detailed affidavit in Pegasus row
After the Centre’s denial to file a detailed affidavit clarifying whether Pegasus spyware was used or not, the Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on a batch of petitions seeking independent probe into the alleged Pegasus snooping case.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said the court will pass an interim order in the next few days and told the Centre that beating around the bush would not take the issue anywhere.
“Beating around the bush…we will pass some interim order,” the chief justice told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre.
The Centre informed the bench that it is not going to file a detailed affidavit, after taking time twice to take a decision, whether it will file an affidavit or not on a batch of petitions seeking inquiry into alleged use of spyware Pegasus.
Mehta submitted that government can constitute technical committee of independent domain experts, who can examine the petitioners’ allegations that their phones were affected by Pegasus. Centre said this committee can submit its report to the top court.
The top court pointed at the response of former Minister for Electronics and Information Technology in Parliament in 2019. However, Mehta highlighted a recent statement made by Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology of India on the floor of the Parliament clarifying the government’s stand.
A battery of senior advocates — Kapil Sibal, Rakesh Dwivedi, Dinesh Dwivedi, Shyam Divan and Meenakshi Arora –representing various petitioners objected to the Centre’s stand on the matter.
Sibal, representing veteran journalist N. Ram, said the government should clarify whether it used Pegasus or not? Sibal added that it is unbelievable that the government said it would not tell the court about the use of spyware.
“We thought government will file a counter affidavit. We are considering some interim order or some other order, we have to pass,” the bench noted during the hearing.
Divan contended that a detailed affidavit should be filed at the level of cabinet secretary. He further added that the government should be concerned if an external agency used the spyware and if it were a government agency, then it was absolutely unconstitutional.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi questioned the credibility of the expert panel formed by the government to examine the issue.
Mehta submitted, “Nobody is denying or disputing. There are sensitive issues involved. We must get to the core issue. Let the expert panel go into it.”
The Chief Justice clarified that the court is also not keen on government disclosing any information which compromises the national security. The bench noted that if government were to file an affidavit, then it would have known “where do we stand on the subject”.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves said a retired or sitting judge of the Supreme Court should head the probe, and the government, which is a wrongdoer, cannot be relied upon with the investigation.
Maharashtra
Mumbai: Hajra, wife of builder Riaz in Kurla, accused of illegal abortion, Kherwadi police registers case against mother

Mumbai: An incident has come to light in Mumbai in which a case has been registered against a mother for illegally aborting a pregnancy. Kherwadi police have registered a case of abortion against the second wife of Kurla builder Riaz Shah. On December 7, Riaz Shah’s son filed a complaint in which it was stated that Hajra Shah had miscarried a 24-month-old child. The abortion was done using contraception in 2024 and on the complaint of this illegal act, the police have registered a case against Hajra and her brother Ashfaq under sections 88, 91, 238 of the BNS. This is the first case of its kind in which a case has been registered against the mother for wasting contraception. In 2024, when Riaz Shah asked his wife where the child was, she said that she had miscarried and that she had done the autopsy of the newborn in the Kurla Sunni graveyard and her brothers Ashfaq and Imran Lado knew about this. When Riaz checked in the graveyard, no record of the newborn was found, after which the police registered a case of misleading and aborting the child. Junaid Riaz Shah has filed a complaint against Liya. The police are investigating the matter further.
Mumbai Press Exclusive News
When will the dilapidated roads in Bhiwandi city be repaired? Raees Sheikh asked a question in the Maharashtra Assembly, expressing concern over road accidents.

Nagpur: Samajwadi Party MLA from Bhiwandi East Raees Sheikh raised the issue of dilapidated roads, debris lying everywhere and increasing road accidents in Bhiwandi city on the first day of the ongoing winter session of the Maharashtra Assembly in Nagpur. Raees Sheikh asked in the Maharashtra Assembly that when will the roads be constructed in Bhiwandi and when will the road accidents due to bad roads be controlled.
Raees Sheikh said that looking at Bhiwandi city, it seems that there is debris lying everywhere in the entire city and there is no explanation as to when will the roads be constructed in Bhiwandi city and where will the funds for its work come from? Raees Sheikh said that the Chief Minister had called a meeting regarding the construction of roads in Bhiwandi city and in this meeting the Chief Minister had formed a committee which includes the Municipal Corporation Commissioner and MMRDA officers and for the construction of these roads the Chief Minister had said that a proposal of Rs 1,000 crores would be presented. Raees Sheikh said that the people who are being affected during the development work and whose structures are being affected should get compensation from the government. Raees Sheikh also stressed that a policy on this should be made in the current meeting and at the Mumbai level and the government should also clarify by when the roads will be constructed? Raees Sheikh raised the issue of road accidents in the assembly
Raees Sheikh, while raising the issue of dilapidated roads in Bhiwandi city in the Maharashtra Assembly, said that recently, Dr. Omar was taking his five-year-old daughter home from school in Bhiwandi city, during which his five-year-old daughter Khadija died in a tragic road accident while he was also seriously injured. Apart from this, a person named Raj Singh also lost his life due to a road accident. He said that the increasing number of road accidents due to dilapidated roads and potholes in Bhiwandi city is a matter of great concern, so the government should explain when these accidents will be controlled and when the roads will be constructed.
Maharashtra
Sakri Holi riots: Dhule sessions court acquits ten Muslims including two women in the case, Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra takes legal action against Arshad Madani

Dhule Sessions Court Additional Sessions Judge Jayshree R. Platte acquitted ten accused, including two women, in the Holi riot case that took place at a place called Sakri near Dhule recently due to the complainant and other government witnesses’ deviation from their previous statements. The court acquitted accused Sumiya Zakir Sheikh, Shabana Farooq Sheikh, Meraj Ibrahim Syed, Nasir Sapro Sheikh, Irfan Sapro Sheikh, Mohiuddin Sheikh, Nisar Naseeb Khan Pathan, Samad Saleem Sheikh, Zakir Sapro Sheikh and Saleem Sheikh of serious charges like attempt to murder. The case of the accused was pursued by the Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra (Arshad Madani) Legal Aid Committee on the request of Jamiat Ulema Dhule. Advocate Ashfaq Sheikh appeared in defense of the accused while Advocate NB Kalal followed the prosecution. On March 18, 2022, communal riots broke out in Sakri on the occasion of Holi, after which the police took unilateral action and registered a case against ten Muslims, including two women, under sections 147, 148, 307, 353, 332, 336, 337, 295 of the Indian Penal Code. The police applied Section 4/25 of the Arms Act on the accused and accused them of assault with weapons. Initially, the case was heard in the Sakri Magistrate Court and then the case was transferred to the Dhule Sessions Court because the police had also applied serious sections like 307/ along with the Arms Act on the accused. During the final hearing, Advocate Ashfaq Sheikh told the court that during the trial, the complainant and his wife did not support the police and deviated from their previous statements. Therefore, the accused should be acquitted from the case.
Additional Sessions Judge Jayshree R. Plate of the Dhule Sessions Court said in his decision that the accused cannot be punished on the basis of deviation from the statements of important witnesses and mere suspicion, therefore all the accused are acquitted from the case. On the instructions of President Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra Maulana Haleemullah Qasmi, Mushtaq Sufi (General Secretary, Dhule District) and his colleagues prosecuted the case.
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