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‘Not entertaining’, SC refuses plea challenging Victoria Gowri’s appointment as Madras HC judge

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain pleas challenging the appointment of Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri as an additional judge of the Madras High Court.

New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain pleas challenging the appointment of Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri as an additional judge of the Madras High Court.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and B.R. Gavai said there is a difference between eligibility and suitability and on eligibility, there could be a challenge but suitability? It added, “the court should not get into it…”

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, representing the petitioner, stressed that hate speech is something which runs antithesis to the Constitution and such an oath will be an insincere oath and only on paper. After hearing detailed arguments, the bench said: “we are not entertaining the writ petition, reasons will follow”.

During the hearing, the bench said it cannot direct the collegium to reconsider its decision on Victoria Gowri’s appointment as an additional judge of the Madras High Court, and if any member of the collegium had any reservation on Gowri, they would have taken it up.

Ramachandran said see the ugly haste in which the oath taking was notified and pointed out that the fact that this court was hearing was brought to the notice of the acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court. He added that yet they notified the appointment at 10.35 a.m., what is the significance of 10.35? That this court would decide in 5 mins?

Justice Gavai said there are instances of additional judges not being confirmed. Justice Khanna said to assume that the collegium has not taken these things into account, that may not be appropriate.

Senior advocate Anand Grover, representing the other petitioner, argued that they are not on the political views of the person, rather the problem is with her views expressed, which are so extreme, that they make it ex-facie evident that she is unfit to take oath as a judge.

The top court order came on petitions filed by Anna Mathew, R. Vaigai and others challenging Gowri’s appointment as an additional judge of the Madras High Court.

The Supreme Court collegium on January 17 had proposed the elevation of advocate Lekshmana Chandra Victoria Gowri as judge of the Madras High Court.

A group of Madras High Court lawyers have opposed Gowri’s proposed appointment after reports emerged about her affiliation to the BJP and also certain alleged statements about Muslims and Christians, including ‘Love Jihad’ and illegal conversion.

Crime

Haryana IPS suicide: Punjab Scheduled Caste panel seeks report from Chandigarh DGP

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Chandigarh, Oct 11: The Punjab State Scheduled Castes Commission on Saturday took suo moto notice in the suicide case of Haryana’s ADGP Y. Puran Kumar in Chandigarh and sought a report from the Chandigarh Director General of Police.

Commission Chairman Jasvir Singh Garhi said this matter has come to his notice through the media, on which he has taken action and he has instructed the Director General of Police of Chandigarh to submit a report regarding this matter and the action taken so far on the suicide note and the complaint given by his wife Amneet Kaur through an ADGP-level officer to the commission on October 13.

Also, the Scheduled Castes Commission Chairman will visit the victim’s family’s house on October 13.

Meanwhile, Jai Narayan, a spokesperson for the 31-member committee for justice for Puran Kumar, told the media here that they formed this 31-member committee on Friday to sustain the movement across all over Haryana with key members from various regions.

“The government has not conducted any meaningful investigation, and we demand that at the very least, those responsible be terminated; only then will the post-mortem be performed,” he said.

Meanwhile, protests were held in Rohtak, demanding arrest of the accused in the suicide case. Inspector General of Puran Kumar, who allegedly shot himself dead at his Chandigarh residence on October 7 with his service revolver, left behind a “final note”.

The victim’s spouse, Amneet P. Kumar, a Haryana cadre senior bureaucrat, in a letter to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has sought justice for her husband.

The letter, marked urgent and confidential, two days ago expressed anguish over what she described as a “grave injustice” and “complete administrative inaction” even after more than 48 hours of her husband’s death.

In a nine-page “suicide note”, Puran Kumar reportedly accused nine serving IPS officers of the Haryana Police, a retired IPS officer and three retired IAS officers of “caste-based discrimination”.

The serving officers included DGP Shatrujeet Singh Kapur and Rohtak Superintendent of Police Narendra Bijarniya.

Meanwhile, the government has removed Bijarniya from his post and has been replaced by Surinder Singh Bhoria as the Superintendent of Police of Rohtak.

No posting has been given to Bijarniya as of now. Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to the wife of late Haryana IPS officer, saying the incident “reveals that even the highest-level officers can be denied social justice on account of discriminatory attitude”.

“The passing away of Mr Y Puran Kumar reveals that even the highest-level officers can be denied social justice on account of the discriminatory attitude and the preconceived notions of the powers that be. Crores of Indians stand with you in your fight for justice,” she wrote.

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Mumbai Press Exclusive News

Crores of rupees were defrauded in the name of government jobs, the accused was arrested from Delhi… The accused had received money from hundreds of unemployed people

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Economic Wing has claimed to have arrested the accused in a case of cheating in the name of getting government jobs in the central and state governments in several districts of Maharashtra. Santosh Ganpat, a businessman from Navi Mumbai, filed a complaint that the accused Nilesh Kanshi Ram Rathore had charged him Rs 5 lakh for a government job and Rs 5 to 15 lakh for medical tests and appointment letters. The EOW has registered a case against him because he has cheated him of Rs 2.88 crore by promising him a job and during the investigation it was revealed that he has cheated him of Rs 10 crore. The Economic Wing has formed a team to arrest the absconding accused and searched him in Akola and other areas. The accused cheated hundreds of youths for recruitment in RCF in 2022. His complaint was filed with the EOW. The EOW received information that the accused was trying to escape from Delhi, on which the police arrested him from Delhi. The accused has been booked in Mumbai EOW and Pune Deccan. A criminal case has been registered and further investigation is underway. This operation has been carried out under the leadership of EOW chief Nisht Mishra.

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Mumbai Press Exclusive News

ANC action, drugs worth crores seized, 6 arrested

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Mumbai: The Anti-Narcotics Cell has claimed to have arrested six drug smugglers, including a Nigerian, including a Nigerian, including MD and Natropum tablets worth Rs 7.01 crore, during operations at various locations in Mumbai. 523 grams of cocaine, worth Rs 5.23 crore, was seized from a Nigerian in Vakola, Mumbai. Five accused were arrested in raids conducted in Ghatkopar, Kurla CST, Mazgaon, tardeo, Borivali areas, from whose possession Mephedone MD worth Rs 54.65 lakh was seized. These are part of five inter-state drug gangs. Other drugs including Natropum tablets were also seized in this operation. This operation was carried out by DCP Nunath Dhule on the instructions of the Mumbai Police Commissioner.

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