National News
Charge sheet can’t be equated with an FIR for free public access: SC
The Supreme Court on Friday junked a PIL seeking free public access to charge sheets filed by police departments and investigative agencies – CBI and ED — saying that a charge sheet is not a public document.
It emphasised that if charge sheets are put on the public domain, then it will be contrary to the scheme of the Criminal Procedure Code and may also violate the rights of the accused as well as the victim and/or even the investigating agency.
A bench of Justices M.R. Shah and C.T. Ravikumar said: “Putting the FIR on the website cannot be equated with putting the charge sheets along with the relevant documents on the public domain and on the websites of the state governments.”
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing petitioner Saurav Das, cited the apex court decision Youth Bar Association of India case, where it directed copies of FIRs to be published within 24 hours of their registration on the police websites or on the websites of the state governments.
In connection with publication of FIRs, the bench said this direction was passed looking into the interest of the accused and so that the innocent accused are not harassed and they are able to get the relief from the competent court and they are not taken by surprise.
“Therefore, the directions issued by this court are in favour of the accused, which cannot be stretched to the public at large so far as the charge sheets are concerned,” said Justice Shah, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench.
Bhushan had cited the scheme of the Code of Criminal Procedure, particularly Sections 207, 173(4) and 173(5) to support his case. He vehemently argued that as per the aforesaid provisions when a duty is cast upon the investigating agency to furnish the copy of the challans/charge sheets along with all other documents to the accused, the same also should be in the public domain to have the transparency in the working of the criminal justice system.
The bench said the relief which is sought in the present writ petition directing that all the challans/charge sheets filed under Section 173 Cr.P.C. shall be put on public domain/websites of the state governments shall be contrary to the scheme of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Citing CrPC sections, the bench added that the investigating agency is required to furnish the copies of the report along with the relevant documents to be relied upon by the prosecution to the accused and to none others.
“Therefore, if the relief as prayed in the present petition is allowed and all the charge sheets and relevant documents produced along with the chargesheets are put on the public domain or on the websites of the state governments, it will be contrary to the scheme of the Criminal Procedure Code and it may as such violate the rights of the accused as well as the victim and/or even the investigating agency,” said the bench.
Citing Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act, Bhushan argued that charge sheets were “public documents”, which can be accessed.
Dismissing the petition, the bench said: “Documents mentioned in Section 74 of the Evidence Act only can be said to be public documents, the certified copies of which are to be given by the concerned police officer having the custody of such a public document. Copy of the charge sheet along with the necessary documents cannot be said to be public documents within the definition of public documents as per Section 74 of the Evidence Act.”
National News
Constitution Day 2024: Video Shows Rahul Gandhi Leaving Without Namaste To Murmu, BJP Claims ‘He Insulted Tribal President’
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi came under fire on Tuesday (November 26) for what is being called his avoidance of greeting President of India Droupadi Murmu. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has seized on to the incident that took place in Parliament of India and has now alleged that Gandhi did not greet President Murmu because she hails from tribal community.
The video, now being shared by BJP leaders and netizens alike, shows part of the proceedings of Constitution Day ceremony in the parliament. The ceremony kickstarted the year-long celebration of 75 years of adoption of Constitution of India. The constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949.
In the video, President of India Droupadi Murmu, flanked by other dignitaries like Vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla greet those present for the ceremony. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, alongwith Rahul Gandhi are among the leaders given place on the dais.
In the video, all leaders including Rahul Gandhi, can be seen greeting those in the audience but Gandhi is then seen breaking away from the group while everyone greets the president, apparently as a courtesy. Gandhi, moving away from the group of leaders, stops at a point to look back but doesn’t greet the president.
BJP’s Amit Malviya posted the video and had a strong reaction for Gandhi.
Malviya’s post had a lot of comments.
One of those who commented said that Rahul Gandhi’s actions were not a power move but he did what he did as he did not have a clue about what was happening.
‘Ye nahi sudharne wala…’ said another user.
At the time of publishing of this story, there was no reaction from Rahul Gandhi’s official handle on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
It wasn’t immediately verifiable if Rahul Gandhi greeted the president off-camera.
Maharashtra
President Droupadi Murmu Pays Tribute To 26/11 Martyrs, Reiterates India’s Commitment To Fighting Terrorism
New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu paid tribute to the martyrs of the 26/11 attacks on Tuesday.
“On the anniversary of cowardly terror attacks in Mumbai on 26th November 2008, I join the entire nation in paying homage to the bravehearts who lost their lives and expressing solidarity with their families,” said the President in a post on X.
She also reiterated India’s commitment to combat terrorism.
“A grateful nation salutes its valiant security personnel who made ultimate sacrifice while protecting our people. It is also the day to reiterate that India remains firmly committed to defeating terrorism in all its forms,” the post added.
Union Ministers Amit Shah & Rajnath Singh Pay Their Tribute
Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh also paid tribute to the security personnel who died during the attacks,
“Terrorism is a blot on the entire human civilization. The Modi government’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy against terrorism has been appreciated by the entire world and today India has become a world leader in anti-terrorism initiatives,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s post said.
“We remember, and we will never forget those wounds,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s post said.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal Remembers Sacrifice Made By The People
Union Minister Piyush Goyal also remembered the sacrifice made by the people in a post on X.
“Respectful salute to the brave soldiers, policemen and innocent citizens who made the supreme sacrifice to protect the motherland in the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack. Their bravery, sacrifice and martyrdom will always be remembered,” the post said.
About 26/11 Terror Attack
Today is the 16th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, a series of coordinated terror attacks at the Taj Hotel, Oberoi Trident Hotel, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Leopold Cafe, Mumbai Chabad House, Nariman House, Cama Hospital and Metro Cinema by ten Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists.
Notably, at least 174 people, including 20 security force personnel and 26 foreigners, were killed and more than 300 injured in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in 2008.
The ten Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists came to Mumbai via the sea route from Pakistan and carried out the attacks.
International News
Bangladesh High Court orders high-level probe into power deals with Adani group amid supply cuts
Bangladesh’s High Court ordered the formation of a high-level enquiry committee comprising international energy and law experts to reevaluate all electricity-related agreements with the Adani group, The Business Standard, a local news portal, reported on Tuesday, November 19.
The bench of Justices Farah Mahbub and Debasish Roy Chowdhury has reportedly ordered the cabinet secretary to form the committee within a month and submit the report to the court in the next two months.
Adani Power shares closed 0.47 per cent lower at ₹524.10 on Tuesday’, compared to ₹526.60 at the previous market close.
The court, while hearing a petition, asked why instructions should not be given to cancel the uneven agreements made with the Adani group. It also asked for the documents related to the signing of the deal within a month.
Barrister M Abdul Qayyum, representing the petitioner, filed the writ in the High Court asking for the cancellation of all electricity deals with Adani group. Adani signed the 25-year power purchase agreement in 2017; at that time, no imported coal-based power plants were operational in Bangladesh, as per the report.
Adani’s Bangladesh power supply
Adani group’s Bangladesh power is supplied from Jharkhand’s 1,600 MW power plant. The cost of power is $0.1008 per unit or Tk12 per unit, a Bangladesh Power Development Board official was quoted as saying in the report.
This rate is 27 per cent higher than the rate of India’s other private producers and as much as 63 per cent more than the Indian state-owned plants.
After Adani Power cut the Bangladesh power supply by half over the unpaid dues, the company also set a deadline of November 7 to switch off the flow of electricity if there was no clarity on the settlement of the outstanding amount.
Bangladesh reportedly owes Adani almost $850 million. Adani group later clarified that it had not demanded the full payment in seven days, as per the report.
Shortage of Power
Bangladesh continues to face a shortage of electricity, increasing the risk of blackouts, even after making a partial payment to Adani group, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday.
Adani Power has received a letter of credit for $170 million, easing pressures from lenders, reported the agency, citing two people aware of the development. The partial payment doesn’t resolve the crisis, but the company won’t halt supplies for now, pending talks with the lenders of the Godda thermal plant in Jharkhand, the officials said.
“Payments should have been made by this time,” Ahsan H Mansur, governor of Bangladesh Bank, said in a phone interview on Friday as per the report. The central bank “issued an instruction for the payment”, Mansur had said earlier this week.
The Adani electric supply accounts for nearly 10 per cent of Bengladesh’s total supply. The power company reduced its supply further to 500 megawatts on Thursday after cutting it to 700 megawatts earlier, as per the data collected from Power Grid Bangladesh cited in the news report.
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