Mumbai, April 3: Shiv Sena social media chief Rahool Kanal has urged Big Tree Entertainment Pvt Ltd (which owns the online ticketing portal BookMyShow) to refrain from providing a platform for stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra’s show.

In a letter dated April 2, Kunal said that continuing to facilitate ticket sales for his events could be perceived as an endorsement of his divisive rhetoric which may have serious repercussions for public sentiment and order in the city.

Kanal said that BookMyShow has previously facilitated ticket sales for shows featuring Kunal Kamra, an individual with a documented history of habitual criminal behaviour. “Kamra has been observed to engage in a sustained campaign of vilification and defamation, targeting the Prime Minister of India, Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers, and other public figures. These actions appear to be part of a broader criminal conspiracy, driven by ulterior motives that extend far beyond the realm of humour or satire,” he claimed.

He further stated, “Kamra’s premeditated, scripted, provocative, and malicious statements have consistently crossed ethical and legal boundaries. Such remarks not only hurt the sentiments of the public at large but also have the potential to incite public mischief and disrupt social harmony. By providing a platform for his performances, BookMyShow inadvertently lends credibility and reach to an individual whose actions threaten public order, particularly in a vibrant and diverse city like Mumbai, where your company is headquartered.”

Against this backdrop, Kanal has requested that Big Tree Entertainment and BookMyShow refrain from publishing or promoting Kunal Kamra’s shows on their platform moving forward. “I trust that, as a responsible organisation committed to the well-being of its audience and the community. BookMyShow will take this matter into serious consideration and act in the larger interest of maintaining peace and harmony,” he said.

Kanal’s letter comes amid raging controversy over Kamra referring to Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief leader Eknath Shinde as a “traitor”.

The Mumbai Police have filed three cases against Kamra, though the Madras High Court has granted him temporary protection from arrest. Police are currently recording statements from the cameraperson and other staff present during the show’s filming. They have also assured Kamra’s safety when he appears for questioning. However, Kamra has yet to appear before the Mumbai Police to record his statement despite three summons served on him.

New Delhi, April 3: The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Calcutta High Court’s order cancelling 25,753 appointments in teaching and non-teaching posts made by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) in 2016.

Disposing a batch of petitions, including the West Bengal government’s appeal, a Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar made certain modifications in the directions issued by the Calcutta High Court.

“The credibility and legitimacy of the selection procedure is denuded. Accordingly, we have proceeded to made some modifications in the directions issued by the Calcutta HC,” the apex court said.

It added that the challenge to the CBI probe into the creation of super-numeric posts by the West Bengal government will be listed for hearing on April 4.

On May 7, 2024, a Bench headed by then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud stayed the operation of the impugned order passed by the Calcutta High Court cancelling school jobs.

The then CJI Chandrachud-led Bench had allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to continue with its investigation into the alleged scam but restricted the agency from taking any coercive action against the candidates or officials.

In an order passed in the third week of April 2024, the Calcutta High Court nullified the appointment of the candidates selected from the expired panels and asked them to return the entire salary drawn during their tenures, along with an annualised interest of 12 per cent, within the next four weeks.

Besides directing the WBSSC to initiate the recruitment process afresh, a Division Bench of Justices Debangsu Basak and Shabbar Rashidi of the Calcutta HC also directed the probe agency to carry on with its investigation into the matter.

Taking cognisance of the state Cabinet’s decision for the creation of super-numeric posts, it had said that the CBI, if necessary, can question the masterminds behind the creation of the seats in excess of the vacant posts.

These super-numeric posts, which have remained under the cloud since the beginning, are perceived to provide room for ineligible candidates recruited illegally.

In July 2023, the apex court had set aside an interim direction passed by the Calcutta High Court terminating the service of 32,000 primary teachers and asking the West Bengal authorities to complete the recruitment process for the newly-created vacancies within three months.

Asking the Calcutta High Court to decide the appeal pertaining to the school-jobs-for-cash scam at the earliest, the Supreme Court had stressed that the opportunity for a hearing has to be given to all concerned.

New Delhi, April 3: BJP leader Amit Malviya has elaborated on the implications of key insertions in the Waqf Amendment Bill, highlighting major changes aimed at protecting historical monuments and tribal land rights.

Taking to the social media platform X, Malviya shared a detailed explanation of the amendments.

“One of the significant insertions in the bill, Clause 3D, states: Any declaration or notification issued under this Act or under any previous Act in respect of waqf properties shall be void, if such property was a protected monument or protected area under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 or the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, at the time of such declaration or notification,” he wrote on X.

Explaining its impact, Malviya stated that ASI-protected monuments have now been excluded from the Waqf’s ambit.

He emphasised that since the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is merely a custodian, protected properties may not necessarily be government assets.

“Another key amendment, Clause 3E, reads: “Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, no land belonging to members of Scheduled Tribes under the provisions of the Fifth Schedule or the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution shall be declared or deemed to be waqf property,” he said.

Malviya highlighted that this provision ensures the exclusion of tribal land from Waqf’s jurisdiction, thereby protecting the interests of tribal communities and preventing land encroachment.

He noted that this issue has been particularly pressing in states like Jharkhand and other tribal-dominated regions.

“This is a major step in protecting Tribal rights, benefiting Bengal’s Tribals and many others,” Malviya remarked.

The amendments in the Waqf Act have sparked discussions across political and social circles, with proponents asserting that they safeguard historical heritage and tribal communities.

Earlier, addressing the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, asserted that misconceptions about the Waqf (Amendment) Bill were being deliberately spread by certain parties to bolster their vote banks.

He said that the proposed legislation was in line with fulfilling the wishes of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, something the opposition had failed to do.

The Home Minister explained that the new law might not have been necessary had the Waqf (Amendment) Act of 2013, passed under the Congress-led UPA II government, not been rushed through just months before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

At that time, Lalu Prasad, whose party had been part of the ruling coalition before withdrawing and later offering support, had raised concerns about the state of Waqf properties.

Quoting Lalu Prasad, HM Amit Shah said: “We welcome the amendment bill presented by the government. I support the statements made by (BJP’s) Shahnawaz Hussain and others. Most of the land has been grabbed, be it government-owned or otherwise. People in the Waqf Board have sold all the prime land. In Patna, apartments have been constructed on Dak Bungalow property. There has been a lot of loot like this.”

The Home Minister also reiterated that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was not aimed at any particular religion and that the Congress and other opposition parties were spreading misinformation about the bill to serve their vote-bank politics.