On Outcry Over Bilkis Bano's Rapists Walking Free, Supreme Court Says...

Public outcry will not affect judicial decisions, the Supreme Court asserted on Tuesday, as it began weighing the legality of the remission granted to all the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan made it clear that agitations and society's outcry will not have an effect on its decisions and that it will go only by the law.

"Public outcry will not affect our judicial decisions. We will consider only legal submissions and will not go by this (public anger over the incident). Suppose, there is no public outcry. Are we supposed to uphold the order? If there is a public outcry, does it mean it is a wrong order?" the bench told advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Bilkis Bano.

The observation came after Ms Gupta submitted that "public outcry" is one of the important factors to be considered while granting remission to convicts.

She said there was an outcry in society after the convicts in the case were released and there were agitations across the country.

As the hearing began on Tuesday, Bilkis Bano's counsel told the top court the Additional Director General of Police, Prisons and Correctional Administration, Gujarat had tendered a negative opinion about remission to the convicts and not recommended premature release of one of them - Radheshyam Shah.

She told the bench that after Radheshyam Shah's plea seeking premature release under the Gujarat government's July 9, 1992 policy on remission was declined by the Gujarat High Court, he approached the top court in a writ petition for relief.

"How is this writ petition before this court maintainable after he has already availed remedy under Article 226 (before HC), accepted order and acted on it? For what purpose did he come to this court, and how did this court entertain the petition?" he bench asked.

Article 226 gives high courts the power to issue instructions, orders, and writs to any person or authority, including the government.

Radheysham Shah had moved the Supreme Court seeking remission on the ground that he had completed 15 years and 4 months in jail. He was sent to life imprisonment by a CBI court in Mumbai in 2008. In accordance with the rules then in force, a convict could apply for remission after 14 years, which was then considered the period of life imprisonment.

Hearing Shah's petition, the court had asked the Gujarat government to look into the matter and decide within two months whether he could be granted remission.

Bilkis Bano's counsel Gupta submitted that after the Supreme Court order directing the Gujarat government to consider his plea, everything got expedited and all the convicts got released on August 15, 2022.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing in one of the PILs, recalled how the convicts were garlanded and felicitated and statements were made about their being Brahmins who cannot commit crimes.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said those who garlanded the released convicts were their family members. "What is wrong in garlanding by a family member?" he asked.

At the fag end of the hearing on Tuesday, the top court said it will hear arguments on August 9 on the locus standi of multiple people who have filed PILs in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case.

Besides the petition filed by Bilkis Bano, several other PILs including one by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, independent journalist Revati Laul and former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma have challenged the remission. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra has also filed a PIL against the remission.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for one of the convicts, told the bench that once the victim individual is in court, others may not have a locus standi (entitlement to bring a lawsuit in court) to intervene in the matter of this nature.

The convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots chased her with a "blood thirsty approach" to hunt Muslims and kill them, the top court was told on Monday, as it commenced the final hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the remission granted last year to all the 11 convicts in the case.

The top court had on April 18 questioned the Gujarat government over the remission granted to the 11 convicts, saying the gravity of the offence should have been considered before showing leniency, and wondered if there was any application of mind. All of them had walked free on August 15, 2022.

Asking for reasons for the premature release of the convicts, the top court had also questioned frequent parole granted to them during their incarceration.

"It (remission) is a kind of grace, which should be proportional to the crime," it had said.

Terming Bilkis Bano's gang-rape and the murder of her family members a "horrendous" act, the top court had on March 27 asked the Gujarat government whether uniform standards, as followed in other murder cases, were applied while granting remission to the convicts.

Bilkis Bano was 21 and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the communal riots that broke out after the Godhra train-burning incident. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed in the riots.

The 11 convicts granted premature release are Jaswantbhai Nai, Govindbhai Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radheshyam Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Father Of 4 Girls, Maharashtra Man Kidnaps Boy As He Wanted A Son

A 32-year-old father of four girls has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping a 4-year-old boy at Maharashtra's Kalyan station in his desperate attempt to have a "son", an official said on Tuesday.

Nashik resident Kachru Waghmare, alias Bala, allegedly committed the crime on Monday morning when the child was playing outside the waiting area at the station, on the outskirts of Mumbai.

The official said Waghmare, a daily wager, left the station premises with the child. He went around Kalyan city, bought food and sweets for the child and returned to the station to board a train to Jalna, some 350 km away.

Meanwhile, the boy's father approached the Government Railway Police (GRP) saying his son had gone missing.

The GRP registered a first information report (FIR) and began scanning the footage of the CCTV cameras installed on the station premises. The footage showed Waghmare moving with the boy.

GRP arrested Waghmare when he returned to the station, the official said, adding that he was planning to board a train to Jalna.

"Waghmare has four daughters. He said he was desperate to have a son so he kidnapped the child," the official said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Delhi Services Bill "Perfectly Valid": Ex Chief Justice Of India

Former Chief Justice of India and Rajya Sabha MP Ranjan Gogoi on Monday said the bill to replace an ordinance for handling the transfers and postings of officials in the Delhi government is "perfectly, legitimately valid".

Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 for consideration in the Rajya Sabha.

The bill has been passed by both the Houses of parliament.

Participating in the debate on the bill, Mr Gogoi, a nominated member of the Upper House, said it is the prerogative and the right of the members of the House to debate, and the question of the proposed legislation being sub-judice does not arise.

Several leaders from the opposition parties have termed the Delhi services bill as "unconstitutional". Some even suggested that Parliament should not take up the bill saying the matter was pending before the Supreme Court.

"So far as overreaching or outreaching the order of the court, Supreme Court, is concerned, very shortly put the position in my perception is this. The state legislature makes laws for the states. Parliament makes laws for the Union Territories," he said in his maiden speech in the House.

He said for the National Capital Region of Delhi, which has a special status, the state legislature or the legislature of Delhi makes the laws on state subjects except three matters.

But as pointed by Mahesh Jethmalani (BJP), Mr Gogoi said Parliament has the power to frame laws beyond the three matters and that is exactly what the bill is seeking to do.

"Therefore, there is no question of overreaching," he said.

Mr Gogoi further said there is "absolute freedom" of speech in Parliament and whatever a member says in Parliament cannot be questioned in a court of law.

The former chief justice of India spoke on various aspects of the bill and other law points, and asserted that "...in my respectful submission, my contention, Bill is perfectly, legitimately valid".

According to the bill, the National Capital Civil Services Authority will consist of the chief minister, chief secretary and the principal home secretary of Delhi.

The bill empowers the authority to make recommendations to the Delhi lieutenant governor regarding transfers and postings of officials and disciplinary matters.

It also empowers the LG to exercise his sole discretion on several matters, including those recommended by the National Capital Civil Services Authority, and the summoning, prorogation and dissolution of the Delhi Legislative Assembly.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Lok Sabha To Take Up Digital Personal Data Protection Bill Tomorrow

The Lok Sabha is to take up the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2023 on Monday for consideration and passing.

Earlier on August 3, Union Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw introduced Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, in the Lok Sabha.

Opposition members strongly opposed the introduction of the bill and said that the bill violates the fundamental right to privacy. They demanded that the bill should be sent to the standing committee for scrutiny. They said the government had withdrawn a bill on data protection last year and the new bill needs more scrutiny.

Mr Vaishnaw said that it is not a money bill and all issues raised by the opposition will be answered during the debate.

The Bill provides for the processing of digital personal data in a manner "that recognises both the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process such personal data for lawful purposes".

In view of the feedback from stakeholders and various agencies, the Bill was withdrawn in August 2022. On November 18, 2022, the government published a new draft Bill, titled the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022, and initiated a public consultation on this draft.

A comprehensive and detailed consultation was held on this subject. 21,666 comments were received from the public and a series of consultations were held with 46 sector organisations, associations and industry bodies.

Comments were also received from 38 ministries/departments of the Government of India. The reintroduced draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022 proposed six types of penalties on non-companies to companies.

To prevent a personal data breach, a penalty of up to Rs 250 crore is being proposed in the draft bill which was put out for public comments. Besides, failure to notify the Board and affected Data Principals in the event of a personal data breach and non-fulfilment of additional obligations in relation to children may attract a penalty of up to Rs 200 crore.

Non-fulfilment of additional obligations of Significant Data Fiduciary under sections 11 and 16 of the Act may attract Rs 150 crore and Rs 10 crore fines, respectively.

Lastly, non-compliance with provisions of this Act other than those listed in (1) to (5) and any rule made thereunder will attract penalties up to Rs 50 crore. Points that emerged in the course of consultations and comments were thoroughly studied and the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 was finalised.

The purpose of this Act, the draft said, is to provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognizes both the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process personal data for lawful purposes.

During the drafting of the Personal Data Protection Bill in 2019, the government said that the entire gamut of principles was widely debated and discussed. These include the rights of individuals, duties of entities processing personal data and regulatory framework, among others.

The first principle of the proposed Bill is that usage of personal data by organisations must be done in a manner that is lawful, fair to the individuals concerned and transparent. The second principle of purpose limitation is that the personal data is used for the purposes for which it was collected.

The third principle of data minimisation is that only those items of personal data required for attaining a specific purpose must be collected. Among others, personal data should be limited to such duration as is necessary for the stated purpose for which personal data was collected and reasonable safeguards to ensure that there is no unauthorised collection or processing of personal data are some features.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"Surveillance Of Citizens": Editors Guild's On Data Protection Bill

The Editors Guild of India on Sunday expressed concerns over certain provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, saying they can have an adverse impact on press freedom.

In a statement, the Guild said the DPDP Bill creates an enabling framework for surveillance of citizens, including journalists and their sources.

The Guild has asked Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to refer the Bill to a parliamentary standing committee. It has also written about its concerns on the Bill to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and leaders of political parties in Parliament.

The government tabled the DPDP Bill in Lok Sabha on August 3 with an aim to protect the privacy of Indian citizens while proposing a penalty of up to Rs 250 crore on entities for misusing or failing to protect digital data of individuals.

The Bill comes six years after the Supreme Court held that right to privacy is a fundamental right.

Under Section 36 of the DPDP Bill, the Guild said, the government can ask any public or private entity (data fiduciary) to furnish personal information of citizens, including journalists and their sources.

It also voiced concerns over clause 17(2)(a) that allows the Union government to issue a notification exempting any "instrumentality of the State" from the provisions of this Bill, thereby out of the ambit of data protection restrictions, including internal sharing and processing of data.

Section 17(4) allows the government and its instrumentalities to retain personal data for an unlimited period of time, it added.

"We note, with dismay, that while the Bill, ostensibly to promote data protection, has failed to make any provisions that bring about the surveillance reform that is urgently needed, and in fact creates an enabling framework for surveillance of citizens, including journalists and their sources," the Guild said.

It said it is deeply concerned about the lack of exemptions for journalists from certain obligations of the law where the reporting on certain entities in public interest may conflict with their right to personal data protection.

The Justice Srikrishna Committee had provided a framework for balance between personal data protection and public interest, which is missing from the current bill, it said.

"This will lead to a chilling effect on journalistic activity in the country," the Guild said.

It said certain provisions of the Bill also shift the balance in favour of non-disclosure of information, including information sought by journalists in public interest, thereby reducing accountability.

The Guild has also flagged concerns over the composition of the Data Protection Board and stressed the need for it to be independent of the government.

The government has listed the DPDP Bill for consideration and passage in Lok Sabha on Monday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Will Spread Awareness About Importance Of Reading: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the 'Festival of Libraries' being organised here, saying such efforts will spread awareness about the importance of reading, particularly among the youth.

His remarks came in response to a tweet by Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation on the inauguration of the 'Festival of Libraries 2023' by President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday.

Here's the tweet:

Such efforts will spread awareness on the importance of reading, particularly among the youth. Good to see the emphasis on improving infrastructure in our libraries and boosting creative writing. https://t.co/43MXiqNmVm

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 6, 2023

"Such efforts will spread awareness on the importance of reading, particularly among the youth," PM Modi said.

"Good to see the emphasis on improving infrastructure in our libraries and boosting creative writing," he said. 

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Editors Guild "Deeply Concerned" About New Press And Periodicals Bill

The Editors Guild of India on Sunday voiced deep concerns about certain "draconian powers" in the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill that grant government powers to have more intrusive and arbitrary checks into the functioning of newspapers and magazines.

In a statement, the Guild demanded that the Press and Registration of Periodicals (PRP) Bill, which seeks to replace the Press and Registration of Books Act-1867, be referred to a Parliamentary Select Committee.

The Guild is concerned about the expansion of powers of the Press Registrar, the new restrictions on citizens to bring out periodicals, the continuation of power to enter premises of news publications, the vagueness inherent in many of the provisions, and the ambiguity surrounding power to frame rules that can have adverse implications on press freedom, a statement by the Guild said.

The Guild has already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, leaders of political parties, as well as Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur highlighting concerns over the Bill.

"Given the liberal and arbitrary use of UAPA - which is the basis for defining 'terrorist act' and 'unlawful activity' - as well as other criminal laws, including sedition, against journalists and media organisations to suppress freedom of speech, the Guild is deeply concerned by the introduction of these new provisions and the way they can be misused to deny the right to bring out news publications to persons who are critical of governments," it said.

It urged that only the Press Registrar should be the relevant authority for the purpose of this Act and no other government agency should be given any powers with respect to registration of periodicals.

"The law on this issue should be more respectful of freedom of the press and should avoid granting vast powers to regulatory authorities to either interfere or shut down the press at their whims and fancies," the Guild said, asserting that the primary emphasis of the Registrar and the PRP remains "registration" and not "regulation".

The PRP Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on August 1 and passed two days later.

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