Fraud Cases In Supreme Court Tend To Increase As Polls Near: Chief Justice

The number of "fraud cases" in the Supreme Court tends to increase as elections draw closer and the court becomes a site for political engagement, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said on Thursday.

Speaking at the Constitution Day function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) in the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Chandrachud said we all exist together and the Indian Constitution tells us that "we either survive or we perish together".

"But above all, I think it is important that on a day where we celebrate the Constitution, we learn to discharge our duties to the cause of justice. Our duty to the cause of justice ranks much higher than the success or failure in individual cases," he said.

"Just yesterday, I had to deal with a fraud case. The Supreme Court deals with fraud cases every day. Some courts have more than their share of fraud cases and there are some times as elections come, the number of fraud cases tends to increase in the court and we as judges realise it," the CJI said.

Constitution Day is celebrated across the country on November 26 every year.

Chief Justice Chandrachud said after elections get over, things settle down and "as the polls come closer and closer, the court becomes a site for political engagement. That is a truth of our society. I am not looking at it with any value judgement".

Chief Justice Chandrachud, who also addressed the gathering in Hindi for a few minutes, said freedom and the Constitution have an unbreakable relationship.

Speaking about the legal profession, the CJI said it is a profession of diversity, including diversity in terms of gender. He said be it the judges or lawyers, all have come from different parts of the country in search of a better livelihood.

"But in the process of giving each one of us a better livelihood, we are also engaged in providing a better existence to our fellow citizens. That is the big power which all of you command as lawyers," he said.

Referring to the attire of judges and lawyers, the CJI said it reminds us that the "similarity of our attire is a symbol of the common existence which we share". It was for the members of the Bar to make the legal profession broad-based and inclusive, Chief Justice Chandrachud said while highlighting the need to encourage young lawyers.

"And remember, ultimately, it is if you support the institution of justice, which is to ensure that you support the independence of your own judiciary, that the judiciary can truly be able to discharge its duties," he said.

"If you are not giving to the judiciary its own sense of due, how will you expect them to discharge their own obligations towards society. Because your judges come from you and they return to you. They are not distinct from you," he said.

He said members of the Bar are also here for the betterment of the profession, to serve the cause of justice and to ensure that the other side of the profession, the judges, who are duty bound to act in aid of justice, continue to do so.

"You have to not merely protect your judges, but you have to hold them to account as well," he said.

Sharing a story, Chief Justice Chandrachud said sometime back, one of his colleagues had an attack of dengue and there was a need for blood transfusion.

"But we drew on the credit of the blood which was given by our employees during the last blood donation camp…my colleague came back to normalcy very quickly by the blood transfusion," he said, adding this was again a reminder that all of us are bound together in this cycle of existence.

"None of us in that sense is different from the other. None of us stands alone," Chief Justice Chandrachud 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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"Nothing Should Be Given For Free...," Says Narayana Murthy

Software industry icon NR Narayana Murthy on Wednesday said "nothing should be given free," and suggested people availing services and subsidies provided by the Government should be made to contribute back for the betterment of the society. The Infosys co-founder also said compassionate capitalism is the only solution for a poor country like India to become a prosperous nation.

"When you provide those services, when you provide those subsidies, there must be something in return that they're willing to do. For example, if you say -- I will give you free electricity, then it would have been a very nice thing for the government to have said, but we want to see the percentage attendance in primary schools and middle schools go up by 20 per cent, then only we will give you that," Narayana Murthy said.

Speaking at the 26th edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit 2023, here, the IT industry veteran said that in other words, nothing should be given for free, and that there should be a contribution of the citizens also towards making a better society.

"I am not against free services being provided. I fully understand, as I also came from a poor background once upon a time. But I think we should expect something in return from those people who received those free subsidies to take a slightly bigger responsibility towards making their own future generation, their own children and grandchildren, better in terms of going to school, you know, performing better. That's what I mean," he added.

Murthy was speaking during the 'Fireside Chat' moderated by Nikhil Kamath, Co-founder, Zerodha at the Tech Summit.

On whether there is an appropriate level of taxation, he said, in a country like India, where there's a large mass of poor people, the evangelists of capitalism must accept that they have to pay a higher level of taxation, because there are so many public services that the government will have to provide for the poor people "In order to create efficient, corruption-free and effective public goods in our country, the taxation will have to be obviously higher than what you see in developed countries. So, I personally would not at all grudge, if I have to pay a higher level of taxation," he said, Mr Murthy pointed out that a per capita GDP of USD 2,300 puts India about twice that of what is called "low income countries" by the United Nations and other bodies and said, "we are still far away from being called a middle income country where the per capita GDP is somewhere between USD 6,000 to about 12,000 to 15,000." Explaining about his transformation from being a strong leftist to a "determined compassionate capitalist", he said compassionate capitalism is the only solution for a poor country like India to become prosperous and not socialism and communism.

He said he believes that capitalism based on the twin pillars of free market and entrepreneurship is the only solution for any country to solve its problem of poverty.

To a question on his suggestion to the government on enhancing the per capita GDP, Narayana Murthy said political leaders should study China very very carefully.

"China which had all the same problems as us, has reached a GDP five or six times that of India's. So all that I would humbly request our political leaders is to study China very very carefully, and then see what are the good things that we can learn from China and implement here, so that India too advances at the same pace as China, and becomes a nation that has reduced the poverty of its people," he added.

However, he also noted that there is a difference between China and India, as the latter was a colonised country for 1,000 plus years, and both countries have a different model of governance.

Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government for the National Education Policy, Mr Murthy said it is a step in the right direction.

"Given that Dr. K Kasturirangan was the chairman and people like Manjul Bhargava were part of that (NEP), I have tremendous hope that it will show us a path towards becoming better," he said.

Narayana Murthy also suggested that political parties, intellectuals, academics and corporate leaders come together to think of practical solutions that can boost the foreign direct investments.

To make Bengaluru better, he suggested a good public governance system, starting more English medium schools, and improving infrastructure in the city with alacrity.

Speaking about infrastructure and completing metro services to Electronic City and other parts of the city where there are more number of companies on priority, he said, "people in that infrastructure industry must work three shifts." Stating that he has noticed people working at least two shifts in other countries with high aspirations, he said, "....we want to be better than all those countries. So, ask people what are the requirements they need to work three shifts and complete the work in time and provide them that."

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

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Mehul Choksi To Not Object Petition Seeking Release Of Properties: Court

A special court in Mumbai on Wednesday rejected absconding diamond merchant Mehul Choksi's application seeking to intervene in an application filed by the ICICI Bank for the release of certain mortgaged properties worth Rs 636 crore.

Mehul Choksi, an accused in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, is currently living in Antigua in Barbados.

The ICICI Bank has sought release of certain properties mortgaged with it.

His intervention application took objection to the release of his flats in south Mumbai and a bungalow in Alibaug, attached by the Enforcement Directorate during its probe, in the bank's favour.

But special judge for the Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases SM Menjoge said the bank had not sought these properties. The properties which the ICICI Bank was seeking were not owned by Choksi personally but by different companies, hence, he had no right to intervene, the court said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate are investigating diamond businessman Nirav Modi, his uncle Choksi and others in the PNB scam. Nirav Modi, Choksi and the companies owned by them borrowed more than Rs 13,000 crore from PNB through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking and Letters of Credit between 2011 and 2017 in connivance with some bank officials, the central agencies have alleged.

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

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Gujarat High Court Dismisses Petition Seeking Ban On Loudspeakers At Mosques

The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest Litigation seeking a ban on the use of loudspeakers for 'azaan' or the Islamic call to prayer at mosques, terming the plea as "wholly misconceived." A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee also asked, during the hearing, if it was the petitioner's case that the noise of bells and gongs during 'aarti' at a temple is not heard outside.

The petition, filed by Bajrang Dal leader Shaktisinh Zala, claimed that "noise pollution" caused by 'azaan' when played through loudspeakers affects people's, especially children's health and causes inconvenience otherwise. However, the High Court noted that the claims in the petition had no scientific foundation.

Azaan is conducted for a maximum of ten minutes at a time at different hours of the day, the court pointed out. "We fail to understand how the human voice making azan through loudspeaker in the morning could achieve the decibel (level) to the extent of creating noise pollution, causing health hazards for the public at large," it further said.

"We are not entertaining this kind of PIL. It is a faith and practice going for years, and it is for 5-10 minutes. In your temple, the morning aarti with drums and music also starts early at 3 am. So it does not cause any kind of noise to anyone? Can you say the noise of ghanta (bell) and ghadiyal (gong) remains in temple premises only, does not percolate outside the temple?" the court asked the petitioner's lawyer.

There is a scientific method for measuring noise pollution, but the petition does not provide any data to show that a ten-minute 'azaan' causes noise pollution, the court noted. 

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

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Watch: PM Modi Visits Hyderabad's Ameerpet Gurudwara On Guru Nanak Jayanti

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday visited Ameerpet Gurudwara in Hyderabad, Telangana on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti. Guru Nanak Jayanti, also known as Gurpurab, is a sacred festival that marks the birth anniversary of the first guru of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev.

Watch the videos here:

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Ameerpet Gurudwara in Hyderabad, Telangana on the occasion of Guru Nanak Jayanti. pic.twitter.com/CemgksUvW7

— ANI (@ANI) November 27, 2023

Greetings on the auspicious occasion of the Parkash Purab of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. His emphasis on serving others and furthering brotherhood give strength to millions around the world. Had also paid tributes to him during #MannKiBaat yesterday. pic.twitter.com/EhzW828FbZ

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 27, 2023

It is a significant day in Sikhism since it commemorates the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first of the 10 Sikh gurus and the founder of Sikhism. The celebration is notable for its fervent devotion, spiritual gatherings, and the recitation of hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib, Sikhism's holy scripture.

This year, the important event is being commemorated with the utmost love and reverence by Sikhs all across the world on Monday.

Every year, the auspicious occasion is held on the full moon date of Kartik month, also known as Kartik Purnima. Parkash Utsav is also observed on this day.

Guru Nanak Dev, who had been devoted to the Divine since boyhood, was a man of peace who spent his entire life promoting equality and tolerance. He was born in 1469 in the village of Rai Bhoi di Talwandi, today known as Nankana Sahib, near Lahore, Pakistan.

On Gurpurab, prayers are held in Gurdwaras throughout the day. The many components of the festival continue until late at night when devotees indulge in the langar.

The langar food is considered auspicious, and the traditional prasad served on auspicious occasions is kada prasad. On this important day, many people participate in Sewa and offer food.

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Madhya Pradesh Teen Raped In Car By Man She Befriended On Social Media

A 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a youth who had befriended her on social media and his three friends in a car in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, police said on Monday.

Police have invoked provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act since the victim is a Dalit, an official said, adding that nobody has been arrested so far.

The incident occurred on November 21 but a complaint was lodged four days later as the girl kept mum because she was threatened by the accused against disclosing the incident, an official said.

Additional Superintendent of Police Niranjan Sharma said the girl and her family lodged a complaint.

"The girl became friends with a youth on Facebook last year. On November 21, her male friend took her to a deserted forest area in a car where he and his three friends raped her and also threatened to kill her," he said.

A case was registered under sections 376 (Punishment for rape), and 377 (unnatural act) among others, along with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

According to sources in police, the victim has claimed that one of the accused is a close relative of a politician.

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

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Zoo Keeper Dies After Being Attacked By Black Bear At Vizag Zoo

A 23-year-old animal keeper was mauled to death by a Himalayan black bear in the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (Vizag Zoo) on Monday.

B Nagesh Babu was attacked by Jihwan, the bear, estimated to be around 15 years old, an official said.

"Nagesh had left all the doors open in the animal night house and gone inside to clean, following which the animal came into the night house and attacked the keeper," said Vizag Zoo curator Nandani Salaria in a release.

According to the Zoo, Mr Babu was found lying in an unconscious state with serious injuries on his head, left arm, and chest by the animal night house.

Following the attack, the zoo officials managed to lure the beast back into its enclosure using honey.

The Forest Department declared a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to Babu's family. 

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

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