"Being In WhatsApp Groups Doesn't Indicate Criminality": Umar Khalid To Court

Activist Umar Khalid on Thursday argued in the Delhi High Court that his mere presence in WhatsApp groups was not enough to attribute any criminality to him and the police equated staging protests and attending meetings with terror.

Senior advocate Trideep Pais, while representing Khalid, argued before a bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur and sought bail for his client in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case related to the February 2020 riots.

Pais opposed the prosecution's claim that Khalid created "communal" groups on WhatsApp to mobilise and instigate students and to plan a "disruptive" chakka jam (blockades), saying he was not even an active member of these groups.

"I have been added to the groups. I have not posted a single message. I am not even chatting. I have been roped in by somebody. Merely being in a group is not an indicator of any criminal wrong," argued Pais, responding to the police's submissions.

"(Offences under) UAPA are not made out against me. They are equating protest and attending a meeting to terror," he added.

Pais said co-accused Devangana Kalita and others were also part of such groups and faced "far more serious allegations" in the violence but were granted bail in the case.

He said nothing was recovered from Khalid aside from the fact that there was "nothing criminal about what he said" in his speeches and the statements of protected witnesses against him were hearsay.

Pais underlined his client's incarceration saying Khalid had spent 4.5 years in jail and the delay in trial was a ground to release him on bail.

"(There are) 800 witnesses and (case pending since) five years. Charges are yet to be framed. We can quibble over who is at fault ..but (the trial court record shows) that while the others did not wish to go on with their arguments on charge, I wanted to. The prosecution itself moved the high court and obtained a stay for six months stating that they were unwilling to give hard copies of documents," he said.

Khalid, who was arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2020, challenged a trial court order refusing to grant him bail in the case for the second time.

Aside from Khalid, several others were booked in the case of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The violence erupted during the protests against the CAA and NRC.

Pais previously questioned the "basis" on which the city police made him an accused in the UAPA case when no criminality was alleged against many others who allegedly attended the supposed conspiratorial meetings.

Delhi Police opposed the bail plea, saying the speeches by Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others created a sense of fear after a common reference to CAA-NRC, Babri mosque, triple talaq and Kashmir.

It argued that statements of several protected witnesses establish that the accused persons were not "innocent bystanders" who merely organised protest sites, but planned to cause violence through WhatsApp groups, resulting in registration of 751 FIRs related to the riots.

Bail pleas by other co-accused - including Sharjeel Imam, are pending in high court.

The matter would be heard on March 4.

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

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Uddhav Thackeray Wanted To Make Eknath Shinde Chief Minister: Sanjay Raut

Uddhav Thackeray had planned to make Eknath Shinde the Chief Minister of Maharashtra after the 2019 election, but he was foiled - first by ally BJP and then the allies of Maha Vikas Aghadi, senior Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut has said.  Among then MVA, he especially named veteran leader Sharad Pawar, saying he had objected to Mr Shinde.

"Shinde wanted to become CM, but top leaders of the MVA refused to work under him as he was junior to them," Mr Raut was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India. "It was Sharad Pawar, then president of the Nationalist Congress Party, and Ajit Pawar who opposed the plan to make Shinde chief minister," he added.

As for the BJP, "The BJP did not fulfil the promise of sharing the CM's post with the Shiv Sena, that was why Shinde lost the chance to head the government," Mr Raut said.

The BJP's refusal led to a massive political churning. Mr Thackeray broke off the party's decades-old alliance with the BJP and formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance with the Congress and the undivided Nationalist Congress Party of Sharad Pawar. He also became the Chief Minister.

It was Mr Shinde's rebellion two years later that split the Sena and brought down Uddhav Thackeray's government. Mr Shinde joined hands with the BJP and formed government, becoming its Chief Minister. 

The two factions have been huge political rivals since and Mr Pawar's recent praise of Mr Shinde at a recent event did not go down well with Mr Thackeray's section.

He is now a deputy chief minister, along with Ajit Pawar who split the NCP a year later, in the Devendra Fadnavis-led government.

(With PTI)

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Uber Adopts Smaller Rivals' Model For Auto Rides To Tackle Competition

Ride-hailing platform Uber has moved to a zero-commission model for its autorickshaw drivers in India and will instead charge them a subscription fee, mirroring a strategy followed by local rivals as competition intensifies.

Uber said it will now only connect users with nearby drivers and will suggest a fare but the final amount would be decided by the driver and the rider, the company said in a blog post.

A company spokesperson said the company made the shift as it did not want "to be at a competitive disadvantage".

News publication Inc42 was the first to report the development earlier on Tuesday.

High commissions charged by ride-hailing applications Ola Consumer and Uber have been a pain point for their network of drivers, with many holding protests in recent years.

Uber's move also follows newer but smaller rivals Rapido and Namma Yatri, who do not charge their three-wheeler rickshaw drivers any commission and instead take a daily or weekly subscription fee.

It also comes as ride-hailing platforms seek clarity on tax liabilities, following an authority's move that a model like Namma Yatri would not be required to pay taxes as it connected drivers with users, multiple local media publications reported last year.

A web of varying regulations across Indian states, particularly on fares, has also been a pain point for Uber.

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

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Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Issue Of Toxic Waste Disposal At Pithampur In Top Court

The disposal of hazardous waste from the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy has come under the Supreme Court's scanner following a petition about the health risk to residents of Pithampur, where it has been shifted. The petition also pointed to the risks to the people of Indore, which is just 30 km away. 

Today, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih agreed to hear a petition challenging the orders of the Madhya Pradesh High Court that triggered the transfer.

The top court has sought responses from the Centre, Madhya Pradesh and its pollution control board.

Around 377 tonnes of waste from the now defunct Union Carbide factory was shifted to Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, 250 km away from Bhopal, recently.

The petition said at least four-five villages lie within the one km radius from the disposal site, saying the life and health of the residents are at "extreme risk," the petition alleged. It also pointed out that the Gambhir river flows besides the facility and caters waters to the Yashwant Sagar Dam, which supplies drinking water of 40 per cent of Indore's population.

It alleged the authorities have not informed the affected residents of Indore and Dhar districts about the risks or issued health advisories. 

On the night of December 2-3, 1984, highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate leaked from the Union Carbide factory, causing one of the worst-ever industrial disasters in the world. It killed 5,479 people and maimed more than five lakh others. 

In its order in December last year, the Madhya Pradesh high court had rebuked the authorities for not clearing the Union Carbide site despite directions from the Supreme Court. It set a four-week deadline to shift the waste, observing that even 40 years after the gas tragedy, authorities were in a "state of inertia". It had even warned the government of contempt proceedings if its directive was not followed.
 

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Top Sikh Body Condemns US For Not Allowing Some Deportees To Wear Turban

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on Sunday strongly condemned US authorities for allegedly not allowing Sikh deportees, who were part of the second batch of illegal Indian immigrants brought from America, to wear their turbans.

The SGPC statement came after some visuals appeared on social media showing Sikh deportees without turbans while completing their immigration formalities at the Amritsar airport.

A US military aircraft carrying 116 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Amritsar airport late Saturday night, with one deportee claiming they were handcuffed with their legs chained during the journey. The fresh batch of deportees included 65 immigrants from Punjab, 33 from Haryana and eight from Gujarat.

SGPC officials, who were deputed for providing 'langar' and bus service for deportees on Saturday night at the airport, provided 'dastar' (turban) to Sikh deportees.

One of the Sikh deportees also claimed that when they landed at the Amritsar airport, they were not wearing turbans. He said that when they entered the US illegally, they were asked to remove their turbans.

SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal condemned the US authorities for allegedly not allowing them to wear their turbans.

It is a matter of regret that deportees were brought in shackles and Sikh deportees were not wearing turbans, he said.

Grewal said the SGPC will soon raise the issue with the US authorities. "Turban is the part of a Sikh," he said.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia too condemned the US authorities for allegedly sending Sikh deportees without turbans.

He also urged the Ministry of External Affairs to immediately take up the matter with the US authorities so that such an incident is never repeated in future. 

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

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सुशांत सिंह राजपूत मामले पर बॉम्बे हाईकोर्ट में होगी सुनवाई, पिता बोले- न्याय की उम्मीद फिर से जगी

बॉम्बे हाई कोर्ट 19 फरवरी को सुशांत सिंह राजपूत मामले में एक जनहित याचिका पर सुनवाई करेगी. यह खबर सुशांत के परिवार और प्रशंसकों के लिए नई उम्मीदें जगाती है, खासकर तब जब पिछले पांच वर्षों से चल रही जांच में अब तक कोई ठोस नतीजा नहीं निकला है. सुशांत के परिवार और प्रशंसकों को अदालत पर भरोसा है और वे न्याय की उम्मीद कर रहे हैं.

'मौत के रहस्य का खुलासा हो सकता'

दिवंगत अभिनेता सुशांत सिंह राजपूत के पिता कृष्ण कुमार सिंह ने कहा है कि उन्हें उम्मीद है कि अदालत की सुनवाई से उनके बेटे की मौत के रहस्य का खुलासा हो सकता है. उन्होंने कहा कि उन्हें पता चला है कि किसी ने अदालत में अपील की है और कुछ लोगों के नाम गिरफ्तारी के लिए बताए हैं. कृष्ण कुमार सिंह ने कहा कि उन्हें विस्तृत जानकारी नहीं है, लेकिन उन्हें उम्मीद है कि अदालत की सुनवाई से कुछ निष्कर्ष निकलेंगे. उन्होंने कहा कि कम से कम इतने लंबे समय के बाद, उन्हें अपने बेटे की मौत के बारे में कुछ जवाब मिल सकते हैं.

दिवंगत अभिनेता सुशांत सिंह के पिता ने कहा कि देर ही सही, लेकिन अब यह जानने का मौका मिल सकता है कि उनके बेटे का कातिल कौन है. उन्होंने बताया कि मीडिया के माध्यम से उन्हें यह जानकारी मिली है कि बॉम्बे हाई कोर्ट में इस मामले में सुनवाई होगी.

14 जून 2020 को बॉलीवुड के उभरते हुए सितारे सुशांत सिंह राजपूत की मौत ने पूरे देश को हिला दिया था. वह अपने मुंबई स्थित अपार्टमेंट में मृत पाए गए थे. उनकी मौत की खबर सुनते ही सिनेमा जगत में हंगामा मच गया था. सुशांत की मौत के बाद उनकी गर्लफ्रेंड रिया चक्रवर्ती पर भी शक की सुई घूमी थी. रिया को उनके भाई के साथ कई बार पूछताछ के लिए बुलाया गया था. इसके अलावा सुशांत के पिता केके सिंह ने रिया चक्रवर्ती और पांच अन्य के खिलाफ पटना में एफआईआर दर्ज कराई थी, जिसमें उन्होंने धोखाधड़ी और आत्महत्या के लिए उकसाने जैसे आरोप लगाए थे.

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31-Member Panel Set Up To Examine Income Tax Bill, Will Be Headed By BJP MP

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday constituted a 31-member Select Committee of the lower house to examine the Income Tax Bill.

To be headed by BJP's Baijayant Panda, the panel is mandated to submit its report by the first day of the next session.

The ongoing Budget Session will conclude on April 4 and the Monsoon session could commence in the third or fourth week of July.

While introducing the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had urged Om Birla to refer the draft law to a Select Committee of the House.

The much-anticipated Bill will replace terminologies such as "assessment year" and "previous year" with the easier-to-understand "tax year" as part of a move to simplify language while removing provisos and explanations.

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

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