CJI: Don’t drag SC into political battlefields or bring politics to court
NEW DELHI: A day after CJI Surya Kant turned down Congress leadership’s request to meet them privately on their “vote chori” charge, saying doing so will violate the principle of separation of powers, SC Monday reiterated that it should not be dragged into political battlefields nor politics be brought into the court. “We are not concerned with political parties or their activities. But courts should not be dragged into such kinds of things,” said a bench of CJI Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. In an email response, through which he turned down the request from leaders of opposition in the two Houses of Parliament, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, for a face-to-face meeting, CJI had pointed out to them that it was duty-bound to hear petitions against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and those challenging SIR, and indicated that the court will hear those on priority. Wherever identified locations are there, protests can be held: SC The CJI-led bench Monday emphasised the need for it to exercise restraint and not enter the political thicket while hearing the complaint that protests and barricades were obstructing lawyers from working. At the commencement of proceedings, senior advocate Atmaram Nadkarni sought urgent hearing on a writ petition filed by a lawyer, saying he could not represent his client at an international arbitration because of protests and preventive measures. Nadkarni was joined by SCBA president Pradeep Rai who said the right to protest must co-exist with the right of other citizens to move and function without hindrance. SC agreed to list both the petitions for hearing on Tuesday along with pleas by Shailendra Mani Tripathi, opposition MPs M A Baby, Manoj Jha and Menaka Guruswamy, who have accused police of using excessive force to quell protests. Rai said, “Institution is performing its institutional duty and we are doing our professional duties. Political parties must not interfere with our domain.” CJI Surya Kant, while saying that court would not wade into others’ turf, said, “Democratic institutions should be allowed to function peacefully and there should not be any impediment in the functioning or movement of lawyers, court staff and litigants.” Following Nadkarni and Rai, advocate G Sankaranarayanan mentioned another petition repeating what was argued — detention of senior advocate Shadan Farasat in an “unseemly” manner — before SC on Sunday and suggested that asking protesters to exercise restraint, be peaceful and cooperate when police was using excessive force, was not fair. “I know SC has repeatedly said we must try to cooperate and exercise restraint. For once I would hope that court would say the same thing to police. That has not come from this bench so far. I am hoping that happens because of excesses they are allowing… the hooligans were roaming around with sticks,” he said. “They have hit children on the head and put out videos and proudly posted the videos saying they have done this and police have done nothing. And we are being told to exercise restraint. I do not know what we have done to be told to exercise restraint. At some point the bench will come to the rescue of the bar and the citizens of this country and send a strong message to the police,” he added. CJI agreed to list the petition on Tuesday but stressed yet again: “I will not allow SC or SC campus to become a political battlefield. We do not want advocates and lawyers to be part of the political battles inside the court premises. Wherever identified locations (for protest) are there, the protests can be held there.” Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
No denial from President’s office yet on ‘vote chori’: Rahul Gandhi
NEW DELHI: Congress neta Rahul Gandhi Monday told CEC Gyanesh Kumar that he could be forgiven for making a “mistake” if he resigned, telling him that the opposition is after the bigger powers behind him. Addressing a news conference, Rahul said, “Resign, turn approver. You have made a mistake, but you are not the mind behind the mistake.” Rahul warned Kumar that he will not be able to survive as the CEC, and that the opposition has details of his past record. He accused “five criminals” of attacking India’s democracy. Asked if the CEC has reached out to him, Rahul said, “I get messages and he is watching (the press conference).” Rahul said that 200 officers of the Modi govt — from CBI to MEA — are “in touch” with Congress, and providing it information. Referring to his Friday statement that the President agreed with the opposition delegation’s charge of “vote chori”, Rahul said there was no denial from the President’s office, even though it was “quietly done from the PMO”. “Even the President knows what is going on … We are excited about giving the evidence to the President (as asked by her) about what Modi and others are doing.” The LoP said the agitation would not stop even if it takes weeks and months to reach its destination. He counselled “perseverance” to opposition and youth both. Amid the massive security deployment, Rahul asked why is “Delhi in jail”. He said the Modi govt is falling deeper into the opposition trap by conveying to the country that it is resorting to repression just to protect the CEC. Playing videos of protest beatings, he said the Delhi Police, CRPF and ITBP are also “disturbed” at being asked to beat up patriotic youth while also being told to let saffron goons roam freely and harass protestors, including women. Using Hindu metaphors to issue an open invite to citizens and politicians, Rahul said the present agitation is “Shivji’s baraat” that anyone can join, and that it is spontaneous and not planned like “Shiv’s Tandav”. At the same time, he said “all protests are one”, in a reference to CJP and other outfits. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Delhi To Launch 1,300 Pink Electric Autos With Women, Transgender Drivers
The scheme is also aimed at making the last-mile travel safer and more convenient for women, particularly those travelling to and from Metro stations early in the morning or late in the evening. Delhi To Launch 1,300 Pink Electric Autos With Women, Transgender DriversThe DURGA scheme was approved by the Delhi Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on September 23. Delhi residents could get the option of booking pink electric autos through ride-hailing apps, with the government planning to bring women and transgender drivers onto these platforms without onboarding or subscription charges. The Delhi government on Sunday said it would ask ride-hailing companies to waive these charges for drivers selected under its DURGA E-Auto Scheme, which provides for 1,300 electric autorickshaws. If the companies agree to list these vehicles on their platforms, commuters could book an auto through their phones instead of looking for one on the road or at an auto stand. A Safer Last-Mile Ride For Women? The scheme is also aimed at making the last-mile travel safer and more convenient for women, particularly those travelling to and from Metro stations early in the morning or late in the evening. The government wants to provide another transport option for passengers covering the last stretch of their journey, often between a Metro station and their homes or workplaces. The Transport Department has also sought dedicated parking and charging spaces from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) at Metro and Namo Bharat stations. The focus on safety comes days after the National Commission for Women issued guidelines for app-based transport services, recommending stricter driver verification and an option for women travelling alone to request a woman driver, where available. 1,300 Pink Autos, 130 Slots For Transgender Drivers The DURGA scheme was approved by the Delhi Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on September 23. Of the 1,300 vehicles planned in the first phase, 1,170 will be reserved for women and 130 for transgender persons, who will be able to own and drive the autos to earn a living. The vehicles will be allotted across Delhi’s 13 revenue districts, with each district having a maximum quota of 90 autos for women and 10 for transgender applicants. Transport Minister Dr Pankaj Kumar Singh said the scheme was intended to help women and transgender persons earn independently while increasing their participation in the transport sector. How Will The Autos Be Allotted? Applications will be processed through a dedicated online portal developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). District-level committees headed by District Magistrates will examine applications, with verification carried out every week. If eligible applicants outnumber the available slots in a district, allotments will be decided through an online lottery. Those selected will receive Letters of Intent, while registered owners will be issued identity cards, DURGA jackets and caps. Beneficiaries will also be eligible for purchase incentives under Delhi’s EV Policy 2026, which provides Rs 50,000 for eligible electric autos registered in the first year, subject to conditions. The government has not specified how much each beneficiary will ultimately pay for the vehicle. Delhi tried a similar push earlier. In 2022, 1,406 electric auto permits were reserved for women, but only 743 applied in the initial round, prompting another round of applications. The government also plans a two-phase study to assess the scheme’s impact on beneficiaries’ incomes and livelihoods. Courtesy : NDTV Note: This news is originally published on https:/ndtv.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Dalit student attacked, no FIR even after four days: Family appeals to SSP for justice, accuses police of neglecting their pleas
A Dalit student was attacked in Fugana, Muzaffarnagar. It is alleged that Rudraksh, a Class 11 student, was assaulted outside the school. The incident occurred on October 7th, but even four days later, no FIR has been filed in the case. Rudraksh studies at Kisan Inter College, Kharar. He stated that four students at the school frequently harassed him and used casteist slurs. When he complained to a teacher, the accused students became enraged. On October 7th, after school was over, four students with their faces covered attacked him with sticks and rods outside the gate. Rudraksh suffered a head injury and fell unconscious. He was first referred to CHC Budhana and then to the district hospital. The victim’s family alleges that they were not heard at the Fugana police station. Now, the family has appealed to the new SSP, Suraj Rai, for justice. Kharar Police Post in-charge Abhishek Chaudhary stated that all the children involved in the fight are minors; their parents are being called and action will be taken. Arjun Kumar | Budhana (Muzaffarnagar), Muzaffarnagar Courtesy: Hindu News
SP’s Dalit Mahasammelan in Agra, Akhilesh Yadav to attend: Event to be held on November 15th, target to gather 100,000 people; clarion call for 2027 elections
The Samajwadi Party is holding a Dalit Mahasammelan in Agra on November 15th. Party National President Akhilesh Yadav will attend. A meeting was held at the district office to prepare for the event, in which leaders and workers participated and responsibilities were assigned. Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman stated that the convention will be held in western Uttar Pradesh. The party has set a target of gathering 100,000 people. Metropolitan President Shabbir Abbas stated that Akhilesh Yadav will be the chief guest. SP leaders stated that there is discontent among the Dalit community against the BJP government. They believe that only the Samajwadi Party can defeat the BJP. This Mahasammelan is being considered a clarion call for the 2027 assembly elections. Merjuddin | (Partial) of Tajnagri Phase-1, Agra Courtesy: Hindi News
Dalit girl suicide: NCSC seeks Madurai Collector’s report
In a communication received by the district administration on October 5, the panel has asked Madurai District Collector Nishant Krishna to submit a report on the incident. MADURAI: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has taken suo motu cognisance of the suicide of a Dalit girl at Usilampatti on 25th August, whose mother alleges that she took the extreme step after the two were humiliated by a government school headmistress when they sought admission to Class 11. In a communication received by the district administration on October 5, the panel has asked Madurai District Collector Nishant Krishna to submit a report on the incident. The Usilampatti police have registered an FIR under section 108 (abetment of suicide) of BNS and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against Vimala Devi, headmistress of the Government Model Higher Secondary School in Usilampatti, who is now under suspension. The FIR was registered based on a complaint filed on August 28 by the girl’s mother, P Thavamani. However, police sources said they have been unable to proceed with the investigation because Vimala Devi has obtained an interim stay, and she is now on bail. In her complaint, Thavamani said that when she and her daughter approached the headmistress for admission on August 24, the headmistress got angry when the girl asked her mother not to fold her hands before her. The headmistress then asked the girl to leave the school. Thavamani alleged that the headmistress questioned the girl’s conduct for trying to join the school despite having already been admitted to the Government Kallar Higher Secondary School. The headmistress then allegedly phoned her counterpart there and enquired about the girl’s conduct on speaker mode. According to Thavamani, this upset the girl. The girl left the school crying and remained distressed after returning home. The following day, they went to the school where she had completed Class 10 and collected her Transfer Certificate. However, she died by suicide that evening when she was alone in the house, said the police source. The district education department suspended Vimala Devi for administrative inefficiency after a preliminary inquiry. The inquiry found that she did not handle the situation with the required administrative sensitivity and efficiency. A police source said the girl had scored 415 marks in Class X and joined the Biology-Mathematics stream hoping to become a nurse. But she found it difficult and asked her teachers to allow her to shift to the Commerce stream, but they did not accept the request. Since then, she has not shown interest in going to school, the source added. Gokul Vannan Courtesy : DT Next Note: This news is originally published on https:/dtnext.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
TN CM Vijay hosts Rahul Gandhi at his house, discusses alliance over lunch
Sources said the two leaders discussed the current political situation and the alliance’s future plans for an hour. CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay hosted Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at his residence in Neelankarai on Saturday. This was their first meeting since the TVK-led Secular Social Justice Victory Alliance was formed in Tamil Nadu. Rahul, who arrived at the Chennai airport from Delhi in the afternoon, went to Vijay’s residence, where the chief minister greeted him with an embrace and hosted a lunch for him. All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Ghulam Ahmad Mir, and Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president Manickam Tagore accompanied Rahul during his meeting with Vijay. Sources said the two leaders discussed the current political situation and the alliance’s future plans for an hour. After the meeting, Vijay and Rahul left in the same car and stopped at 7Padel Cafe, owned by cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, in Palavakkam. Rahul and Vijay were flanked by Manickam Tagore, Ghulam Ahmad Mir and Congress Assembly floor leader Tharahai Cuthbert at the cafe. Rahul then headed to Island Grounds for the ‘Voice of Students’ student interaction programme. The Rahul-Vijay meeting, coming ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Chennai on Sunday, gained significance as TVK MLAs and state Congress leaders had been engaging in a battle of words over the prime ministerial candidate for the 2029 Lok Sabha polls. While a section of the TVK MLAs has called Vijay a PM candidate, Congress leaders have maintained that Rahul remains the undisputed choice of all the party’s allies, including the TVK. Saturday’s meeting appears to have helped clear the air for leaders and cadres of both parties amid questions from other political parties in the state over the TVK’s stance on the special intensive revision (SIR). Courtesy : TNIE Note: This news is originally published on https:/thenewindianexpress.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
CJI Surya Kant refuses to meet Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi
The CJI, however, has not expressed any opinion on the Congress leaders’ proposed march to the Supreme Court on Monday, as mentioned in the letter addressed to him, they said. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during a meeting in Ahmedabad. AICC via PTI/file Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday turned down a request from Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi for a meeting on Monday to discuss issues relating to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Sources said the CJI has formally responded to a letter written to him by the Leader of Opposition, underlining that such a meeting would be inappropriate as the issues sought to be raised with him were pending before the Supreme Court for adjudication. The CJI is understood to have stated that under the constitutional scheme, the Supreme Court cannot interfere with the functioning of the Government on its administrative side. The Congress leaders have been asked to approach the top court on the judicial side for protection of fundamental rights, sources said. Any petition filed by the Congress leaders can also be heard along with already pending matters, they added. The CJI, however, has not expressed any opinion on the Congress leaders’ proposed march to the Supreme Court on Monday, as mentioned in the letter addressed to him, they said. A Bench led by CJI Kant had on May 27 upheld the validity of SIR exercise. Article_Author Satya Prakash Courtesy : The Tribune Note: This news is originally published on https:/thetribune.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Owaisi urges ‘Muslims voters’ to build own leadership, takes aim at SP and Congress
Asaduddin Owaisi, the India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief, on Sunday widened his party’s political outreach in Azamgarh in the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, where he called for “greater political independence among minority communities”. Targeting both, the SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and his ally the Congress, Owaisi urged voters from the minority communities, to move beyond traditional political loyalties. During his address, the AIMIM chief spoke about Muslim political representation, the legacy of national leaders and the law governing the appointment of election commissioners. He argued that minority communities should build their own political strength instead of relying on figures associated with traditional parties. “We no longer need a Gandhi or a Nehru; we need our own leaders… No one speaks about our suffering. Yet today, the police detain someone and order them not to stage a protest for a year… I see people from within our own ranks saying, ‘Oh Muslims! Support them; the likes of Nehru and Gandhi will emerge from among them’… That is the difference between them and Owaisi. They say, ‘Support them’. I say, ‘You become the leader’. We are not slaves to anyone; we will not simply run after someone just because they claim to be the next Nehru or Gandhi… We no longer need a Gandhi or a Nehru; we need our own leaders,” he said. Since Independence, minority voters have frequently backed the Congress and regional parties such as the SP, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Owaisi argued that such electoral support had not resulted in proportionate representation in positions of power. Owaisi takes swipe at Congress Taking a potshot at the opposition, Owaisi referred to the historical relationship between Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. He used the episode to question whether established parties genuinely empower minority leaders or primarily seek their communities’ electoral support. “Nehru wrote that if we removed the Maulana [Abul Kalam Azad], it would cause damage. So, it became evident that only the Muslim vote was desired. Gandhi was saying, ‘Do not appoint Azad; appoint some other Muslim instead’… What Gandhi had suggested back then is exactly what Akhilesh has put into practice today…” he said. Owaisi presented these developments as an example of what he described as the tokenisation of minority representation by mainstream political parties. He linked his criticism to Akhilesh Yadav’s distribution of election tickets, alleging that the SP had failed to encourage genuinely independent Muslim leadership. Targets Yogi’s ’80:20′ political narrative Earlier in the day, Owaisi also criticised Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s frequently cited “80% versus 20%” political formulation, arguing that economic inequality deserved greater attention. Countering the chief minister’s framing, the AIMIM leader described the divide as one between “99% and 1%”, shifting the focus towards disparities between the economically disadvantaged majority and a small, affluent section. Citing data from the Uttar Pradesh department of economics and statistics for 2024–25, Owaisi said Azamgarh ranked fourth among districts in the state in terms of the number of people living in poverty. “The state’s department of economics and Statistics acknowledges that Azamgarh ranks fourth among the districts in Uttar Pradesh with the highest number of poor people. This is what the UP government’s data for 2024–25 reveals, yet the chief minister speaks of an 80% vs. 20% divide,” the AIMIM chief said. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights
Nine transsexuals booked for robbing transgender person of ₹6.7L
Pune: A 30-year-old transsexual person filed a complaint on Friday with Kothrud police, stating that nine transgender people assaulted and threatened the person with religious conversion. The accused also robbed the complainant of Rs 6.7 lakh on Friday. Kothrud police have registered a case under the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and robbery against nine transgender people. According to the FIR, the complainant lives near a temple in Kothrud. At around 7pm on Sept 22, the nine suspects allegedly entered the complainant’s house and made derogatory remarks against the religion of the complainant. They threatened and asked the complainant to abandon their religion and convert to another religion. Kothrud police said the suspects assaulted the complainant with a belt and bamboo sticks. They also threatened to kill the complainant did not give them 50% of the money earned through begging. The suspects then allegedly robbed the complainant of Rs 6.7 lakh cash. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights