AAP Leader Preeti Sharma Menon wrote to the Honourable Chief Justice of India to draw his attention to the remarks made by Honourable Chief Justice of Bombay in PIL 401 of 2022.
The Aam Aadmi Party has been at the forefront of exposing blatant corruption amongst politicians, bureaucrats and senior police officers in the state of Maharashtra. With many scandals involving senior most police officials rocking the state, all concerned citizens have followed with interest PIL No 401 of 2022 filed in the Bombay High Court challenging the appointment of the highest police officer in the state, the Director General of Police (DGP), Maharashtra.
The AAP feels that this PIL is blatantly politically motivated and it is disturbing that the Bombay High Court has not only allowed an untenable case but has passed unwarranted remarks in the same.
Preeti Sharma Menon pointed out in her letter that the Honourable Courts of India have maintained that PILs in service matters are not maintainable, then how was this case allowed to progress? The Telangana High Court judgement has passed an explicit order to this effect, yet Bombay High Court has allowed this case to progress.
In fact it was surprising that the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court seemed to be in an inordinate rush to pass orders in this case within two days of hearing, without allowing the affected party, acting DGP Shri Sanjay Pandey to be heard or intervene until Mr. Pandey’s lawyer pressed for the same.
We are in a state of shock to read the remarks attributed to the Chief Justice in the last hearing. The media has reported that the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court said that Sanjay Pandey happens to be the blue-eyed officer of the State Government. He declared that ‘Once he is appointed as the DGP, he will not be in a position to discharge his duty… There would be a give and take. The state has gone out of its way to change his ratings… such an officer should never be appointed as DGP.”
We are truly appalled by these unprecedented, highly personal and seemingly unwarranted statements that seem to suggest that the Chief Justice is approaching the case with prejudice.
Firstly the remarks are erroneous because the state government has not shown any bias in favour of Shri Sanjay Pandey. On the contrary they were trying to bypass him and he had to publicly fight for the post which was rightfully his. The AAP too had made a statement on how that state government was being unfair to Sanjay Pandey by superseding him.
Secondly IPS Sanjay Pandey has a track record of being upright and unbiased and the Honourable Chief Justice has no proof to allege that there is any evidence of “give and take” in his entire career.
Preeti Sharma Menon wrote, “As a citizen of this country who has fought corruption and political nexuses, I urge you to please take cognizance of this strange case that is attacking the very foundations of bi-partisan standards upheld by all the courts of India. One cannot even begin to measure the impact it must have on the morale of our police force which has become a pawn of political interests.”
We hope that CJI takes cognizance of this unacceptable conduct and prevents Bombay High Court from becoming an arena for political rivalry at the cost of the safety and security of our state
India logged 30,615 new coronavirus infections, taking the country’s tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,27,23,558, while the active cases dipped to 3,70,240, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.
The death toll climbed to 5,09,872 with 514 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The daily COVID-19 cases were recorded less than one lakh for ten consecutive days
The active cases comprise 0.87 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has further improved to 97.94 per cent, the health ministry said.
A reduction of 52,887 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.45 per cent while the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 3.32 per cent, according to the ministry.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,18,43,446, while the case fatality rate was recorded as 1.19 per cent.
The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 173.86 crore.
India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.
India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.
The 514 new fatalities include 304 from Kerala and 35 from Maharashtra.
A total of 5,09,872 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 1,43,451 from Maharashtra, 62,681 from Kerala, 39,691 from Karnataka, 37,946 from Tamil Nadu, 26,081 from Delhi, 23,404 from Uttar Pradesh and 21,061 from West Bengal.
The ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation.
As far as Ansal brothers are concerned, I am rejecting their application, said Justice Subramonium Prasad.
Last year, Ansals and former court staff Dinesh Chand Sharma and two others — P P Batra and Anoop Singh Karayat – were awarded seven-year jail term by a trial court and the sessions court had refused to suspend the sentence and release them on bail.
While dismissing the Ansals’ plea for suspension of sentence till the appeal against the conviction by magisterial court is decided, the sessions court had said that the case was one of the gravest of its kind and the offence appeared to be the outcome of a calculated design on the part of the convicts to interfere with the course of justice.
Before the high court, the Ansal brother had sought suspension of sentence on several grounds including their old age.
The plea was opposed by the Delhi Police and Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT).
The tampering was detected for the first time on July 20, 2002, and when it was unearthed, a departmental enquiry was initiated against Sharma and he was suspended.
Later an inquiry was conducted and he was terminated from services on June 25, 2004.
The magisterial court had also imposed a fine of Rs 2.25 crore each on the Ansals apart from imposing a seven-year-term in the case.
The case was lodged on the direction of the Delhi High Court while hearing a petition by AVUT chairperson Neelam Krishnamoorthy.
Russia made two overtures to ease tensions around Ukraine reporting a pullback of troops near its neighbour and welcoming talks with the West. But the United States and its allies said they needed evidence of the troop movements and that the threat of a Russian invasion still loomed.
For the second day Tuesday, there were signs of hope that Europe might avoid war following weeks of escalating East-West tensions as Moscow massed around 150,000 troops on three sides of Ukraine and held massive military drills. Those moves led to dire warnings from Washington, London and other European capitals that Russia was preparing to roll into Ukraine.
But the tenor changed this week. President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia does not want war and would rely on negotiations in its efforts to eliminate any chance that Ukraine could one day join NATO his key demand in the crisis. At the same time, he did not commit to a full pullback, saying Russia’s next moves in the standoff will depend on how the situation evolves.
Russia also offered few details of the pullback, and President Joe Biden said American officials had not verified Russia’s claim. He promised that the U.S. would give diplomacy every chance, but he struck a skeptical tone about Moscow’s intentions.
Two paths are still open,” Biden said in remarks at the White House. “But let there be no doubt: If Russia commits this breach by invading Ukraine, responsible nations around the world will not hesitate to respond. If we do not stand for freedom where it is at risk today, we’ll surely pay a steeper price tomorrow.
Even amid the glimmers of hope, Biden said 150,000 Russian forces are now massed near Ukraine and in neighbouring Belarus an increase from an earlier U.S. estimate of 130,000 troops.
Russia’s claim that it pulled back troops “would be good, but we have not yet verified that, Biden said. Indeed, our analysts indicate that they remain very much in a threatening position.
Russia has denied having any invasion plans. It wants the West to keep Ukraine and other former Soviet nations out of NATO, halt weapons deployments near Russian borders and roll back forces from Eastern Europe.
The U.S. and its allies have roundly rejected those demands, but they offered to engage in talks with Russia on ways to bolster security in Europe.
Speaking after meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin said the West agreed to discuss a ban on missile deployment to Europe, restrictions on military drills and other confidence-building measures issues that Moscow put on the table years ago.
He said Russia is open to discuss some of those elements,” but added that it would do so only in combination “with the main issues that are of primary importance for us.
While Scholz reiterated that NATO’s eastward expansion is not on the agenda everyone knows that very well, Putin retorted that Moscow will not be assuaged by such assurances.
They are telling us it won’t happen tomorrow, Putin said. Well, when will it happen? The day after tomorrow? What does it change for us in the historic perspective? Nothing.
Scholz also said diplomatic options are far from exhausted, and he praised the announcement of a troop withdrawal as a good signal, adding: “We hope that more will follow.
The Russian Defense Ministry released images of tanks and howitzers rolling onto railway platforms and more tanks rolling across snowy fields. It did not disclose where or when the images were taken, or where the vehicles were headed, other than to places of permanent deployment.
Ukraine expressed skepticism.
We won’t believe when we hear, we’ll believe when we see, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
And NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that there have been no signs, so far, of a reduced military presence on Ukraine’s borders.
Meanwhile, a series of cyberattacks knocked out the websites of the Ukrainian army, the defense ministry and major banks. There was no indication that the relatively low-level denial-of-service attacks might be a smoke screen for more serious cyber mischief. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. has not yet determined who was behind the attacks.
Despite the worst East-West tensions in decades, few Russians expect a war. In a village in Russia’s Belgorod region, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Ukraine’s border, residents carried on with life as usual, even as more military personnel have been passing through village streets.
We are really on the border, we really have relatives here and there, everyone has somebody on the Ukrainian side, villager Lyudmila Nechvolod said. “No one wants war.
Russian lawmakers urged Putin to recognize rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine as independent states. The State Duma, Russia’s lower house, voted to submit an appeal to Putin to that effect.
Putin said the request reflects the Russian public’s sympathy for the suffering of people trapped in the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed over 14,000 since 2014. He noted, however, that Russia continues to believe a 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany should serve as the main vehicle for a settlement of the separatist conflict.PTI
More than 200 Congress functionaries and workers of Bandra (East) Assembly constituency, led by senior Congress leader Mehmood Deshmukh joined the Aam Aadmi Party in the presence of Aam Aadmi Party’s National Executive Member and Mumbai Prabhari Preeti Sharma Menon.
In the program was held at Purushottam High School in Bandra (East) on 13th February 2022 senior leader Mehmood Deshmukh exuded confidence that under the leadership of Aam Aadmi Party’s National Convener Shri Arvind Kejriwal, Mumbai too can implement the Delhi Governance Model. He said after a lifetime in the Congress, he was convinced that Congress is the past and Aam Aadmi Party is the future. The remarkable work done by the Delhi Government in the field of education and health is praised by every countryman today. That is why he along with his supporters decided to join the party.
Welcoming Deshmukh and his colleagues into the party, Aam Aadmi Party’s National Executive Member and Mumbai Prabhari Preeti Sharma Menon said, “Aam Aadmi Party was formed to resolve the issues of the common people and to do welfare work for them. We wholeheartedly welcome all the good people who want to be partners in this work. Shri Arvind Kejriwalji has proved that if the intention is clear, then the governments can do great work. The Kejriwal Model of Governance in Delhi has proved that even in just 5 years, the lives of lakhs of people can be changed. More than 17 lakh students are studying in government schools of Delhi today. On the contrary, the number of students in the schools run by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation is continuously decreasing. And now perhaps these schools will be closed or they would be given on contract to some politician or bureaucrat. Same is the case with health services. Many services have been outsourced by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation to the relatives of bureaucrats and politicians. We are confident that this time in all 236 wards of Mumbai Municipal Corporation, the people of Mumbai will give full support to the candidates of Aam Aadmi Party. Our goal is not to gain power but to change the system, and people’s confidence in the party is our biggest strength.”
AAP Calls BMC Commissioner’s claims of proposed polyclinics with Mohalla clinics as comparison of apples and organges; points out that Shiv Sena couldnt even get the basics right in 30 years.
The Aam Aadmi Party today asked BMC Commissioner Iqbal Chahal to fix Mumbai’s healthcare system beginning with primary healthcare and offerred to help BMC with the technical expertise, through the Delhi Govt. The party was reacting to Iqbal Chahal’s statement where he allegedly claimed to have studied the Delhi Model and had claimed that BMC polyclinics will be better than Delhi’s Mohalla clinics.
BMC has 187 public dispensaries, which are supposed to function as primary health centres. A vast majority of them are disfunctional due to poor infrastructure and flawed operations. The BMC hasn’t been able to fix something as basic as prmary health care, over the last 30 odd years.
Mumbai’s BMC hospital’s bed capacity has remained stagnant, despite a steep rise in population. For anything and everything, the poor are compelled to go to peripheral and tertiary hospitals, which leads to their capacity being overwhelmed and quality of service deteriorating.
“For the record, Delhi has a three tier public health system. Primary healthcare or Mohalla Clinics, Polyclinics or Secondary Healthcare and Tertiary Hospitals. Mohalla clinic. Delhi has Universal Free and Quality Healthcare for all it’s citizens. A mohalla clinic is at an avg distnce of 1km from the community that it was built to serve. Diagnostic tests are free, patient records are digitized, doctors are remunerated handsomely and should it take more than 30 days for a government facility to action a prescibed operation, the same can be availed free of cost, in a pvt facility of the patient’s cost.
Iqbal Chahal’s comparison is one of apples with organges and that of wilful obfuscation. The fact is that healthcare has never been BMC’s priority. They have actually turned it, into a money making racket, like everyother department, by outsourcing big ticket items.
Delhi’s Healthcare Model has won global acclaim and UN accolades. Why can’t it be implemented in Mumbai in toto? We will be more than happy to share Delhi Govt’s expertise with the BMC for the same.”, said Preeti Sharma Menon, AAP National Executive Member and Mumbai Prabhari.
An appeal has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the direction of the Karnataka High Court that has asked students not to insist on wearing any cloth on campuses of educational institutions which can instigate people, till the matter is resolved.
The plea filed by a student has sought a stay on the direction of the high court, which is hearing the hijab issue, as well as the proceedings going on before the three judge bench.
The appeal contended that the high court has sought to curtail the fundamental right of Muslim student women by not allowing them to wear the hijab.
The high court has posted the matter for Monday and also said educational institutions can resume classes for students.
The three-judge full bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice J M Khazi and Justice Krishna S Dixit, which was formed on Wednesday, also said it wants the matter to be resolved at the earliest but till that time peace and tranquillity is to be maintained.
“Till the disposal of the matter, you people should not insist on wearing all these religious things,” Awasthi had said.
“We will pass an order. Let the schools-colleges start. But till the matter is resolved, no student should insist on wearing religious dress”, he had said.
On Wednesday, Justice Dixit, who was hearing the case, referred the case to Justice Awasthi’s consideration with a view that a larger bench may look into the case.
The Hijab row started in December end when a few students started coming to a government pre-university college in Udupi wearing Hijab. To protest against it, some Hindu students turned up wearing saffron scarves.
The row spread to other educational institutions in different parts of the State, and the protests took a violent turn at some place earlier this week, prompting the government on Tuesday to declare three days holiday for the institutions. PTI.
Central Govt. and Maharashtra Govt. must learn from the Delhi Govt’s humanitarian work during the pandemic
The Aam Aadmi Party today took strong objection to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in Parliament, where he gave a clean chit to his own government as far as Covid mismanagement is concerned. There cannot be anything further from the truth. The fact is, that both the PM Modi-led Central government as well as CM Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government miserably failed our migrant daily wage earners, who make a bulk of our informal labour force. It is these very workers who, through the sweat of their brow, power the engine of economic growth-led development in Urban India.
We first had lies in election rallies, but now we have lies on the floor of Parliament itself, by none other than Prime Minister Modi himself. Misclaims of absolutely no Covid mismanagement is contrary to the lived experience of millions of daily wage earners who were stranded due to an unplanned lockdown, and invariably had to walk back home, not knowing their mode of transport, and that too on empty stomachs. The pandemic amplified inequalities world over, but it was only in India that we saw streams of hundreds of thousands of people, trudging alongside our highways in their journey home. Some of them were also with their families, who didn’t have access to adequate food, water, or even toilets for that matter. After partition, this was perhaps the largest forced displacement of marginalized populations.
The Maharashtra government on the other hand, initially resorted to physically attacking migrant workers, in their attempt to prevent bad press. PR was more important than the safety and travel arrangements of these workers. Let’s not forget that these migrant workers were forced to leave their homes as most of their slums were containment areas. In the absence of a planned lockdown, and no help forthcoming from local administration, they very quickly extinguished their meagre savings, and literally didn’t have anything to eat. It’s in the context of these abject conditions, that we saw what we did, while watching this human catastrophe unfold right in front of our eyes.
“The Aam Aadmi Party demands that the PM have some shame and immediately apologize to our nation for his lies, and his abject failure to manage the Covid crisis. The Central and the Maharashtra government must learn from the Delhi government’s humanitarian work during the pandemic – which not only ensured that labourers were given adequate allowances, but also ensured that food was available at every municipal school for their sustenance. We also appeal to our fellow Indians to shun these failed parties and vote for the greater good, by choosing the Aam Aadmi Party.” said Preeti Sharma Menon, AAP National Executive Member and Mumbai Prabhari.
Vuln!! Path it now!!
The National Green Tribunal has slapped a penalty of Rs 25 crore on Vedanta group firm Hindustan Zinc Ltd for violation of environmental norms in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district.
The green panel said environmental law violations cannot be taken lightly when the violators are entities like the present project proponent (PP) and victims are poor villagers.
The NGT said the victims of damage are unspecified number of persons spread over in more than six panchayats — Bherukhera, Agucha, Parasrampura, Kalyanpura, Kothiya, Balapura and others — in Hurda block.
A case is made out for requiring the PP to provide for compensation for the past violations and bear the cost of remediation, apart from complying with recommendations of the Committee.
Having regard to the violations/damage by the project proponent and overall estimated cost of ecological rehabilitation and restoration and financial capacity of the PP, we require the PP to deposit a sum of Rs 25 crore with the District Magistrate, Bhilwara within three months to meet the cost of remediation measures, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice A K Goel said.
The NGT also directed that a joint committee of the Central Pollution Control Board, state pollution control board and District Magistrate, Bhilwara with the assistance of any other experts may prepare a restoration plan for remediating the soil and quality of ground water in the area, apart from undertaking health improvement programme for the inhabitants and the cattle.
The action taken may be placed on the website of the District Magistrate, Bhilwara and its execution duly monitored.
The remediation works may be got executed by an appropriate agency utilising the amount deposited by the PP and the PP itself will have liberty to get the such work executed of restoration/rehabilitation on its own or through any other agency, if found proper by the joint committee in the circumstances, the bench said .
The NGT said that a public awareness group may be setup jointly by the DM and the PP to list out the issues requiring further action.
The amount deposited will be utilised for executing the plan within one year, associating all stake holders, including the PP and civil society in a suitable manner, subject to overall supervision of the Committee, the bench said.
The joint committee may have a report of status of compliance as on March 31, 2023 filed before the Registrar General of this Tribunal by e-mail.
The tribunal was hearing a batch of pleas alleging violation of environmental norms by Hindustan Zinc Ltd in executing mining lease of lead, zinc and associated minerals in the villages covering nearly an area about 1,200 hectares of mining land.
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