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Context, not isolated contents,
will determine obscenity: SC
Mercy pleas can’t be kept
pending for too long: CJI
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Telangana Bill: Congress in back-channel discussion with BJP
Outrage as minor Manipuri girl raped in Delhi; landlord’s son held
CBI chief kicks up row with Ishrat case comment
Maken’s New Delhi seat put up for Cong primaries
Rahul's bid to woo back Gujarat voters
Ministers’ panel for de-allocating 26 coal mines
Devyani seeks dismissal of visa fraud case in US court
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Context, not isolated contents,
will determine obscenity: SC
New Delhi, February 8 Another guiding element would be the publication’s likely impact on an “average person”, not the most-susceptible people such as children or weak-minded adults. The third test to decide the commission of an offence of obscenity would be to go by contemporary social values and community standards and the general attitude of the ordinary reader. The apex court has propounded the new jurisprudence while quashing the criminal proceedings against a daily newspaper and a sport magazine for publishing in May 1993 a semi-nude photograph of Boris Becker, the then top-ranked tennis player in the world, and his dark-complexion actress girlfriend, Barbara Feltus. The couple had posed for the shot as part of a campaign against apartheid. Both the Calcutta High Court and the trial court in Kolkata had rejected the publications’ contention that they had not committed any offence under Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) pertaining to obscenity and directed them to face trial. The “elderly” advocate who had filed the case had contended that he could vouchsafe that the photograph would corrupt young minds, both children and youth of the country and was against the country’s cultural and moral values. However, a Supreme Court Bench comprising Justices KS Radhakrishnan and AK Sikri quashed the criminal proceedings, holding in its verdict that the photograph was not obscene. The photo was merely aimed at eradicating the evil of racism and apartheid and promoting love and marriage between people with different identities, it explained. “A picture of a nude/semi-nude woman, as such, cannot per se be called obscene unless it has the tendency to arouse feeling or revealing an overt sexual desire. The picture should be suggestive of deprave mind and designed to excite sexual passion in persons which will depend on the particular posture and the background in which the nude/semi-nude woman is depicted. “Only those sex-related materials which have a tendency of exciting lustful thoughts can be held to be obscene, but the obscenity has to be judged from the point of view of an average person by applying contemporary community standards,” the apex court held. In this context, the Bench cited the SC ruling in 1996 in favour of screening the Bollywood movie “Bandit Queen”, based on the real-life story of dacoit-turned-Parliamentarian Phoolan Devi, though it had scenes of nudity to explain how she had taken to the gun after being paraded naked and humiliated by a section of society. Both the trial court and the HC had erred in ignoring the judicial precedents in such cases, the SC held.
The case
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Mercy pleas can’t be kept
pending for too long: CJI
Mumbai, February 8 He said, "This (ruling) does not mean the court is showing leniency to people who have committed heinous crimes. Commuting death sentence to life can be done in cases of unexplained and undue delay in deciding mercy petitions." The CJI was speaking at a seminar on "Improving Criminal Investigation." A convict has right to plead for mercy and it is the court's constitutional obligation to decide on it, he said. "However, (mercy) petitions have been kept pending for more than 10 years. Of the 15 convicts on death row (whose pleas were decided last month), two turned insane due to uncertainty (over their petitions). The petitions were not forwarded to the President," Sathasivam said. The apex court has also framed guidelines on disposal of mercy petitions and execution of death sentence. As per the norms, convicts given death penalty must be informed about the rejection of their mercy pleas and should be given a chance to meet their family members before they are executed, he said. In a landmark verdict, a SC Bench, headed by the CJI, on January 21 said death sentence of a condemned prisoner can be commuted to life imprisonment on the ground of delay on the part of the government in deciding the mercy plea. During arguments on mercy petitions filed by over a dozen condemned prisoners, the Centre told the SC there can't be a timeframe for examining such pleas. While delivering the verdict, the Bench gave life term to 15 death row inmates. At the seminar, the CJI said after the Delhi gang-rape case of December 2012, the SC had told courts that conviction in cases of sexual assault can be based on solitary testimony of the victim.
— PTI
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Telangana Bill: Congress in back-channel discussion with BJP
New Delhi, February 8 Party leaders told The Tribune that an important Bill to create a new state cannot and should not be passed when the House functioning is stalled on account of tumult by members. The Congress political managers have opened informal discussions with the BJP, which has publicly committed to support the Bill with a caveat that the House should function normally. It also put forward some additional measures to address issues of irrigation, revenue, educational institutions and government employees. Ahmed Patel, political secretary to the Congress president, senior party leader Digvijay Singh and Jairam Ramesh have been in touch with BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu and negotiating with the party so that the Bill can be passed without any hitch before the session ends on February 21. At the core group meeting yesterday, the party planned to move the Bill in the Rajya Sabha for two reasons. One in the event of failing to arrive at a consensus with the BJP, the Bill will not lapse and, in case the BJP agrees it would be easier to restore order in the House where primarily the TDP members are demanding united AP. It is in the Lok Sabha where the Congress parliamentary managers have to work hard. During the past week, Congress and TDP MPs from Seemandhra region joined hands attempting to move a no-confidence motion. Political parties, including the BJP and the Left, have questioned the relevance of the motion when the country is heading for Lok Sabha elections. The possibility of the Speaker naming members who are coming to the well of the House and disrupting proceedings, would under Rules translate into suspension of these MPs for five consecutive days. The BJP is not convinced that these MPs be suspended to maintain order but the Congress feels it is a tactic to stall the Telangana Bill. Within the BJP there are two sets of views. One favouring to carrying out the official commitment for a separate Telangana and be done with the issue instead of leave it for the next government that the party is hopeful of forming at the Centre. The other view is that with TDP’s Chandrababu Naidu on its side and his championing the cause of united Andhra may help its ally gain
electorally.
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Outrage as minor Manipuri girl raped in Delhi; landlord’s son held
New Delhi, February 8 However, the incident, which comes close on the heels of the death of an Arunachal Pradesh youth Nido Taniam, sparked off protests outside the police station with students groups from the northeast blocking the road and clashing with the police following which traffic was diverted in the area. The demonstrators raised anti-police slogans and also tried to barge into the police station. According to a police official "when the victim stepped out yesterday evening to buy some household items in the locality, the accused accosted her in front of a hospital in the area and took her to a nearby room and raped her." The girl has suffered injuries and was taken to Safdarjung Hospital where she underwent a medical examination, the police said. Later, Delhi Commission of Women Chairperson Barkha Singh reached the spot and spoke to protesters. She also held a meeting with senior police officials in this regard. "The girl is out of danger, her medical examination was also done. We are looking into the case and we will go to any extent to make sure that the perpetrators in this case are hanged," Singh said while talking to reporters. Reacting against the incident Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) demanded the suspension of the SHO of the area and said such "condemnable incidents" are leading to a growing outrage among the people.
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CBI chief kicks up row with Ishrat case comment
New Delhi, February 8 Shah was questioned twice in connection with the fake encounter by the agency but he was not named in the chargesheet as accused. "There were political expectations... The UPA government would have been very happy if we had charged Amit Shah...But we went strictly by evidence and found there was no prosecutable evidence against Shah," Sinha was quoted by the English business newspaper as saying. A CBI spokesperson issued a statement that he was quoted out of context and unfairly. "The Director CBI has been quoted unfairly and completely out of context. The CBI is an impartial and an apolitical organisation. In the Ishrat Jahan case, CBI has done a fair investigation to the best of its ability," the statement said. The BJP, which has been accusing the CBI of colluding with the Congress, today used his reported remarks of the agency chief to attack the government.
— PTI
What he said
"There were political expectations... The UPA government would have been very happy if we government would have been very happy if we had charged Amit Shah...But we went strictly by evidence and found there was no prosecutable evidence against Shah. —
Ranjit Sinha, CBI Director
Fodder for BJP
For the first time the CBI has said the right thing that the UPA was after Modi and Shah, and that they would have been happy if they were charged in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case —
Kirti Azad, BJP
Cong on the defensive
The Congress found itself on the defensive after media reports of a controversial statement by CBI Director Ranjit Sinha. The CBI later issued a statement denying any such statement and insisting, ""Director CBI has been quoted unfairly and completely out of context. The CBI is an impartial and an apolitical organisation. In the Ishrat Jahan case, the CBI has done a fair investigation to the best of its ability."
TNS
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Maken’s New Delhi seat put up for Cong primaries
New Delhi, February 8 The other seat finalised for the New Delhi primaries is North East Delhi, which state president Jai Prakash Agarwal represents in the Lok Sabha. The decision on the inclusion of New Delhi seats in the primaries was pending for a while after Union ministers Kapil Sibal and Krishna Tirath expressed their discomfort earlier to offer their seats that were part of the original plan of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who is overseeing the pilot project to democratise the process of ticket distribution in the party. Though later all seven Congress MPs from Delhi - including Sibal and Tirath - declared their seats were available, the final decision taken today was being seen in Congress circles as a snub to the two ministers. With today's decision, the number of LS seats in which the Congress will pick candidates through direct voting by party workers and leaders has gone up to 16. Of these, four segments have sitting Congress MPs - two in New Delhi; Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, which Rahul's aide Meenakshi Natarajan holds and voluntarily offered for Primaries and Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan held by veteran Congress man Sis Ram Ola who died recently. Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, in charge of primaries project, said: "Although all MPs of Delhi had offered their segments, we picked the ones represented by Ajay Maken and Jai Prakash Agarwal. We are now selecting observers for the 16 final segments. The list of eligible voters for each segment will soon be put out on the websites of district Congress committees in respective LS segments. After that the process of nomination of candidates will start."
The final 16 seats
The Congress will hold primaries on 16 seats: Guwahati (Assam); Delhi, North East Delhi (New Delhi); Bhavnagar, Vadodra (Gujarat); Bangalore North, Dakshina Kannada (Karnataka); Indore, Mandsaur (MP); Aurangabad, Yavatmal Washim (Mahatrashtra); Bikaner, Jhunjhunu (Rajasthan); Sant Kabir Nagar, Varanasi (UP); Kolkata Uttar (West Bengal)
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Rahul's bid to woo back Gujarat voters
Bardoli (Gujarat), February 8 Rahul's first public meeting for the coming Lok Sabha elections at Bardoli - for many years been seen as a Congress stronghold - was an interesting choice of venue to launch the grand old party's 2014 quest in a state where it currently holds 11 out of 26 Parliamentary constituencies. Of the four Lok Sabha seats in south Gujarat - Bardoli, Surat, Valsad and Nausari - the Congress and the BJP were neck and neck in 2009 with two constituencies each. The Bardoli Lok Sabha seat is being held by central minister Tushar Chaudhary for the past three terms. Though he won the 2009 Lok Sabha elections by a good margin, the seven seats under the Bardoli constituency registered a substantial lead in favour of the rival BJP in 2012 Assembly elections. Bardoli and Valsad are both tribal dominated areas in south Gujarat. Bardoli in particular is famous for Sardar Patel's movement against the British. The Bardoli Satyagrah was a major episode of civil disobedience in the Indian Independence Movement, whose success gave rise to Sardar Patel emerging as one of the top leaders of the times. Despite a not-so-bad performance in 2009 LS elections, the situation appears to be slipping away from the hands of the Congress.
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Ministers’ panel for de-allocating 26 coal mines
The names of companies affected by the recommendation could not immediately be ascertained. Notices had been issued to companies such as Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries and Jindal Steel & Power Ltd for delays in developing the coal blocks allotted to them. The government had first decided to de-allocate all captive coal blocks that had yet to receive environment and in-principle forest clearances and had issued show-cause notices to allottees of 61 such
mines. This followed queries posed by the Supreme Court on the process of allocating coal blocks and the functioning of the screening committee that recommended the allotments. The companies had been given time until February 5 to obtain clearances and produce proof in support of approvals. The IMG considered the responses filed for 29 coal blocks allotted to companies, including Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Bhushan Power and Steel on February 7. Today, it took up the replies of the remaining 32 coal blocks allocated to firms such as Monnet Ispat and Energy and Jindal Steel and Power.
— PTI
Show-cause notices
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Devyani seeks dismissal of visa fraud case in US court
New York, February 8
Khobragade's lawyer Daniel Arshack submitted her reply, in a federal court here, to Manhattan federal prosecutor Preet Bharara's memorandum that had opposed her motion to dismiss the indictment. Khobragade was present in the US at the time the indictment was returned and "the State Department's recognition of her diplomatic position with the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations conferred diplomatic immunity upon her requiring that the entire 'proceeding or action' be dismissed”, Arshack said.
— PTI
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Delhi Nashik Lucknow Thiruvananthapuram
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Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam on Saturday defended the last month's Supreme Court verdict on mercy petitions, saying as per Article 21 of the Constitution, even a death row convict is entitled to protection.
New Delhi, February 8
New Delhi, February 8
