Tag: laws

Medak cops violated laws: Fact-finding team who visited Khadeer’s kin
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Hyderabad: A fact-finding team of social activists visited the family, friends and neighbours of Mohammed Khadeer Khan, who died on February 21 following alleged police brutality. It concluded that the Medak police failed to follow the process of law and violated several provisions of CrPC, guidelines and judgments delivered by the Supreme Court and various High Courts in the cases of arrest and detention.
The team came out with 13 pointers report that suggests that Khadeer was tortured and attempts were made to erase the evidence.
Not just Khadeer, but his friend Rizwan and brother-in-law Moin were taken along with the victim and allegedly beaten for hours.
No specific complaint or FIR was registered against Khadeer. “It is merely on the basis of misidentification that he was arrested and tortured,” said the report.
Instead of producing before the regular judicial magistrate, Khadeer was produced before the executive magistrate, raising suspicions that he was arrested on mistaken identification due to footage from the CCTV camera.
“The Medak police personnel came to Hyderabad in a private vehicle (Swift car) with plain clothes and without name tags to arrest Khadeer, thus violating guidelines of the apex court laid down in DK Basu case in arresting and keeping accused in police custody. Moreover, police collected Khadeer’s call data records without any warrants,” the report said.
“It seems that police targeted Khadeer to hide their failure in arresting the real culprit involved in the theft case,” the report stated.
The report alleged that police hesitancy to provide timely medical treatment to Khadeer was “to save their own skin”.

Lastly, the fact-finding team has laid down recommendations to the Director General of Police (DGP). They are as follows:
- Immediate safety and security to all witnesses including Rizwan and Moin who were present at the time of the torture.
- Preservation of medical records and statements of doctors who treated Khadeer.
- File FIRs against the erring police officers under 302 (Whoever commits murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as issue an immediate order to preserve the CCTV footage from January 29 to February 16.
- Speedy trial by appointing a special magistrate and a separate bench.
- Transfer of Medak’s superintendent of police for failing to take timely action against the erring police officials.
- Training for police officials on how to conduct themselves with regards to an investigation as well as the approach with empathy towards the general public.
- Compensation of Rs50 lakh and a government job to Khadeer’s widow by the state government.
“Khadeer was a daily wage worker. His family consists of four persons who were completely dependent on him. Now this family is rendered orphans without male support,” the report concluded.
The fact-finding team of social activists included Khalida Parveen, Murali Karnam, S.Q.Masood, Krishna Kumari, Manga, Deepthi, Kaneez Fathima, Kareema, Farisa Quadri, Naseem Sultana, Gayatri and Fariya.
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#Medak #cops #violated #laws #Factfinding #team #visited #Khadeers #kin
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
March 1, 2023
Congress pledges laws to rein in hate crimes

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Raipur: The Congress, in its draft political resolution, on Saturday pledged to bring in laws to prevent hate crimes in the country, if voted to power.
This comes against the backdrop of rising incidents of hate crimes and lynching, the lastest being the burning alive of two people in Rajasthan.
The resolution said, “In the last eight-and-a-half years under the BJP Government, the politics of hate has assumed alarming proportions and religious polarisation has reached its peak. Hate crimes and atrocities have increased manifold.
“Vigilante right wing groups incite violence on various trivial issues. These groups operate with impunity and have started acting like police, spreading anarchy and fear. This fear in the minds of minorities is the aim of the BJP/RSS regime.”
During the course of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, it was clear that the majority of Indians yearn for love, peace and harmony, it added.
The Congress said it believes in our civilisational principle of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ which means “The World Is One Family”. Minorities form about a
fifth of India’s population. Neglecting, marginalising, and alienating them is
inhuman, and hits at the unity and integrity of India.
“The culture of hatred, nurtured and propagated by BJP, RSS and their acolytes violates the tenets of all religions. We need to create a sense of security among each and every Indian, regardless of their region, religion, caste, class or gender,” it further said.
It also said that crimes against weaker sections of society have also increased. Atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SCs) have increased by 1.2 per cent in 2021, according to the NCRB. Violence against Dalit and adivasi women has also risen. Cases of rape against SC women, including shockingly, minors, account for 7.64 per cent and ST women account for 15 per cent out of the total cases reported.

“Congress will pass a new law to prevent and punish hate crimes,” it concluded.
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#Congress #pledges #laws #rein #hate #crimes
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 25, 2023
DeSantis blasts immigration laws once popular with Florida Republicans
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Included in DeSantis’ proposal is the repeal of a 2014 law sponsored by Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez when she was a member of the Florida House that offered out-of-state tuition vouchers to some eligible Dreamers, those brought to the United States illegally at a young age. It applied to Dreamers who attended a Florida high school for at least three years.
The proposal received wide-ranging Republican support at the time, including from CFO Jimmy Patronis, DeSantis-appointed Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, former House Speaker Jose Oliva — whom DeSantis recently appointed to the Board of Governors of the State University System — and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, each of whom were members of the Legislature when lawmakers first approved the bill.
None returned a request seeking comment about whether they support repealing the law or if they regret their 2014 vote.
At Thursday’s press conference, DeSantis touted Florida’s low cost college or state university system but said the law still needs to be repealed to keep down tuition costs.
“If we want to hold the line on tuition, then you have got to say ‘you need to be a U.S. citizens living in Florida,’” DeSantis said. “Why would we subsidize a non-U.S. citizen when we want to make sure we can keep it affordable for our own people?”
Then-Gov. Rick Scott, who is now a Republican U.S. senator, signed the proposal in what was seen as a signal Florida Republicans had shifting views on immigration issues as they tried to make inroads with Latino voters, who have a much larger political footprint in Florida than in most states. Since DeSantis took office, however, he has rewired that approach, taking a much harder-line stance on immigration as he gains political support, including with Latino voters. In 2022, DeSantis won reelection by a historic 19.4 percentage point margin, including winning the Latino vote over Democrat Charlie Crist.
Scott defended the earlier legislation when asked about it in Tampa on Thursday.
“It’s a bill that I was proud to sign. I believe in it. I believe that these individuals ought to have the opportunity to live their dreams in this country,” Scott said.” It’s a bill I would sign again today.”

DeSantis last year drew widespread criticism from Democrats and immigration advocates after he transported nearly 50 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, a move opponents called a political stunt. Since then, the governor persuaded the Legislature to expand the program.
DeSantis’ proposal would also repeal a second law passed in 2014 with bipartisan support that allowed noncitizens to be admitted to the Florida Bar. The proposal was signed into law by Scott and got “yes” votes from Diaz, Nunez and Oliva. Simpson and Patronis, both of whom are seen as eyeing bids for governor in 2026, did not vote on the measure when legislators approved it on the House and Senate floors.
The law allows the Florida Supreme Court to admit noncitizens to the Florida Bar if they meet certain qualifications, including being brought to the United states as a minor and living in the country for a decade or longer. It was passed for José Manuel Godinez-Samperio, who came to the United States at age 9 with his mother and went on to graduate Florida State University College of Law with honors. He was in the House chamber when the bill passed and got direct shoutouts from Republican leadership at the time.
DeSantis said he has no idea why lawmakers at the time made that decision.
“I don’t know why they did this in Florida before I became governor, but they are letting illegal aliens become licensed attorneys in Florida,” DeSantis said at the press conference. “It’s, like, how could you be violating the law and then be practicing the law.”
During the press conference, he did not address the fact that a large number of elected Florida Republicans in the past supported some of the provisions he wants repealed and his office did not respond to questions about that situation.
Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican who was at the event and will be a likely sponsor of the bills, also did not return requests seeking comment.
DeSantis is also pushing lawmakers to require all Florida employers to use the E-Verify system, a federal database that allows employers to check workers’ employment status. During DeSantis’ first term, he pushed for universal E-Verify but that was opposed by the state’s business lobby. The bill lawmakers approved only required public employers to use the system.
Conservatives have been lobbying DeSantis to again try and expand the requirement to all employers, and DeSantis now has post-midterm Republican supermajorities in both chambers, which he says should make it easier to overcome opponents from the business and hospitality industries who are concerned changes could cut off their supply of cheap labor.
“It’s a different political context now having super majorities,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis’ immigration package also includes:
- Making it a third-degree felony to “transport, conceal, or harbor illegal aliens,” and a second-degree felony if the person being transported is a minor.
- Mandating that hospitals collect data on the immigration status of patients and submit reports on costs associated with providing care to undocumented immigrants.
- Requiring people registering to vote check a box affirming they are U.S. citizens and Florida residents.
- Prohibiting local governments from issuing ID cards to unauthorized aliens and invalidating out-of-state licenses issued to unauthorized aliens.
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#DeSantis #blasts #immigration #laws #popular #Florida #Republicans
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
February 24, 2023
To what extent can court intervene, asks SC on plea for uniform laws

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court, hearing a batch of pleas, which included PILs seeking a direction to the Centre to make religion and gender-neutral uniform laws governing subjects like marriage, alimony, divorce, and inheritance, on Monday observed that the question is to what extent can the court intervene.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud observed: “The question is to what extent the court can intervene in these matters as the issues fall under the legislative domain.”
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing a petitioner, said he has a preliminary objection to the PILs filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.
On the other hand, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted: “In principle… as I am concerned, there cannot be any objection to gender-neutral uniform laws applicable to all equally…”
He added that it is for the apex court to examine what can be done on the judicial side.
Sibal asked the bench, also comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala, to see the prayers made in the petition before the court and added that he can understand if these issues were taken up individually. He stressed that it is for the government to decide if they are willing to make gender and religion-neutral uniform laws and the court should not issue even “a prima facie order” in the matter.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing Upadhyay, contested Sibal’s submissions and said there is an individual petition, where a Muslim woman said she wanted the personal laws governing her, to be gender neutral.
At this, Sibal said: “These are for the government to decide… If the government wants to take it up, we have no problem.”

After hearing arguments, the top court asked the lawyers to prepare a list of prayers made in the petitions and agreed to take them up after four weeks and decide whether it can hear the pleas.
A total of 17 petitions have been filed, which include several PILs and some of the petitions sought a direction for enacting uniform religion and gender-neutral laws on a wide variety of issues.
Upadhyay has filed five separate petitions seeking direction to the Central government to frame religion and gender-neutral uniform laws for divorce, adoption, guardianship, succession, inheritance, maintenance, marriage age, and alimony.
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#extent #court #intervene #asks #plea #uniform #laws
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 20, 2023
Michigan Dems consider faster push on gun laws after MSU shooting

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“We’re going to try to move faster,” Democratic state Sen. Rosemary Bayer said in an interview Tuesday morning. “After years of not getting an inch, now we’re making real plans.”
“Some of the legislation we have goes back 10 years,” added Bayer, who represented the town of Oxford in 2021, when four students died in a mass shooting at a high school there. “We just haven’t been able to get any traction to do anything.”
Bayer said that lawmakers updated legislative proposals following the 2022 midterms, knowing they might be able to move forward on it. Even before this week’s tragedy, state Democrats had said gun laws would be among their legislative priorities now that they have complete control of the government. In a roundtable with reporters in December, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks identified gun violence legislation as a priority for the chambers’ new majorities.
But this week’s shooting has increased the urgency.
“One of the models we’ve seen in these horrible tragedies is that we need to act quickly. Even in Florida, they were able to get it done in a red legislature,” said state Sen. Darrin Camilleri, who represents the area south of Detroit. “I think we can do that with a Democratic trifecta. There are conversations we’re having as soon as today to figure out timelines to expedite this process.”
Whitmer specifically called out all three of Democrats’ gun control priorities in her State of the State speech last month.
“Despite pleas from Oxford families, these issues never even got a hearing in the legislature,” Whitmer said at the time. “This year, let’s change that and work together to stop the violence and save lives.”
The MSU shooting occurred on campus in East Lansing on Monday evening, which killed three students and injured five more. The suspected gunman died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound off campus. The Detroit News reported that he pled guilty to a gun charge in 2019.

It is the 67th mass shooting in America this year alone, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a D.C.-based nonprofit.
Bayer, who Whitmer called out as a leader on gun control legislation in her address, said that there is a plan to introduce legislation “soon.”
“We had a schedule that we’re trying to move up even more,” she said. “We were targeting right after the first week of April, that’s what we were planning for, but we want to respond quicker.”
But Democrats in the state are also cognizant that they have very slim majorities to manage in both the state House and the state Senate. Even a single no vote from a Democratic lawmaker could sink a bill in the state House if no Republican joins.
“All you need is one Joe Manchin,” said Bayer, referencing the West Virginia senator’s role bedeviling Democrats on Capitol Hill on a myriad of issues. (Manchin has worked with senators from both parties on gun legislation in the past, and he supported the bipartisan law that passed last year following the mass shootings at a school in Uvalde, Texas, and a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y.)
“With these current events, how could anyone stop it?” Bayer continued. “But I’ve thought that for years.”
Spokespeople for Whitmer and Brinks did not immediately respond to requests for comment on new legislation. But statements in the immediate aftermath of the shooting expressed despair and outrage and signaled that Democratic leadership planned to push for gun control legislation.
Brinks tweeted that her daughter, a MSU student, was “answering my texts and calls” early Tuesday morning. Tate’s spokesperson pointed to a statement he issued saying “we can continue to debate the reasons for gun violence in America, or we can act,” adding that he had “no understanding left for those in a position to effect change who are unwilling to act.”
“This is a uniquely American problem,” Whitmer, who ordered that flags around the state be lowered to half-staff on Tuesday morning, said in her own statement. “We should not, we cannot, accept living like this.”
Camilleri and Bayer expressed confidence that the party would be able to get all Democrats on board for legislation focused on red flag laws, safe storage and universal background checks. And Bayer said she thought some Republicans could join on some pieces of legislation as well. “We’ve had a couple of Republicans join our caucus on the topic,” she said. “I hope this will help more of them to come over.”
But beyond that, broader legislation may be much more difficult, the lawmakers admitted.
“When it comes to some other issues that I’m sure we’ll be discussing, those might be tougher, but the urgency to act is now,” Camilleri said.

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#Michigan #Dems #faster #push #gun #laws #MSU #shooting
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 15, 2023
Pope, Anglican, Presbyterian leaders denounce anti-gay laws

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South Sudan is one of 67 countries that criminalizes homosexuality, 11 of them with the death penalty. LGBTQ advocates say even where such laws are not applied, they contribute to a climate of harassment, discrimination and violence.
Francis referred his Jan. 24 comments to the AP and repeated that such laws are “unjust.” He also repeated previous comments that parents should never throw their gay children out of the house.
“To condemn someone like this is a sin,” he said. “Criminalizing people with homosexual tendencies is an injustice.”
“People with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God Loves them. God accompanies them,” he added.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, recalled that LGBTQ rights were very much on the current agenda of the Church of England, and said he would quote the pope’s own words when the issue is discussed at the church’s upcoming General Synod.
“I wish I had spoken as eloquently and clearly as the pope. I entirely agree with every word he said,” Welby said.
Recently, the Church of England decided to allow blessings for same-sex civil marriages but said same-sex couples could not marry in its churches. The Vatican forbids both gay marriage and blessings for same-sex unions.
Welby told reporters that the issue of criminalization had been taken up at two previous Lambeth Conferences of the broader Anglican Communion, which includes churches in Africa and the Middle East where such anti-gay laws are most common and often enjoy support by conservative bishops.

The broader Lambeth Conference has come out twice opposing criminalization, “But it has not really changed many people’s minds,” Welby said.
The Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, the Presbyterian moderator of the Church of Scotland who also participated in the pilgrimage and news conference, offered an observation.
“There is nowhere in my reading of the four Gospels where I see Jesus turning anyone away,” he said. “There is nowhere in the four Gospels where I see anything other than Jesus expressing love to whomever he meets.
“And as Christians, that is the only expression that we can possibly give to any human being, in any circumstance.”
The Church of Scotland allows same-sex marriages. Catholic teaching holds that gay people must be treated with dignity and respect, but that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.”
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#Pope #Anglican #Presbyterian #leaders #denounce #antigay #laws
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 5, 2023
Florida eyes more changes to voting laws ahead of 2024

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“The Department recommends building on the election integrity measures adopted recently to enhance the security of the vote-by-mail process,” states the report.
Some of the recommendations could trigger another partisan firestorm from Democrats suspicious of proposals taking aim at mail-in voting.
Republicans in Florida for many years had dominated mail-in voting in the state, but that shifted over the past few cycles, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the 2022 elections, about 2.7 million Floridians voted by mail, with 43 percent of the ballots cast by Democrats compared with 36 percent from Republicans.
Brad Ashwell, Florida director of All Voting Is Local, a voting advocacy group, called the proposals outlined by the department as largely “unnecessary” — though he did praise a recommendation for legislators to authorize the creation of a uniform vote-by-mail ballot request form.
“The voters are already being harmed by the last changes they made,” said Ashwell, noting recent changes such as one that forces voters to request a mail-in ballot after every general election and that increased identification requirements to request a ballot.
He added that it would also be “asinine” to order up additional revisions to mail-in voting ahead of the 2024 election when turnout could be much higher than it was during the midterms. He also suggested that prohibiting ballot requests by phone could be an obstacle to elderly voters and those with disabilities.
Since the 2020 election — where mail-in voting was repeatedly criticized by former President Donald Trump — GOP legislators in the Sunshine State have pushed through several changes to mail-in voting, many of them at the insistence of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Democrats and voting rights groups widely criticized a 2021 law that place a two-ballot limit on how many mail-in ballots someone could gather for elderly or sick voters.
DeSantis and Florida Republicans have refused to go along with suggestions to eliminate no-excuse mail voting, or allowing people to vote by mail without providing a reason. But they have made key changes such as banning the collection of more than two mail-in ballots from non-family members, a practice derided by DeSantis as “ballot harvesting.” Lawmakers also put restrictions on drop boxes where people drop off their ballots and required voters to renew their ballot requests after every general election. Parts of this law is still being challenged in federal court.

Last year, legislators contemplated requiring voters to add personal information — like a driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number to what they mail back to supervisors, a move that would have likely required voters to use an extra envelope. Currently, supervisors compare the signatures on the ballot envelope and what the voter has on file.
One Republican election supervisor called the initial proposal from GOP legislators a “recipe for disaster.” Legislators backed off the change and instead directed the Department of State to come up with recommendations on how to increase ID requirements.
In January, election supervisors across the state officially chimed in with their own report warning about making widespread changes.
A working group of Democratic and Republican supervisors submitted a report to the Department of State that said requiring voters to put their personal information on ballots would be a “seismic” change that would increase costs, confuse voters and potentially lead to identity theft as well as delays in counting ballots.
The final report from the department did not include any recommendations that voters be required to put identifying information on their ballot envelopes, opting instead to focus on the “ballot request process.”
Mark Earley, supervisor of elections for Leon County and head of the supervisors’ statewide association, told Department of State officials that local supervisors appreciated the “credence” given their concerns about potential identification changes. Earley, however, added that some of the recommendations could “pose challenges.”
In a brief interview Thursday, Earley said eliminating the ability to request ballots by phone “is going to hinder a lot of voters” though he said he understood the desire to create a paper trail for requests.
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#Florida #eyes #voting #laws #ahead
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 3, 2023
SC to hear pleas challenging laws regulating conversions due to interfaith marriages

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said it would hear on February 3 a batch of pleas challenging controversial state laws regulating religious conversions due to interfaith marriages.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala noted that a transfer plea was mentioned in the morning.
“We can list it, issue notice and hear it together. The transfer petition will also be numbered by then. The attorney general can also examine. We will hear all on Friday,” the bench said.
During the brief hearing, senior advocate CU Singh, appearing in the court on behalf of NGO “Citizens for Justice and Peace” of activist Teesta Setalwad, submitted that people cannot get married due to these state laws and the situation is very grave.
Attorney General R Venkataramani submitted that these are state legislations that have been challenged before the apex court and the high courts concerned should hear the cases.
The top court had earlier asked the parties challenging the anti-conversion laws of several states to file a common petition seeking a transfer of the cases on the issue from various high courts to the apex court.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had challenged the locus standi of “Citizens for Justice and Peace”, which is one of the petitioners. Mehta had not elaborated on the reasons for questioning the NGO’s locus.
The bench had noted that there were at least five such pleas “before the Allahabad High Court, seven before the Madhya Pradesh High Court, two each before the Gujarat and Jharkhand high courts, three before the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and one each before the Karnataka and Uttarakhand high courts”, and said a common petition for their transfer can be filed.

Besides, two separate petitions have been filed by Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, challenging the interim orders of the respective high courts that stayed certain provisions of the state laws on conversion.
Earlier, a bench headed by Justice M R Shah had said religious conversion is a serious issue that should not be given a political colour.
It had sought the attorney general’s assistance on the plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.
Another bench headed by the CJI had, on January 2, sought to know the status of the cases pending before different high courts challenging controversial state laws regulating religious conversion due to interfaith marriages and said if the cases are similar in nature, it may transfer those to itself.
It had asked “Citizens for Justice and Peace” and the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh to apprise it of the status of the cases challenging the state laws on conversion through marriage.
The apex court had, on January 6, 2021, agreed to examine certain new and controversial laws of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, regulating religious conversions due to interfaith marriages.
The Uttar Pradesh law relates to not only interfaith marriages but all religious conversions and lays down elaborate procedures for anyone who wishes to convert to another religion.
The Uttarakhand law entails a two-year jail term for those found guilty of religious conversion through “force or allurement”. The allurement can be in the form of cash, employment or material benefits.
The plea filed by the NGO has alleged that the legislations violate articles 21 and 25 of the Constitution as those empower the State to suppress an individual’s personal liberty and freedom to practise the religion of his choice.
Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind has also moved the Supreme Court, challenging the anti-conversion laws of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. It has contended that these laws have been enacted to “harass” interfaith couples and implicate them in criminal cases.
The Muslim body, in its PIL filed through advocate Ejaz Maqbool, has said the provisions of all such laws of the five states force people to disclose their faith and consequently, invade their privacy.
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#hear #pleas #challenging #laws #regulating #conversions #due #interfaith #marriages
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 30, 2023