Tag: rejects

Bombay HC Rejects Professor’s Plea To Quash FIR For “Aug 5 Black Day For JK” Status

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SRINAGAR: The Bombay High Court has declined to dismiss a criminal case against a college professor from Kolhapur, who shared a message on his WhatsApp status that referred to the abrogation of Article 370 as “August 5 Black Day (for) Jammu and Kashmir.” The basis for the FIR was two WhatsApp statuses he posted, one stating “AUGUST 5 BLACK DAY JAMMU & KASHMIR” and the other saying “14th August Happy Independence Day, Pakistan.” The Central government revoked Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir, on August 5, 2019, reported The Hindustan Times.
“In our view, this message has the tendency to play with emotions of different groups of people as there are strong feelings of contrasting nature about the status of Jammu and Kashmir in India,” The Hindustan Times reported while quoting the bench of justice Sunil Shukre and justice MM Sathaye while rejecting plea filed by Javed Ahmad Hajam, a professor with Sanjay Ghodawat College in Kolhapur.
Hajam appealed to the High Court to dismiss the FIR filed against him by the Hatkanangale police station in Kolhapur district under Section 153-A of the Indian Penal Code, on charges of promoting enmity between different groups based on religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste, community, or any other grounds that could lead to disharmony or feelings of hatred or ill-will. The FIR was based on two WhatsApp statuses that he posted, one stating “AUGUST 5 BLACK DAY JAMMU & KASHMIR” and the other saying “14th August Happy Independence Day, Pakistan.” Hajam was a member of a parent-teachers association WhatsApp group at the college, and someone from the group reported the matter to the police.
Hajam argued that he did not share any derogatory message or any message with the intention of stirring up hatred or ill-will. He claimed that his status messages did not cause any disharmony or disturbance of public tranquillity. However, a prosecutor opposed his plea, stating that the petitioner, a college professor, expressed his likes and dislikes in a casual manner without providing any reason or justification, which could lead to an initial inference of an offense punishable under Section 153-A. The High Court agreed with the prosecutor’s argument and rejected Hajam’s petition.
The bench said in a democratic country like India, with a fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression available to its citizens, “every word of criticism and every view of dissent is important for maintaining democracy in a good state of health.”
The court stated that in sensitive matters, it is important to express critical words or dissenting views only after conducting a thorough analysis of the situation and providing reasons for the criticism or dissent. The bench added that this is particularly important when emotions and sentiments surrounding the thing or aspect being criticized vary greatly among different groups of people. In such cases, criticism or disagreement should be accompanied by in-depth analysis and reasons so that it appeals to reason rather than emotions.
“Whenever an appeal is to the reason, there is the least possibility of stirring up emotions and whenever an appeal is to the emotions, the reason is the casualty,” the bench said. “And, when reason falls victim to emotions, there results ill-will, hatred, public disturbance and negativity all around. Such is the importance of criticism based upon critical analysis and same being not here, now it would be required to be examined on merits; if the WhatsApp status message in question, really brought about the consequences contemplated under Section 153-A of the IPC or not, which would be possible only upon appreciation of evidence at the trial.”
HC said prima facie posting of the DP constituted an offence under section 153-A of IPC.

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#Bombay #Rejects #Professors #Plea #Quash #FIR #Aug #Black #Day #Status
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

April 14, 2023
Supreme Court rejects bid to block major class-action settlement on student debt relief

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Conservatives had seized on the case as a way to rein in Joe Biden’s efforts to cancel student debt and attack a potential backup plan to enact mass loan forgiveness if the Supreme Court strikes down his debt relief program in two other pending cases.
The three college operators were challenging the same law — the Higher Education Act’s “compromise” authority — that is widely seen as a fallback option for Biden. The administration’s existing student debt relief program is tied to the Covid-19 national emergency under a 2003 law known as the HEROES Act.
Everglades College Inc., Lincoln Educational Services Corporation and American National University argued that the settlement unfairly maligns them. About 3,800 of the colleges’ former students who said they were defrauded are set to receive relief under the settlement, but the schools note that those allegations were never proven.
The settlement, which the Education Department agreed to last year, came after years of litigation that accused the agency of mishandling and delaying applications by borrowers seeking loan forgiveness based on the misconduct of their college.
The deal is aimed at wiping out a backlog of hundreds of thousands of those applications, which are known as “borrower defense” claims. Some have languished at the department for years.
The Biden administration and attorneys who represent the student loan borrowers had argued that the three colleges lacked standing to challenge the settlement in the first place, dismissing the schools’ claims of reputational harm as too speculative.
In its brief earlier this week, the Justice Department pushed back on the idea that the class-action settlement is related to Biden’s broader debt cancellation program, calling them “entirely distinct.” The settlement “does not reflect any ‘en masse’ cancellation of outstanding debt, nor an assertion by the Secretary of the power to discharge the Department’s entire $1.6 trillion loan portfolio,” Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote.
The decision by the Supreme Court on Thursday sends the case back to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has already set a briefing schedule to hear the colleges’ appeal of the settlement.

It’s possible the case could return to the high court after that. The justices’ ruling on Thursday addressed only emergency relief.
But in the meantime it clears the Education Department to continue processing loan discharges for tens of thousands of borrowers.
The Biden administration reported on Wednesday that it had already wiped out the debts of about 78,000 borrowers out of the roughly 200,000 borrowers who qualify for immediate relief under the settlement.
Beyond the immediate loan forgiveness, the settlement also requires the Education Department to set up a streamlined process for tens of thousands of additional borrowers to obtain loan forgiveness.
Eileen Connor, president and director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending, which represents the class of student loan borrowers in the case welcomed the court’s decision on Thursday.
“Today’s swift and decisive action from the highest court should end, once and for all, any ongoing debate about the legitimacy of this settlement,” she said in a statement. “The message is clear: the rights of student borrowers will not falter, even in the face of well-funded, politically-motivated attacks masquerading as legal argument.”
Josh Gerstein contributed to this report.
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#Supreme #Court #rejects #bid #block #major #classaction #settlement #student #debt #relief
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 14, 2023
Appeals court rejects Peter Navarro’s bid to retain hundreds of presidential records

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Navarro acknowledged that at least 200 to 250 records in his possession belong to the government, but he contended that no mechanism exists to enforce that requirement — and that doing so might violate his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rejected that claim, ordering Navarro to promptly return the records he had identified as belonging to the government.
But Navarro appealed the decision, rejecting the notion that the Justice Department had any legitimate mechanism to force him to return the records. And he urged the court to stay Kollar-Kotelly’s ruling while his appeal was pending. But the appeals court panel — which included Judges Patricia Millett and Robert Wilkins, both appointees of President Barack Obama, and Judge Neomi Rao, an appointee of President Donald Trump — rejected Navarro’s stay request.
Within minutes, Kollar-Kotelly put the squeeze on Navarro, ordering him to turn over the 200 to 250 records “on or before” Friday. She also ordered him to perform additional searches or presidential records that might be in his possession by May 8, with further proceedings scheduled for later in the month.
The flurry of filings is the latest twist in a saga that began when the National Archives discovered that Navarro had relied on a ProtonMail account to do official government business — the result of a congressional investigation into the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Navarro is also trying to fend off criminal charges for defying a different congressional investigation — the probe by the Jan. 6 select committee — into his role in strategizing to help Trump overturn the results of the 2020 election. He faces charges for contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena issued by the select committee, a case that has been repeatedly delayed amid battles over executive privilege and immunity for presidential advisers.
In its brief order rejecting Navarro’s stay, the appeals court panel concluded that returning the documents would not violate Navarro’s protection against self-incrimination.
“Navarro has failed to articulate any cognizable Fifth Amendment injury,” the panel wrote. “Because the records were voluntarily created, and he has conceded both that they are in his possession and that they are the property of the United States, the action of physically returning the United States’ records to it will not implicate his [Fifth Amendment right].”
It was not immediately clear whether Navarro would appeal the panel’s ruling.

Justice Department attorneys argued that despite Navarro’s claim, there is a method for the government to enforce its ownership interest in the records Navarro has acknowledged retaining — a provision of the Washington, D.C., code. That statute, known as “replevin,” provides a mechanism for property owners to reclaim stolen materials even while court proceedings are pending.
Navarro has contended that this procedure was not contemplated in federal recordkeeping laws and had never been used to enforce the return of presidential records before. But the appeals court panel said he had “not adequately demonstrated that the United States cannot proceed under the replevin statute.”
However, the panel said it would not “prejudge” any additional arguments about that issue that might be made as the case proceeds.
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#Appeals #court #rejects #Peter #Navarros #bid #retain #hundreds #presidential #records
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 13, 2023
India strongly rejects China’s objection to Amit Shah’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh

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New Delhi: India on Tuesday firmly rejected China’s objection to Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the state “was, is and will” always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said objecting to such visits does not stand to reason and will not change the reality.
The home minister visited Arunachal Pradesh on Monday during which he launched the ambitious ‘Vibrant Villages Programme’ that is aimed at improving the standard of living of the people in villages in frontier areas.

“We completely reject the comments made by the Chinese official spokesperson. Indian leaders routinely travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh as they do to any other state of India,” Bagchi said.
“Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. Objecting to such visits does not stand to reason and will not change the above reality,” he said.
Bagchi was responding to media queries on the Chinese reaction to Shah’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh.
From a border village in Arunachal Pradesh, Shah, in a clear message to China, on Monday said that no one can dare cast an evil eye on India’s territorial integrity and encroach even an “inch of our land”.
He said the era when anyone could encroach the borderlands of India was over.

The home minister’s statement came days after Beijing announced Chinese names for 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh which the neighbouring country claims as the “southern part of Tibet.”
Responding to a question on Shah’s visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, “Zangnan (the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh) is part of China’s territory”.
“The activity of the senior Indian official in Zangnan violates China’s territorial sovereignty and is not conducive to peace and tranquillity in the border areas. We are firmly against this,” he told a media briefing in Beijing.
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#India #strongly #rejects #Chinas #objection #Amit #Shahs #visit #Arunachal #Pradesh
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 11, 2023
Gujarat HC rejects pleas to reopen sealed meat shops

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Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday rejected applications filed by the owners of meat shops and slaughter houses closed by authorities, stating that the freedom to do business can not override the public health norms.
A division bench of Justices N V Anjaria and Niral Mehta rejected a batch of civil applications filed by the owners of meat and poultry shop and slaughter houses who had requested that they be permitted to operate, especially during the month of Ramadan.
“The freedom to trade or right to do business have to yield to the public health norms and restrictive compulsions needed to be enforced in larger public good. The right to free trade in food items like meat, or any such food has to be subserving to public health and food safety requirements,” the high court said.

State authorities closed a large number of shops after the court directed compliance of licensing and regulatory norms, food and safety standards and pollution control requirements among other things.
The affected owners submitted before the court that the closure was illegal and violated their right of free trade under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Rejecting the applications, the court observed that they could hardly be permitted to be reopened unless they become fully compliant with norms and regulations.
“Intervention is not called for by the court when it comes to abiding by the food safety etc. norms. It would be an overriding principle that the public concerns of hygiene and food safety will have to prevail,” it said.
On the request of owners of poultry shops to be given relief because poultry birds should not be treated as ‘animals,’ the court said that the term ‘animal’ under section 2(a) of the Food Safety Act includes any living creature.

“Learned senior advocates for the applicants submitted that an exception may be made for them, as they are small livelihood earners. The submission could not be countenanced since it is not for the court to rewrite the legislative definition and give effect to it accordingly,” the court said.
Authorities had taken action following the court’s direction on a Public Interest Litigation seeking implementation of the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court regarding illegal slaughterhouses.
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#Gujarat #rejects #pleas #reopen #sealed #meat #shops
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 11, 2023
India rejects China’s ‘objection’ to Amit Shah’s Arunachal Pradesh visit

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New Delhi: India on Tuesday rejected China’s “objection” to Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, making it clear that the state is and will always remain an integral part of India.
A statement issued by external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said: “We completely reject the comments made by the Chinese Official Spokesperson. Indian leaders routinely travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh as they do to any other state of India. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.”
The statement further said that “objecting to such visits does not stand to reason and will not change the above reality”.

Earlier in a clear message to China from the border village of Kibithoo in Arunachal Pradesh, Shah on Monday had said no one can dare cast an evil eye on India’s territorial integrity and encroach even an “inch of our land”.
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#India #rejects #Chinas #objection #Amit #Shahs #Arunachal #Pradesh #visit
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 11, 2023
UAE rejects South Africa’s request for Gupta brothers’ extradition

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Johannesburg: South Africa said Friday that the UAE has turned down its request to extradite two brothers from the wealthy Indian-origin Gupta family to face trial in the country on fraud and corruption charges.
The three Gupta brothers, Ajay, Atul and Rajesh, are wanted in South Africa for their alleged roles in the looting of billions of rands from state enterprises. They are alleged to have used their closeness to former president Jacob Zuma to do this.
The South African government last year submitted a formal extradition application to the United Arab Emirates for Rajesh Gupta and Atul Gupta.

The family fled to Dubai five years ago as the net closed in on them following Zuma’s ousting by his own African National Congress when he refused to step down.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola says his government is “shocked and dismayed” after the UAE declined the request
Lamola said he only learnt about the decision after his office enquired with the local UAE embassy, which said that they had received a note verbale stating this.
“We learnt with shock and dismay that the extradition hearing had been concluded in the Dubai courts on February 13, 2023, and our extradition request was unsuccessful,” Lamola said.
“The reasons provided are of a technical nature, and fly in the face of (earlier) assurances given by the UAE authorities that our request meets their requirements,” he said.

Lamola said the decision would be appealed.
Legal experts however said such an appeal would be to no avail, as the Gupta brothers are believed to now be in Switzerland.
Originally from Saharanpur in India, the Guptas built an empire in the IT, media and mining industries after first arriving in the country to start a shoe shop soon after Nelson Mandela was released from 27 years as a political prisoner to become the first democratically-elected president.
“We have complied with every letter of the extradition treaty that we have between ourselves and the UAE authorities. To ensure this compliance, we have even allowed the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to go to the UAE for engagements with their counterparts before the papers were submitted,” Lamola said at a media briefing.
“The Central Authority in the UAE and the prosecution in the UAE confirmed that all our papers are in order. So from our side, we have complied and that is why we are bemused by this judgement that cites technicalities. We find it shocking,” he added.
Lamola said that even if there was a technical issue, the UAE should have sought clarity from South Africa in line with Article 17 of the UN Convention Against Corruption, which requires consultation with the applicant country before a decision is taken.
“We still intend to engage with our counterparts in the UAE to ensure that the decision of the court is promptly appealed, as well as to devise other mechanisms to deal with the matter. That discussion must also preserve the integrity of our bilateral relations,” Lamola said.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 7, 2023
Umesh Pal murder: MP/MLA court rejects anticipatory bail plea of Shaista Parveen

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Prayagraj: An MP/MLA court on Thursday rejected the anticipatory bail application of Shaista Parveen, an accused in the Umesh Pal murder case and wife of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed.
MP/MLA court judge Dinesh Chandra Shukla rejected the application of Parveen after hearing both the sides and considering the circumstances and seriousness of the case, government counsel Gulab Chand Agrahari said.
On February 24, Umesh Pal’s security policemen Raghavendra Singh and Sandeep Nishad were gunned down. The next day, an FIR was registered against Atiq Ahmed, Shaista Parveen, Ashraf, Guddu Muslim, Ghulam and nine other people at the Dhoomanganj police station on the complaint of Jaya Pal, wife of Umesh Pal.

The special court had on March 28 sentenced Atiq Ahmed, Dinesh Pasi and Khan Shoulat Hanif to rigorous life imprisonment in the 17-year-old case of kidnapping of Umesh Pal, the main witness of the BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case.
The court had acquitted seven people, including Atiq Ahmed’s brother Ashraf, in this case due to lack of evidence.
A charge sheet was filed against 11 people, out of whom one died during trial.
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#Umesh #Pal #murder #MPMLA #court #rejects #anticipatory #bail #plea #Shaista #Parveen
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 7, 2023
Appeals court rejects Trump’s bid to block aides from testifying in Jan. 6 probe

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CNN has reported that the aides covered by Trump’s emergency order may include Meadows, Scavino, Miller and other former top Trump administration advisers like Robert O’Brien, John Ratcliffe and Ken Cuccinelli.
Smith’s investigation of Trump’s effort to seize a second term has intensified in recent months. He has won a series of rulings to compel testimony from top figures in Trump’s orbit, including former Vice President Mike Pence.
The three-judge panel that rejected Trump’s emergency motion consisted of Judges Patricia Millett, Robert Wilkins and Gregory Katsas. Millett and Wilkins are both appointees of former President Barack Obama, while Katsas was appointed by Trump. The appeals court’s action denying the motion was recorded in its public docket, although the actual order issued by the court and all other pleadings related to the dispute remain sealed.
Trump could try to take the issue to the Supreme Court, though he has opted against doing so in several other defeats connected to Smith’s Jan. 6 probe.
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#Appeals #court #rejects #Trumps #bid #block #aides #testifying #Jan #probe
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 4, 2023
Pakistan cabinet rejects top court’s verdict in election delay case

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Islamabad: The Pakistan Federal Cabinet on Tuesday rejected the Supreme Court’s unanimous verdict on the case pertaining to the postponement of elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The development came during the Cabinet’s meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, held after a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar as members announced the apex court’s verdict on the matter which it had reserved a day earlier, Geo News reported.
Announcing the verdict on a plea filed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the top court declared the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone polls in Punjab and KP from April 30 to October 8 as “null and void”.

The Supreme Court, in its verdict, states that the ECP’s order dated March 22, 2023, is declared to be unconstitutional, without lawful authority or jurisdiction, void ab-initio, of no legal effect, and is hereby quashed, Geo News reported.
“The Supreme Court’s decision is a minority verdict, which is why the cabinet rejects it,” the sources in the federal cabinet said.
The top court’s decision, as per the sources, is not enforceable, Geo News reported.
The government would raise its voice in parliament regarding the verdict, the sources added. It was also decided in the meeting that the ruling coalition’s parties will talk about the apex court’s decision in parliament, they added, Geo News reported.
In the meeting, the cabinet decided to present its position on the verdict.

On the SC decision, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice-President and Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz took to Twitter and wrote that today’s verdict is the last blow of the conspiracy which began by “rewriting the Constitution and presenting the Punjab government on a plate” to the bench’s blue-eyed boy, Imran Khan.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 4, 2023