India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—Climate change activist Disha Ravi has moved the Delhi High Court to seek direction for the Delhi Police not to leak any information collected during investigation in connection with the ‘toolkit’ FIR filed against her.
In her appeal, the 22-year-old climate activist also requested to prohibit the media from publishing excerpts of her private chats.
Ravi also prayed for the central government to take effective action under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, against News18, India Today, Times Now, and all other satellite TV channels, for conducting her ‘media trial’.
Bombay High Court Grants Transit Bail to Nikita Jacob
The Bombay high court has granted protection from arrest for three weeks to Mumbai-based lawyer Nikita Jacob, accused of helping to edit a farm protest social media toolkit, even as the Delhi Police said it was widening its investigation into the alleged attempt to foment unrest in the City.
In the case registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell, ordering bail for Jacob on a Rs 25,000 personal bond and guarantees, the Bench noted, “This protection is granted for a period of three weeks from today (Wednesday) to enable the applicant to approach the competent court to seek appropriate relief.”
Two days ago, the High Court’s Aurangabad Bench granted a 10-day transit pre-arrest bail to activist Shantanu Muluk, against whom, in the same event, a warrant was issued in Delhi.
Court Acquits Journalist Priya Ramani In Defamation Case Filed by M J Akbar
In a defamation case filed by the former Union Minister, MJ Akbar, a Delhi court acquitted former journalist Priya Ramani. Ramani was being sued by the latter after she accused him of sexual harassment. The court noted that several years after the alleged crime happened, a woman has the right to voice grievances. The court reiterated that a “woman cannot be punished for raising voice against sex-abuse on the pretext of criminal complaint of defamation as the right of reputation cannot be protected at the cost of the right of life and dignity of woman” and that she has the ““right to put her grievance” on “any platform of her choice… even after decades”.
Ramani had levelled charges of sexual misconduct and abuse against Akbar, who, after multiple women made similar allegations in October 2018, sued her and resigned from the Union Council of Ministers. This was at the moment in the nation that the MeToo movement against sexual assault had gained traction.
In its judgment acquitting Ramani, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey stated that the court acknowledged “the accused’s contention and the possibility of defense of the accused that she disclosed the truth about the incident of sexual harassment against her at the Oberoi Hotel, Bombay in December 1993 on the basis of testimony of accused DW1 (Defence Witness Ramani) and DW1 (Defence Witness Ramani)”
Commenting on Akbar, the Court said that Akbar is “not a man of stellar reputation”.
“As former Union Minister, MJ Akbar has a long CV that he uses against Priya Ramani as a shield. That he has published many books, that he has been the publisher of many newspapers, and that he is, thus, the object of a great campaign of defamation”, the court observed.
The court goes on to say that “a woman cannot be punished for raising her voice against sexual abuse on the pretext of a criminal defamation complaint,” however, honourable, such a man is.
Two PFI Activists Arrested By UP Police On Terror Charges
UP police on Wednesday arrested two Popular Front of India (PFI) activists on charges of terrorism. The arrested persons have been identified as Ansad Badruddin and Firoz Khan of Pathanamtittha and Kozhikode districts, respectively, in Kerala.
They were arrested in Lucknow.
UP police claimed that they were on a mission to target Hindu outfit leaders and create terror in the state.
Police also alleged to have recovered 16 high-grade explosive devices with battery detonators and red wires, a .32 bore pistol and seven live cartridges from the duo.
PFI general secretary Anis Ahmed has, however, rebutted the police allegations and said the police had prepared a “fake story”. Anis said that the two PFI members were touring Bihar and West Bengal for expansion of the organisation.
Two Minor Dalit Girls Found Dead In field In UP
The bodies of two minor Dalit girls, aged 13 and 16, were discovered on Wednesday evening in an agricultural field in Unnao district, Uttar Pradesh, along with a 17-year-old girl in serious condition. While the girls aged 16 and 17 years are sisters, the other one is their cousin.
While police believe it to be case of poisoning incident, family members reject the police theory.
Family members of the girls said that their hands and feet were tied and hence, it could not be case of poisoning or suicide.
While two of the girls were pronounced “brought dead”, the 17-year-old girl is struggling for life in a Kanpur hospital.
One of the family members said, “They had gone to a farm to collect grass and returned late today, so we went to look for them. We found them tied up, with their chunni-like garments”.
(Compiled by Kashif Ahmad Faraz).
