The Evening Wrap: Cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 an ‘extreme last resort’, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on July 8 said the cancellation of the undergraduate National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2024 in its entirety was an “extreme last resort” as it affected the lives of over 23 lakh students who wrote the prestigious exam for medical admissions across the country. However, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud concluded that the fact that questions were leaked, and the sanctity of the exam was compromised was “beyond question”. The three-judge Bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, chastised the Union government and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam, to come out of the “self-denial” and aid the court in finding out the extent of the leak. Chief Justice Chandrachud said it was vital to know the nature and extent of the leak to decide if the NEET-UG 2024, held on May 5, ought to be cancelled. The court is examining if there is any possibility to segregate the wrongdoers to spare students the trauma of a retest. But petitioners who are seeking a re-test, represented by advocates Mathew Nedumpara and Charu Mathur, argued that credibility of the exam was lost. They said it was not possible to bifurcate the frauds from the innocents. The fraud was conducted at a systemic level. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, said the leaks were an instance of local malpractice. He countered the “unprecedented” phenomenon of 67 candidates scoring perfect 720/720, saying the top 100 candidates were distributed among 95 sectors, in 56 cities spread out in 18 States and Union Territories. The NTA argued that the NEET syllabus in 2024 was comparatively easier than the previous four years when there was a total of only seven perfect scorers. The Chief Justice said the law on whether retest was needed or not was based on settled principles of law. The Supreme Court demanded the NTA make a “full disclosure”. It said the time had come for the Centre and the NTA to use whatever technology, common sense and knowledge of law to identify the wrongdoers. The court ordered the NTA to file a reply before July 11, the next date of hearing, on pointed questions from the Bench, including when and where the leaks were noticed first; the manner in which the questions were leaked and disseminated; the duration between the conduct of the leak and actual conduct of the exam on May 5; the steps taken so far to identify the beneficiaries of the leak; the modalities followed to identify these candidates; the number of students identified as beneficiaries. The court sought details on the status of the counselling process. It further directed the CBI, which was handed over the investigation into the NEET case, to file a status report and the material which had come to light in the course of the probe. “The Investigating Officer has to detail the modalities through which the leak happened,” the court specified. The Centre too has to file a detailed response on steps taken to protect the sanctity of the NEET. “Consider setting up a multi-disciplinary committee to oversee measures to obviate future problems. The Union and the NTA have to see if it is feasible to use data analytics by forensic labs to identify suspect cases. If this is possible, they have to identify the modalities to segregate the tainted from the innocents,” the court directed. The government-appointed committee chaired by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Radhakrishnan was also asked to give full details of the work done so far. The court said it would examine if the panel required to be “sufficiently enhanced” to bring in more talent. The court said it would consider on July 11 if the entire comprehensive results, except that of candidates under scanner, could be published. Four soldiers killed, six injured as terrorists ambush Army vehicle in J&K’s Kathua Four Army soldiers were killed and six were injured in an ambush by militants in Kathua’s Badnota village on July 8 afternoon. The terrorists have been engaged in a major firefight with the Army after the attack. Preliminary reports suggested that an Army patrol, comprising light and heavy vehicles, came under fire from two directions when the convoy reached Jenda Nallah of Badnota village, which is 124 k.m. away from Kathua town. The incident took place around 3:30 p.m. The patrolling vehicles were from the Army’s 9 Corps (Rising Star Corps). The militants, whose number is not immediately known, mounted the attack at a place which has a hilltop on one side and a steep slope on the other side. Initial reports suggested the attackers came down from the hilltop side. One truck bore the brunt of the militants’ fire. Officials said the terrorists were engaged in a firefight following the attack. Reinforcements have been rushed to the encounter site “to ensure the militants do not flee from the encounter site”. The critically injured soldiers were shifted to the Kathua hospital. A few were treated at a local health centre. It is the fourth militancy-related incident in the past 48 hours in Jammu & Kashmir. Hemant Soren wins trust vote, inducts 11 Ministers into Cabinet Eleven Cabinet Ministers were inducted into the Cabinet of Chief Minister Hemant Soren soon after he won the floor test in the Jharkhand Assembly with 45 votes on Monday. The Ministers include six from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), four from the Congress and one from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to them. The JMM Ministers are Champai Soren, Baidyanath Ram, Deepak Biruwa, Mithilesh Kumar Thakur, Hafizul Hasan and Baby Devi, whereas the Congress Ministers are Rameshwar Oraon, Banna Gupta, Irfan Ansari and Deepika Pandey Singh. The lone RJD MLA Satyanand Bhokta has been inducted into the Cabinet. Irfan Ansari and Deepika Pandey Singh are first-time Ministers. Irfan Ansari’s name was making the rounds from the Congress ever since Alamgir Alam was sent to jail in a commission scam. Badal Patralekh of the Congress has been dropped from the Cabinet. With an eye on the Assembly elections due later this year, Soren has given a strong message by dropping his younger brother Basant Soren, who was earlier part of the Cabinet, and kept his wife Kalpana Murmu Soren, first-time MLA, aside so that the Opposition does not blame him of doing family politics. In the Cabinet, he has given balanced representation to all the castes — be it tribal, Muslims or Other Backward Classes (OBC). In the past 10 years, it is for the first time that any Chief Minister has used its full strength in the Cabinet. As per the rules, there can be maximum 12 Cabinet Ministers, including Chief Minister. Earlier in the day, the Hemant Soren government won the trust vote on the floor of the Assembly. Forty-five Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance legislators voted for the motion and there were zero votes against the motion after the Opposition walked out and did not take part in the voting. Hemant Soren moved the motion on which debate was held. During the debate, Hemant Soren lashed out at the opposition BJP, accusing it of misusing the Central agencies. Soren was recently granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court in the alleged land scam case. As soon as Hemant Soren started his speech, BJP MLAs shouted slogans and accused him of “murdering the Constitution”. The BJP MLAs interrupted him during his speech, by rushing into the well of the House. “In the next Assembly election, even half of the BJP MLAs shouting today will not reach the Assembly. They use Central agencies and hatch conspiracy against those who oppose them. They are the ones who used money power and operation lotus for horse-trading,” said Hemant Soren. Stereotyping differently-abled persons in films, visual media perpetuate discrimination, says Supreme Court A Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud held on July 8 that stereotyping differently-abled persons in visual media and films perpetuate discrimination and creators ought to provide an accurate representation of disabilities rather than mocking or mythifying them. The judgment, described as “path-breaking” by Justice J.B. Pardiwala on the Bench, denounced the use of words like ‘cripple’, ‘spastic’, etc, which stigmatise disabled persons. The Supreme Court judgment came on a petition filed by activist Nipun Malhotra challenging the alleged insensitive portrayal of differently-abled individuals in the film ‘Aankh Micholi,’ produced by Sony Pictures. The Court held that the legal framework stressed on the prevention of stigmatisation and discrimination, recognising their profound impact on the dignity and identity of persons with disabilities. However, it said, the historically oppressive representation of differently-abled persons continues. Persons with disabilities are used to provide comic relief. Jokes are made at their expense. There is a historical use of humour to mock disability, the Chief Justice, who authored the judgment, noted. Chief Justice Chandrachud drew attention to how films and visual media tend to perpetuate myths about disabilities. The court noted how persons with certain disabilities are portrayed as “super-cripples”. “This stereotype implies that disabled persons have extraordinary heroic abilities like enhanced spatial sense… this may not apply to everyone. It also may imply that those who do not have such superpowers are less than normal or ideal,” the Chief Justice highlighted. The judgment highlighted how the modern social model treats disabilities quite differently from the medical model. The latter view disability as a personal tragedy. The court said the medical model has become obsolete. It embraced the social model’s view that stereotypes and mockery of disabilities comes from the “lack of familiarity” with a disability. “This lack arises from inadequate representation and participation of persons with disabilities in the dominant discourse,” the Chief Justice read out excerpts from the judgment. The court also struck a balance by saying that not all speech that entrenches stereotypes was against individual dignity. One should consider the context, intention and overall meaning before arriving at a conclusion whether remarks made on visual media or films were disparaging. To aid this endeavour, Chief Justice Chandrachud distinguished between ‘disabling humour’ and ‘disability humour’. The judgment said disabling humour demeans persons with disabilities while disability humour tries to better understand and explain a disability. Issuing a series of guidelines creators of films and visual media content ought to hear in mind, the Supreme Court said their language of discourse should be inclusive rather than alienating. “Insensitive language is contrary to the dignity of persons with disabilities… Language which disparages disabled persons, marginalises them further and supplements the disabling barriers to their social participation is problematic… Such language impairs the objective societal treatment of the affected group by the society,” Chief Justice Chandrachud explained. The court discouraged the use of words like ‘cripple’, ‘spastic’ which devaluate meanings in societal perception of persons with disabilities. The court frowned upon terms like ‘afflicted’, ‘the suffering’ and ‘victim’. “They contribute to the negative self-image,” Chief Justice Chandrachud pointed out. The court said creators of films and visual media content must search for an accurate representation of a medical condition as much as possible. Misleading portrayals may perpetuate misinformation about a condition. Further visual media ought to strive to depict the diverse realities of persons with disabilities, showcasing not only their challenges but also their successes, talents and contributions to society. The court advised authorities to involve persons with disabilities as major stakeholders on statutory committees while taking decisions to protect their rights, especially under the Cinematograph Rules. The court reminded the government that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities require authorities to take in the “lived experiences” of the group concerned. ‘Haste to take soil from near godman’s feet caused stampede’: Hathras eyewitness A week after 121 people lost their lives during a religious gathering in Hathras, an eyewitness to the incident has claimed that the attempt by a large number of devotees to collect “Baba’s Charan Dhul” [soil from the feet of the godman] led to the stampede. Sudhir Pratap Singh from Mughalgarhi village said, “The incident happened after ‘Baba’ announced that devotees should take soil from around his feet. The devotees rushed to collect the soil in a hurry but started falling over and piling up. Baba’s convoy left from the spot amid the stampede. Only locals and administration helped the devotees who were present there.” The Uttar Pradesh Judicial Commission team recorded statements of several eyewitnesses in the Hathras stampede case. Meanwhile, the godman’s advocate AP Singh claimed that the mishap was caused after some unidentified men sprayed poison during the event. Singh claimed that the group of conspirators fled the venue after causing the stampede. “The stampede incident at the Satsang was not an accident but a conspiracy,” the lawyer said. “Unidentified men were carrying poisonous sprays. They ran while spraying the poisonous spray and it looked like a part of a pre-planned conspiracy. Many people lost their consciousness. I urge the Special Investigation Team to investigate those behind this incident,” Singh said. The incident took place at a religious ‘Satsang’ event of self-styled godman Suraj Pal, alias ‘Bhole Baba’, in Fulari village, Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, on July 2. Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused in the Hathras stampede incident, was sent to 14 days of judicial custody after being produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Saturday. The court inquired if he had written permission for the event and from whom it was obtained. Mr. Madhukar replied that he received permission from the SDM for a gathering of 80,000 people. When asked if the event was publicised, Madhukar denied doing so. Sharing of Google location PIN in return for bail violates privacy: Supreme Court The Supreme Court on July 8 held that requiring an accused to share his or her Google location PIN with the investigating officer to facilitate tracking of movement is a violation of the right to privacy. A Bench of Justices A.S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said a condition for bail should not defeat the very purpose of grant of bail. “There cannot be a bail condition defeating the purpose of bail. We have said Google PIN cannot be a condition. The police cannot peep into the private life of an accused on bail,” the apex court observed during the pronouncement of judgment. The verdict came in an appeal filed by a Nigerian national, Frank Vitus, who is an accused in a drugs case, challenging a Delhi High Court order of 2022, mandating him to share his Google Map location with the probe officer as a condition for his bail. The apex court had earlier asked Google for its assistance to understand the technology better and test it on the threshold of fundamental rights. In October 2023, Justice Oka’s Bench had dealt with a similar question of law in a separate case which involved allegations of money-laundering. In that, the Delhi High Court, again, had granted bail to Raman Bhuraria, an auditor. One of the bail conditions was for Bhuraria to “drop a Google pin location from his mobile phone to the Investigating Officer concerned, which shall be kept operational throughout his bail.” He had been arrested in connection with a money-laundering probe arising from an alleged ₹3,269 crore financial irregularity case against Shakti Bhog Foods Limited. Rahul Gandhi visits relief camps in Manipur, talks to ethnic violence victims Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited relief camps in Manipur’s Jiribam and Churachandpur districts and interacted with the inmates. People displaced by the ethnic violence in the northeastern State, which claimed over 200 lives since May last year, are staying in those relief camps. Gandhi, who is accompanied by senior Congress leaders, is visiting Manipur for the first time after the Congress won both Lok Sabha seats in the state. “His third visit to Manipur post-violence shows his unwavering commitment to the people’s cause,” the Congress said in a post on X. Gandhi first visited Manipur weeks after ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 last year. He also began his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ from the state in January 2024. The former Congress president first visited a relief camp set up at Jiribam Higher Secondary School. State Congress president Keisham Meghachandra told reporters that the inmates at Jiribam told Gandhi about the experiences they went through. “He also enquired about what they need. One girl told Gandhi that neither the Prime Minister nor the chief minister had come to visit them. She also urged Gandhi to place the matter in Parliament,” Meghachandra said. People came out in thousands to greet Gandhi in Jiribam and many of them wept while talking to him, the state Congress president said. From Jiribam, Gandhi came to Imphal airport via Silchar in Assam and reached by road a relief camp in Tuibong village in Churachandpur district. There also he interacted with inmates. “Rahul Gandhi’s visit aims at providing support to people and to assess the situation on the ground. His visit reflects the party’s commitment to address the concerns of those affected by the recent violence,” Meghachandra said. He is also scheduled to call on Governor Anusuiya Uikey in Imphal before returning. Ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki communities since May last year claimed more than 200 lives in Manipur. In Brief:2024 could be world’s hottest year as June breaks records Last month was the hottest June on record, the EU’s climate change monitoring service said on July 8, continuing a streak of exceptional temperatures that some scientists said puts 2024 on track to be the world’s hottest recorded year. Every month since June 2023 — 13 months in a row — has ranked as the planet’s hottest since records began, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin. Two dead, over 130 injured during Rath Yatra in Odisha At least two persons died and over 130 were injured in two different incidents during Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra in Odisha, officials said on July 8. A resident of Bolangir district died allegedly due to suffocation in a stampede-like situation on Sunday during the Rath Yatra in Puri, a health official said. “When we put him in the ambulance, his pulse was running. We took him to the hospital and gave him CPR. However, doctors declared him brought dead,” said Sushant Kumar Patnaik, assistant commandant of St John ambulance service. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 08 July 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 in its entirety is an ‘extreme last resort’, says Supreme Court The Supreme Court on July 8 said the [cancellation of the undergraduate National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2024 in its entirety was an “extreme last resort”]( as it affected the lives of over 23 lakh students who wrote the prestigious exam for medical admissions across the country. However, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud concluded that the fact that questions were leaked, and the [sanctity of the exam was compromised]( was “beyond question”. The three-judge Bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, chastised the Union government and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam, to come out of the “self-denial” and aid the court in finding out the extent of the leak. Chief Justice Chandrachud said it was vital to know the nature and extent of the leak to decide if the NEET-UG 2024, held on May 5, ought to be cancelled. The court is examining if there is any possibility to segregate the wrongdoers to spare students the trauma of a retest. But petitioners who are seeking a re-test, represented by advocates Mathew Nedumpara and Charu Mathur, argued that credibility of the exam was lost. They said it was not possible to bifurcate the frauds from the innocents. The fraud was conducted at a systemic level. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, said the leaks were an instance of local malpractice. He countered the “unprecedented” phenomenon of 67 candidates scoring perfect 720/720, saying the top 100 candidates were distributed among 95 sectors, in 56 cities spread out in 18 States and Union Territories. The NTA argued that the NEET syllabus in 2024 was comparatively easier than the previous four years when there was a total of only seven perfect scorers. The Chief Justice said the law on whether retest was needed or not was based on settled principles of law. The Supreme Court demanded the NTA make a “full disclosure”. It said the time had come for the Centre and the NTA to use whatever technology, common sense and knowledge of law to identify the wrongdoers. The court ordered the NTA to file a reply before July 11, the next date of hearing, on pointed questions from the Bench, including when and where the leaks were noticed first; the manner in which the questions were leaked and disseminated; the duration between the conduct of the leak and actual conduct of the exam on May 5; the steps taken so far to identify the beneficiaries of the leak; the modalities followed to identify these candidates; the number of students identified as beneficiaries. The court sought details on the status of the counselling process. It further directed the CBI, which was handed over the investigation into the NEET case, to file a status report and the material which had come to light in the course of the probe. “The Investigating Officer has to detail the modalities through which the leak happened,” the court specified. The Centre too has to file a detailed response on steps taken to protect the sanctity of the NEET. “Consider setting up a multi-disciplinary committee to oversee measures to obviate future problems. The Union and the NTA have to see if it is feasible to use data analytics by forensic labs to identify suspect cases. If this is possible, they have to identify the modalities to segregate the tainted from the innocents,” the court directed. The government-appointed committee chaired by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Radhakrishnan was also asked to give full details of the work done so far. The court said it would examine if the panel required to be “sufficiently enhanced” to bring in more talent. The court said it would consider on July 11 if the entire comprehensive results, except that of candidates under scanner, could be published. Four soldiers killed, six injured as terrorists ambush Army vehicle in J&K’s Kathua [Four Army soldiers were killed and six were injured in an ambush]( by militants in Kathua’s Badnota village on July 8 afternoon. The terrorists have been engaged in a major firefight with the Army after the attack. Preliminary reports suggested that an Army patrol, comprising light and heavy vehicles, came under fire from two directions when the convoy reached Jenda Nallah of Badnota village, which is 124 k.m. away from Kathua town. The incident took place around 3:30 p.m. The patrolling vehicles were from the Army’s 9 Corps (Rising Star Corps). The militants, whose number is not immediately known, mounted the attack at a place which has a hilltop on one side and a steep slope on the other side. Initial reports suggested the attackers came down from the hilltop side. One truck bore the brunt of the militants’ fire. Officials said the terrorists were engaged in a firefight following the attack. Reinforcements have been rushed to the encounter site “to ensure the militants do not flee from the encounter site”. The critically injured soldiers were shifted to the Kathua hospital. A few were treated at a local health centre. It is the fourth militancy-related incident in the past 48 hours in Jammu & Kashmir. Hemant Soren wins trust vote, inducts 11 Ministers into Cabinet [Eleven Cabinet Ministers were inducted into the Cabinet of Chief Minister Hemant Soren]( soon after he won the floor test in the Jharkhand Assembly with 45 votes on Monday. The Ministers include six from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), four from the Congress and one from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to them. The JMM Ministers are Champai Soren, Baidyanath Ram, Deepak Biruwa, Mithilesh Kumar Thakur, Hafizul Hasan and Baby Devi, whereas the Congress Ministers are Rameshwar Oraon, Banna Gupta, Irfan Ansari and Deepika Pandey Singh. The lone RJD MLA Satyanand Bhokta has been inducted into the Cabinet. Irfan Ansari and Deepika Pandey Singh are first-time Ministers. Irfan Ansari’s name was making the rounds from the Congress ever since Alamgir Alam was sent to jail in a commission scam. Badal Patralekh of the Congress has been dropped from the Cabinet. With an eye on the Assembly elections due later this year, Soren has given a strong message by dropping his younger brother Basant Soren, who was earlier part of the Cabinet, and kept his wife Kalpana Murmu Soren, first-time MLA, aside so that the Opposition does not blame him of doing family politics. In the Cabinet, he has given balanced representation to all the castes — be it tribal, Muslims or Other Backward Classes (OBC). In the past 10 years, it is for the first time that any Chief Minister has used its full strength in the Cabinet. As per the rules, there can be maximum 12 Cabinet Ministers, including Chief Minister. Earlier in the day, the Hemant Soren government won the trust vote on the floor of the Assembly. Forty-five Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance legislators voted for the motion and there were zero votes against the motion after the Opposition walked out and did not take part in the voting. Hemant Soren moved the motion on which debate was held. During the debate, Hemant Soren lashed out at the opposition BJP, accusing it of misusing the Central agencies. Soren was recently granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court in the alleged land scam case. As soon as Hemant Soren started his speech, BJP MLAs shouted slogans and accused him of “murdering the Constitution”. The BJP MLAs interrupted him during his speech, by rushing into the well of the House. “In the next Assembly election, even half of the BJP MLAs shouting today will not reach the Assembly. They use Central agencies and hatch conspiracy against those who oppose them. They are the ones who used money power and operation lotus for horse-trading,” said Hemant Soren. Stereotyping differently-abled persons in films, visual media perpetuate discrimination, says Supreme Court A Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud held on July 8 that [stereotyping differently-abled persons in visual media and films perpetuate discrimination]( and creators ought to provide an accurate representation of disabilities rather than mocking or mythifying them. The judgment, described as “path-breaking” by Justice J.B. Pardiwala on the Bench, denounced the use of words like ‘cripple’, ‘spastic’, etc, which stigmatise disabled persons. The Supreme Court judgment came on a petition filed by activist Nipun Malhotra challenging the alleged insensitive portrayal of differently-abled individuals in the film ‘Aankh Micholi,’ produced by Sony Pictures. The Court held that the legal framework stressed on the prevention of stigmatisation and discrimination, recognising their profound impact on the dignity and identity of persons with disabilities. However, it said, the historically oppressive representation of differently-abled persons continues. Persons with disabilities are used to provide comic relief. Jokes are made at their expense. There is a historical use of humour to mock disability, the Chief Justice, who authored the judgment, noted. Chief Justice Chandrachud drew attention to how films and visual media tend to perpetuate myths about disabilities. The court noted how persons with certain disabilities are portrayed as “super-cripples”. “This stereotype implies that disabled persons have extraordinary heroic abilities like enhanced spatial sense… this may not apply to everyone. It also may imply that those who do not have such superpowers are less than normal or ideal,” the Chief Justice highlighted. The judgment highlighted how the modern social model treats disabilities quite differently from the medical model. The latter view disability as a personal tragedy. The court said the medical model has become obsolete. It embraced the social model’s view that stereotypes and mockery of disabilities comes from the “lack of familiarity” with a disability. “This lack arises from inadequate representation and participation of persons with disabilities in the dominant discourse,” the Chief Justice read out excerpts from the judgment. The court also struck a balance by saying that not all speech that entrenches stereotypes was against individual dignity. One should consider the context, intention and overall meaning before arriving at a conclusion whether remarks made on visual media or films were disparaging. To aid this endeavour, Chief Justice Chandrachud distinguished between ‘disabling humour’ and ‘disability humour’. The judgment said disabling humour demeans persons with disabilities while disability humour tries to better understand and explain a disability. Issuing a series of guidelines creators of films and visual media content ought to hear in mind, the Supreme Court said their language of discourse should be inclusive rather than alienating. “Insensitive language is contrary to the dignity of persons with disabilities… Language which disparages disabled persons, marginalises them further and supplements the disabling barriers to their social participation is problematic… Such language impairs the objective societal treatment of the affected group by the society,” Chief Justice Chandrachud explained. The court discouraged the use of words like ‘cripple’, ‘spastic’ which devaluate meanings in societal perception of persons with disabilities. The court frowned upon terms like ‘afflicted’, ‘the suffering’ and ‘victim’. “They contribute to the negative self-image,” Chief Justice Chandrachud pointed out. The court said creators of films and visual media content must search for an accurate representation of a medical condition as much as possible. Misleading portrayals may perpetuate misinformation about a condition. Further visual media ought to strive to depict the diverse realities of persons with disabilities, showcasing not only their challenges but also their successes, talents and contributions to society. The court advised authorities to involve persons with disabilities as major stakeholders on statutory committees while taking decisions to protect their rights, especially under the Cinematograph Rules. The court reminded the government that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities require authorities to take in the “lived experiences” of the group concerned. ‘Haste to take soil from near godman’s feet caused stampede’: Hathras eyewitness A week after 121 people lost their lives during a religious gathering in Hathras, an eyewitness to the incident has claimed that the [attempt by a large number of devotees to collect “Baba’s Charan Dhul” [soil from the feet of the godman] led to the stampede](. Sudhir Pratap Singh from Mughalgarhi village said, “The incident happened after ‘Baba’ announced that devotees should take soil from around his feet. The devotees rushed to collect the soil in a hurry but started falling over and piling up. Baba’s convoy left from the spot amid the stampede. Only locals and administration helped the devotees who were present there.” The Uttar Pradesh Judicial Commission team recorded statements of several eyewitnesses in the Hathras stampede case. Meanwhile, the godman’s advocate AP Singh claimed that the mishap was caused after some unidentified men sprayed poison during the event. Singh claimed that the group of conspirators fled the venue after causing the stampede. “The stampede incident at the Satsang was not an accident but a conspiracy,” the lawyer said. “Unidentified men were carrying poisonous sprays. They ran while spraying the poisonous spray and it looked like a part of a pre-planned conspiracy. Many people lost their consciousness. I urge the Special Investigation Team to investigate those behind this incident,” Singh said. The incident took place at a religious ‘Satsang’ event of self-styled godman Suraj Pal, alias ‘Bhole Baba’, in Fulari village, Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, on July 2. Devprakash Madhukar, the main accused in the Hathras stampede incident, was sent to 14 days of judicial custody after being produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Saturday. The court inquired if he had written permission for the event and from whom it was obtained. Mr. Madhukar replied that he received permission from the SDM for a gathering of 80,000 people. When asked if the event was publicised, Madhukar denied doing so. Sharing of Google location PIN in return for bail violates privacy: Supreme Court The Supreme Court on July 8 held that [requiring an accused to share his or her Google location PIN with the investigating officer to facilitate tracking of movement is a violation]( of the right to privacy. A Bench of Justices A.S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said a condition for bail should not defeat the very purpose of grant of bail. “There cannot be a bail condition defeating the purpose of bail. We have said Google PIN cannot be a condition. The police cannot peep into the private life of an accused on bail,” the apex court observed during the pronouncement of judgment. The verdict came in an appeal filed by a Nigerian national, Frank Vitus, who is an accused in a drugs case, challenging a Delhi High Court order of 2022, mandating him to share his Google Map location with the probe officer as a condition for his bail. The apex court had earlier asked Google for its assistance to understand the technology better and test it on the threshold of fundamental rights. In October 2023, Justice Oka’s Bench had dealt with a similar question of law in a separate case which involved allegations of money-laundering. In that, the Delhi High Court, again, had granted bail to Raman Bhuraria, an auditor. One of the bail conditions was for Bhuraria to “drop a Google pin location from his mobile phone to the Investigating Officer concerned, which shall be kept operational throughout his bail.” He had been arrested in connection with a money-laundering probe arising from an alleged ₹3,269 crore financial irregularity case against Shakti Bhog Foods Limited. Rahul Gandhi visits relief camps in Manipur, talks to ethnic violence victims Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha [Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited relief camps in Manipur]( Jiribam and Churachandpur districts and interacted with the inmates. People displaced by the ethnic violence in the northeastern State, which claimed over 200 lives since May last year, are staying in those relief camps. Gandhi, who is accompanied by senior Congress leaders, is visiting Manipur for the first time after the Congress won both Lok Sabha seats in the state. “His third visit to Manipur post-violence shows his unwavering commitment to the people’s cause,” the Congress said in a post on X. Gandhi first visited Manipur weeks after ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 last year. He also began his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ from the state in January 2024. The former Congress president first visited a relief camp set up at Jiribam Higher Secondary School. State Congress president Keisham Meghachandra told reporters that the inmates at Jiribam told Gandhi about the experiences they went through. “He also enquired about what they need. One girl told Gandhi that neither the Prime Minister nor the chief minister had come to visit them. She also urged Gandhi to place the matter in Parliament,” Meghachandra said. People came out in thousands to greet Gandhi in Jiribam and many of them wept while talking to him, the state Congress president said. From Jiribam, Gandhi came to Imphal airport via Silchar in Assam and reached by road a relief camp in Tuibong village in Churachandpur district. There also he interacted with inmates. “Rahul Gandhi’s visit aims at providing support to people and to assess the situation on the ground. His visit reflects the party’s commitment to address the concerns of those affected by the recent violence,” Meghachandra said. He is also scheduled to call on Governor Anusuiya Uikey in Imphal before returning. Ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki communities since May last year claimed more than 200 lives in Manipur. In Brief: 2024 could be world’s hottest year as June breaks records Last month was the [hottest June on record]( the EU’s climate change monitoring service said on July 8, continuing a streak of exceptional temperatures that some scientists said puts 2024 on track to be the world’s hottest recorded year. Every month since June 2023 — 13 months in a row — has ranked as the planet’s hottest since records began, compared with the corresponding month in previous years, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said in a monthly bulletin. Two dead, over 130 injured during Rath Yatra in Odisha At least [two persons died and over 130 were injured]( in two different incidents during Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra in Odisha, officials said on July 8. A resident of Bolangir district died allegedly due to suffocation in a stampede-like situation on Sunday during the Rath Yatra in Puri, a health official said. “When we put him in the ambulance, his pulse was running. We took him to the hospital and gave him CPR. However, doctors declared him brought dead,” said Sushant Kumar Patnaik, assistant commandant of St John ambulance service. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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