The Evening Wrap: 18 killed in Nepal plane crash; pilot lone survivor

At least 18 passengers, including a Yemeni national, and a child, were killed after a domestic plane with 19 people on board slipped off the runway and crashed on July 24 while trying to take off from the airport serving Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. There were 19 people onboard the plane, which was headed to Pokhara, a tourist destination which is a 25-minute flight from Kathmandu. The plane was preparing to take off from the southern end of the runway (Runway 02). According to eyewitnesses, the plane suddenly slipped and fell into a gorge on the eastern side of the runway as it caught fire. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said in a statement that bodies of 18 people were recovered and that the lone survivor was rescued and being treated. All passengers onboard were company staff, according to the passenger manifest. All were Nepali nationals except one. This is the worst plane accident in Nepal in 18 months, since its domestic aviation disaster on January 15 last year when a Yeti Airlines plane from Kathmandu crashed a few minutes before landing at the newly-built Pokhara International Airport, killing all 72 people onboard, including the crew. The previous year in May, 22 people died when a Tara Air plane en route from Pokhara to the tourist destination of Jomsom slammed into a mountain. Besides 16 Nepalis, including three crew, there were four Indian and two German nationals in the plane. Wednesday’s crash is the 105th in Nepal since the country recorded its first air disaster in August 1955. According to Nepal’s civil aviation authority, 914 people had died in air disasters until 18 people perished in the latest Saurya Airlines fatal crash. Wednesday’s crash once again has brought to the fore the oft-asked question about Nepal’s poor air safety record due to which the European Commission (EC) has imposed a ban on Nepali airlines in European skies for more than a decade. The EC and the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) have repeatedly called on Nepali authorities to split CAAN so that there would be a clear distinction between two entities — one as the operator and the other as regulator. Currently, CAAN functions as both. But to split the civil aviation body, new laws are required. Amid repeated calls from the EC and ICAO, the Nepal government on February 23, 2020 had registered two bills in Parliament. They were passed by the Upper House on August 2, 2021, but the successive governments and ministers despite their promises to get the bills through the lower house have shown little interest in doing so. The EC imposed a blanket ban on Nepali airlines from flying into the 28-nation bloc following a Sita Air plane crash in September 2012 near Kathmandu airport, minutes after takeoff. All 19 people onboard, including seven British citizens, died. An already concerned EC then banned Nepali airlines from entering Europe, saying not much was being done to improve the air safety standards despite repeated incidents of air crashes. According to Saurya Airlines’ website, it operates flights to five destinations with a fleet of three Bombardier CRJ-200 jets. Flights that were suspended from the Kathmandu airport after the crash have resumed. Rahul Gandhi briefs MPs on party line for Budget debate Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (July 24) told 20 Congress MPs, who are slated to speak in the debate on Union Budget, to ensure that in their speech rather than lamenting the funds allocated to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, they should highlight the States that have been ignored. This was the first such meeting Gandhi had with his colleagues after taking over as the Leader of the Opposition. In his 10-minute short chat with the members, according to sources, Gandhi asked them to maintain a careful balance between raising the regional concerns and the party’s national line. This budget is a “kursi bachao” (save the chair) exercise and the speeches must reflect that, Gandhi is learnt to have told the members. “What Andhra Pradesh or Bihar got is not your issue, what the other States were deprived of, is the real problem. We are a national party and must behave like one,” Gandhi reportedly said at the meeting. Gandhi also met a delegation of farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. “We will have a discussion with INDIA bloc leaders and will put pressure on the government to ensure that the farmers get a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price [MSP],” Gandhi told reporters after the meeting. Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal, former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Congress leaders Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Dharamvir Gandhi, Amar Singh, Deepender Singh Hooda and Jai Prakash were also present at the meeting. The delegation comprised 12 farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Budget 2024: Opposition walks out of Rajya Sabha over ‘neglect’ of States; Nirmala Sitharaman hits back The INDIA bloc parties, led by the Congress, staged a walkout from the Rajya Sabha on July 24, in protest against all States, except two, being “ignored” in the Union Budget, an allegation termed “outrageous” by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who said all the States never found a mention in any of the previous Budgets, including those presented by the Congress. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Sonia Gandhi, Congress President and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, party General Secretary K. C. Venugopal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC MP Dola Sen were seen participating in the protest. After Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar rejected notices under Rule 267 that called for the suspension of the listed agenda to take up the issue, Leader of Opposition and Congress president Kharge said the Union Budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year provided funds and schemes for only two States — Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. He said, “All other States did not find any mention,” terming the Budget a “kursi-bachao” document. Kharge said the Congress and the other parties in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) “condemn” this discrimination. As Dhankhar gave the Finance Minster floor to respond, Kharge led the Opposition bloc out of the House, saying they were walking out in protest. As the MPs belonging to the Opposition parties returned to the House, the Finance Minister said the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had raised questions on July 23 about nothing being given to West Bengal in the Budget, but the fact is that several schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last 10 years have not been implemented in the State. Her statement was met with vociferous opposition from the TMC members, who said the BJP-led Centre owes ₹1 lakh crore to West Bengal. Dhankhar said 20 hours have been allocated for a discussion on the General Budget and the MPs as well as the Finance Minister will get adequate time to raise issues and respond accordingly. In the Rajya Sabha, Kharge said that barring the States ruled by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies, several major States, including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, have received nothing in the Budget. “I will not go into the argument of 267. In the Budget that was presented yesterday, nobody got anything. Sabke thali khali aur do ke thali mai pakoda aur jalebi. Yeh do States chor kar kuch nahi mila kuch. Neither Tamil Nadu, Kerala nor Karnataka got anything. Neither Maharashtra nor Punjab or Rajasthan and neither Chhattisgarh. Even Delhi did not receive anything nor did Odisha. I have not seen this kind of Budget until now. This Budget has been presented only to keep some people happy and it has all been done save their chairs, Kursi bachane ke liye’ kiya gaya. We condemn this Budget and protest against it. Meri toh apeksha aaise thi ki sabse jayada budget se hamai (Karnataka) ko milega. But we got nothing. All the INDIA alliance parties will protest. From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, we will protest,” Kharge said. Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankar interrupted and said, “Let Union Finance Minister speak,” to which Kharge said, “Mataji bolne mai toh expert hai mujhe maloom hai (she is expert in speaking, I am aware of that)”. Dhankar further interrupted the two leaders and said, “Yeh mataji nahi yeh toh aapki beti ke barabar hai.” Kharge further said, “I condemn all this. In the States where the Opposition parties have been elected and you have been neglected, you have not provided anything to them in the Budget. How will development happen if there is no balance? I condemn this and all the parties condemn this type of attitude.” After Kharge walked out of Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankar said that democracy will be seriously threatened if disruption and disturbance are weaponised as a political strategy. The Finance Minister lashed out at the Opposition’s claim that the Budget was ‘discriminatory’ and said that it was an ‘outrageous allegation’ and a deliberate attempt by the Opposition parties led by the Congress to give the people the wrong impression that their States were not allocated funds or schemes. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the FM said, “It is unfortunate that the Opposition, particularly senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge, stood up to say what he heard of the Budget yesterday. Now that the Leader of the Opposition raised issues on the Budget, which was presented and tabled in the house yesterday. Just to the point he raised, I have not named many States and only spoken of two States. There are a few points I would like to make here as to what happens in a speech. The Congress party has been in power for a very long time in this country and they have presented so many Budgets that they would know clearly that in every Budget, you don’t get an opportunity to name every state of this country,” she said. The Finance Minister said she did not name many States either in the Interim Budget presented in February, ahead of the general election or in the full Budget tabled in Parliament on July 23, but that does not mean that government schemes are not working for the States. She cited the example of Maharashtra, which was not named in either of the Budgets, and said that did not prevent the Union Cabinet from approving the ₹76,000-crore Vadhavan port project in Dahanu in the State last month. “Did Maharashtra get ignored because I did not mention the name of Maharashtra? (An amount of) ₹76,000 crore has been announced for that project,” she said. Sitharaman said she can cite several other States that have got major projects. “If the speech does not mention the name of a particular State, does it mean that the schemes of the Government of India, the programmes of the Government of India, the externally-aided assistance, which we obtain from the World Bank, ADB, AIIB and institutions such as these do not go to these States? They go as per a routine,” she said. No wrongdoing found in issuance of locomotor disability certificate to Puja Khedkar: Hospital authorities A civic hospital near Pune, which had issued a 7% locomotor disability certificate to IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, has found in its internal probe that the document was as per the rules and there was no wrongdoing in its issuance, a senior official said on July 24. The Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital, run by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) near Pune city, had issued the certificate to Khedkar in August 2022. Khedkar faces an allegation of using fraudulent means, including allegedly manipulating the physical disability and Other Backward Classes (OBC) quotas to clear the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination. The authenticity of various certificates submitted by her to the UPSC is being probed. She applied for disability certification about her left limb knee joint back in 2022. She visited here for medical examinations and was assessed by multiple departments. The certificate, issued on August 24, 2022, stated that she had 7% disability in the knee, officials earlier said. YCM’s dean Dr. Rajendra Wable had sought a report from the internal speciality orthopaedic and physiotherapy department of the hospital following a communication from the district collectorate that asked the civic-run facility to conduct an inquiry if there was any wrongdoing in the issuance of the disability certificate to Khedkar. The district authorities also directed it to lodge a police complaint if any wrongdoing was found. It also ordered that penal action be taken if any racket was found involved in it. Dr. Wable said, “Last week, we received this communication from the Pune collector office, following which we sought a report from the internal speciality orthopaedic and physiotherapy department of the hospital. As per the report submitted by it on Monday, the locomotor disability certificate of seven per cent was issued to Khedkar as per the rules. But the certificate would not be of any help in obtaining any facility either in education or jobs. That certificate is of no significance,” he said. As per the investigation, no one was found guilty of any wrongdoing, Dr. Wable added. Khedkar had earlier submitted two certificates, provided by the Ahmednagar District Civil Hospital in 2018 and 2021 for visual impairment and mental illness respectively, to the UPSC under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) category. The 2023-batch IAS officer, who was a probationary assistant collector at the Pune district collectorate, was transferred to Washim from Pune earlier this month amid allegations that she misrepresented herself under the physical disabilities category. During her stint in Pune, she allegedly misused power and privileges by demanding perks and facilities she was not entitled for. She is also accused of availing the OBC and non-creamy layer quota in the UPSC. The commission has issued a show-cause notice for cancellation of her candidature of the civil services examination-2022 and debarment from future examinations and selections. The Centre has directed the Pune police to apprise it of the marital status of Khedkar’s parents amid allegations that she fraudulently availed of the OBC non-creamy layer benefit in the UPSC exam by claiming that they were divorced. Dhruv Rathee summoned by Delhi court in defamation case filed by BJP spokesperson Saket Court of Delhi has issued a summon to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and others on a defamation suit filed by Suresh Karamshi Nakhua, a spokesperson of the BJP Mumbai unit for allegedly referring to him as a violent and abusive troll. The District Judge Gunjan Gupta in an order passed on July 19, 2024, issued summons of the suit and notice of the application u/o 39 Rule 1 and 2 CPC to the Dhruv Rathee and Social media intermediaries for 06.08.2024. Advocates Raghav Awasthi with Mukesh Sharma appeared for the plaintiff in the matter. According to the suit on 07.07.2024, Dhruv Rathee uploaded a video from his YouTube channel titled “My Reply to Godi Youtubers | Elvish Yadav | Dhruv Rathee”. As of the date of filing of the captioned case, the said video got 2,41,85,609 views and more than 2.3 million likes. Plaintiff Suresh Karamshi Nakhua stated that Dhruv Rathee claimed that Prime Minister Modi had hosted violent and abusive trolls like Ankit Jain, Suresh Nakhua, and Tajinder Bagga at his official residence. The video in question has received over 24 million views and more than 2.3 million likes. The suit further submitted that since in the video violent tendencies are attributed to the plaintiff for no rhyme or reason ostensibly about the Prime Minister, who is one of the followers of the plaintiff, it is clear that the said video tends to bring down the plaintiff in the estimation of ordinary people. Supreme Court to examine the right of an accused to be forgotten after acquittal in criminal case The Supreme Court agreed on July 24 to examine an issue related to the right to be forgotten of an accused who seeks removal of judgments containing names from the public domain, saying this will have “serious ramifications”. A bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud also stayed a judgment of the Madras High Court that had asked a law portal to remove a verdict that had acquitted a man in a rape case from its website. “The judgments are part of public records and the orders for their removal by the courts will have serious ramifications,” the CJI said. The bench said assuming that a person is acquitted, “How can the High Court direct him (the law portal) to pull down the judgment? Once the judgment is delivered, it becomes part of the public record”. The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by the India Kanoon portal against a Madras High Court order that had asked it to remove the judgment from its website. The high court’s decision had come on a plea of one Karthick Theodore. In Brief: C.T. Kurien, distinguished economist and former professor of Madras Christian College, is no more. He died due to age-related ailments at 11 pm on July 23, 2024. He was 93. Prof. Kurian had got his Master’s degree in Economics from Madras Christian College in 1953. He had pursued economics as a major field of study in college with the hope that through the study of economics he would be able to understand the causes of poverty and contribute to its eradication. He authored 15 books on various aspects of economics, and served as president of Indian Economic Association in 2000. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 24 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]( Nepal plane crash: Yemeni national, child onboard among 18 killed at Kathmandu airport; pilot is lone survivor [At least 18 passengers, including a Yemeni national, and a child, were killed]( after a [domestic plane with 19 people on board slipped off the runway and crashed]( on July 24 while trying to take off from the airport serving Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. There were 19 people onboard the plane, which was headed to Pokhara, a tourist destination which is a 25-minute flight from Kathmandu. The plane was preparing to take off from the southern end of the runway (Runway 02). According to eyewitnesses, the plane suddenly slipped and fell into a gorge on the eastern side of the runway as it caught fire. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said in a statement that bodies of 18 people were recovered and that the lone survivor was rescued and being treated. All passengers onboard were company staff, according to the passenger manifest. All were Nepali nationals except one. This is the worst plane accident in Nepal in 18 months, since its domestic aviation disaster on January 15 last year when a Yeti Airlines plane from Kathmandu crashed a few minutes before landing at the newly-built Pokhara International Airport, killing all 72 people onboard, including the crew. The previous year in May, 22 people died when a Tara Air plane en route from Pokhara to the tourist destination of Jomsom slammed into a mountain. Besides 16 Nepalis, including three crew, there were four Indian and two German nationals in the plane. Wednesday’s crash is the 105th in Nepal since the country recorded its first air disaster in August 1955. According to Nepal’s civil aviation authority, 914 people had died in air disasters until 18 people perished in the latest Saurya Airlines fatal crash. Wednesday’s crash once again has brought to the fore the oft-asked question about Nepal’s poor air safety record due to which the European Commission (EC) has imposed a ban on Nepali airlines in European skies for more than a decade. The EC and the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) have repeatedly called on Nepali authorities to split CAAN so that there would be a clear distinction between two entities — one as the operator and the other as regulator. Currently, CAAN functions as both. But to split the civil aviation body, new laws are required. Amid repeated calls from the EC and ICAO, the Nepal government on February 23, 2020 had registered two bills in Parliament. They were passed by the Upper House on August 2, 2021, but the successive governments and ministers despite their promises to get the bills through the lower house have shown little interest in doing so. The EC imposed a blanket ban on Nepali airlines from flying into the 28-nation bloc following a Sita Air plane crash in September 2012 near Kathmandu airport, minutes after takeoff. All 19 people onboard, including seven British citizens, died. An already concerned EC then banned Nepali airlines from entering Europe, saying not much was being done to improve the air safety standards despite repeated incidents of air crashes. According to Saurya Airlines’ website, it operates flights to five destinations with a fleet of three Bombardier CRJ-200 jets. Flights that were suspended from the Kathmandu airport after the crash have resumed. Rahul Gandhi briefs MPs on party line for Budget debate Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha [Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (July 24) told 20 Congress MPs]( who are slated to speak in the debate on Union Budget, to ensure that in their speech rather than lamenting the funds allocated to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, they should highlight the States that have been ignored. This was the first such meeting Gandhi had with his colleagues after taking over as the Leader of the Opposition. In his 10-minute short chat with the members, according to sources, Gandhi asked them to maintain a careful balance between raising the regional concerns and the party’s national line. This budget is a “kursi bachao” (save the chair) exercise and the speeches must reflect that, Gandhi is learnt to have told the members. “What Andhra Pradesh or Bihar got is not your issue, what the other States were deprived of, is the real problem. We are a national party and must behave like one,” Gandhi reportedly said at the meeting. Gandhi also met a delegation of farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. “We will have a discussion with INDIA bloc leaders and will put pressure on the government to ensure that the farmers get a legal guarantee for Minimum Support Price [MSP],” Gandhi told reporters after the meeting. Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal, former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Congress leaders Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Gurjeet Singh Aujla, Dharamvir Gandhi, Amar Singh, Deepender Singh Hooda and Jai Prakash were also present at the meeting. The delegation comprised 12 farmer leaders from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Budget 2024: Opposition walks out of Rajya Sabha over ‘neglect’ of States; Nirmala Sitharaman hits back The [INDIA bloc parties, led by the Congress, staged a walkout]( from the [Rajya Sabha]( on July 24, in protest against all States, except two, being “ignored” in the Union Budget, an allegation termed “outrageous” by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who said all the States never found a mention in any of the previous Budgets, including those presented by the Congress. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Sonia Gandhi, Congress President and Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, party General Secretary K. C. Venugopal, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC MP Dola Sen were seen participating in the protest. After Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar rejected notices under Rule 267 that called for the suspension of the listed agenda to take up the issue, Leader of Opposition and Congress president Kharge said the Union Budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year provided funds and schemes for only two States — Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. He said, “All other States did not find any mention,” terming the Budget a “kursi-bachao” document. Kharge said the Congress and the other parties in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) “condemn” this discrimination. As Dhankhar gave the Finance Minster floor to respond, Kharge led the Opposition bloc out of the House, saying they were walking out in protest. As the MPs belonging to the Opposition parties returned to the House, the Finance Minister said the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had raised questions on July 23 about nothing being given to West Bengal in the Budget, but the fact is that several schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last 10 years have not been implemented in the State. Her statement was met with vociferous opposition from the TMC members, who said the BJP-led Centre owes ₹1 lakh crore to West Bengal. Dhankhar said 20 hours have been allocated for a discussion on the General Budget and the MPs as well as the Finance Minister will get adequate time to raise issues and respond accordingly. In the Rajya Sabha, Kharge said that barring the States ruled by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies, several major States, including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, have received nothing in the Budget. “I will not go into the argument of 267. In the Budget that was presented yesterday, nobody got anything. Sabke thali khali aur do ke thali mai pakoda aur jalebi. Yeh do States chor kar kuch nahi mila kuch. Neither Tamil Nadu, Kerala nor Karnataka got anything. Neither Maharashtra nor Punjab or Rajasthan and neither Chhattisgarh. Even Delhi did not receive anything nor did Odisha. I have not seen this kind of Budget until now. This Budget has been presented only to keep some people happy and it has all been done save their chairs, Kursi bachane ke liye’ kiya gaya. We condemn this Budget and protest against it. Meri toh apeksha aaise thi ki sabse jayada budget se hamai (Karnataka) ko milega. But we got nothing. All the INDIA alliance parties will protest. From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, we will protest,” Kharge said. Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankar interrupted and said, “Let Union Finance Minister speak,” to which Kharge said, “Mataji bolne mai toh expert hai mujhe maloom hai (she is expert in speaking, I am aware of that)”. Dhankar further interrupted the two leaders and said, “Yeh mataji nahi yeh toh aapki beti ke barabar hai.” Kharge further said, “I condemn all this. In the States where the Opposition parties have been elected and you have been neglected, you have not provided anything to them in the Budget. How will development happen if there is no balance? I condemn this and all the parties condemn this type of attitude.” After Kharge walked out of Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankar said that democracy will be seriously threatened if disruption and disturbance are weaponised as a political strategy. The Finance Minister lashed out at the Opposition’s claim that the Budget was ‘discriminatory’ and said that it was an ‘outrageous allegation’ and a deliberate attempt by the Opposition parties led by the Congress to give the people the wrong impression that their States were not allocated funds or schemes. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the FM said, “It is unfortunate that the Opposition, particularly senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge, stood up to say what he heard of the Budget yesterday. Now that the Leader of the Opposition raised issues on the Budget, which was presented and tabled in the house yesterday. Just to the point he raised, I have not named many States and only spoken of two States. There are a few points I would like to make here as to what happens in a speech. The Congress party has been in power for a very long time in this country and they have presented so many Budgets that they would know clearly that in every Budget, you don’t get an opportunity to name every state of this country,” she said. The Finance Minister said she did not name many States either in the Interim Budget presented in February, ahead of the general election or in the full Budget tabled in Parliament on July 23, but that does not mean that government schemes are not working for the States. She cited the example of Maharashtra, which was not named in either of the Budgets, and said that did not prevent the Union Cabinet from approving the ₹76,000-crore Vadhavan port project in Dahanu in the State last month. “Did Maharashtra get ignored because I did not mention the name of Maharashtra? (An amount of) ₹76,000 crore has been announced for that project,” she said. Sitharaman said she can cite several other States that have got major projects. “If the speech does not mention the name of a particular State, does it mean that the schemes of the Government of India, the programmes of the Government of India, the externally-aided assistance, which we obtain from the World Bank, ADB, AIIB and institutions such as these do not go to these States? They go as per a routine,” she said. No wrongdoing found in issuance of locomotor disability certificate to Puja Khedkar: Hospital authorities A civic hospital near Pune, which had issued a 7% locomotor disability certificate to IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, [has found in its internal probe that the document was as per the rules and there was no wrongdoing]( in its issuance, a senior official said on July 24. The Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital, run by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) near Pune city, had issued the certificate to Khedkar in August 2022. Khedkar faces an allegation of using fraudulent means, including allegedly manipulating the physical disability and Other Backward Classes (OBC) quotas to clear the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination. The authenticity of various certificates submitted by her to the UPSC is being probed. She applied for disability certification about her left limb knee joint back in 2022. She visited here for medical examinations and was assessed by multiple departments. The certificate, issued on August 24, 2022, stated that she had 7% disability in the knee, officials earlier said. YCM’s dean Dr. Rajendra Wable had sought a report from the internal speciality orthopaedic and physiotherapy department of the hospital following a communication from the district collectorate that asked the civic-run facility to conduct an inquiry if there was any wrongdoing in the issuance of the disability certificate to Khedkar. The district authorities also directed it to lodge a police complaint if any wrongdoing was found. It also ordered that penal action be taken if any racket was found involved in it. Dr. Wable said, “Last week, we received this communication from the Pune collector office, following which we sought a report from the internal speciality orthopaedic and physiotherapy department of the hospital. As per the report submitted by it on Monday, the locomotor disability certificate of seven per cent was issued to Khedkar as per the rules. But the certificate would not be of any help in obtaining any facility either in education or jobs. That certificate is of no significance,” he said. As per the investigation, no one was found guilty of any wrongdoing, Dr. Wable added. Khedkar had earlier submitted two certificates, provided by the Ahmednagar District Civil Hospital in 2018 and 2021 for visual impairment and mental illness respectively, to the UPSC under the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) category. The 2023-batch IAS officer, who was a probationary assistant collector at the Pune district collectorate, was transferred to Washim from Pune earlier this month amid allegations that she misrepresented herself under the physical disabilities category. During her stint in Pune, she allegedly misused power and privileges by demanding perks and facilities she was not entitled for. She is also accused of availing the OBC and non-creamy layer quota in the UPSC. The commission has issued a show-cause notice for cancellation of her candidature of the civil services examination-2022 and debarment from future examinations and selections. The Centre has directed the Pune police to apprise it of the marital status of Khedkar’s parents amid allegations that she fraudulently availed of the OBC non-creamy layer benefit in the UPSC exam by claiming that they were divorced. Dhruv Rathee summoned by Delhi court in defamation case filed by BJP spokesperson Saket Court of Delhi has [issued a summon to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee]( and others on a defamation suit filed by Suresh Karamshi Nakhua, a spokesperson of the BJP Mumbai unit for allegedly referring to him as a violent and abusive troll. The District Judge Gunjan Gupta in an order passed on July 19, 2024, issued summons of the suit and notice of the application u/o 39 Rule 1 and 2 CPC to the Dhruv Rathee and Social media intermediaries for 06.08.2024. Advocates Raghav Awasthi with Mukesh Sharma appeared for the plaintiff in the matter. According to the suit on 07.07.2024, Dhruv Rathee uploaded a video from his YouTube channel titled “My Reply to Godi Youtubers | Elvish Yadav | Dhruv Rathee”. As of the date of filing of the captioned case, the said video got 2,41,85,609 views and more than 2.3 million likes. Plaintiff Suresh Karamshi Nakhua stated that Dhruv Rathee claimed that Prime Minister Modi had hosted violent and abusive trolls like Ankit Jain, Suresh Nakhua, and Tajinder Bagga at his official residence. The video in question has received over 24 million views and more than 2.3 million likes. The suit further submitted that since in the video violent tendencies are attributed to the plaintiff for no rhyme or reason ostensibly about the Prime Minister, who is one of the followers of the plaintiff, it is clear that the said video tends to bring down the plaintiff in the estimation of ordinary people. Supreme Court to examine the right of an accused to be forgotten after acquittal in criminal case The Supreme Court agreed on July 24 to [examine an issue related to the right to be forgotten of an accused]( who seeks removal of judgments containing names from the public domain, saying this will have “serious ramifications”. A bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud also stayed a judgment of the Madras High Court that had asked a law portal to remove a verdict that had acquitted a man in a rape case from its website. “The judgments are part of public records and the orders for their removal by the courts will have serious ramifications,” the CJI said. The bench said assuming that a person is acquitted, “How can the High Court direct him (the law portal) to pull down the judgment? Once the judgment is delivered, it becomes part of the public record”. The Supreme Court was hearing an appeal filed by the India Kanoon portal against a Madras High Court order that had asked it to remove the judgment from its website. The high court’s decision had come on a plea of one Karthick Theodore. In Brief: [C.T. Kurien, distinguished economist and former professor of Madras Christian College, is no more](. He died due to age-related ailments at 11 pm on July 23, 2024. He was 93. Prof. Kurian had got his Master’s degree in Economics from Madras Christian College in 1953. He had pursued economics as a major field of study in college with the hope that through the study of economics he would be able to understand the causes of poverty and contribute to its eradication. He authored 15 books on various aspects of economics, and served as president of Indian Economic Association in 2000. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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