The Evening Wrap: Violence at ‘March to Nabanna’, BJP calls Bengal bandh

Police on August 27 lathi-charged and used water cannons and tear gas to disperse agitators at Howrah Bridge’s Kolkata end and near Santragachhi Railway station on Kona Expressway as protesters attempted to break through police barricades in an effort to reach the State secretariat, Nabanna. At Santragachhi, agitators threw bricks at police, injuring several officers, while protesters claimed that police action also injured several students. The protesters were attempting to reach the State secretariat to demand the removal of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the rape-murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College. Police said they began lathicharging and tear gassing after the agitators managed to breach the barricades at some locations and attacked the security personnel. Trouble escalated when the student organisation, ‘Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj’, and the dissident State government employees’ platform ‘Sangrami Joutha Mancha’ began their ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ rally from various points. Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari alleged that police resorted to “brutal repression” on the peaceful participants and threatened to stall West Bengal if the “brutalities” by State administration was not stopped. “Police is using water cannon on peaceful protestors at Santragachi, burst tear gas shells on the students at Howrah Bridge, lathicharged them at College Street. Please stop these brutalities immediately,” the senior BJP leader told reporters. The BJP has called for a 12-hour general strike in West Bengal on August 28 to protest against the police action on those who took part in the march to state secretariat Nabbana on Tuesday. “We are forced to give the call for a general strike as this autocratic regime is turning a deaf ear to the voices of people, the demand for justice for the deceased doctor’s sister. Instead of justice, Mamata Banerjee’s police are turning on the peace-loving people of the state, who only wanted a safe and secure environment for women,” BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said. The West Bengal government urged people not to participate in BJP’s 12-hour general strike on August 28, asserting that the administration will ensure normal life is not affected due to the bandh. “The government will not allow any bandh on Wednesday. We urge people not to participate in it. All steps shall be taken to ensure that normal life is unaffected,” said Alapan Bandopadhyay, the chief advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Mohanlal steps down as AMMA president, executive committee dissolved amid growing sexual harassment allegations in Malayalam cinema industry The executive committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) was on August 27 dissolved amid growing allegations of sexual assault and misbehaviour raised by women against its members. All the 17 members of the committee, including president and senior actor Mohanlal, have submitted their resignation after an emergency online meeting of the actors’ body decided that the committee should be disbanded as allegations of sexual abuse and misbehaviour have been raised against its members, including the office-bearers. The new executive committee was elected in June 2024 and it had a tenure up to 2027. Actor Joy Mathew told The Hindu that the committee decided unanimously to resign following serious allegations of sexual harassment levelled against members, including those in the executive committee. But the existing committee will continue as an ad hoc arrangement to ensure that AMMA’s welfare measures for its members are not disrupted. Actor Siddique, who was general secretary of the association, had resigned on Sunday following allegations of sexual assault levelled by actress Revathy Sampath. The committee decided to step down owning moral responsibility for the developments that emerged after the release of the K. Hema Committee report that probed the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. There were rumblings of discontent within the association as a few actors, including Prithviraj had demanded that those who were facing allegations of sexual assault must step down from their posts. A new executive committee is expected to be formed within two months after the convening of a general body election. The daily affairs of the association will be managed by an ad-hoc committee. Besides Mohanlal, those who submitted the resignations included actors Jagadish and R. Jayan (vice-presidents). Actors Unni Mukundan and Baburaj were the treasurer and joint secretary respectively and the executive committee members included actors Kalabhavan Shajon, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Joy Mathew, Suresh Krishna, Tini Tom, Ananya, Vinu Mohan, Tovino Thomas, Sarayu Mohan and Anseeba. Misleading ads: Supreme Court stays Ayush Ministry’s notification on Drugs, Cosmetic Rules The Supreme Court has stayed a notification issued by the Ministry of Ayush, which omitted rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 that prohibits misleading advertisements of Ayurvedic, Siddha, and Unani drugs. A Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta said the notification issued by the ministry was in the teeth of its May 7, 2024 order. Clamping down on misleading advertisements, the Supreme Court on May 7, 2024 had directed that before an advertisement is permitted to be issued, a self-declaration be obtained from the advertisers on the line of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. “Instead of withdrawing the letter dated August 29, 2023, for reasons best known to the ministry, the notification dated July 1 to omit Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, has been issued which runs contrary to directions issued by this court...”, the bench has mentioned. “Till further orders, effect of the notification dated omitting shall stand stayed,” the bench said. Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, submitted that he will file an affidavit clarifying the position. The Centre had earlier defended its August 2023, letter to states and Union territories asking authorities not to initiate action against any entity for violating Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules. “It is respectfully submitted that as the process of final gazette notification will take further time, in order to avoid confusion among the various State/UT SLAs (state licensing authorities) and to prevent avoidable litigations, Ministry of Ayush vide letter dated August 29, 2023 directed all state/UTs licensing authorities not to take any action under Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 as the final notification is under process,” the Centre had said in its affidavit. The Supreme court had in May questioned the Centre over an August 29, 2023 letter by the Ministry of Ayush asking the licensing authorities not to initiate or take any action under rule 170 of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. The bench had told Nataraj that the ministry shall “forthwith” withdraw the August 29 last year letter. The Supreme court is hearing a plea filed in 2022 by the Indian Medical Association alleging a smear campaign by Patanjali and yoga guru Ramdev against the Covid vaccination drive and modern systems of medicine. Supreme Court grants bail to Kavitha, orally comments on ‘fairness of investigation’ into excise policy case The Supreme Court on August 27 ordered Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K. Kavitha’s release on bail “forthwith” in the politically-charged Delhi liquor policy case, which saw high-profile arrests like that of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal just days ahead of the general election in 2024. Though a bail hearing, oral comments made by the judges managed to cast a shadow over the fairness of the probe, conducted by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case. A Bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan accused the Central agencies of following a “pick and choose” policy on who to be dropped and whom to be made accused. The court was referring to the prosecution’s move to make Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, currently an MP of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner Telugu Desam Party, only a witness in the case while his son, Raghav Magunta Reddy turned from an accused into an approver. “This is a sorry state of affairs. If he has a role, his role is almost equal to that of Kavitha… According to you, the first meeting was with Kejriwal… Kejriwal tells that Kavitha is also interested, so you coordinate with her. Everything was finalised at his residence… Yet, he is not made an accused. He is a witness,” Justice Gavai remarked orally in the hearing. The court asked if the prosecution had been fair in the excise policy case. “You cannot pick and choose. A person who incriminates himself is a witness… So you pick anyone you choose and leave anyone you choose as an accused,” Justice Gavai asked Additional Solicitor-General S.V. Raju, appearing for the investigative agencies. But the court’s oral comments were not recorded in the formal dictation of the order after Mr. Raju raised the apprehension that they may influence the trial in future. The top court found it fantastic that the Delhi High Court had refused bail to Ms. Kavitha on July 1 for the reason that she was an “educated, sophisticated woman”. Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 makes it less arduous for persons under 16 years of age, women and the sick and infirm to get bail. But the Single Judge of the Delhi High Court had not found Kavitha “vulnerable” enough to get the “special treatment”, leaving her no option but to appeal to the apex court for bail. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for Kavitha, argued she had already spent five months in jail as an undertrial. Her custody was not required anymore as the ED and the CBI had both filed their separate chargesheets. The trial had 493 witnesses and there were 50,000 pages of documents. It would be impossible to complete the trial in the near future, he said. “The process should not become a punishment by itself for an undertrial,” Rohatgi submitted, urging for bail. Rohatgi argued that the only evidence against Ms. Kavitha, who is the daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, was statements given by accused-turned-approvers. “The only evidence they have is tainted… The same people had given statements before they had turned approvers. In those statements, they did not take the name of Kejriwal or Manish Sisodia [former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister who recently got bail in the case from the apex court]. After they turned approvers, they changed their statements to say Kejriwal, Sisodia, Kavitha are all kingpins…” Rohatgi submitted. Justice Gavai remarked orally that these same statements were considered by the Supreme Court while granting bail to Kejriwal recently in the ED case. The Chief Minister’s plea for bail in the CBI case linked to the excise policy is currently pending in the Supreme Court and coming up for hearing next week before another Bench led by Justice Surya Kant. Setting aside the Delhi High Court’s dismissal of her bail, the Supreme Court ordered the BRS leader to be released forthwith in both the ED and CBI cases forthwith after furnishing bail bonds of ₹10 lakh in each of the two cases. The court laid down conditions for bail, including that she would regularly attend the trial, and cooperate with the expeditious disposal of the case. Further, the apex court cautioned her against tampering with the evidence or trying to influence the witnesses. Telegram issue: IT Ministry asks MHA to check on status, violations in Indian context In light of Telegram Chief Pavel Durov’s arrest in Paris for offences related to his messaging app, IT Ministry has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs for an update on where things stand in the Indian context and if there are any violations here as well, sources said. An email query sent to IT Ministry on the issue elicited no immediate reply. Sources, meanwhile, said, “In light of what has happened in France, IT Ministry has asked Ministry of Home Affairs to check on complaints pending against Telegram and what action can be taken.” They pointed out that IT Ministry is not an investigating agency in this regard, and that even CERT-In under the Ministry focuses on cybersecurity offences not cybercrimes per se. “The basic question here is are there any complaints, is there similar situation in India, and what is the status, and what action is required,” according to sources. Asked if Telegram, being a messaging app, can cite safe harbour clause, sources said in that case they will have to collaborate with law enforcement agencies, provide information where needed and assist with any investigation. Telegram’s founder and CEO was detained at Paris airport on an arrest warrant alleging his platform was used for offences like money laundering and drug trafficking. A dual citizen of France and Russia, Durov, 39, was taken into custody at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday after landing in France from Azerbaijan, as per reports. Supreme Court notice to Gujarat on Sanjiv Bhatt’s plea against conviction in custodial death case The Supreme Court on August 27 sought the Gujarat government’s response on former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s plea against his conviction in a 1990 custodial death case in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. “Issue notice returnable in four weeks,” a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B Varale said. The court also tagged the appeal with other matters related to the case. Bhatt has moved the top court challenging the Gujarat High Court’s January 9, 2024 order dismissing his appeal. The court also upheld the conviction of Bhatt and co-accused Pravinsinh Zala under Sections 302 (murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The high court had dismissed the State government’s appeal seeking to enhance the sentences of five other accused who were acquitted of murder but convicted under Sections 323 and 506. While Bhatt and Zala are behind bars, the court cancelled the bail bonds of the five other accused who are out of jail. “We have also gone through the reasoning recorded by the trial court while convicting the concerned accused persons for offences punishable under section 302 of the IPC,” the division bench said while reading out the order. “From the evidence based on record, we are of the opinion that the trial court has rightly convicted (five) accused...for offences punishable under Sections 323,” the judges had said. Bhatt and Zala, both police officers, were convicted for murder by the sessions court in Jamnagar on June 20, 2019. On October 30, 1990, then additional superintendent of police Bhatt detained around 150 people following a communal riot in Jamjodhpur town following a ‘bandh’ call against the halting of BJP leader L.K. Advani’s ‘rath yatra’ for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Prabhudas Vaishnani, one of the detained persons, died in hospital after his release. Vaishnani’s brother accused Bhatt and six other police officials of torturing him in custody and causing his death. Bhatt was arrested on September 5, 2018, in another case where he is accused of falsely implicating a man for drug possession. The trial in the case is underway. He is also an accused in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots cases along with activist Teesta Setalvad and former Gujarat director general of police R.B. Sreekumar. Bhatt had also hit the headlines when he filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court alleging then chief minister Narendra Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The allegations were debunked by a special investigation team. In Brief: Former Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana Dushyant Chautala and Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan announced on August 27 that their parties have formed an alliance for the upcoming Haryana Assembly Elections. This announcement came while the two were addressing a joint press conference in Delhi regarding the coming Assembly Election of Haryana. Out of the 90 seats, Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party will contest 70 seats in Haryana while Azad’s Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) will be contesting for 20 seats. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 27 August 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]( Kolkata Nabanna protest: Police lathi-charge, use tear gas, water cannons to protesters; BJP calls for general strike in Bengal [Police on August 27 lathi-charged and used water cannons and tear gas to disperse agitators]( at Howrah Bridge’s Kolkata end and near Santragachhi Railway station on Kona Expressway as protesters attempted to break through police barricades in an effort to reach the State secretariat, Nabanna. At Santragachhi, agitators threw bricks at police, injuring several officers, while protesters claimed that police action also injured several students. The protesters were attempting to reach the State secretariat to demand the removal of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the rape-murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College. Police said they began lathicharging and tear gassing after the agitators managed to breach the barricades at some locations and attacked the security personnel. Trouble escalated when the student organisation, ‘Paschim Banga Chhatra Samaj’, and the dissident State government employees’ platform ‘Sangrami Joutha Mancha’ began their ‘Nabanna Abhijan’ rally from various points. Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari alleged that police resorted to “brutal repression” on the peaceful participants and threatened to stall West Bengal if the “brutalities” by State administration was not stopped. “Police is using water cannon on peaceful protestors at Santragachi, burst tear gas shells on the students at Howrah Bridge, lathicharged them at College Street. Please stop these brutalities immediately,” the senior BJP leader told reporters. The BJP has called for a 12-hour general strike in West Bengal on August 28 to protest against the police action on those who took part in the march to state secretariat Nabbana on Tuesday. “We are forced to give the call for a general strike as this autocratic regime is turning a deaf ear to the voices of people, the demand for justice for the deceased doctor’s sister. Instead of justice, Mamata Banerjee’s police are turning on the peace-loving people of the state, who only wanted a safe and secure environment for women,” BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said. The West Bengal government urged people not to participate in BJP’s 12-hour general strike on August 28, asserting that the administration will ensure normal life is not affected due to the bandh. “The government will not allow any bandh on Wednesday. We urge people not to participate in it. All steps shall be taken to ensure that normal life is unaffected,” said Alapan Bandopadhyay, the chief advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Mohanlal steps down as AMMA president, executive committee dissolved amid growing sexual harassment allegations in Malayalam cinema industry The [executive committee of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) was on August 27 dissolved]( amid growing allegations of sexual assault and misbehaviour raised by women against its members. All the 17 members of the committee, including president and senior actor Mohanlal, have submitted their resignation after an emergency online meeting of the actors’ body decided that the committee should be disbanded as allegations of sexual abuse and misbehaviour have been raised against its members, including the office-bearers. The new executive committee was elected in June 2024 and it had a tenure up to 2027. Actor Joy Mathew told The Hindu that the committee decided unanimously to resign following serious allegations of sexual harassment levelled against members, including those in the executive committee. But the existing committee will continue as an ad hoc arrangement to ensure that AMMA’s welfare measures for its members are not disrupted. Actor Siddique, who was general secretary of the association, had resigned on Sunday following allegations of sexual assault levelled by actress Revathy Sampath. The committee decided to step down owning moral responsibility for the developments that emerged after the release of the K. Hema Committee report that probed the problems faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. There were rumblings of discontent within the association as a few actors, including Prithviraj had demanded that those who were facing allegations of sexual assault must step down from their posts. A new executive committee is expected to be formed within two months after the convening of a general body election. The daily affairs of the association will be managed by an ad-hoc committee. Besides Mohanlal, those who submitted the resignations included actors Jagadish and R. Jayan (vice-presidents). Actors Unni Mukundan and Baburaj were the treasurer and joint secretary respectively and the executive committee members included actors Kalabhavan Shajon, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Joy Mathew, Suresh Krishna, Tini Tom, Ananya, Vinu Mohan, Tovino Thomas, Sarayu Mohan and Anseeba. Misleading ads: Supreme Court stays Ayush Ministry’s notification on Drugs, Cosmetic Rules The Supreme Court has [stayed a notification issued by the Ministry of Ayush]( which omitted rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 that prohibits misleading advertisements of Ayurvedic, Siddha, and Unani drugs. A Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Sandeep Mehta said the notification issued by the ministry was in the teeth of its May 7, 2024 order. Clamping down on misleading advertisements, the Supreme Court on May 7, 2024 had directed that before an advertisement is permitted to be issued, a self-declaration be obtained from the advertisers on the line of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. “Instead of withdrawing the letter dated August 29, 2023, for reasons best known to the ministry, the notification dated July 1 to omit Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, has been issued which runs contrary to directions issued by this court...”, the bench has mentioned. “Till further orders, effect of the notification dated omitting shall stand stayed,” the bench said. Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, submitted that he will file an affidavit clarifying the position. The Centre had earlier defended its August 2023, letter to states and Union territories asking authorities not to initiate action against any entity for violating Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules. “It is respectfully submitted that as the process of final gazette notification will take further time, in order to avoid confusion among the various State/UT SLAs (state licensing authorities) and to prevent avoidable litigations, Ministry of Ayush vide letter dated August 29, 2023 directed all state/UTs licensing authorities not to take any action under Rule 170 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 as the final notification is under process,” the Centre had said in its affidavit. The Supreme court had in May questioned the Centre over an August 29, 2023 letter by the Ministry of Ayush asking the licensing authorities not to initiate or take any action under rule 170 of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. The bench had told Nataraj that the ministry shall “forthwith” withdraw the August 29 last year letter. The Supreme court is hearing a plea filed in 2022 by the Indian Medical Association alleging a smear campaign by Patanjali and yoga guru Ramdev against the Covid vaccination drive and modern systems of medicine. Supreme Court grants bail to Kavitha, orally comments on ‘fairness of investigation’ into excise policy case The Supreme Court on August 27 ordered Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader [K. Kavitha’s release on bail]( “forthwith” in the politically-charged Delhi liquor policy case, which saw high-profile arrests like that of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal just days ahead of the general election in 2024. Though a bail hearing, oral comments made by the judges managed to cast a shadow over the fairness of the probe, conducted by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case. A Bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan accused the Central agencies of following a “pick and choose” policy on who to be dropped and whom to be made accused. The court was referring to the prosecution’s move to make Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, currently an MP of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner Telugu Desam Party, only a witness in the case while his son, Raghav Magunta Reddy turned from an accused into an approver. “This is a sorry state of affairs. If he has a role, his role is almost equal to that of Kavitha… According to you, the first meeting was with Kejriwal… Kejriwal tells that Kavitha is also interested, so you coordinate with her. Everything was finalised at his residence… Yet, he is not made an accused. He is a witness,” Justice Gavai remarked orally in the hearing. The court asked if the prosecution had been fair in the excise policy case. “You cannot pick and choose. A person who incriminates himself is a witness… So you pick anyone you choose and leave anyone you choose as an accused,” Justice Gavai asked Additional Solicitor-General S.V. Raju, appearing for the investigative agencies. But the court’s oral comments were not recorded in the formal dictation of the order after Mr. Raju raised the apprehension that they may influence the trial in future. The top court found it fantastic that the Delhi High Court had refused bail to Ms. Kavitha on July 1 for the reason that she was an “educated, sophisticated woman”. Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 makes it less arduous for persons under 16 years of age, women and the sick and infirm to get bail. But the Single Judge of the Delhi High Court had not found Kavitha “vulnerable” enough to get the “special treatment”, leaving her no option but to appeal to the apex court for bail. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for Kavitha, argued she had already spent five months in jail as an undertrial. Her custody was not required anymore as the ED and the CBI had both filed their separate chargesheets. The trial had 493 witnesses and there were 50,000 pages of documents. It would be impossible to complete the trial in the near future, he said. “The process should not become a punishment by itself for an undertrial,” Rohatgi submitted, urging for bail. Rohatgi argued that the only evidence against Ms. Kavitha, who is the daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, was statements given by accused-turned-approvers. “The only evidence they have is tainted… The same people had given statements before they had turned approvers. In those statements, they did not take the name of Kejriwal or Manish Sisodia [former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister who recently got bail in the case from the apex court]. After they turned approvers, they changed their statements to say Kejriwal, Sisodia, Kavitha are all kingpins…” Rohatgi submitted. Justice Gavai remarked orally that these same statements were considered by the Supreme Court while granting bail to Kejriwal recently in the ED case. The Chief Minister’s plea for bail in the CBI case linked to the excise policy is currently pending in the Supreme Court and coming up for hearing next week before another Bench led by Justice Surya Kant. Setting aside the Delhi High Court’s dismissal of her bail, the Supreme Court ordered the BRS leader to be released forthwith in both the ED and CBI cases forthwith after furnishing bail bonds of ₹10 lakh in each of the two cases. The court laid down conditions for bail, including that she would regularly attend the trial, and cooperate with the expeditious disposal of the case. Further, the apex court cautioned her against tampering with the evidence or trying to influence the witnesses. Telegram issue: IT Ministry asks MHA to check on status, violations in Indian context In light of Telegram Chief Pavel Durov’s arrest in Paris for offences related to his messaging app, IT Ministry has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs for an [update on where things stand in the Indian context]( and if there are any violations here as well, sources said. An email query sent to IT Ministry on the issue elicited no immediate reply. Sources, meanwhile, said, “In light of what has happened in France, IT Ministry has asked Ministry of Home Affairs to check on complaints pending against Telegram and what action can be taken.” They pointed out that IT Ministry is not an investigating agency in this regard, and that even CERT-In under the Ministry focuses on cybersecurity offences not cybercrimes per se. “The basic question here is are there any complaints, is there similar situation in India, and what is the status, and what action is required,” according to sources. Asked if Telegram, being a messaging app, can cite safe harbour clause, sources said in that case they will have to collaborate with law enforcement agencies, provide information where needed and assist with any investigation. Telegram’s founder and CEO was detained at Paris airport on an arrest warrant alleging his platform was used for offences like money laundering and drug trafficking. A dual citizen of France and Russia, Durov, 39, was taken into custody at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday after landing in France from Azerbaijan, as per reports. Supreme Court notice to Gujarat on Sanjiv Bhatt’s plea against conviction in custodial death case The Supreme Court on August 27 [sought the Gujarat government’s response]( on former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s plea against his conviction in a 1990 custodial death case in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. “Issue notice returnable in four weeks,” a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B Varale said. The court also tagged the appeal with other matters related to the case. Bhatt has moved the top court challenging the Gujarat High Court’s January 9, 2024 order dismissing his appeal. The court also upheld the conviction of Bhatt and co-accused Pravinsinh Zala under Sections 302 (murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The high court had dismissed the State government’s appeal seeking to enhance the sentences of five other accused who were acquitted of murder but convicted under Sections 323 and 506. While Bhatt and Zala are behind bars, the court cancelled the bail bonds of the five other accused who are out of jail. “We have also gone through the reasoning recorded by the trial court while convicting the concerned accused persons for offences punishable under section 302 of the IPC,” the division bench said while reading out the order. “From the evidence based on record, we are of the opinion that the trial court has rightly convicted (five) accused...for offences punishable under Sections 323,” the judges had said. Bhatt and Zala, both police officers, were convicted for murder by the sessions court in Jamnagar on June 20, 2019. On October 30, 1990, then additional superintendent of police Bhatt detained around 150 people following a communal riot in Jamjodhpur town following a ‘bandh’ call against the halting of BJP leader L.K. Advani’s ‘rath yatra’ for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. Prabhudas Vaishnani, one of the detained persons, died in hospital after his release. Vaishnani’s brother accused Bhatt and six other police officials of torturing him in custody and causing his death. Bhatt was arrested on September 5, 2018, in another case where he is accused of falsely implicating a man for drug possession. The trial in the case is underway. He is also an accused in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots cases along with activist Teesta Setalvad and former Gujarat director general of police R.B. Sreekumar. Bhatt had also hit the headlines when he filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court alleging then chief minister Narendra Modi’s role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The allegations were debunked by a special investigation team. In Brief: Former Deputy Chief Minister of [Haryana Dushyant Chautala and Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan]( announced on August 27 that their parties have formed an alliance for the upcoming Haryana Assembly Elections. This announcement came while the two were addressing a joint press conference in Delhi regarding the coming Assembly Election of Haryana. Out of the 90 seats, Chautala’s Jannayak Janta Party will contest 70 seats in Haryana while Azad’s Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) will be contesting for 20 seats. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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