The Evening Wrap: Karnataka High Court dismisses Siddaramaiah's plea in MUDA scam case

In a major setback to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday upheld the Governor’s action of granting permission to conduct an investigation against him on the allegation of illegalities in allotment of 14 sites worth ₹56 crore to his wife Parvathi by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). Also, the court gave the green signal for ordering a probe against him by vacating its interim order granted on August 19 directing a special court in Bengaluru to defer the decision on the complaints against Siddaramaiah. It also rejected a plea to stay Tuesday’s verdict to enable Siddaramaiah to appeal against it. Justice M. Nagaprasanna delivered the verdict while dismissing Siddaramaiah’s petition challenging the legality of the Governor’s August 16 order of granting approval for investigation under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988. Referring to the allegations, the court said it “undoubtedly requires an investigation into the teeth of the fact that the beneficiary of all these acts is not anybody outside, but the wife of Siddaramaiah.” On the Governor’s power, the High Court said the Governor, in the normal circumstances, had to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers as per Article 163 of the Constitution, “but can take independent decision in exceptional circumstances, and the present case is one such exception... No fault can be found in the action of the Governor exercising independent discretion.” Rejecting Siddaramaiah’s contention that the approval for investigation has to be taken only by the police officer and not by any private individuals, the court said “Section 17A nowhere requires a police officer to seek approval in a private complaint registered under Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure/Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, against a public servant for offences punishable under the provisions of the Act.” “It is the duty of the complainant to seek such approval” in case of a private complaint lodged before the competent courts, the court said. “The Gubernatorial order nowhere suffers from want of application of mind,” the High Court said, rejecting Siddaramaiah’s claim that the Governor had not applied his mind in granting permission for investigation. The court also made it clear that grant of an opportunity of hearing or issuing a show-cause notice prior to grant of approval for investigation under Section 17A is not mandatory. However, if the competent authority [Governor in this case] chooses to do so, it is open to it, the judge said. It was argued on behalf of Siddaramaiah that the Governor had issued notice to him only on the complaint filed by Abraham T.J, and not on the two other complaints, filed by Snehamayi Krishna and Pradeep Kumar S.P. The court also clarified that the Governor’s order is read to be restrictive to an approval for investigation under Section 17A and not an order granting sanction for prosecution under Section 218 of the BNSS as it was clarified on behalf of the Governor that order has to be contained only for investigation under Section 17A. ‘Don’t drag us into your agenda’: Supreme Court slams NCPCR over plea seeking SIT probe against missionaries The Supreme Court on Tuesday told NCPCR not to drag the apex court in its agenda over a plea seeking an SIT probe into cases of children allegedly sold by shelter homes in Jharkhand of the Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa. Slamming the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh dismissed the plea filed by the child rights body. It said the relief sought is vague and omnibus, and it cannot be considered. “Don’t drag the Supreme Court into your agenda. What kind of relief is sought in your petition? How can we pass such directions? The petition is totally misconstrued,” the bench told the lawyer appearing for the NCPCR. At the outset, the lawyer appearing for the NCPCR submitted that the plea has direction for an apex court-monitored time-bound investigation of all such organisations in Jharkhand to ensure protection of children. The top court said the NCPCR was empowered to conduct enquiry and take action in accordance with law under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005. The bench refused to entertain the petition and dismissed the plea. The NCPCR in its plea filed in 2020 had sought enforcement of fundamental rights of prohibition of trafficking in human beings guaranteed under Article 23 of the Constitution. It had said discrepancies have been found in children’s homes in various states and it has added them as parties in its plea. The plea had cited cases of child rights violation in Jharkhand and said the authorities in the state have adopted a callous approach to protect minors. “During course of inquiry by petitioner (NCPCR), shocking revelations were made by the victims which included the factum that the children were being sold in the children homes. These facts were emphatically brought to the notice of the State government (Jharkhand) but continuous attempts were made to sabotage and derail the inquiry,” the plea said. Centre moves Supreme Court for withdrawing CPRF security to Unnao rape survivor, Supreme Court seeks her reply The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the 2017 Unnao rape survivor and her family members on the Centre’s plea seeking withdrawal of CRPF security cover provided to them following the court’s order in 2019. Expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar is serving a life term for kidnapping and raping the minor girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao area in 2017. Taking note of the sensational rape case and the threat to lives of the survivor and others, the apex court on August 1, 2019, directed that the rape survivor, her mother, other members of the family and their lawyer be provided CRPF security. A Bench of Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma asked that the application of the Centre to be served on the victim and her family members. The Bench also observed that since there is hardly any threat perception, it would like to close the case. The Centre’s counsel said no security cover is needed according to the threat analysis of the victim and her family members. Advocate Ruchira Goel, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, submitted that everything, including the trial, was transferred to Delhi after the incident following the apex court’s order. The Bench asked Advocate Goel where the victim resides at present. She replied that the woman and her family stay in Delhi. On May 14, the top court had asked the Centre to file a separate application seeking withdrawal of CRPF security cover provided to the survivor, her family members and their lawyers. The Centre submitted that the security cover may be provided by either the Delhi or Uttar Pradesh police and the CRPF be permitted to withdraw. In 2019, the top court transferred all five cases registered in connection with the Unnao rape incident from a Lucknow court to a court in Delhi with the direction to hold trial on daily basis and complete it within 45 days. The Supreme Court also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide ₹25 lakh as interim compensation to the rape survivor. The court had added that the CBI will have to complete within seven days the investigation into the accident in which the survivor and her lawyer were critically injured and two of her aunts killed. Her father was arrested at the behest of Sengar in a case under the Arms Act and died in custody on April 9, 2018. Sengar has sought the quashing of the trial court’s December 2019 judgment that has sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his life. His appeal is pending in the Delhi High Court. On March 13, 2020, Sengar was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in the case of death of the woman’s father in custody. He was also slapped with a fine of ₹10 lakh. The court had awarded a 10-year jail term to Sengar’s brother Atul Singh Sengar and five others in the case. Supreme Court seeks report from Commission of Air Quality Management on stubble-burning The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a report from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on incidents of stubble-burning and action taken against these occurrences. Appearing before a Bench headed by Justice A.S. Oka, senior advocate Anitha Shenoy made an oral mention about reports of stubble-burning in the neighborhood of the national capital. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the CAQM and the government, said it would enquire and revert to the court. “Yes, we want answers. We will have it Friday,” Justice Oka observed. The court had held extensive hearings on stubble-burning and ways to stop the practice during the onset of winter. In November last year, the top court had directed the State governments of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi to ensure that stubble-burning was “forthwith” stopped as an immediate measure to protect the lives and health of people. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, one of the judges on the Bench which heard the stubble-burning case in 2023, had objected to the branding of farmers as villains who deliberately set their fields on fire. Justice Dhulia had said farmers were part of the solution and not the problem. The court had also cautioned States against reducing pollution into a “political game”. The case on stubble-burning coming up in the Supreme Court coincides with the Haryana Assembly election. “Pollution is not a political game where one State shifts the blame to another depending on the ruling political dispensation… This (pollution) is a murder of the health of the people. You see children in Delhi suffering from health issues... Time has come to do something yesterday, rather than postponing it. The problem requires immediate attention and monitoring, irrespective of whether the weather improves or not,” Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul (now retired), the lead judge on the Bench last year, had said. In fact, the series of hearings in 2023 had seen the CAQM report to the top court that it had advised State governments to establish an ecosystem and robust supply chain mechanism to boost ex-situ utilisation of paddy straw in boilers and furnaces of industrial units. Directions were issued to all 11 thermal power plants in NCR and adjoining areas within 300 km of Delhi for “ex-situ paddy straw management” through co-firing of biomass pellets/torrefied pellets (with a focus on paddy straw) in coal-based thermal power plants. Was jailed so BJP could project me as ‘thief’, but even my enemy believes I’m not corrupt: Kejriwal AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday stepped up his attack on the BJP-led Centre, alleging he was arrested as the ruling party wanted to project him as a “chor” (thief) but even his “fiercest enemy” believes he is not corrupt. The former Delhi Chief Minister held a roadshow in the Rania Assembly constituency in Haryana’s Sirsa in favour of Aam Aadmi Party nominee Harpinder Singh for the October 5 State Assembly polls. Kejriwal resigned as the Chief Minister of Delhi after being released from the Tihar Jail last week following his bail in the excise policy case by the Supreme Court. AAP leader Atishi later took oath as the Chief Minister of the national capital. Addressing a gathering during the roadshow, Kejriwal said he had to spend five-and-a-half months in the jail for no reason. “What was my fault? My fault is being the chief minister of Delhi for 10 years. I set up good government schools for children of the poor. Earlier, there were power cuts for 7-8 hours in Delhi. But, now there is round-the-clock electricity. My fault is that I made electricity free in Delhi and Punjab,” Kejriwal said. “My fault is that I started a free ‘tirath yatra’ for elderly people. So many works were carried out in Delhi and Punjab. No corrupt person could do these,” he said. Kejriwal said his government made electricity free in Delhi which involved a huge amount of money — “₹3,000 crore”. “Had I been a ‘chor’ [thief], I could have put ₹3,000 crore in my pocket,” he said. “I set up good schools for children of the poor. It involved expenditure. Had I been corrupt, I could have put it in my pocket,” he said. Attacking the BJP, he said electricity is quite costly in every state the party is in power. “Electricity is not free in Haryana, it is very costly. I want to ask you who is a ‘chor’ -- the one who makes electricity free or the one who makes electricity expensive.” Lashing out at the BJP, Kejriwal said, “Why did they put me in jail? I am honest. They want to tarnish my image of honesty. They want to say that Kejriwal is a ‘chor’ [thief] as he was jailed for five months.” But as he walked out of the jail, nobody was ready to accept that he is a ‘chor’, the AAP chief said. “Even my fiercest enemy says that Kejriwal can be anything but not corrupt. They tried to break me mentally and physically in jail. They stopped my medicines. I am diabetic. I have been taking insulin for 10 years. They stopped my insulin. I do not know what they wanted to do with me,” he said. The AAP leader said he came here to seek votes for his party in the October 5 Assembly polls. “I came here to seek votes. It is not for getting power. I came after leaving power. I resigned from the post of Delhi chief minister. In today’s era, nobody leaves even the post of a peon. Nobody sought my resignation,” he said. The AAP leader said he told the people of Delhi that they should not vote for him if they think he indulged in corruption. “If you feel that Kejriwal is honest then vote for me. If you give me a certificate of honesty, make me win, then I will sit in the chair of chief minister,” Kejriwal said he told the people of Delhi. The AAP chief said he does not have hunger for power. “Your son and brother made Haryana’s name popular in the country and the world. I set up governments in Punjab and Delhi. Give us a chance to serve Haryana. We will build schools and give free electricity in Haryana,” he said. “You will ask how you will do it. Are you going to form the government? My reply is whatever government is formed, it will not be without us,” he added. Last week while campaigning in Haryana, Kejriwal had claimed that the next government in Haryana cannot be formed without the support of his party even as he had targeted the BJP, claiming that the entire State wants ‘badlav’ [change] and people will oust the ruling party in the October 5 State Assembly polls. Israel-Hezbollah conflict: Lebanon says death toll in Israel’s strikes reaches 560 Lebanese health authorities on Tuesday raised the death toll from two days of Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah militants to 560. Palestinian officials in Gaza, meanwhile, said a new Israeli strike killed at least seven people in the southern city of Khan Younis. Israel’s military says it will do “whatever is necessary” to push Hezbollah away from Lebanon’s border with Israel. The two countries have been trading fire since the Israel-Hamas war began. On Monday, Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, killing nearly 500 people and wounding more than 1,600 others. Thousands of people fled southern Lebanon, jamming the main highway to Beirut in the biggest exodus since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. It’s a staggering one-day toll for a country still reeling from a deadly attack on communication devices the week before. Lebanon blamed the attacks on Israel, but Israel did not confirm or deny its responsibility. Hezbollah launched more than 100 projectiles toward Israel on Monday, the military said, reaching deep into Israel including around the northern city of Haifa and parts of the occupied West Bank. Most of the missiles were intercepted but two people were lightly injured from falling shrapnel in northern Israel. In Brief: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the complaints against Malayalam film industry personalities in the wake of the Hema Committee report on Tuesday recorded the arrest of actor-legislator M. Mukesh in a rape case registered against him by the Kochi City police. Mukesh turned up at the Coastal Police headquarters in Kochi where the SIT team led by Coastal AIG G. Poonkuzhali interrogated him for over three hours before recording his arrest. He was later released after a medical examination as a lower court in the city had earlier granted him anticipatory bail. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 24 September 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]( MUDA case: Karnataka HC dismisses CM’s plea In a major setback to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday [upheld the Governor’s action of granting permission to conduct an investigation]( against him on the allegation of illegalities in allotment of 14 sites worth ₹56 crore to his wife Parvathi by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). Also, the court gave the green signal for ordering a probe against him by vacating its interim order granted on August 19 directing a special court in Bengaluru to defer the decision on the complaints against Siddaramaiah. It also rejected a plea to stay Tuesday’s verdict to enable Siddaramaiah to appeal against it. Justice M. Nagaprasanna delivered the verdict while dismissing Siddaramaiah’s petition challenging the legality of the Governor’s August 16 order of granting approval for investigation under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988. Referring to the allegations, the court said it “undoubtedly requires an investigation into the teeth of the fact that the beneficiary of all these acts is not anybody outside, but the wife of Siddaramaiah.” On the Governor’s power, the High Court said the Governor, in the normal circumstances, had to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers as per Article 163 of the Constitution, “but can take independent decision in exceptional circumstances, and the present case is one such exception... No fault can be found in the action of the Governor exercising independent discretion.” Rejecting Siddaramaiah’s contention that the approval for investigation has to be taken only by the police officer and not by any private individuals, the court said “Section 17A nowhere requires a police officer to seek approval in a private complaint registered under Section 200 of the Code of Criminal Procedure/Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, against a public servant for offences punishable under the provisions of the Act.” “It is the duty of the complainant to seek such approval” in case of a private complaint lodged before the competent courts, the court said. “The Gubernatorial order nowhere suffers from want of application of mind,” the High Court said, rejecting Siddaramaiah’s claim that the Governor had not applied his mind in granting permission for investigation. The court also made it clear that grant of an opportunity of hearing or issuing a show-cause notice prior to grant of approval for investigation under Section 17A is not mandatory. However, if the competent authority [Governor in this case] chooses to do so, it is open to it, the judge said. It was argued on behalf of Siddaramaiah that the Governor had issued notice to him only on the complaint filed by Abraham T.J, and not on the two other complaints, filed by Snehamayi Krishna and Pradeep Kumar S.P. The court also clarified that the Governor’s order is read to be restrictive to an approval for investigation under Section 17A and not an order granting sanction for prosecution under Section 218 of the BNSS as it was clarified on behalf of the Governor that order has to be contained only for investigation under Section 17A. ‘Don’t drag us into your agenda’: Supreme Court slams NCPCR over plea seeking SIT probe against missionaries The [Supreme Court on Tuesday told NCPCR not to drag the apex court in its agenda]( over a plea seeking an SIT probe into cases of children allegedly sold by shelter homes in Jharkhand of the Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa. Slamming the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh dismissed the plea filed by the child rights body. It said the relief sought is vague and omnibus, and it cannot be considered. “Don’t drag the Supreme Court into your agenda. What kind of relief is sought in your petition? How can we pass such directions? The petition is totally misconstrued,” the bench told the lawyer appearing for the NCPCR. At the outset, the lawyer appearing for the NCPCR submitted that the plea has direction for an apex court-monitored time-bound investigation of all such organisations in Jharkhand to ensure protection of children. The top court said the NCPCR was empowered to conduct enquiry and take action in accordance with law under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005. The bench refused to entertain the petition and dismissed the plea. The NCPCR in its plea filed in 2020 had sought enforcement of fundamental rights of prohibition of trafficking in human beings guaranteed under Article 23 of the Constitution. It had said discrepancies have been found in children’s homes in various states and it has added them as parties in its plea. The plea had cited cases of child rights violation in Jharkhand and said the authorities in the state have adopted a callous approach to protect minors. “During course of inquiry by petitioner (NCPCR), shocking revelations were made by the victims which included the factum that the children were being sold in the children homes. These facts were emphatically brought to the notice of the State government (Jharkhand) but continuous attempts were made to sabotage and derail the inquiry,” the plea said. Centre moves Supreme Court for withdrawing CPRF security to Unnao rape survivor, Supreme Court seeks her reply The Supreme Court on Tuesday [sought responses from the 2017 Unnao rape survivor and her family members on the Centre’s plea]( seeking withdrawal of CRPF security cover provided to them following the court’s order in 2019. Expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar is serving a life term for kidnapping and raping the minor girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao area in 2017. Taking note of the sensational rape case and the threat to lives of the survivor and others, the apex court on August 1, 2019, directed that the rape survivor, her mother, other members of the family and their lawyer be provided CRPF security. A Bench of Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma asked that the application of the Centre to be served on the victim and her family members. The Bench also observed that since there is hardly any threat perception, it would like to close the case. The Centre’s counsel said no security cover is needed according to the threat analysis of the victim and her family members. Advocate Ruchira Goel, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, submitted that everything, including the trial, was transferred to Delhi after the incident following the apex court’s order. The Bench asked Advocate Goel where the victim resides at present. She replied that the woman and her family stay in Delhi. On May 14, the top court had asked the Centre to file a separate application seeking withdrawal of CRPF security cover provided to the survivor, her family members and their lawyers. The Centre submitted that the security cover may be provided by either the Delhi or Uttar Pradesh police and the CRPF be permitted to withdraw. In 2019, the top court transferred all five cases registered in connection with the Unnao rape incident from a Lucknow court to a court in Delhi with the direction to hold trial on daily basis and complete it within 45 days. The Supreme Court also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide ₹25 lakh as interim compensation to the rape survivor. The court had added that the CBI will have to complete within seven days the investigation into the accident in which the survivor and her lawyer were critically injured and two of her aunts killed. Her father was arrested at the behest of Sengar in a case under the Arms Act and died in custody on April 9, 2018. Sengar has sought the quashing of the trial court’s December 2019 judgment that has sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his life. His appeal is pending in the Delhi High Court. On March 13, 2020, Sengar was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in the case of death of the woman’s father in custody. He was also slapped with a fine of ₹10 lakh. The court had awarded a 10-year jail term to Sengar’s brother Atul Singh Sengar and five others in the case. Supreme Court seeks report from Commission of Air Quality Management on stubble-burning The Supreme Court on Tuesday [sought a report from the Commission for Air Quality Management]( (CAQM) on incidents of stubble-burning and action taken against these occurrences. Appearing before a Bench headed by Justice A.S. Oka, senior advocate Anitha Shenoy made an oral mention about reports of stubble-burning in the neighborhood of the national capital. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the CAQM and the government, said it would enquire and revert to the court. “Yes, we want answers. We will have it Friday,” Justice Oka observed. The court had held extensive hearings on stubble-burning and ways to stop the practice during the onset of winter. In November last year, the top court had directed the State governments of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi to ensure that stubble-burning was “forthwith” stopped as an immediate measure to protect the lives and health of people. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, one of the judges on the Bench which heard the stubble-burning case in 2023, had objected to the branding of farmers as villains who deliberately set their fields on fire. Justice Dhulia had said farmers were part of the solution and not the problem. The court had also cautioned States against reducing pollution into a “political game”. The case on stubble-burning coming up in the Supreme Court coincides with the Haryana Assembly election. “Pollution is not a political game where one State shifts the blame to another depending on the ruling political dispensation… This (pollution) is a murder of the health of the people. You see children in Delhi suffering from health issues... Time has come to do something yesterday, rather than postponing it. The problem requires immediate attention and monitoring, irrespective of whether the weather improves or not,” Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul (now retired), the lead judge on the Bench last year, had said. In fact, the series of hearings in 2023 had seen the CAQM report to the top court that it had advised State governments to establish an ecosystem and robust supply chain mechanism to boost ex-situ utilisation of paddy straw in boilers and furnaces of industrial units. Directions were issued to all 11 thermal power plants in NCR and adjoining areas within 300 km of Delhi for “ex-situ paddy straw management” through co-firing of biomass pellets/torrefied pellets (with a focus on paddy straw) in coal-based thermal power plants. Was jailed so BJP could project me as ‘thief’, but even my enemy believes I’m not corrupt: Kejriwal AAP national convener [Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday stepped up his attack on the BJP-led Centre]( alleging he was arrested as the ruling party wanted to project him as a “chor” (thief) but even his “fiercest enemy” believes he is not corrupt. The former Delhi Chief Minister held a roadshow in the Rania Assembly constituency in Haryana’s Sirsa in favour of Aam Aadmi Party nominee Harpinder Singh for the October 5 State Assembly polls. Kejriwal resigned as the Chief Minister of Delhi after being released from the Tihar Jail last week following his bail in the excise policy case by the Supreme Court. AAP leader Atishi later took oath as the Chief Minister of the national capital. Addressing a gathering during the roadshow, Kejriwal said he had to spend five-and-a-half months in the jail for no reason. “What was my fault? My fault is being the chief minister of Delhi for 10 years. I set up good government schools for children of the poor. Earlier, there were power cuts for 7-8 hours in Delhi. But, now there is round-the-clock electricity. My fault is that I made electricity free in Delhi and Punjab,” Kejriwal said. “My fault is that I started a free ‘tirath yatra’ for elderly people. So many works were carried out in Delhi and Punjab. No corrupt person could do these,” he said. Kejriwal said his government made electricity free in Delhi which involved a huge amount of money — “₹3,000 crore”. “Had I been a ‘chor’ [thief], I could have put ₹3,000 crore in my pocket,” he said. “I set up good schools for children of the poor. It involved expenditure. Had I been corrupt, I could have put it in my pocket,” he said. Attacking the BJP, he said electricity is quite costly in every state the party is in power. “Electricity is not free in Haryana, it is very costly. I want to ask you who is a ‘chor’ -- the one who makes electricity free or the one who makes electricity expensive.” Lashing out at the BJP, Kejriwal said, “Why did they put me in jail? I am honest. They want to tarnish my image of honesty. They want to say that Kejriwal is a ‘chor’ [thief] as he was jailed for five months.” But as he walked out of the jail, nobody was ready to accept that he is a ‘chor’, the AAP chief said. “Even my fiercest enemy says that Kejriwal can be anything but not corrupt. They tried to break me mentally and physically in jail. They stopped my medicines. I am diabetic. I have been taking insulin for 10 years. They stopped my insulin. I do not know what they wanted to do with me,” he said. The AAP leader said he came here to seek votes for his party in the October 5 Assembly polls. “I came here to seek votes. It is not for getting power. I came after leaving power. I resigned from the post of Delhi chief minister. In today’s era, nobody leaves even the post of a peon. Nobody sought my resignation,” he said. The AAP leader said he told the people of Delhi that they should not vote for him if they think he indulged in corruption. “If you feel that Kejriwal is honest then vote for me. If you give me a certificate of honesty, make me win, then I will sit in the chair of chief minister,” Kejriwal said he told the people of Delhi. The AAP chief said he does not have hunger for power. “Your son and brother made Haryana’s name popular in the country and the world. I set up governments in Punjab and Delhi. Give us a chance to serve Haryana. We will build schools and give free electricity in Haryana,” he said. “You will ask how you will do it. Are you going to form the government? My reply is whatever government is formed, it will not be without us,” he added. Last week while campaigning in Haryana, Kejriwal had claimed that the next government in Haryana cannot be formed without the support of his party even as he had targeted the BJP, claiming that the entire State wants ‘badlav’ [change] and people will oust the ruling party in the October 5 State Assembly polls. Israel-Hezbollah conflict: Lebanon says death toll in Israel’s strikes reaches 560 Lebanese health authorities on Tuesday raised the death toll from two days of Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah militants to 560. Palestinian officials in Gaza, meanwhile, said a new Israeli strike killed at least seven people in the southern city of Khan Younis. Israel’s military says it will do “whatever is necessary” to push Hezbollah away from Lebanon’s border with Israel. The two countries have been trading fire since the Israel-Hamas war began. On Monday, Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, killing nearly 500 people and wounding more than 1,600 others. Thousands of people fled southern Lebanon, jamming the main highway to Beirut in the biggest exodus since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. It’s a staggering one-day toll for a country still reeling from a deadly attack on communication devices the week before. Lebanon blamed the attacks on Israel, but Israel did not confirm or deny its responsibility. Hezbollah launched more than 100 projectiles toward Israel on Monday, the military said, reaching deep into Israel including around the northern city of Haifa and parts of the occupied West Bank. Most of the missiles were intercepted but two people were lightly injured from falling shrapnel in northern Israel. In Brief: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the complaints against Malayalam film industry personalities in the wake of the Hema Committee report on Tuesday [recorded the arrest of actor-legislator M. Mukesh in a rape case]( registered against him by the Kochi City police. Mukesh turned up at the Coastal Police headquarters in Kochi where the SIT team led by Coastal AIG G. Poonkuzhali interrogated him for over three hours before recording his arrest. He was later released after a medical examination as a lower court in the city had earlier granted him anticipatory bail. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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