The Evening Wrap: SC agrees to examine Jharkhand government’s appeal against High Court order

The Supreme Court of India on Monday (November 4, 2024) agreed to examine a petition filed by the Jharkhand Government against an interim order of the State High Court to constitute a fact-finding committee, which includes Central officers, to look into allegations of illegal immigration into the State from Bangladesh. The September order of the High Court was based on a Union Government affidavit which said “infiltration has been assessed to have taken place”. The State Government has challenged the Union Government’s opinion, saying the conclusion was not backed by data. A Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah listed the case for hearing on Friday (November 8, 2024.) Justice Dhulia orally observed the State appeal presented a serious issue, and the Bench needed time to go through the files carefully. Justice Amanullah, however, questioned the High Court’s intervention, noting that the State had independent powers under the law to tackle the problem, if any. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Jayant Mohan, appearing for the State, sought a stay of the High Court order. Sibal said Jharkhand was not a border State, but the court order has become a topic for speeches in the run-up to Assembly elections scheduled in November. The senior lawyer asked whether the High Court order was based on any cogent data presented before it. “We seek a stay,” Sibal submitted. The High Court order was based on a public interest petition filed by Danyaal Danish alleging widespread illegal immigration and infiltration into the six districts of Godda, Jamtara, Pakur, Dumka, Sahibganj and Deoghar. The petitioner in the High Court had claimed that the demographic set up of Jharkhand, in particular the Santhal Pargana region was changing rapidly, showing a decrease in the tribal population. The petition in the High Court had urged that the “interest of the State of Jharkhand, in particular the tribal community, would be jeopardised.” It had argued that the tribal population in the region had drastically come down from 44.67% in 1951 to 28.11% in 2011 while the Muslim population had seen a manifold rise from 9.44% of the total population in 1951 to 22.73% in 2011. The High Court had blamed the State for taking a “lackadaisical approach.” The State’s appeal in the apex court said the High Court order was based on population figures pertaining to the years 1961 and 2011 and did not represent the current status on the ground. It said the formation of a fact-finding committee would amount to an “interference in the autonomy and power of the State Government to deal with the issue of illegal migration and infiltration which was found to be non-existent”. The State also noted that the Supreme Court was already hearing a batch of petitions concerning illegal immigration from Bangladesh since 2017. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to brief Parliamentary panel on India-Canada ties on November 6 Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is likely to brief the Parliamentary panel on external affairs on Wednesday (November 6, 2024) on the India-Canada ties, which have taken a hit after Canadian officials accused Indian government functionaries of ordering the murder pro-Khalistani terrorist Harjeet Singh Nijjar. Misri is also likely to brief the parliamentary panel on the recent upswing in India’s ties with China following the agreement to resume patrolling at friction points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. India’s relationship with Canada has taken a hit after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked top Indian officials to the murder of Nijjar, a charge rubbished by New Delhi. Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison had alleged on Tuesday (October 29, 2024) that Home Minister Amit Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada, a charge dismissed as “absurd and baseless” by India. India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity. India had withdrawn its High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Verma after the security officials there named him as a “person of interest” in the investigation in Niijar’s murder case. India had also expelled six Canadian diplomats, including acting High Commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler on October 14. Opposition MPs say they may disassociate from Waqf committee, protest Chair’s ‘unilateral’ decisions Opposition MPs in the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill are likely to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday (November 5, 2024) over its chairperson Jagdambika Pal’s alleged unilateral decisions and attempts to “bulldoze” proceedings without giving them reasonable time to prepare. Claiming that they have been “stonewalled” during the committee’s proceedings, opposition MPs have written in their letter, which they circulated among themselves on Monday (November 4, 2024), to Birla that they may be forced to disassociate with the panel. Opposition sources said they are likely to meet Birla on Tuesday (November 5, 2024) and put forward their grievances. Opposition members, including DMK’s A Raja, Congress’s Mohammad Jawed and Imran Masood, AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi, AAP’s Sanjay Singh and TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee among others, have written the joint letter addressed to the Speaker. They accused Pal, a seasoned BJP MP, of taking “unilateral decisions” on fixing the dates of sittings and at times for three consecutive days, and whom to call as witnesses. They said it is not practically possible for MPs to interact without preparation. Asserting that the join committee of Parliament examining the Bill is like a mini Parliament, they said it should not be treated as a mere “ventilating chamber” to get the proposed legislation passed as desired by the government ignoring the due process. The committee’s proceedings have been marred by frequent protests from opposition members over a host of issues, while the BJP members have accused them of deliberately trying to scuttle its work. Pal has rejected the charge that he has not allowed opposition members to air their views, asserting that he has ensured that everybody is heard. RG Kar Hospital rape and murder case: Kolkata court frames charges against prime accused Sanjay Roy Eighty-seven days after the body of a woman medic was found at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, a Kolkata court on Monday framed charges against the prime accused, Sanjay Roy. The court announced that day-to-day trial in the case would commence from November 11. Roy has been booked under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (rape), Section 66 (punishment for causing death or resulting in a persistent vegetative state) and 103 (punishment for murder). “I have done nothing. I have been framed in this rape-murder case. Nobody is listening to me. The government is framing me and threatening me not to open my mouth,” Roy told reporters as he was led out of the Sealdah court. Roy was arrested by the Kolkata Police on August 10, a day after the on-duty woman doctor’s body was found inside the seminar room of the RG Kar hospital. Later, the CBI took up the investigation into the case on a Calcutta High Court order. Senior West Bengal Congress Adhir Chowdhury said that Roy’s claims should be taken seriously and probed. “Such claims of an accused should not be ignored and call for an investigation. We have been saying that such a crime is not possible by a single person. It’s a collective crime. We do not know whether the CBI and the Kolkata Police are in an understanding. We are sceptical,” he said. The role of the police is also required to be probed, said Chowdhury, a former state Congress president. In its charge sheet submitted last month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) identified Roy as the “sole prime accused” in the case. Meanwhile, during the hearing in the corruption case in the same hospital, the central agency told a special CBI court in Alipur here that there was a “deep conspiracy” behind the crime. The Calcutta High Court on August 23 ordered transfer of the probe into alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital during the tenure of its former principal Sandip Ghosh from a state-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the CBI. Ghosh was arrested in the case. Meanwhile, civil society organisations staged a rally from Karunamoyee Crossing to the CBI’s office in CGO Complex in Salt Lake demanding that the agency quicken its probe into the RG Kar rape-murder case. “It’s almost three months since the incident happened. What is the CBI doing? There is no clarity in its investigation. We want the CBI to complete its investigation as soon as possible,” said Lipika Chakraborty, a school teacher, who participated in the march. Pakistan blames India for worsening smog in Lahore as air quality index hits record high Pakistan on Monday blamed winds from India for worsening smog in Lahore, urging the Indian authorities to take up the matter seriously, after the air quality index in the capital city of Pakistan’s Punjab province hit a record high over the weekend. Toxic grey smog has sickened tens of thousands of people, mainly children and elderly people, since last month when the air quality started worsening in Lahore, the city bordering India. The concentration of PM 2.5, or tiny particulate matter, in the air, approached 450, considered hazardous, the Punjab Environment Protection Department said. “The wind direction brings air from India into Pakistan, yet India does not seem to be taking this problem as seriously as it should,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari told the media. She urged the Indian side of Punjab state to take this matter seriously. “Delhi ranks first in smog levels today, with Lahore following closely in second place. Delhi’s air quality index is around 393, while Lahore’s is close to 280,” she said, adding that China has been battling smog for the past 26 years. Earlier, Punjab senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the province was going to request the Pakistan Foreign Office to take up the issue of cross-border pollution with India. “The easterly winds from Amritsar and Chandigarh are spiking the air quality index in Lahore to over 1,000 for the past two days,” she said. “The wind from India towards Lahore is taking the smog to dangerous levels and the wind is likely to sustain its direction for at least next week. The people should take care of themselves by avoiding unnecessarily coming out of their houses. The elderly and children should be particularly careful,” Aurangzeb said. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also called for climate diplomacy with India and said she would soon write to the chief minister of the Indian side of Punjab to jointly address the issue of smog. Meanwhile, the Punjab government has closed primary schools in Lahore for a week in the wake of rising smog. Why not ban firecrackers perpetually, Supreme Court asks Delhi Government The Supreme Court of India took a suo motu cognisance of an expert report mentioning that pollution owing to firecrackers were at an “all-time high” during Deepavali 2024 despite a ban by the top court. “Instances of farm fires and cracker pollution was higher than in 2022 and 2023,” the court noted. The Supreme Court sought response from the Delhi Government and the Delhi Police Commissioner on “what happened during Deepavali 2024”. The Bench said the affidavits will have to be filed within one week and the case would be taken up again on November 14. The Court also asked Delhi Government’s view on issuing a “perpetual ban” on firecrackers. It may be noted that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) order banned the manufacturing, storage, selling, delivery through online platforms, and bursting of all kinds of firecrackers in the National Capital Territory of Delhi until January 1, 2025. Only “green crackers,” which are without harmful substances such as barium and lead, are permitted for sale and use. Further, firecrackers were allowed on Deepavali day (October 31, 2024) only from 8.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. In Brief: The Election Commission on Monday (November 4, 2024) rescheduled assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Kerala from November 13 to November 20 in view of festivals, an official statement said. Nine seats are going to polls in Uttar Pradesh, four in Punjab and one in Kerala. Parties including Congress, BJP, BSP and RLD had urged the poll body to reschedule the polls in view of various festivals, saying that it could impact voter turnout. The Supreme Court on Monday (November 4, 2024) allowed a petition filed by Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan for relaxation of a bail condition to report to the police every week in a UAPA case registered against him. A Bench headed by Justice PS Narasimha modified the top court’s September 2022 order which had required him to report to the local police station. “It shall not be necessary for the petitioner to report to the local police station,” the court allowed. Kappan was arrested in October 2020 enroute to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh following the death of a Dalit woman who was allegedly gangraped. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 04 November 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]( Illegal immigration, infiltration: Supreme Court agrees to examine Jharkhand government’s appeal against High Court order The[Supreme Court of India on Monday (November 4, 2024) agreed to examine a petition filed by the Jharkhand Government]( against an interim order of the State High Court to constitute a fact-finding committee, which includes Central officers, to look into allegations of illegal immigration into the State from Bangladesh. The September order of the High Court was based on a Union Government affidavit which said “infiltration has been assessed to have taken place”. The State Government has challenged the Union Government’s opinion, saying the conclusion was not backed by data. A Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah listed the case for hearing on Friday (November 8, 2024.) Justice Dhulia orally observed the State appeal presented a serious issue, and the Bench needed time to go through the files carefully. Justice Amanullah, however, questioned the High Court’s intervention, noting that the State had independent powers under the law to tackle the problem, if any. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Jayant Mohan, appearing for the State, sought a stay of the High Court order. Sibal said Jharkhand was not a border State, but the court order has become a topic for speeches in the run-up to Assembly elections scheduled in November. The senior lawyer asked whether the High Court order was based on any cogent data presented before it. “We seek a stay,” Sibal submitted. The High Court order was based on a public interest petition filed by Danyaal Danish alleging widespread illegal immigration and infiltration into the six districts of Godda, Jamtara, Pakur, Dumka, Sahibganj and Deoghar. The petitioner in the High Court had claimed that the demographic set up of Jharkhand, in particular the Santhal Pargana region was changing rapidly, showing a decrease in the tribal population. The petition in the High Court had urged that the “interest of the State of Jharkhand, in particular the tribal community, would be jeopardised.” It had argued that the tribal population in the region had drastically come down from 44.67% in 1951 to 28.11% in 2011 while the Muslim population had seen a manifold rise from 9.44% of the total population in 1951 to 22.73% in 2011. The High Court had blamed the State for taking a “lackadaisical approach.” The State’s appeal in the apex court said the High Court order was based on population figures pertaining to the years 1961 and 2011 and did not represent the current status on the ground. It said the formation of a fact-finding committee would amount to an “interference in the autonomy and power of the State Government to deal with the issue of illegal migration and infiltration which was found to be non-existent”. The State also noted that the Supreme Court was already hearing a batch of petitions concerning illegal immigration from Bangladesh since 2017. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri to brief Parliamentary panel on India-Canada ties on November 6 [Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is likely to brief the Parliamentary panel on external affairs]( on Wednesday (November 6, 2024) on the India-Canada ties, which have taken a hit after Canadian officials accused Indian government functionaries of ordering the murder pro-Khalistani terrorist Harjeet Singh Nijjar. Misri is also likely to brief the parliamentary panel on the recent upswing in India’s ties with China following the agreement to resume patrolling at friction points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. India’s relationship with Canada has taken a hit after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked top Indian officials to the murder of Nijjar, a charge rubbished by New Delhi. Canada’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison had alleged on Tuesday (October 29, 2024) that Home Minister Amit Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada, a charge dismissed as “absurd and baseless” by India. India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity. India had withdrawn its High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Verma after the security officials there named him as a “person of interest” in the investigation in Niijar’s murder case. India had also expelled six Canadian diplomats, including acting High Commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler on October 14. Opposition MPs say they may disassociate from Waqf committee, protest Chair’s ‘unilateral’ decisions [Opposition MPs in the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill]( likely to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday (November 5, 2024) over its chairperson Jagdambika Pal’s alleged unilateral decisions and attempts to “bulldoze” proceedings without giving them reasonable time to prepare. Claiming that they have been “stonewalled” during the committee’s proceedings, opposition MPs have written in their letter, which they circulated among themselves on Monday (November 4, 2024), to Birla that they may be forced to disassociate with the panel. Opposition sources said they are likely to meet Birla on Tuesday (November 5, 2024) and put forward their grievances. Opposition members, including DMK’s A Raja, Congress’s Mohammad Jawed and Imran Masood, AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi, AAP’s Sanjay Singh and TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee among others, have written the joint letter addressed to the Speaker. They accused Pal, a seasoned BJP MP, of taking “unilateral decisions” on fixing the dates of sittings and at times for three consecutive days, and whom to call as witnesses. They said it is not practically possible for MPs to interact without preparation. Asserting that the join committee of Parliament examining the Bill is like a mini Parliament, they said it should not be treated as a mere “ventilating chamber” to get the proposed legislation passed as desired by the government ignoring the due process. The committee’s proceedings have been marred by frequent protests from opposition members over a host of issues, while the BJP members have accused them of deliberately trying to scuttle its work. Pal has rejected the charge that he has not allowed opposition members to air their views, asserting that he has ensured that everybody is heard. RG Kar Hospital rape and murder case: Kolkata court frames charges against prime accused Sanjay Roy E[ighty-seven days after the body of a woman medic was found at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital]( a Kolkata court on Monday framed charges against the prime accused, Sanjay Roy. The court announced that day-to-day trial in the case would commence from November 11. Roy has been booked under Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (rape), Section 66 (punishment for causing death or resulting in a persistent vegetative state) and 103 (punishment for murder). “I have done nothing. I have been framed in this rape-murder case. Nobody is listening to me. The government is framing me and threatening me not to open my mouth,” Roy told reporters as he was led out of the Sealdah court. Roy was arrested by the Kolkata Police on August 10, a day after the on-duty woman doctor’s body was found inside the seminar room of the RG Kar hospital. Later, the CBI took up the investigation into the case on a Calcutta High Court order. Senior West Bengal Congress Adhir Chowdhury said that Roy’s claims should be taken seriously and probed. “Such claims of an accused should not be ignored and call for an investigation. We have been saying that such a crime is not possible by a single person. It’s a collective crime. We do not know whether the CBI and the Kolkata Police are in an understanding. We are sceptical,” he said. The role of the police is also required to be probed, said Chowdhury, a former state Congress president. In its charge sheet submitted last month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) identified Roy as the “sole prime accused” in the case. Meanwhile, during the hearing in the corruption case in the same hospital, the central agency told a special CBI court in Alipur here that there was a “deep conspiracy” behind the crime. The Calcutta High Court on August 23 ordered transfer of the probe into alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital during the tenure of its former principal Sandip Ghosh from a state-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the CBI. Ghosh was arrested in the case. Meanwhile, civil society organisations staged a rally from Karunamoyee Crossing to the CBI’s office in CGO Complex in Salt Lake demanding that the agency quicken its probe into the RG Kar rape-murder case. “It’s almost three months since the incident happened. What is the CBI doing? There is no clarity in its investigation. We want the CBI to complete its investigation as soon as possible,” said Lipika Chakraborty, a school teacher, who participated in the march. Pakistan blames India for worsening smog in Lahore as air quality index hits record high [Pakistan on Monday blamed winds from India for worsening smog in Lahore]( urging the Indian authorities to take up the matter seriously, after the air quality index in the capital city of Pakistan’s Punjab province hit a record high over the weekend. Toxic grey smog has sickened tens of thousands of people, mainly children and elderly people, since last month when the air quality started worsening in Lahore, the city bordering India. The concentration of PM 2.5, or tiny particulate matter, in the air, approached 450, considered hazardous, the Punjab Environment Protection Department said. “The wind direction brings air from India into Pakistan, yet India does not seem to be taking this problem as seriously as it should,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari told the media. She urged the Indian side of Punjab state to take this matter seriously. “Delhi ranks first in smog levels today, with Lahore following closely in second place. Delhi’s air quality index is around 393, while Lahore’s is close to 280,” she said, adding that China has been battling smog for the past 26 years. Earlier, Punjab senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the province was going to request the Pakistan Foreign Office to take up the issue of cross-border pollution with India. “The easterly winds from Amritsar and Chandigarh are spiking the air quality index in Lahore to over 1,000 for the past two days,” she said. “The wind from India towards Lahore is taking the smog to dangerous levels and the wind is likely to sustain its direction for at least next week. The people should take care of themselves by avoiding unnecessarily coming out of their houses. The elderly and children should be particularly careful,” Aurangzeb said. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also called for climate diplomacy with India and said she would soon write to the chief minister of the Indian side of Punjab to jointly address the issue of smog. Meanwhile, the Punjab government has closed primary schools in Lahore for a week in the wake of rising smog. Why not ban firecrackers perpetually, Supreme Court asks Delhi Government The [Supreme Court of India took a suo motu cognisance of an expert report mentioning that pollution]( owing to firecrackers were at an “all-time high” during Deepavali 2024 despite a ban by the top court. “Instances of farm fires and cracker pollution was higher than in 2022 and 2023,” the court noted. The Supreme Court sought response from the Delhi Government and the Delhi Police Commissioner on “what happened during Deepavali 2024”. The Bench said the affidavits will have to be filed within one week and the case would be taken up again on November 14. The Court also asked Delhi Government’s view on issuing a “perpetual ban” on firecrackers. It may be noted that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) order banned the manufacturing, storage, selling, delivery through online platforms, and bursting of all kinds of firecrackers in the National Capital Territory of Delhi until January 1, 2025. Only “green crackers,” which are without harmful substances such as barium and lead, are permitted for sale and use. Further, firecrackers were allowed on Deepavali day (October 31, 2024) only from 8.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. In Brief: The [Election Commission on Monday (November 4, 2024) rescheduled assembly bypolls]( in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Kerala from November 13 to November 20 in view of festivals, an official statement said. Nine seats are going to polls in Uttar Pradesh, four in Punjab and one in Kerala. Parties including Congress, BJP, BSP and RLD had urged the poll body to reschedule the polls in view of various festivals, saying that it could impact voter turnout. The[Supreme Court on Monday (November 4, 2024) allowed a petition filed by Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan]( for relaxation of a bail condition to report to the police every week in a UAPA case registered against him. A Bench headed by Justice PS Narasimha modified the top court’s September 2022 order which had required him to report to the local police station. “It shall not be necessary for the petitioner to report to the local police station,” the court allowed. Kappan was arrested in October 2020 enroute to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh following the death of a Dalit woman who was allegedly gangraped. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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