The Evening Wrap: SC grants bail to Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira in Bhima-Koregaon case

The Supreme Court on July 28 granted bail to activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, who have been accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case. In their judgment, a Bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia said that the five-year-long incarceration of the activists made them duly eligible for bail despite the fact that the offences they have been accused of are “grave”. The activists have been in jail since August 2018 and are facing charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The top court said that the allegations against the men were “no doubt serious, but for that reason alone, bail cannot be denied to them”. The court also noted that Gonsalves had earlier been convicted in a case under the 1967 Act, and that there was a pending criminal case against him and said imposed certain conditions for the bail. It directed the activists not to leave Maharashtra without the prior sanction of the trial court. The Bench also ordered them to surrender their passports and inform the NIA probe officer of their addresses. They will each be given a mobile phone, both of which have to be kept switched on at all times. These phones should be paired with the phone of the NIA probe officer. The location status on the phones should remain active 24 hours a day. No arrest made by CBI in six Manipur violence cases so far, say officials The CBI, which is probing six cases related to violence in Manipur, has not made any arrest so far, officials said on July 28. In accordance with the procedure, the federal agency took over the FIRs from the State police last month and the investigation was continuing, they said. The CBI has not made the FIRs public even after a month of re-registering those, considering the delicate circumstances in which it is probing these cases. The agency formed a special investigation team under a DIG-rank officer in June to investigate the six cases referred to it by the Union home ministry, the officials said. Teams of the agency are investigating the cases in tough circumstances, they said, adding that they often face hostile crowds, blockades and protests and it is difficult to find witnesses in a state facing sharp faultlines on ethnic grounds. Meanwhile, the delegation of INDIA bloc MPs, set to visit Manipur over the weekend, will assess the ground situation first-hand and then make recommendations to the government and Parliament for a solution to the problems in the violence-hit State, Opposition leaders said. Ahead of the visit, Congress’ Gaurav Gogoi called for an inquiry under a retired Supreme Court judge into the violence in Manipur. The delegation is likely to include Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress, TMC’s Sushmita Dev, JMM’s Mahua Maji, DMK’s Kanimozhi, NCP’s Vandana Chavan, Jayant Chaudhary of RLD, Manoj Kumar Jha of RJD, N K Premachandran of RSP and T Thirumavalavan of the VCK. The Opposition bloc had been demanding that a delegation of their leaders be allowed to visit the state but till now they had been denied permission in view of the situation there. Eight people swept away in Telangana floods, bodies found Eight persons were swept away in the flood waters of a rivulet in Mulugu district of Telangana following heavy rains and their bodies have been found, police said on July 28. Twelve members of a remote village in the district were swept away in flood water when they were moving towards a safer place on July 27 but four of them saved themselves, police said. Telangana received heavy rains for the past several days resulting in inundation of low-lying areas and disruption of road links. Meanwhile, heavy to moderate rain lashed parts of Delhi on Friday with the minimum temperature settling at 26.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD). Most parts of Mumbai received light rains with occasional spells of moderate to heavy showers on the day,but the IMD predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in the city. In Gujarat, heavy rains in southern and central partys in a 30-hour period caused waterlogging, with the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) informing that 19 talukas received more than 100mm of rain during the period. Between 6 a.m. on July 27 and 12 p.m. on July 28, Mahuva taluka of Surat district received a staggering 302mm rainfall, officials said. The IMD forecast “heavy to very heavy rains” at isolated places in Chhotaudepur, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Bharuch and Valsad district. Waterlogging and traffic snarls due to heavy rains in the past 24 hours was also reported from Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur in Rajasthan on the day. Listen to today’s episode of the In Focus podcast Decoding Rajasthan’s Right to Minimum Guaranteed Income Bill, 2023 The Rajasthan government on July 21 passed the Right to Minimum Guaranteed Income Bill, 2023, a legislation that has been hailed as a ‘historic’ step towards the fulfilment of a state’s social security obligations towards citizens. The Bill has three key elements: a right to guaranteed employment, right to a minimum guaranteed income – which is not to be confused with a minimum income guarantee, or what is known as Universal Basic Income or UBI – and a right to guaranteed minimum social security pension. Rajasthan already has a MGNREGA-based employment scheme and other welfare schemes going. So what was the need for a law like this? Is this an example of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to as ‘revdi’? And how will the Rajasthan government raise the resources for what is evidently a rights-based welfare measure? Two key health Bills passed without debate in Lok Sabha Two key health Bills — the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill (NNMC), and the National Dental Commission Bill — were passed by the Lok Sabha on July 28 without debate and amid Opposition uproar, during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. The Bills are aimed at repealing the Dentists Act, 1948, and the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947, and will enhance transparency and quality in the fields of nursing, midwifery, and dentistry. According to the Indian Nursing Council records, till 2022, there were around 33.41 lakh nursing personnel registered in the country and the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023, seeks to provide for regulation and maintenance of standards of education and services by nursing and midwifery professionals, assessment of institutions, maintenance of national and State registers and creation of a system to improve access, research and development along with the adoption of the latest scientific advancement in the nursing and midwifery profession. The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill aims to set up the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission, which will replace the existing Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947, to reform nursing and midwifery education and profession in India. Meanwhile, the National Dental Commission Bill, 2023, seeks to regulate the profession of dentistry, provide quality and affordable dental education, and make accessible high-quality oral healthcare and related matters to bring on par with global standards. According to government data, the country has 2.89 lakh registered dentists. India at forefront in taking action on biodiversity conservation, protection: PM Modi at G20 environment meet India has consistently been at the forefront in taking action on biodiversity conservation, protection, restoration and enrichment, and has set the bar even higher through the updated targets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on July 28. Addressing the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministerial Meeting in Chennai via video conferencing, Modi said he was proud to say that India has led the way through its ambitious “Nationally Determined Contributions.” “Through the ‘Gandhinagar Implementation Roadmap and Platform’, you are recognising restoration in priority landscapes impacted by forest fires and mining,” he said. Modi said India recently launched the “International Big Cat Alliance” for conservation of seven big cats based on the learnings from Project Tiger. He also said that 70% of the world’s tigers were in India as a result of the project. Congress leader and former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, over a tweet, criticised the remarks saying, “What a cruel joke! The Forest Conservation Act 1980 and the National Biodiversity Act 2002 are being amended wholesale despite widespread opposition and the PM says this!” “Make no mistake these changes to the laws will neither protect biodiversity nor promote conservation. Obviously, his governing philosophy is to keep repeating a lie in the hope that it gets to be seen as the ‘truth’ after a while,” he added. Niger’s putschists name Army general General Abdourahamane Tchiani as new leader Niger’s putschists named an army general as the new leader of the country on July 28, the third day since elected President Mohamed Bazoum was detained. General Abdourahamane Tchiani, head of the Presidential Guard since 2011, read a statement on national TV as the “president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland”. The general presented the coup as a response to “the degradation of the security situation” linked to jihadist bloodshed. General Tchiani said that while Bazoum had sought to convince people that “all is going well... the harsh reality (is) a pile of dead, displaced, humiliation and frustration”. Bazoum and his family have been confined since July 26 to their residence at the presidential palace located within the Guard’s military camp. He is said to be in good health and has been able to talk by telephone to other heads of state including French President Emmanuel Macron. The Guard’s chiefs staged the coup and on Thursday they won broad army support. Armed forces chief General Abdou Sidikou Issa swung his weight behind the putschists saying it was “in order to avoid a deadly confrontation”. In Brief: The Centre has decided for enablement of direct listing of listed and unlisted companies on the IFSC exchanges, the announcement for which was made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 28 in Mumbai. “I had said in May 2020 that direct listing of securities by Indian public companies would be permissible in foreign jurisdictions,” she said. “Now, I am pleased to announce that government has taken a decision to enable direct listing of listed and unlisted companies on the IFSC exchanges. This will facilitate access to global capital and result in better valuation for Indian companies,” she added. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 28 July 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Bhima-Koregaon case | Supreme Court grants bail to Gonsalves, Ferreira after five years in jail The [Supreme Court on July 28 granted bail to activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira]( who have been accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case. In their judgment, a Bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia said that the five-year-long incarceration of the activists made them duly eligible for bail despite the fact that the offences they have been accused of are “grave”. The activists have been in jail since August 2018 and are facing charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The top court said that the allegations against the men were “no doubt serious, but for that reason alone, bail cannot be denied to them”. The court also noted that Gonsalves had earlier been convicted in a case under the 1967 Act, and that there was a pending criminal case against him and said imposed certain conditions for the bail. It directed the activists not to leave Maharashtra without the prior sanction of the trial court. The Bench also ordered them to surrender their passports and inform the NIA probe officer of their addresses. They will each be given a mobile phone, both of which have to be kept switched on at all times. These phones should be paired with the phone of the NIA probe officer. The location status on the phones should remain active 24 hours a day. No arrest made by CBI in six Manipur violence cases so far, say officials The [CBI, which is probing six cases related to violence in Manipur, has not made any arrest so far]( officials said on July 28. In accordance with the procedure, the federal agency took over the FIRs from the State police last month and the investigation was continuing, they said. The CBI has not made the FIRs public even after a month of re-registering those, considering the delicate circumstances in which it is probing these cases. The agency formed a special investigation team under a DIG-rank officer in June to investigate the six cases referred to it by the Union home ministry, the officials said. Teams of the agency are investigating the cases in tough circumstances, they said, adding that they often face hostile crowds, blockades and protests and it is difficult to find witnesses in a state facing sharp faultlines on ethnic grounds. Meanwhile, the delegation of INDIA bloc MPs, set to visit Manipur over the weekend, [will assess the ground situation first-hand and then make recommendations to the government and Parliament]( for a solution to the problems in the violence-hit State, Opposition leaders said. Ahead of the visit, Congress’ Gaurav Gogoi called for an inquiry under a retired Supreme Court judge into the violence in Manipur. The delegation is likely to include Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Gaurav Gogoi of the Congress, TMC’s Sushmita Dev, JMM’s Mahua Maji, DMK’s Kanimozhi, NCP’s Vandana Chavan, Jayant Chaudhary of RLD, Manoj Kumar Jha of RJD, N K Premachandran of RSP and T Thirumavalavan of the VCK. The Opposition bloc had been demanding that a delegation of their leaders be allowed to visit the state but till now they had been denied permission in view of the situation there. Eight people swept away in Telangana floods, bodies found [Eight persons were swept away in the flood waters of a rivulet in Mulugu district of Telangana following heavy rains]( and their bodies have been found, police said on July 28. Twelve members of a remote village in the district were swept away in flood water when they were moving towards a safer place on July 27 but four of them saved themselves, police said. Telangana received heavy rains for the past several days resulting in inundation of low-lying areas and disruption of road links. Meanwhile, heavy to moderate rain lashed parts of Delhi on Friday with the minimum temperature settling at 26.6 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD). Most parts of Mumbai received light rains with occasional spells of moderate to heavy showers on the day,but the IMD predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in the city. In Gujarat, heavy rains in southern and central partys in a 30-hour period caused waterlogging, with the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) informing that 19 talukas received more than 100mm of rain during the period. Between 6 a.m. on July 27 and 12 p.m. on July 28, Mahuva taluka of Surat district received a staggering 302mm rainfall, officials said. The IMD forecast “heavy to very heavy rains” at isolated places in Chhotaudepur, Panchmahal, Dahod, Vadodara, Bharuch and Valsad district. Waterlogging and traffic snarls due to heavy rains in the past 24 hours was also reported from Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur in Rajasthan on the day. Listen to today’s episode of the In Focus podcast Decoding Rajasthan’s Right to Minimum Guaranteed Income Bill, 2023 The [Rajasthan government on July 21 passed the Right to Minimum Guaranteed Income Bill, 2023]( a legislation that has been hailed as a ‘historic’ step towards the fulfilment of a state’s social security obligations towards citizens. The Bill has three key elements: a right to guaranteed employment, right to a minimum guaranteed income – which is not to be confused with a minimum income guarantee, or what is known as Universal Basic Income or UBI – and a right to guaranteed minimum social security pension. Rajasthan already has a MGNREGA-based employment scheme and other welfare schemes going. So what was the need for a law like this? Is this an example of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to as ‘revdi’? And how will the Rajasthan government raise the resources for what is evidently a rights-based welfare measure? Two key health Bills passed without debate in Lok Sabha [Two key health Bills — the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill (NNMC), and the National Dental Commission Bill — were passed by the Lok Sabha]( on July 28 without debate and amid Opposition uproar, during the ongoing [Monsoon Session of Parliament](. The Bills are aimed at repealing the Dentists Act, 1948, and the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947, and will enhance transparency and quality in the fields of nursing, midwifery, and dentistry. According to the Indian Nursing Council records, till 2022, there were around 33.41 lakh nursing personnel registered in the country and the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023, seeks to provide for regulation and maintenance of standards of education and services by nursing and midwifery professionals, assessment of institutions, maintenance of national and State registers and creation of a system to improve access, research and development along with the adoption of the latest scientific advancement in the nursing and midwifery profession. The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill aims to set up the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission, which will replace the existing Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947, to reform nursing and midwifery education and profession in India. Meanwhile, the National Dental Commission Bill, 2023, seeks to regulate the profession of dentistry, provide quality and affordable dental education, and make accessible high-quality oral healthcare and related matters to bring on par with global standards. According to government data, the country has 2.89 lakh registered dentists. India at forefront in taking action on biodiversity conservation, protection: PM Modi at G20 environment meet [India has consistently been at the forefront in taking action on biodiversity]( conservation, protection, restoration and enrichment, and has set the bar even higher through the updated targets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on July 28. Addressing the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministerial Meeting in Chennai via video conferencing, Modi said he was proud to say that India has led the way through its ambitious “Nationally Determined Contributions.” “Through the ‘Gandhinagar Implementation Roadmap and Platform’, you are recognising restoration in priority landscapes impacted by forest fires and mining,” he said. Modi said India recently launched the “International Big Cat Alliance” for conservation of seven big cats based on the learnings from Project Tiger. He also said that 70% of the world’s tigers were in India as a result of the project. Congress leader and former Environment Minister [Jairam Ramesh, over a tweet, criticised the remarks]( saying, “What a cruel joke! The Forest Conservation Act 1980 and the National Biodiversity Act 2002 are being amended wholesale despite widespread opposition and the PM says this!” “Make no mistake these changes to the laws will neither protect biodiversity nor promote conservation. Obviously, his governing philosophy is to keep repeating a lie in the hope that it gets to be seen as the ‘truth’ after a while,” he added. Niger’s putschists name Army general General Abdourahamane Tchiani as new leader [Niger’s putschists named an army general as the new leader of the country]( on July 28, the third day since elected President Mohamed Bazoum was detained. General Abdourahamane Tchiani, head of the Presidential Guard since 2011, read a statement on national TV as the “president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland”. The general presented the coup as a response to “the degradation of the security situation” linked to jihadist bloodshed. General Tchiani said that while Bazoum had sought to convince people that “all is going well... the harsh reality (is) a pile of dead, displaced, humiliation and frustration”. Bazoum and his family have been confined since July 26 to their residence at the presidential palace located within the Guard’s military camp. He is said to be in good health and has been able to talk by telephone to other heads of state including French President Emmanuel Macron. The Guard’s chiefs staged the coup and on Thursday they won broad army support. Armed forces chief General Abdou Sidikou Issa swung his weight behind the putschists saying it was “in order to avoid a deadly confrontation”. In Brief: The [Centre has decided for enablement of direct listing of listed and unlisted companies on the IFSC exchanges]( the announcement for which was made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 28 in Mumbai. “I had said in May 2020 that direct listing of securities by Indian public companies would be permissible in foreign jurisdictions,” she said. “Now, I am pleased to announce that government has taken a decision to enable direct listing of listed and unlisted companies on the IFSC exchanges. This will facilitate access to global capital and result in better valuation for Indian companies,” she added. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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