Supreme Court to hear plea seeking special probe into Pahalgam attack tomorrow
The government should mandate enhanced security measures for tourist destinations in the Union Territory, including real-time surveillance, intelligence coordination, and rapid response teams, and establish an institutionalised security infrastructure to prevent such incidents in the future, it added.Following the deadly incident, locals and tourists alleged that there was no security in place at the famous tourist site at the time of the attack.The litigants, local resident Junaid Mohd Junaid, and two lawyers, Fatesh Kumar Sahu and Vicky Kumar, have also sought directions for the government to ensure minimum security standards for pilgrimage and tourist sites in conflict-prone areas such as Jammu & Kashmir.advertisementThe applicants also sought that directions be issued to the government to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the attack and fix accountability.The PIL also called on the top court to direct the Press Council of India to ensure that only "fair and true" reporting is allowed, keeping in view the harmony and peace of society.The NIA has already begun its investigation into the April 22 attack that laid the ground for tensions to rise between India and Pakistan.
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First Post
20 minutes ago
- First Post
PM Modi's Quad strategy: Using the Indo-Pacific platform to corner Pakistan
The Modi government's efforts to highlight Pakistan's state sponsorship of terrorism at the Quad meet is laudable. Now the ball is in the West's court to recognise this aspect and stop backing Islamabad in its own interest read more This week when the Quad foreign ministers met in Washington DC, the world was grappling with multiple conflicts. Among the usual concerns over China's continued belligerence in the South China Sea, what stood out was the Pahalgam terror attack where the ministers not only issued a strong condemnation of the attack that claimed lives of 26 Indians in April this year but also emphasised the need for zero tolerance for terrorism, calling for swift justice against the perpetrators, organisers and financiers of such acts. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The joint statement issued at the end of the meet renewed the member countries' commitment to counterterrorism cooperation. It also highlighted how Quad would strive to remain one of the leading platforms for dealing with the challenge of terrorism in the Indo-Pacific. For other Quad countries, terrorism in the region may not be that big a nuisance but India continues to remain one of the biggest victims of terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil. It was quite a sight to behold when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar lashed out at Pakistan for being a state sponsor of terrorism at the meet, while his counterparts from the United States, Japan and Australia stood firmly behind on the stage in rapt attention. Jaishankar minced no words when he iterated that India's Operation Sindoor has conveyed with great clarity to the world that the country will act against 'the perpetrators, the supporters, the financiers and the enablers' where it has the 'right to defend' itself against all acts of terrorism. Additionally, while inaugurating an exhibition to highlight the human cost of terrorism at the UN headquarters in New York during his US tour, Jaishankar again sent a loud message that India would not let the terrorists go unpunished, and there would be no scope for nuclear blackmail or treatment of terrorists as mere proxies. The stand that India took during the Quad foreign ministers' meet is part of a larger diplomatic strategy of the Modi government to leverage the forum to highlight its own security concerns with regards to terror emanating from Pakistan. Quad which remains one of the foremost platforms to address geopolitical challenges arising from China's aggressive rise and its manifestation in the maritime domain needs to recognise the fact that for any effective and meaningful security cooperation to tackle China, it is necessary to address its use of Pakistan and its terror complex to weaken India, a key Quad country. The terror industry that is operating from Rawalpindi HQ has the blessings and the backing from Beijing where China is leaving no stone unturned to use Pakistan to balance India in the region. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD China Feeding Off Pakistan's Terror Factories In recent years, China's tacit support to Pakistan's terror industry has become a serious issue of concern for India. If during the cold war, Pakistan had leased its territory to the West by setting up radicalisation camps to offset Soviet influence in the region, today it is willingly doing the bidding for Beijing's strategic goals. This was wide on display during Operation Sindoor when Pakistan first orchestrated the Pahalgam terror attack to challenge the narrative of normalcy in Kashmir and then used key military technology provided by the Chinese to defend itself. China's support to such rampant terror activities in Kashmir is part of its own toolkit to keep India destabilised, a key reason why it also took a strong position on repeal of Article 370 and went on to assert that its claims in Ladakh remain unchanged. What is also necessary to note is China's overt support to terrorists in the region. In the last few years, China has vetoed India's attempts to designate terrorists backed by Pakistan as 'global terrorists' at the UN. We can't forget how China has repeatedly shielded Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists at the UNSC who have carried out serious terror attacks against India. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In fact, India's attempts to seek sanctions against The Resistance Front, a Lashkar offshoot and the mastermind organisation behind Pahalgam attack have also hit a road-block at the UNSC due to the usual Chinese designs. Ironically, China itself has become a victim of the radicalisation in Pakistan where many Chinese nationals have also lost their lives while executing the CPEC project. Yet China continues to firmly back Pakistan's strategy of being a state-sponsor of terrorism against India. Getting Around West's Hypocrisy The fact that China is the foremost backer of Pakistan and its terror industry is not lost on anyone. After all, the nuclear blackmail card that Pakistan often plays on the world, the very moment India starts retaliating to its terror activities, is itself a gift from China to Pakistan. China not only supplied key nuclear technology and enriched Uranium to Pakistan during the cold war but it also continues to back its nuclear program till today by supplying nuclear reactors with dual-use technology. There are frequent reports of Pakistan seeking to extract a handsome price for the Gwadar port access to China which along with other ports has made China a key part of the security calculus in the Indian Ocean region. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While China has deeply embedded itself in the maritime domain of the Indian Ocean region using Pakistan as strategic footboard, the West is still behaving like an ostrich by not recognising how the Pakistan-China axis is a threat to its own security in the long-run. This is because the anti-India terror factories that operate from the Pakistani soil are firmly backed by Beijing. The cost of dealing with this challenge for India, a key Quad partner is very high in both logistics and financial terms. The precious energy that India can spend in countering China's rise and thus ease off some pressure from other Quad partners' back is spent on dealing with a rogue state like Pakistan. It is not only unfortunate but deeply troubling that the same West. especially the United States. which sings the peans of solidarity against China at forums like Quad, does not shy away from still keeping its old ties with Pakistan alive. This was on display even during Operation Sindoor when Trump not only equated India, a victim of terrorism with its perpetrator Pakistan but also sought to use trade as a ploy to get India to tolerate terror attacks planned against it by Pakistan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On one hand, the United States expects support from India to counter China, its systemic rival and on the other hand it still backs Pakistan and expects India to not take the terrorism challenge seriously. The Modi government's efforts to highlight Pakistan's state sponsorship of terrorism at the Quad meet is laudable. One may say that it is a good step towards drawing attention to how Pakistan is nothing but a proxy for China itself in keeping India along with other Quad countries on tenterhooks. Now the ball is in the West's court to recognise this aspect and stop backing Pakistan in its own interest. The author is a New Delhi-based commentator on geopolitics and foreign policy. She holds a PhD from the Department of International Relations, South Asian University. She tweets @TrulyMonica. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Justice Varma case: House to set up a probe panel, reduce three-month timeframe
AN INQUIRY committee will be set up by the presiding officer of the House concerned to probe charges against Supreme Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma during the coming Monsoon Session of Parliament. Sources said the timeline for the panel to submit its report will be crunched from three months, so that action against the judge, from whose residence stacks of currency notes were allegedly recovered, is not further delayed. 'Matters related to the judiciary must be beyond politics, so the government has reached out to all the prominent parties and the process (of removal of Justice Varma) would be a unified stand. The government will start collecting the signatures of MPs – after deciding which House should initiate the process – next week,' Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday. 'The Chair will then constitute a committee as per the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968, and the committee will table the report, following which the discussions will take place,' Rijiju said. Sources in the government said it is exploring 'special provisions to do away with the three-month tenure of the committee'. Incidentally, sources also indicated that the government was in no hurry over the Opposition's demand for the removal of Allahabad High Court judge Justice Shekhar Yadav, over a controversial speech made by him at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event last year. While admitting that more than 50 Opposition MPs had signed on the papers required to initiate the process for the removal of Justice Yadav, and that their signatures had been verified, a source said the case could not be compared to Justice Varma's. 'There is a stark difference between the charges of corruption and others. The Opposition has initiated the move against Justice Yadav in the Rajya Sabha, and Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar is expected to give a ruling on the notice in the Monsoon Session. Earlier, the government as well as some Opposition parties had also suggested dispensing with a probe committee of the House in the case of Justice Varma since a three-member committee appointed by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had already indicted him. Rijiju said Thursday that the government, however, decided on holding a House probe too. 'We would like to go by established rules in this.' The Monsoon Session of Parliament, which was earlier scheduled from July 21 to August 12, has now been extended till August 21. A government official said, 'We hope the removal process (of Justice Varma) will be over in this session itself.' Asked about the extended session, Rijiju said the government has 'legislative business to finish' and that it would come out with the agenda soon. An all-party meeting to discuss the business of the government is expected to be held on July 20. The panel set up by the Supreme Court in the Justice Varma case had submitted its report upholding allegations that wads of currency notes were discovered at his official residence on March 14, by authorities called to the spot due to a fire. As per the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968, a complaint against a judge requires as a first step a resolution signed by at least 100 members if moved in the Lok Sabha and 50 members if initiated in the Rajya Sabha. Once the MPs submit the motion, the presiding officer of the House can either accept or reject it. In the case of Justice Varma, the government is yet to decide which House will take up the motion first. But since it is the government initiating the action, and seeking to build political consensus, it is expected that the presiding officer will accept it. After a motion for impeachment is adopted by either House, the Speaker / Chairman constitutes a three-member committee of inquiry, headed by the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge, and including a Chief Justice of any High Court, and a person who is in the opinion of the Speaker/ Chairman, a 'distinguished jurist'. If the committee renders a guilty finding, the report of the committee is then adopted by the House in which it was introduced, and the judge's removal is debated. For an impeachment motion against a Supreme Court or High Court judge to go through, at least two-thirds of those 'present and voting' in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha must vote in favour of removing the judge – and the number of votes in favour must be more than 50% of the 'total membership' of each House. If Parliament passes such a vote, the President eventually signs an order for the removal of the judge.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Govt to soon collect signatures of MPs for motion to remove Justice Yashwant Varma
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Popular in India Prominent opposition parties have given their in-principle approval to support the motion to remove Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma and the process of collecting signatures could begin soon, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said on said the government is yet to decide whether the motion would be brought in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Lok Sabha, signatures of a minimum 100 MPs is required. For the Rajya Sabha, the requirement is the support of at least 50 said the signatures will be collected after the government decides on the House where the motion will be Monsoon session will commence from July 21 and end on August to the Judges (Inquiry) Act of 1968, once a motion to remove a judge is admitted in any of the houses, the speaker or the chairman, as the case may be, will constitute a three-member committee to investigate the grounds on which the removal (or, in popular term, impeachment) has been committee consists of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) or a Supreme Court judge, the chief justice of one of the 25 high courts and a "distinguished jurist."Rijiju said since the matter involves corruption in the judiciary, the government wants all political parties to be on being asked about the report of the in-committee which proved the cash discovery incident at Justice Varma 's official residence here, he said the report of the three-judge panel had not indicted Justice Varma and was meant to recommend future course of action as Parliament can only remove a judgeA fire incident at Justice Varma's residence in the national capital in March, when he was a judge at the Delhi High Court, had led to the discovery of several burnt sacks of banknotes in the the judge claimed ignorance about the cash, the Supreme Court-appointed committee indicted him after speaking to a number of witnesses and recording his Sanjiv Khanna is believed to have prodded him to resign but Justice Varma dug in his apex court has since repatriated him to his parent court, the Allahabad High Court, where he has not been assigned any judicial Khanna had written to the president and the prime minister, recommending the removal, which is the procedure for axing members of the higher judiciary from service.
