
Daily Briefing: V-P Jagdeep Dhankhar resigns; behind 2006 Mumbai blasts case acquittals
In a late evening surprise, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar announced that he was stepping down from his post to 'prioritise healthcare and abide by medical advice'. In a letter to President Droupadi Murmu, he said the resignation was effective immediately. The announcement came just hours after what turned out to be his final sitting as the Rajya Sabha Chairman on Monday.
Dhankhar took charge of the V-P office in August 2022, setting off a turbulent journey. So far, he's the only V-P against whom the Opposition brought a notice of removal for 'partisan' conduct as the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
The Opposition has raised questions over the abrupt resignation, given that there were no indications during the day or before the start of Parliament's Monsoon Session. Many have wondered if there is more to it than meets the eye. Dhankhar had been hospitalised earlier this year for a procedure after complaining of uneasiness, but has been back to official duty since then.
A BJP source told The Indian Express that the government was left 'embarrassed' after Dhankhar moved the Opposition's motion to remove Justice Yashwant Varma in the Upper House on Monday just as the government was preparing to bring its own motion in the Lok Sabha. Dhankhar was caught in a bind since the Opposition had enough numbers and he could not reject them. Some BJP leaders have also opined that the party was unhappy with Dhankhar's frequent run-ins with the judiciary.
So, what's next? The Constitution has no set deadline for filling in a vacant V-P position. However, elections are to be held 'as soon as possible'. Here's what that will entail.
On that note, let's get to the rest of the day's headlines.
Nearly two decades ago, on July 11, 2006, Mumbai was struck with one of the most devastating terror attacks in the country's history. A series of blasts ripped through seven Mumbai local train coaches, killing 189 commuters and injuring 824 others. On Monday, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 men convicted in the case, noting that the prosecution had 'utterly failed to establish offences beyond reasonable doubt against the accused'.
How the case fell: The court has questioned the 'genuineness' of the accused's confessions, given that they were identical to each other, though different DCPs recorded them. The court also noted allegations of custodial torture. It also flagged gaps in witness statements. For instance, it observed that taxi drivers who gave the statement that two accused travelled in their taxis were silent for 100 days after the incident, and that there was no special reason to trigger their memory about the faces and description of the accused after such a long period. My colleagues Omkar Gokhale and Apurva Vishvanath explain in detail.
The accused: Charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA), five of the accused were handed death sentences and seven were given life terms. Hours after the Monday verdict, eight accused were released from different jails. Two continue to be held due to pending cases against them, while another was already released on parole. One of them died due to Covid-19 in 2021. The accused had filed '20-25 RTI applications a day' to seek information about police logbooks, hospital records and investigators' records to build the defence.
Also read: 17 yrs ago, gaps in probe, question mark over identity of accused
Foolproof: The Election Commission (EC) has refused to accept the Supreme Court's suggestion to consider Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards for its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. However, it noted that it was its 'Constitutional authority' to determine whether the requirement of citizenship is fulfilled by electors. Still, an individual's citizenship will 'not terminate' on account of being held ineligible as an elector. It also gave reasons for not accepting the SC's suggestion. Read.
A third black box? In the aftermath of the Air India plane crash, one question has sparked intense speculation globally: What happened inside the cockpit? In its wake, another debate has resurfaced: Should aircraft cockpits have a video recorder? While investigators have long demanded a third black box, which could help bring more clarity, pilot unions have strongly pushed back against the idea.
The fatal bite: The recent death of 42-year-old Deepak Mahawar, a popular snake rescuer from Madhya Pradesh's Guna district, has put a spotlight on the long list of such casualties. He is not an isolated case. Jay Mazoomdaar looks at the gaps in this informal industry, which has both social media influencers earning a following for 'snake stunts' and expert handlers, who may play by the book but still face significant dangers on the job.
🤘🎸 Is rock and roll dying? The early 2000s saw Indians obsessed with rock and roll. And as the independent music scene burst onto the scene, local bands emerged. They may have started with covers of Led Zeppelin or The Beatles, but went on to find their sound. It seemed that the thirst for rock could never be satiated — until today, when the craze appears to have died down. Rock and roll may be losing the battle to the algorithm, but veteran musicians like Parikrama's founder, Subir Malik, say the live event space may save the genre.
🎧 Before you go, do tune in to the latest '3 Things' podcast episode. Today's lineup: Why Gurgaon floods, measuring India's inequality, and VS Achuthanandan's passing.
That's all for today, folks! Until tomorrow,
Sonal Gupta
Sonal Gupta is a senior sub-editor on the news desk. She writes feature stories and explainers on a wide range of topics from art and culture to international affairs. She also curates the Morning Expresso, a daily briefing of top stories of the day, which won gold in the 'best newsletter' category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2023. She also edits our newly-launched pop culture section, Fresh Take.
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Indian Express
8 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Justice Varma's removal: Process to begin soon, LS Speaker to name probe panel
The process of removal of Justice Yashwant Varma will be set in motion in the Lok Sabha soon with Speaker Om Birla expected to soon announce the constitution of a statutory committee to investigate the grounds on which the removal of the judge is sought, The Indian Expres has learned. Birla and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh met Wednesday with Secretaries General of both the Houses and the officials discussed the modalities to finalise the procedure. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also joined the meeting later. The discussions took place on a day the Supreme Court said it will set up a bench to hear Justice Varma's plea challenging the legal validity of the in-house inquiry committee which confirmed charges of recovery of unaccounted cash from his official residence in Delhi. This comes in the shadow of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar's surprise resignation Monday evening and, as The Indian Express reported Tuesday, hours after his decision to accept the Opposition's notice on Justice Varma had rubbed the government the wrong way. This had created 'confusion,' government sources said, because Birla had received a similar notice from Lok Sabha MPs with 145 signatures around 12.30 pm Monday, hours before Dhankhar made the reference to the Opposition notice in the Rajya Sabha. 'The Speaker received the notices from the Lok Sabha MPs and he had told us that he would constitute a committee. That's what the law says,' said a senior BJP MP who was part of the group that submitted the notice. BJP sources said that Dhankhar, who resigned as vice president and Rajya Sabha chairman, did not 'admit' the Opposition's notice. Pointing out that 63 Rajya Sabha MPs, from various Opposition parties, gave a notice for the removal of Justice Varma, Dhankhar did mention on Monday that it met the 'numerical requirement of signing' by MPs for 'setting in motion a process of removal of a High Court judge. But he added that according to the Judges (Inquiry) Act, when notices of a motion are submitted on the same day in both the Houses of Parliament, a committee to examine the charges levelled against the judge will be constituted by the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman.' Former Lok Sabha Secretary PDT Achary said that when the Speaker received the notice from Lok Sabha MPs, the process of removal was set in motion. 'The Speaker has to admit it. Then the Speaker will appoint a statutory committee, the Speaker does not have to bring it before the House. Because the House has no role at that stage,' Achary said. According to Achary, Dhankhar did not seem to have admitted the motion. 'The Rajya Sabha Chairman has to admit the motion and then if simultaneously moved in both the Houses, the presiding officers would together constitute the statutory committee. But Dhankhar just mentioned about the notice in the House on Monday, he had to admit it as per the law, which perhaps has not taken place,' Achary added. However, a senior minister said that the Rajya Sabha chair, now deputy chairman Harivansh officiating as chairman, would be consulted for the constitution of the committee because Dhankhar had mentioned it being in the chair. Sources said the statutory committee – with one judge of the Supreme Court, one from the High Courts, and a distinguished jurist – will be announced soon. The committee will probe the charges against Justice Varma and submit a report to the Lok Sabha Speaker. If the committee finds him guilty, a motion will be taken up in the Lok Sabha and it will be discussed in detail. The motion will be put to vote and it requires a two-third majority to be passed. Once the process is over the same, will be repeated in the Rajya Sabha. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Wednesday said it would constitute a bench to hear Justice Varma's plea seeking to invalidate a report by an in-house inquiry panel, which found him guilty of misconduct in the cash discovery row. Justice Varma has also sought quashing of the May 8 recommendation by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna urging Parliament to initiate impeachment against him. Justice Varma also challenged the conclusions of the report by the three-member in-house judicial panel. The three-judge panel, headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, conducted the inquiry for 10 days, examined 55 witnesses and visited the scene of the fire that started at around 11.35 pm on March 14 at the official residence of Justice Varma, then a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court and now in the Allahabad High Court. Acting on the report, then CJI Khanna wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommending the judge's impeachment.


Indian Express
8 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Calls grow for national recognition of Komagata Maru ship as ‘Guru Nanak Jahaz'
Akal Takht Acting Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargajj and Rajya Sabha member Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal have demanded the Centre and the Punjab Government declare July 23 Guru Nanak Jahaz Remembrance Day to honour the participants of the 1914 voyage led by Baba Gurdit Singh, also known as Komagata Maru. In a message issued from Amritsar on the 111th anniversary of the forced return of the ship from Canada, Gargajj said, 'I call upon all Sikh institutions, the Government of India, and the Punjab Government to declare July 23 as 'Guru Nanak Jahaz Remembrance Day'.' Gargajj said this would recognise Baba Gurdit Singh's 'major struggle against racism and in defense of human rights'. Gargajj emphasised that Baba Gurdit Singh had named the ship Guru Nanak Jahaz, not Komagata Maru, a fact documented in the leader's autobiographical book. 'It is regrettable that history books in India continue to use the colonial name, ignoring the fact that Baba Gurdit Singh renamed the ship Guru Nanak Jahaz,' he said. 'This journey was deeply spiritual, with Sri Guru Granth Sahib and the Nishan Sahib on board.' Gargajj further noted that the Canadian cities of Surrey and Vancouver had already designated July 23 as Guru Nanak Jahaz Remembrance Day. 'India must do the same,' he added. Separately, in New Delhi, MP Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal submitted a request to the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha seeking national recognition for the date. He wrote, 'We request that July 23rd be observed annually at the national level to remember the sacrifices of the martyrs aboard the Guru Nanak Jahaz.' Seechewal noted that the ship had sailed from Hong Kong to Canada carrying 376 passengers, mostly Sikhs, and that the Canadian authorities denied them entry, forcing the ship to return on July 23, 1914. Upon its return to India, British forces opened fire on the passengers at Budge Budge Ghat in Kolkata, killing 19 and sentencing others to penal colonies. Seechewal cited works by Baba Gurdit Singh and historian Dr Gurdev Singh Sidhu, both of which identify the ship as Guru Nanak Jahaz. 'The name holds cultural and religious importance,' he wrote, urging Parliament to pass a motion to honour the legacy of the ship and its passengers. Both leaders called for the ship's history to be taught accurately in Indian schools and universities, and for the name Guru Nanak Jahaz to replace Komagata Maru in textbooks and public discourse. Raj Singh Bhandal, who leads the Guru Nanak Jahaz Heritage Society, has been at the forefront of the campaign in Canada and is extending the efforts to India. 'Names are very important in history,' Bhandal said. 'The ship's name was changed many times, and it was named Guru Nanak Jahaz after Baba Gurdit Singh bought it.' According to Bhandal, the journey was not just about immigration but was inspired by the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev. 'The inspiration behind the fight that Baba Gurdit Singh and others led against the British was Guru Nanak Dev Ji. We hope that the Indian government will make this correction that would help the coming generations understand history better,' he said.

Time of India
8 minutes ago
- Time of India
Pahalgam Attack, Op Sindoor, Trump: Oppn Plans To Grill Govt In BIG Parliament Debate Next Week
The Monsoon Session of Parliament will hold an extensive debate on Operation Sindoor next week, with discussions scheduled for July 28 in the Lok Sabha and July 29 in the Rajya Sabha. This follows three days of intense uproar as the opposition demanded a debate on Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam attack. Despite earlier government assurances, repeated disruptions and adjournments stalled the session. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi criticized Prime Minister Modi's 'silence' on Operation Sindoor and Trump's repeated ceasefire claims with Pakistan, questioning the PM's foreign policy stance. The government allocated significant time for the debate, and PM Modi may address the Rajya Sabha during the discussions, aiming to resolve the ongoing deadlock.#operationsindoor #pahalgamattack #rahulgandhi #pmnarendramodi #donaldtrump #indiapakistan #parliamentdebate #foreignpolicyindia #monsoonsession #indiadiplomacy #toi #toibharat Read More