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New Indian Express
26-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Exhibition in Thiruvananthapuram sheds light on 50 years of Emergency
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Marking 50 years since the declaration of the Emergency in India, the AKG Centre for Research and Studies organised an exhibition on Tuesday that revisited the dark, silenced chapter in the country's democratic history. Titled 'Emergency: 50 Years Since the Semi-Fascist Regime', the exhibition featured a wide collection of rare newspaper clippings, photographs and archival materials from the 1975-77 period. One of the most striking displays was a newspaper clippings of the blank editorial that was published against censorship imposed on the press. Also on display were political cartoons by R K Laxman and others, who used satire to criticise the regime during a time when free expression was under threat. 'There is a pressing need to hold exhibitions and discussions to remind what led to Emergency, because we are living through what feels like an undeclared Emergency. With laws like the UAPA, frequent ED raids, and increasing interference from the central government, efforts to silence the press, dissent, and public voices are intensifying. The raid on NewsClick and other media outlets are examples,' said C N Mohanan, director of AKG Centre for Research and Studies.
The Hindu
22-06-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Science movements must be in alliance with larger social change movements: Prabir Purkayastha
Science and technology movements like free software movements must be in alliance with the larger social change movements in order to really bring about true social change, said journalist and author Prabir Purkayastha. He was speaking at a discussion on his book Knowledge as Commons-Towards Inclusive Science and Technology in Bengaluru on Sunday. Mr. Purkayastha, who is also the founder of NewsClick, said that a lot of things about science and technology which we learn from textbook, is not how real science and technology advances take place. 'A lot of things about science and technology which we learn from the textbook is not how real science and technology advances take place, and I think it is important for people in this audience to really understand that what we say the way science and technology develops in a normative sense... it is true but there are a lot of edge cases where real development takes place,' he said. He said that a small advancement in technology can lead to major advances in science and the major advances in science can have very little technological implications. 'Major advances in physics, science have no major impact on technology and major technological advances have very little scientific advances, but it is also true small science developments have enormous impact on technology and small technology developments have enormous impact on science,' he said. He further added that the relationship between advancements in science and technology is not one-to-one. 'So, the relationship between the two is not one-to-one but it is also true that science is a necessary condition for development of technology just as much technology is a necessary condition for developing science, because any major scientific advance today needs huge investment in technology,' he added.
Hans India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
CJI Gavai begins with a bang
May 14 of 2025 will go down in the annals of Indian judicial history as a red-letter day for various historic reasons. No sooner was he administered the oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday and he became the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai entered the record books as only the second Dalit CJI after Justice K G Balakrishnan, and the first Buddhist to occupy the exalted position. However, these statistics apart, Justice Gavai comes with an envious track-record that has earned him the reputation of being a 'fiercely independent' judge for the upright manner with which he handles cases. As the CJI and head of the Supreme Court collegium, he has to reckon with several key issues at a particularly critical time for the judiciary, whose dispute with the executive is mounting by the day and the public's trust in the judicial system is eroding. Meanwhile, for one, who plays by the rule book and is known as a hands-on judge, Justice Gavai commenced his innings as the CJI with a bang. In a demonstration that is indicative of what is to come in the next six months (CJI Gavai is due to retire on November 23), he delivered a ruling, his first judgement as the CJI, which has been the hallmark of his entire career as a judge that took off in 2005 when became a permanent judge and served it with aplomb before being elevated to the Supreme Court on May 24, 2019. He not only declared the Maharashtra government's 1998 decision to transfer forest land to private entities for non-forest use as illegal but also slammed what he termed as 'a classic example of the nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and builders.' In fact, he saw the involvement of the then Revenue minister. This no-holds-barred 'nexus' contention is not surprising as the legal fraternity is aware of his penchant to give a patient hearing to arguments before rendering an authoritative justice as per law. This was evidenced by the deft handling of the defamation case against Rahul Gandhi or while ordering the release of Prabir Purkhayastha, the political activist and founder of NewsClick, who spent 225 days in jail after his arrest by the Delhi Police under UAPA. Justice Gavai has many high-profile cases like the Maharashtra forest land transfer case up ahead. A chilling fact is that there were 82,445 pending cases in the apex court as of January. In the intervening four months, this figure must have increased. One will keenly watch how he handles the more critical and sensitive cases that need to be prioritised like the Places of Worship Act, criminalisation of marital rape and the Waqf Act, among several others, whose outcomes can redefine policy-making exercises. His 'SC can't be aloof when the country is in danger' take, while organising a two-minute silence to express solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam massacre, or while granting bail on the grounds that a long period of imprisonment without trial exemplifies his humane side. The CJI criticised the Supreme Court Bar Association for not organising a farewell get-together for Justice Bela M Trivedi, after she opted for an early retirement. By maintaining that 'the Association ought not to have taken such a stand,' he showed that it was morally binding to honour traditions per se. GJI Gavai commands respect because he symbolises integrity and fairness in their noblest forms.
The Hindu
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Grounds of arrest to accused: We want to strike balance, says Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (April 22, 2025) called for striking a balance between the state machineries not misusing their powers and the accused not taking advantage of its observations to go free. A Bench of Justices B. R. Gavai and Augustine George Masih was dealing with questions, including whether it would be necessary to furnish grounds of arrest to an accused either before arrest or forthwith after arrest in every case, including even those arising out of offences under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code. Also read: Informing accused grounds of arrest constitutional requirement: Supreme Court 'We want to strike a balance. On the one hand, we don't want the machineries to misuse their power. On the other hand, we also don't want that the accused take advantage of some of our observations and get free,' Justice Gavai observed during the hearing. The apex court said the other question that arose was if the arrest would be vitiated if in exceptional cases, on account of certain exigencies, it would not be possible to furnish grounds of arrest to an accused either before or immediately after the arrest. The Bench reserved its verdict on these legal questions. In February this year, the apex court, in a separate judgement, said the requirement of informing grounds of arrest to an accused was not a 'formality but a mandatory constitutional requirement'. A non-compliance by the police, it said, would amount to violation of fundamental right under Article 22 of the Constitution. In May last year, the top court had declared as 'invalid' the arrest of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and ordered his release. Purkayastha was arrested in a case lodged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Also read: NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha released from Tihar after getting bail In its judgement, the apex court said any person arrested over allegations of commission of offences under the UAPA or other offences has a fundamental and a statutory right to be informed about the grounds of arrest in writing. On Tuesday (April 22, 2025), the Bench said the question was whether an accused, who was caught red-handed, should be permitted to get the benefit of the Court's observations on furnishing grounds of arrest. 'Should we forget all the ground realities?' the Bench asked. Some of its verdicts were misused also, it pointed out further. The counsel appearing for one of the petitioners said that furnishing the grounds of arrest to an accused was of vital importance as there was a presumption of innocence until proved guilty by a court of law. The Bench was dealing with three separate pleas arising out of the orders of the Bombay High Court. One of the pleas was filed by an accused in a BMW hit-and-run case of July 2024 in which a woman had lost her life in Mumbai. He challenged the High Court's November 2024 order which rejected his plea seeking to declare his arrest as illegal. Before the High Court, the accused raised the issue of alleged non-furnishing of the grounds of arrest before remanding him to custody. Also read | Opinion: Arrest, agencies, and criminal courts Another petition in the apex court was filed by a woman, the mother of a juvenile who was allegedly involved in the May last year Porsche car crash incident in Pune in which two persons had died. The woman was accused of allegedly switching of the juvenile's blood samples so as to establish that he was not drunk when the accident took place. She challenged in the apex court an order of the High Court which referred a batch of pleas raising the issue concerning grounds of arrest for consideration by a larger Bench. The third petition in the top court also raised the issue over the High Court's order referring the batch of pleas for consideration by a larger Bench.
Hindustan Times
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Grounds of arrest to accused: We want to strike balance, says SC
New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Tuesday called for striking a balance between the state machineries not misusing their powers and the accused not taking advantage of its observations to go free. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih was dealing with questions, including whether it would be necessary to furnish grounds of arrest to an accused either before arrest or forthwith after arrest in every case, including even those arising out of offences under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code. "We want to strike a balance. On the one hand, we don't want the machineries to misuse their power. On the other hand, we also don't want that the accused take advantage of some of our observations and get free," Justice Gavai observed during the hearing. The apex court said the other question that arose was if the arrest would be vitiated if in exceptional cases, on account of certain exigencies, it would not be possible to furnish grounds of arrest to an accused either before or immediately after the arrest. The bench reserved its verdict on these legal questions. In February this year, the apex court, in a separate judgement, said the requirement of informing grounds of arrest to an accused was not a "formality but a mandatory constitutional requirement". A non-compliance by the police, it said, would amount to violation of fundamental right under Article 22 of the Constitution. In May last year, the top court had declared as "invalid" the arrest of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and ordered his release. Purkayastha was arrested in a case lodged under the Unlawful Activities Act . In its judgement, the apex court said any person arrested over allegations of commission of offences under the UA or other offences has a fundamental and a statutory right to be informed about the grounds of arrest in writing. On Tuesday, the bench said the question was whether an accused, who was caught red-handed, should be permitted to get the benefit of the court's observations on furnishing grounds of arrest. "Should we forget all the ground realities?" the bench asked. Some of its verdicts were misused also, it pointed out further. The counsel appearing for one of the petitioners said that furnishing the grounds of arrest to an accused was of vital importance as there was a presumption of innocence until proved guilty by a court of law. The bench was dealing with three separate pleas arising out of the orders of the Bombay High Court. One of the pleas was filed by an accused in a BMW hit-and-run case of July 2024 in which a woman had lost her life in Mumbai. He challenged the high court's November 2024 order which rejected his plea seeking to declare his arrest as illegal. Before the high court, the accused raised the issue of alleged non-furnishing of the grounds of arrest before remanding him to custody. Another petition in the apex court was filed by a woman, the mother of a juvenile who was allegedly involved in the May last year Porsche car crash incident in Pune in which two persons had died. The woman was accused of allegedly switching of the juvenile's blood samples so as to establish that he was not drunk when the accident took place. She challenged in the apex court an order of the high court which referred a batch of pleas raising the issue concerning grounds of arrest for consideration by a larger bench. The third petition in the top court also raised the issue over the high court's order referring the batch of pleas for consideration by a larger bench.
