The Evening Wrap: SC says ED can’t arrest after special court has taken cognisance of complaint

The Supreme Court on May 16 held that the ED cannot arrest an accused under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after a special court has taken cognisance of the complaint of money laundering. A Bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said when an accused appears before a court in pursuance of a summons, the agency will have to apply to the court concerned to get his custody. “If the accused appears before the special court by summons (issued by court), it cannot be treated that he is in custody,” it said. “Accused who appeared before the court pursuant to the summons not required to apply for bail, and thus twin conditions of Section 45 of PMLA not applicable,” the Bench said in its judgment. The twin conditions state that when an accused in a money laundering case applies for bail, the court has to first allow the public prosecutor to be heard and only when it is satisfied that the accused is not guilty and unlikely to commit a similar offence when released, can bail be granted. The apex court judgment was pronounced on a question of whether an accused in a money laundering case has to meet the stringent twin test for bail even in cases where the special court takes cognisance of the offence. ED says Kejriwal sees himself as a special person, accuses him of remarks ‘slapping the system’ The ED on May 16 accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of making public utterances, which amounted to a “slap on the system”, on the very first day after he came out on interim bail granted to him by the Supreme Court in the liquor policy case for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal’s lawyers retorted that they could, in turn, file an affidavit in the Supreme Court objecting to remarks reportedly made by a top Government Minister about the bail order. Appearing before a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for ED, said Kejriwal made remarks about the case and urged the public to vote for the ‘broom’ symbol of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) so that he would not have to go back to jail on June 2. The Supreme Court, while granting him interim bail, had ordered him to surrender on June 2. “According to me, this is a slap on the system. He said ‘They say I have to go back to jail in 20 days. If you (voters) vote for ‘broom’, then I will not have to go to jail’. He is saying if you vote for me, I will not have to go back to jail on June 2. How can that happen?” Mehta, representing the ED, objected. The Solicitor General said the remarks proved that Kejriwal “treats himself as a special person”. “We (ED) treat him as any other ordinary citizen committing an offence,” Mehta declared. Unmoved, Justice Khanna said the remarks of Kejriwal, who is the National convenor of AAP, that he would not have to return to jail if the electorate votes for him was merely an “assumption”. The judge said that the court, in its May 10 order granting interim bail to Kejriwal, had only prohibited him from discussing his role in the excise policy case. “We said he will not discuss his role in the case. About the case, we did not say anything,” Justice Khanna observed. Justice Datta said that Kejriwal would have to return in 20 days was exactly what the court’s order had said. “That is our order, then?” the judge questioned Mehta. Senior advocate AM Singhvi, for Kejriwal, said the ED was trying to introduce a “flourish of prejudice” against the Chief Minister. “If he (Mehta) is filing an affidavit on this issue. I will also file an affidavit on what a top Minister in the government has said (about the bail order of the apex court),” Singhvi protested on behalf of Kejriwal. Adverse events found in participants of Covaxin study Female adolescents and those with comorbidities are at a higher risk of adverse events after receiving Bharat Biotech’s BBV152 (Covaxin) vaccine against COVID-19, according to a report published in Springer Nature recently. The report said that nearly a third of the participants of an observational study on the vaccine reported adverse events of special interest (AESI). The one-year follow-up study titled ‘Long-term safety analysis of the BBV152 coronavirus vaccine in adolescents and adults: Findings from a one-year prospective study in North India’, conducted by a team of researchers at Banaras Hindu University, also said that serious adverse events many occur in 1% of BBV152 recipients, and that extended surveillance is warranted following the administration of the vaccine. Responding to a query from The Hindu on the study, Bharat Biotech maintained that for such a study in safety to be effective and informative, and for it to avoid investigator bias, some data points were also required, including the AESI safety profile of the subjects prior to their participation in the study; a comparison of the safety profile of non-vaccinated subjects during the course of the study; a comparison of the safety profile of subjects who received other vaccines during the course of the study; and that all study participants should be followed during the course of the study instead of only a subset. “Additionally, several studies have been executed on the safety of Covaxin, and published in peer reviewed journals, demonstrating an excellent safety track record,’’ the company said. According to the study, which had 1,024 individuals enrolled, 635 adolescents and 291 adults could be contacted during the one-year follow-up. Viral upper respiratory tract infections were reported by 304 (47.9%) adolescents and 124 (42.6%) adults, the study said. Also, new onset skin and subcutaneous disorders (10.5%), general disorders (10.2%), and nervous system disorders (4.7%) were the common AESIs in adolescents. General disorders (8.9%), musculoskeletal disorders (5.8%), and nervous system disorders (5.5%) were the common AESIs in adults. Menstrual abnormalities were noticed in 4.6% of female participants. Ocular abnormalities and hypothyroidism were observed in 2.7% and 0.6% of the participants, respectively. Among the serious AESIs (1%), stroke and Guillain-Barre syndrome were identified in 0.3% and 0.1% of the participants, respectively. “Among adolescents, female individuals, those with a history of allergy and post-vaccination typhoid were respectively at 1.6, 2.8, and 2.8 times higher risk of AESIs. The majority of the AESIs persisted at the 1-year follow-up. Female individuals, adolescents with pre-vaccination COVID-19, those with comorbidities, and those with post-vaccination typhoid had respectively 1.6, 2, 2.7, and 3.2 times higher odds of persistent AESIs. Adults with comorbidities had more than 2 times higher odds of AESIs and persistent AESIs,” the paper said. The worldwide COVID-19 vaccination programme started in December 2020 and early January 2021. Viral vector and mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines were distributed on a large scale, worldwide. In India, the BBV152 was the only vaccine that was initially granted permission for mass roll-out in adolescents in the 15-18 years age group. The short-term safety of COVID-19 vaccines approved for adolescents was shown to be favourable in controlled settings. “In this context, we provided the first short-term safety data of BBV152 in adolescents and the comparative safety profile in adults. Despite nearly 2 years having elapsed since the approval of COVID-19 vaccines in adolescents, long-term data on the safety of these vaccines released in the public domain have been minimal. Here, in an extension of our previously published study, we provide data on the long-term safety of the BBV152 vaccine in adolescents and adults,” the paper said. Imran Khan appears before Pakistan’s top court via video link; hearing ends without him speaking Incarcerated former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on May 16 appeared before the Supreme Court via a video link in a case about changes in the anti-corruption laws but did not get to speak as a petitioner in the matter. However, a leaked image of the 71-year-old founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s image showing him attending the court hearing has prompted the Supreme Court administration to initiate a probe to find out the source for the leak, The News International reported citing sources. Khan appearing via the video link was possible after Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Tuesday while hearing an appeal by the government against annulment of certain changes in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws by the previous government had ordered the authorities to present Khan virtually for his statement. Khan had challenged the tweaks in the NAB laws and the top court in September last year had accepted his plea which reopened dozens of cases of alleged corruption against some leading politicians, including Khan’s arch rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif. A five-member Supreme Court larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi heard the case. During the hearing, senior counsel Khawaja Haris, who earlier represented Imran Khan in the first round of litigation, appeared before the court for legal assistance while Makhdoom Ali Khan was present on behalf of the federal government, Dawn.com reported. The SC, noting that the bench was unavailable next week, adjourned the hearing indefinitely, it said. Khan appeared as a petitioner through video link in the case, but the hearing was not live streamed unlike the current practice, which had been in vogue since the top judge started it last year after becoming the chief justice. Even the previous proceedings of the case were broadcast live by the SC but not Thursday’s hearing. Consequently, Khan’s followers could not see him live for the first time since he was arrested in August last year. According to Dawn.com, speaking with media persons outside the Supreme Court, PTI’s senator Ali Zafar said, the case is in its “very early stages” and added, it was the Bench’s jurisdiction whether or not Khan’s statement is broadcast live. However, his party shared the image of the purported video call on a laptop screen showing Khan seated in the e-court room wearing a light-blue shirt. The News International quoted sources to report that the SC authorities have started the investigations to ascertain how the image was leaked and added that the police will take action against whoever is found involved in this “as this was done in violation of the courtroom rules.” “Directions have been issued to review the CCTV footage and identify the person who captured the image. After this, the frame size of the video link was minimised,” it said. Khan’s party said in a statement that there was no live streaming from the apex court as the registrar maintained that it was the prerogative of the bench to decide. “Judicial process demands fairness and openness, (and) transparency can only be ensured through public view of proceedings. Refusal to stream proceedings advances unfairness and non-transparency and must be condemned. CJ has changed the process unilaterally and has discredited his own decision that brought him fame soon after he took over,” it said. Khan has been charged in several cases, including cypher and unlawful marriage, and has remained imprisoned even though he had obtained bail in some other cases. He was arrested in August last year and since then has been incarcerated, first in the Attock Jai and now in Adiala Jail and out of sight. His appearance in court comes a day after two courts granted him relief in separate cases, including the Al-Qadir Trust matter. A division of the high court led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri granted him bail in the RS 60 billion case, while Judicial Magistrate Suhaib Bilal Ranjha also acquitted him in a case registered against him at the Khanna police station in connection with the Azadi March in 2022. Despite the relief, his party showed apprehensions about a ban on visitors in the Adiala jail, saying the move aimed to keep Khan away from the apex court proceedings. World court opens hearings on Israeli military’s incursion into Rafah The United Nations’ top court on May 16 opened two days of hearings into a request from South Africa to press Israel to halt its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population has sought shelter. It is the fourth time South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice for emergency measures since the nation launched proceedings alleging that Israel’s military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide. “The sitting is open,” said ICJ President Nawaf Salam. According to the latest request, the previous preliminary orders by The Hague-based court were not sufficient to address “a brutal military attack on the sole remaining refuge for the people of Gaza.” Israel has portrayed Rafah as the last stronghold of the militant group, brushing off warnings from the United States and other allies that any major operation there would be catastrophic for civilians. South Africa has asked the court to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah; to take measures to ensure unimpeded access for U.N. officials, humanitarian organizations and journalists to the Gaza Strip; and to report back within one week on how it is meeting these demands. During hearings earlier this year, Israel strongly denied committing genocide in Gaza and said it does all it can to spare civilians and is only targeting Hamas militants. It says Hamas’ tactic of embedding in civilian areas makes it difficult to avoid civilian casualties. In January, judges ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza, but the panel stopped short of ordering an end to the military offensive that has laid waste to the Palestinian enclave. In a second order in March, the court said Israel must take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies to enter. Most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have been displaced since fighting began. The war began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants in its count. South Africa initiated proceedings in December 2023 and sees the legal campaign as rooted in issues central to its identity. Its governing party, the African National Congress, has long compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to its own history under the apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to “homelands.” Apartheid ended in 1994. On Sunday, Egypt announced it plans to join the case. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israeli military actions “constitute a flagrant violation of international law, humanitarian law, and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 regarding the protection of civilians during wartime.” Several countries have also indicated they plan to intervene, but so far only Libya, Nicaragua and Colombia have filed formal requests to do so. Poll roundup: Shiromani Akali Dal leader Ravikaran Singh Kahlon joined the BJP, a day after he was expelled from the SAD over alleged anti-party activities. Kahlon is the son of former Punjab Assembly Speaker and former rural development and Panchayat Minister Nirmal Singh Kahlon. Kahlon had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Punjab assembly polls from the Dera Baba Nanak seat. Kahlon took a swipe at SAD chief Sukhbir Badal, saying he was thankful to him for throwing him out of the party “for speaking the truth” and rejected any charge of any indiscipline. The SAD’s situation has gone from bad to worse, he said, adding that whoever speaks about the party’s welfare is “either shown the door or his voice is suppressed”. AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on May 16 said the BJP will change the Constitution and end reservation if it comes to power after the Lok Sabha polls. Kejriwal also reiterated his claim that Home Minister Amit Shah will be made the next prime minister and Yogi Adiyanath will be removed as Uttar Pradesh chief minister if the BJP returns to power. “The people of BJP have always been against reservation. They will change the Constitution and end reservation of SC/ST/OBC after coming to power,” he said at a joint press conference along with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow. In Brief: The Slovak Interior Minister said on May 16 that a “lone wolf” has been charged in the shooting that seriously wounded Prime Minister Robert Fico and prompted soul-searching among leaders in the deeply divided society. Fico was in serious but stable condition on May 16, a hospital official said, after the populist leader was hit multiple times in an attempt on his life that shook the small country and reverberated across the continent weeks before European elections. The attempted assassination has shocked the small central European nation, with many blaming the attack in part on extreme political polarisation that has divided the country. Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said on May 15 that an initial investigation found “a clear political motivation” behind the attack on Fico while he was attending a government meeting in a former coal mining town. However, he said on May 16 that the suspect charged was a lone wolf who “did not belong to any political groups.” Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 16 May 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]( ED can’t arrest accused after special court has taken cognisance of complaint: Supreme Court The Supreme Court on May 16 held that the [ED cannot arrest an accused under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act]( after a special court has taken cognisance of the complaint of money laundering. A Bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said when an accused appears before a court in pursuance of a summons, the agency will have to apply to the court concerned to get his custody. “If the accused appears before the special court by summons (issued by court), it cannot be treated that he is in custody,” it said. “Accused who appeared before the court pursuant to the summons not required to apply for bail, and thus twin conditions of Section 45 of PMLA not applicable,” the Bench said in its judgment. The twin conditions state that when an accused in a money laundering case applies for bail, the court has to first allow the public prosecutor to be heard and only when it is satisfied that the accused is not guilty and unlikely to commit a similar offence when released, can bail be granted. The apex court judgment was pronounced on a question of whether an accused in a money laundering case has to meet the stringent twin test for bail even in cases where the special court takes cognisance of the offence. ED says Kejriwal sees himself as a special person, accuses him of remarks ‘slapping the system’ The [ED on May 16 accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal]( of making public utterances, which amounted to a “slap on the system”, on the very first day after he came out on interim bail granted to him by the Supreme Court in the liquor policy case for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections. Kejriwal’s lawyers retorted that they could, in turn, file an affidavit in the Supreme Court objecting to remarks reportedly made by a top Government Minister about the bail order. Appearing before a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for ED, said Kejriwal made remarks about the case and urged the public to vote for the ‘broom’ symbol of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) so that he would not have to go back to jail on June 2. The Supreme Court, while granting him interim bail, had ordered him to surrender on June 2. “According to me, this is a slap on the system. He said ‘They say I have to go back to jail in 20 days. If you (voters) vote for ‘broom’, then I will not have to go to jail’. He is saying if you vote for me, I will not have to go back to jail on June 2. How can that happen?” Mehta, representing the ED, objected. The Solicitor General said the remarks proved that Kejriwal “treats himself as a special person”. “We (ED) treat him as any other ordinary citizen committing an offence,” Mehta declared. Unmoved, Justice Khanna said the remarks of Kejriwal, who is the National convenor of AAP, that he would not have to return to jail if the electorate votes for him was merely an “assumption”. The judge said that the court, in its May 10 order granting interim bail to Kejriwal, had only prohibited him from discussing his role in the excise policy case. “We said he will not discuss his role in the case. About the case, we did not say anything,” Justice Khanna observed. Justice Datta said that Kejriwal would have to return in 20 days was exactly what the court’s order had said. “That is our order, then?” the judge questioned Mehta. Senior advocate AM Singhvi, for Kejriwal, said the ED was trying to introduce a “flourish of prejudice” against the Chief Minister. “If he (Mehta) is filing an affidavit on this issue. I will also file an affidavit on what a top Minister in the government has said (about the bail order of the apex court),” Singhvi protested on behalf of Kejriwal. Adverse events found in participants of Covaxin study Female adolescents and those with comorbidities are at a higher risk of [adverse events after receiving Bharat Biotech’s BBV152 (Covaxin)]( vaccine against COVID-19, according to a report published in Springer Nature recently. The report said that nearly a third of the participants of an observational study on the vaccine reported adverse events of special interest (AESI). The one-year follow-up study titled ‘Long-term safety analysis of the BBV152 coronavirus vaccine in adolescents and adults: Findings from a one-year prospective study in North India’, conducted by a team of researchers at Banaras Hindu University, also said that serious adverse events many occur in 1% of BBV152 recipients, and that extended surveillance is warranted following the administration of the vaccine. Responding to a query from The Hindu on the study, Bharat Biotech maintained that for such a study in safety to be effective and informative, and for it to avoid investigator bias, some data points were also required, including the AESI safety profile of the subjects prior to their participation in the study; a comparison of the safety profile of non-vaccinated subjects during the course of the study; a comparison of the safety profile of subjects who received other vaccines during the course of the study; and that all study participants should be followed during the course of the study instead of only a subset. “Additionally, several studies have been executed on the safety of Covaxin, and published in peer reviewed journals, demonstrating an excellent safety track record,’’ the company said. According to the study, which had 1,024 individuals enrolled, 635 adolescents and 291 adults could be contacted during the one-year follow-up. Viral upper respiratory tract infections were reported by 304 (47.9%) adolescents and 124 (42.6%) adults, the study said. Also, new onset skin and subcutaneous disorders (10.5%), general disorders (10.2%), and nervous system disorders (4.7%) were the common AESIs in adolescents. General disorders (8.9%), musculoskeletal disorders (5.8%), and nervous system disorders (5.5%) were the common AESIs in adults. Menstrual abnormalities were noticed in 4.6% of female participants. Ocular abnormalities and hypothyroidism were observed in 2.7% and 0.6% of the participants, respectively. Among the serious AESIs (1%), stroke and Guillain-Barre syndrome were identified in 0.3% and 0.1% of the participants, respectively. “Among adolescents, female individuals, those with a history of allergy and post-vaccination typhoid were respectively at 1.6, 2.8, and 2.8 times higher risk of AESIs. The majority of the AESIs persisted at the 1-year follow-up. Female individuals, adolescents with pre-vaccination COVID-19, those with comorbidities, and those with post-vaccination typhoid had respectively 1.6, 2, 2.7, and 3.2 times higher odds of persistent AESIs. Adults with comorbidities had more than 2 times higher odds of AESIs and persistent AESIs,” the paper said. The worldwide COVID-19 vaccination programme started in December 2020 and early January 2021. Viral vector and mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines were distributed on a large scale, worldwide. In India, the BBV152 was the only vaccine that was initially granted permission for mass roll-out in adolescents in the 15-18 years age group. The short-term safety of COVID-19 vaccines approved for adolescents was shown to be favourable in controlled settings. “In this context, we provided the first short-term safety data of BBV152 in adolescents and the comparative safety profile in adults. Despite nearly 2 years having elapsed since the approval of COVID-19 vaccines in adolescents, long-term data on the safety of these vaccines released in the public domain have been minimal. Here, in an extension of our previously published study, we provide data on the long-term safety of the BBV152 vaccine in adolescents and adults,” the paper said. Imran Khan appears before Pakistan’s top court via video link; hearing ends without him speaking Incarcerated former Pakistan prime minister [Imran Khan on May 16 appeared before the Supreme Court]( via a video link in a case about changes in the anti-corruption laws but did not get to speak as a petitioner in the matter. However, a leaked image of the 71-year-old founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s image showing him attending the court hearing has prompted the Supreme Court administration to initiate a probe to find out the source for the leak, The News International reported citing sources. Khan appearing via the video link was possible after Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Tuesday while hearing an appeal by the government against annulment of certain changes in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws by the previous government had ordered the authorities to present Khan virtually for his statement. Khan had challenged the tweaks in the NAB laws and the top court in September last year had accepted his plea which reopened dozens of cases of alleged corruption against some leading politicians, including Khan’s arch rival Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif. A five-member Supreme Court larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi heard the case. During the hearing, senior counsel Khawaja Haris, who earlier represented Imran Khan in the first round of litigation, appeared before the court for legal assistance while Makhdoom Ali Khan was present on behalf of the federal government, Dawn.com reported. The SC, noting that the bench was unavailable next week, adjourned the hearing indefinitely, it said. Khan appeared as a petitioner through video link in the case, but the hearing was not live streamed unlike the current practice, which had been in vogue since the top judge started it last year after becoming the chief justice. Even the previous proceedings of the case were broadcast live by the SC but not Thursday’s hearing. Consequently, Khan’s followers could not see him live for the first time since he was arrested in August last year. According to Dawn.com, speaking with media persons outside the Supreme Court, PTI’s senator Ali Zafar said, the case is in its “very early stages” and added, it was the Bench’s jurisdiction whether or not Khan’s statement is broadcast live. However, his party shared the image of the purported video call on a laptop screen showing Khan seated in the e-court room wearing a light-blue shirt. The News International quoted sources to report that the SC authorities have started the investigations to ascertain how the image was leaked and added that the police will take action against whoever is found involved in this “as this was done in violation of the courtroom rules.” “Directions have been issued to review the CCTV footage and identify the person who captured the image. After this, the frame size of the video link was minimised,” it said. Khan’s party said in a statement that there was no live streaming from the apex court as the registrar maintained that it was the prerogative of the bench to decide. “Judicial process demands fairness and openness, (and) transparency can only be ensured through public view of proceedings. Refusal to stream proceedings advances unfairness and non-transparency and must be condemned. CJ has changed the process unilaterally and has discredited his own decision that brought him fame soon after he took over,” it said. Khan has been charged in several cases, including cypher and unlawful marriage, and has remained imprisoned even though he had obtained bail in some other cases. He was arrested in August last year and since then has been incarcerated, first in the Attock Jai and now in Adiala Jail and out of sight. His appearance in court comes a day after two courts granted him relief in separate cases, including the Al-Qadir Trust matter. A division of the high court led by Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mahmood Jahangiri granted him bail in the RS 60 billion case, while Judicial Magistrate Suhaib Bilal Ranjha also acquitted him in a case registered against him at the Khanna police station in connection with the Azadi March in 2022. Despite the relief, his party showed apprehensions about a ban on visitors in the Adiala jail, saying the move aimed to keep Khan away from the apex court proceedings. World court opens hearings on Israeli military’s incursion into Rafah The United Nations’ top court on May 16 [opened two days of hearings]( into a request from South Africa to press Israel to halt its military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population has sought shelter. It is the fourth time South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice for emergency measures since the nation launched proceedings alleging that Israel’s military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide. “The sitting is open,” said ICJ President Nawaf Salam. According to the latest request, the previous preliminary orders by The Hague-based court were not sufficient to address “a brutal military attack on the sole remaining refuge for the people of Gaza.” Israel has portrayed Rafah as the last stronghold of the militant group, brushing off warnings from the United States and other allies that any major operation there would be catastrophic for civilians. South Africa has asked the court to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah; to take measures to ensure unimpeded access for U.N. officials, humanitarian organizations and journalists to the Gaza Strip; and to report back within one week on how it is meeting these demands. During hearings earlier this year, Israel strongly denied committing genocide in Gaza and said it does all it can to spare civilians and is only targeting Hamas militants. It says Hamas’ tactic of embedding in civilian areas makes it difficult to avoid civilian casualties. In January, judges ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza, but the panel stopped short of ordering an end to the military offensive that has laid waste to the Palestinian enclave. In a second order in March, the court said Israel must take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies to enter. Most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have been displaced since fighting began. The war began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants in its count. South Africa initiated proceedings in December 2023 and sees the legal campaign as rooted in issues central to its identity. Its governing party, the African National Congress, has long compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to its own history under the apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to “homelands.” Apartheid ended in 1994. On Sunday, Egypt announced it plans to join the case. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israeli military actions “constitute a flagrant violation of international law, humanitarian law, and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 regarding the protection of civilians during wartime.” Several countries have also indicated they plan to intervene, but so far only Libya, Nicaragua and Colombia have filed formal requests to do so. Poll roundup: - Shiromani Akali Dal leader Ravikaran Singh Kahlon joined the BJP, a day after he was expelled from the SAD over alleged anti-party activities. Kahlon is the son of former Punjab Assembly Speaker and former rural development and Panchayat Minister Nirmal Singh Kahlon. Kahlon had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Punjab assembly polls from the Dera Baba Nanak seat. Kahlon took a swipe at SAD chief Sukhbir Badal, saying he was thankful to him for throwing him out of the party “for speaking the truth” and rejected any charge of any indiscipline. The SAD’s situation has gone from bad to worse, he said, adding that whoever speaks about the party’s welfare is “either shown the door or his voice is suppressed”. - AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on May 16 said the [BJP will change the Constitution]( and end reservation if it comes to power after the Lok Sabha polls. Kejriwal also reiterated his claim that Home Minister Amit Shah will be made the next prime minister and Yogi Adiyanath will be removed as Uttar Pradesh chief minister if the BJP returns to power. “The people of BJP have always been against reservation. They will change the Constitution and end reservation of SC/ST/OBC after coming to power,” he said at a joint press conference along with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow. In Brief: The Slovak Interior Minister said on May 16 that a [“lone wolf” has been charged in the shooting]( that seriously wounded Prime Minister Robert Fico and prompted soul-searching among leaders in the deeply divided society. Fico was in serious but stable condition on May 16, a hospital official said, after the populist leader was hit multiple times in an attempt on his life that shook the small country and reverberated across the continent weeks before European elections. The attempted assassination has shocked the small central European nation, with many blaming the attack in part on extreme political polarisation that has divided the country. Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said on May 15 that an initial investigation found “a clear political motivation” behind the attack on Fico while he was attending a government meeting in a former coal mining town. However, he said on May 16 that the suspect charged was a lone wolf who “did not belong to any political groups.” Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [Sign up for free]( Today’s Top Picks [[Why has the ‘A’ status accreditation of NHRC been deferred for the second year in a row? | In Focus podcast] Why has the ‘A’ status accreditation of NHRC been deferred for the second year in a row? | In Focus podcast]( [[In Andhra-Odisha coast, ghost gear poses a serious threat to marine life] In Andhra-Odisha coast, ghost gear poses a serious threat to marine life]( [[Watch | Can you take your lawyer to consumer court for poor services? | Explained] Watch | Can you take your lawyer to consumer court for poor services? | Explained]( [[Watch | How Railways is connecting the Kashmir valley] Watch | How Railways is connecting the Kashmir valley]( Copyright© 2024, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [click here]( Manage your newsletter subscription preferences [here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](