The Evening Wrap: Media cannot target a minority community, says Supreme Court

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the latest updates and the big news stories to follow today [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Friday 18, September 2020 [alt_text]( The Evening Wrap [Here are the biggest news stories of the day]( [alt_text]( Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe. Media cannot make a religious minority community target of its attacks: Supreme Court A message needs to go out to the [media that it cannot make a religious minority the target of its attacks](, the Supreme Court said on Friday. The dignity of a community is as important as journalistic freedom, it noted. “We want a cohesive nation. We, as citizens and judges, are concerned about national security but we are also equally concerned about protecting human dignity... We, as a court, know what happened in the Emergency. So, we want a free flow of ideas. But we are also equally conscious about the right to dignity of a community,” Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, heading a three-judge Bench, observed while hearing a plea for pre-telecast ban on a programme partially aired on Sudarshan TV on “UPSC Jihad”. The show, anchored by the channel’s editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke, claims that members of the Muslim community are attempting to infiltrate the civil services. Describing media regulatory bodies such as the News Broadcasters Association as “toothless,” the court asked them, as well as the government, to suggest measures that could strengthen media self-regulation. The court added that it would not have stepped in and ordered an injunction on the Sudarshan TV show recently had there been a strong self-regulatory mechanism. Google pulls Paytm from Play Store, restores it after few hours Google on Friday [restored the listing of Paytm on its application store](, a few hours after it had pulled down the popular financial services platform for violating its policies related to gambling. In a blogpost, Paytm said it had recently introduced the ‘Paytm Cricket League’ on its consumer app, where users receive player stickers after each transaction, collect them, and receive Paytm Cashback, and it was because of this feature that Google had removed the application from Play Store. While assuring users that their account balance was safe, Paytm, which competes with Google’s digital payments application GPay in India, said all activities on Paytm are completely lawful. It added, however, that it had temporarily removed the cashback component to meet the Play Store policy rules. [File photo.]File photo. “Today afternoon, we received communication from Google that they are suspending our app because they believe this to be a violation of their policies on gambling. The Paytm Android app has thus been unlisted from Play Store and is temporarily unavailable,” Paytm said. Ahead of the start of Indian Premier League (IPL), Suzanne Frey, vice president, Product, Android Security and Privacy at Google, had said in a blog post, “We don’t allow online casinos or support any unregulated gambling apps that facilitate sports betting,” and added, “This includes if an app leads consumers to an external website that allows them to participate in paid tournaments to win real money or cash prizes. It is a violation of our policies.” Earlier on Friday, Google removed Paytm app from its Play Store. After the app was restored, Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma tweeted: “Thanks everyone for your support! Paytm App is back, live in Play Store. We launched a UPI CashBack campaign this morning. Our app got suspended by Google for this. India, you decide if giving cash back is gambling.” People being misled over farm bills: PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday [asserted that some people in the country were trying to mislead farmers]( over reforms introduced by his government in the agricultural sector. “Misinformation is being spread in the country today by some people that farmers will not be getting the right prices for their produce. But our government is committed to help farmers get fair prices…now they can sell their produce anywhere in the country without any restrictions,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while inaugurating a railway project in Bihar. While referring to the new farm Bills, Modi further said, “The farmers of the country will get freedom from brokers and they will get more options and opportunities to sell their produce… these Bills have come as a raksha kawach [protective shield] for them. But some people are spreading different kinds of misinformation about farm Bills…they’re protesting for the sake of protest.” On Thursday, the Lok Sabha passed two Bills: The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed on Tuesday. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and the party’s lone representative in the Union Cabinet Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned yesterday over these Bills pushed by the government. SAD to take a call on staying a part of NDA Keeping on that story, the [SAD will be holding a video consultation with its leaders]( on Friday to decide on whether to continue in the NDA alliance. A SAD leader and former minister in the SAD-BJP government in Punjab, however, told The Hindu that the consultation would not be the decisive factor and that “feedback from our people in Punjab” would need to be taken, possibly once the Parliament session is over. Speaking to The Hindu, Rajya Sabha MP from the party Naresh Gujral said the decision was yet to be taken but that “the party is mindful of the fact that our Army is eyeball to eyeball with China on the northern and eastern borders” and that “Pakistan has been trying to foment trouble for India in Punjab.” “We are mindful of the need to stand together and not undermine the government as it faces these challenges,” he said. The SAD-BJP alliance has been one of the oldest and most durable in the NDA. The three farm Bills have hit the SAD in its rural base, which is unsettled over what the legislations could mean to their incomes. Political analysts are of the view that the SAD’s decision to quit the Union government may be a last ditch effort to save its core ‘farmer vote bank’. Don’t cross borders while criticising judiciary, Madras High Court Chief Justice advises individuals Individuals should express themselves without crossing the border of just and fair criticism. Likewise, it is not the job of a constitutional court to use a sledgehammer for something which may not even amount to contempt, [the Madras High Court observed](. [Suriya]Suriya Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made the observations after accepting the opinion of Advocate General Vijay Narayan that there was no necessity to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against actor Suriya. [Justice S.M. Subramaniam of the High Court had written to the Chief Justice]( on Sunday taking exception to the actor’s statements against the judiciary. The actor, involved in educating poor students through his Agaram Foundation, was critical of the judiciary’s refusal to cancel the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical admissions in view of the pandemic. He had said that the court, which was functioning virtually because it “feared threat to life”, was expecting students to physically go out and write examinations without any fear of Covid-19. After doling out impressive statistics on the number of cases filed and disposed of by the courts in the State during the pandemic, Chief Justice Sahi said: “We find that the utterances by the cine actor may have been absolutely unnecessary or even unwarranted, for being ignorant of the manner in which the entire judiciary of this State has served the interest of its citizens during this pandemic.” Army finds prima facie evidence of AFSPA violations in Shopian encounter The [Army has found “prima facie” evidence that its troops violated powers]( under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) during an encounter in Kashmir’s Shopian district in which three men were killed in July this year, officials said on Friday, adding that disciplinary proceedings have been initiated. On July 18, the Army had claimed that three militants were killed in Amshipura village in the higher reaches of south Kashmir’s Shopian district. The army initiated an inquiry after social media reports indicated the three men hailed from Rajouri district of Jammu region and had gone missing at Amshipura, said Col Rajesh Kalia, the defence spokesperson in Srinagar. The probe was completed in four weeks. [ Army jawans stand guard near the encounter site in Amshipora area of Shopian on July 18, 2020. ] Army jawans stand guard near the encounter site in Amshipora area of Shopian on July 18, 2020. “The inquiry has brought out certain prima facie evidence indicating that during the operation, powers vested under the AFSPA, 1990 were exceeded and the Do’s and Don’ts of Chief of Army Staff as approved by the Supreme Court have been contravened. Consequently, the competent disciplinary authority has directed to initiate disciplinary proceedings under the Army Act against those found prima-facie answerable,” a brief statement from the Army said. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported [coronavirus cases]( from India stood at 52,96,514 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 85,594. In Brief: The Rajya Sabha today [passed the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020](. Opposition parties attacked the government saying that it was using the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to curtail MPs’ salaries while it seemed to have enough funds for seeming extravagances, including over ₹20,000 crore for revamping the Central Vista and erecting a new Parliament building. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today's Top Picks [alt_text]( [How to be digitally safe from cyberattacks?]( [alt_text]( [Watch | What makes Turkish coffee special?]( [alt_text]( [Watch | A look at Sreesanth's cricket-ban]( [alt_text]( [It’s official. 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