The Evening Wrap: More ‘toolkit’ arrest warrants

The Hindu Newsletter - Here are the biggest news stories of the day [The Hindu Logo]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Linkedin]( [Instagram]( Monday 15, February 2021 [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. More ‘toolkit’ arrest warrants [Non-bailable warrants have been issued against two persons allegedly found to be involved in the “toolkit” matter](, Delhi Police said on Monday. Warrants have been issued against Mumbai-based activist Nikita Jacob, and another activist Shantanu Muluk. They both, along with Bengaluru-based climate change activist Disha Ravi, were involved in creating the ‘toolkit’ on farmers’ protest and spreading it further, Delhi Police said on Monday. It is not yet clear whether this ‘toolkit’, which first came to public attention when it was shared on Twitter by climate activist Greta Thunberg, is banned in India. Nor is it clear whether the government has officially made it illegal for activists or citizens to either share this ‘toolkit’ or support the ongoing farmers’ protests in India. The police have claimed that the idea behind the ‘toolkit’ was to tarnish the image of the government through a global campaign. Joint Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) Prem Nath said that Poetic Justice Foundation founder M.O. Dhaliwal contacted Nikita Jacob through a colleague identified as Puneet, resident of Canada. “The motive was to ensure that on Republic Day, Global Day of Action was observed followed by a Twitter storm,” Nath said. Police said that on January 11, a Zoom meeting was organised which was attended by Jacob, Dhaliwal, Muluk, and others and it was during this meeting that it was decided that this campaign “should be made global and to create unrest amongst the farmers”. Police claimed that probe has shown that Jacob, Muluk and Ravi created the ‘toolkit document’ and further spread it.“Disha had sent this toolkit to U.S. based climate change activist Greta Thunberg on Telegram. Preliminary probe revealed that a lot of data has been deleted from Disha’s phone. Her telegram search also reveals that on February 3, toolkit links were deleted. Based on this evidence, her arrest was made,” the Commissioner said. Police said that non-bailable warrants have been issued against Jacob and Shantanu. Sources said that a Special Cell team had visited Jacob’s residence but could not question her at the time. Delhi Police have also arrested 22-year-old climate change activist Disha Ravi from Bengaluru who allegedly edited the toolkit, police said. A Delhi Court on Sunday sent her to five-day police custody. ‘Toolkit’ arrests: Lawyer Nikita Jacob seeks anticipatory bail [Advocate Nikita Jacob on Monday moved the Bombay High Court](, seeking a transit anticipatory bail after the Delhi Police issued a non-bailable warrant against her in connection with the ‘toolkit’ tweeted by 18-year-old Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg. Jacob’s associate Shantanu Muluk also moved the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court seeking a transit anticipatory bail in the same matter. Both their pleas will be heard tomorrow. Jacob’s plea mentions that she has not received a copy of the complaint or the FIR, if filed by any authority, and when she tried to procure the same, it was denied to her. On February 11, the Cyber Cell Unit personnel, accompanied by constables from the Vanrai Police Station, came to Jacob’s house with a search warrant and seized personal documents and electronic gadgets, which had confidential information protected by attorney-client privilege. Her plea states, “Some trollers and bots are circulating her personal information like email ids, phone numbers and pictures on social media. An entity named, ‘Legal Rights Observatory’ appears to have filed a false and baseless complaint with the Delhi Police and seeks to pin the blame for violence on January 26, 2021 upon her. Times Now, ABP news channels reached her house based on this information.”Legal Rights Observatory is a body affiliated with the RSS. Jacob has volunteered in an environmental movement by the name of Extinction Rebellion that helps create awareness about various environmental causes. Jurists raise questions over manner of Disha Ravi’s arrest [ Disha Ravi ] Disha Ravi While the [Delhi police have claimed that all norms and procedures were followed when they arrested 22-year-old climate change](activist Disha A. Ravi from her residence in Bengaluru on Saturday, several leading advocates and jurists have raised concerns over reported violation of norms and guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Home Affairs and multiple judgments. Ravi was arrested at her residence in North Bengaluru on Saturday by Delhi Police and immediately flown to the nation’s capital, where she was produced before the magistrate on Sunday afternoon. A group of lawyers petitioned the Bengaluru Police on Monday citing the 2012 guidelines from the MHA. The practice of police arresting a person outside the State, but bringing them back and producing them before a magistrate in their own jurisdiction is not in accordance with the law, the MHA guidelines said. Further, Section 80 of CrPC stipulates that the arrested person must be produced before the magistrate within the jurisdiction of arrest, which must be followed in every case, the guidelines said. However, this has not been followed in this case, lawyers claim. Ravi allegedly did not have an opportunity to seek legal counsel and argued her own case when she was remanded into police custody for five days in Delhi on Sunday – this is another aspect that has come under severe criticism. “Being ‘arrested’ from Bengaluru, she should have been produced before the competent court in Bengaluru itself for obtaining transit remand since she is being moved between States, but was not. She also did not have an opportunity to seek legal counsel nor was one provided to her, in breach of Article 22. These actions of Delhi police have made a complete mockery of the “procedure established by law” in depriving Disha Ravi of her right to life and liberty,” said a statement from Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms. WhatsApp’s new policy: Indians apprehensive about privacy, says CJI [ A view of Supreme Court of India. File] A view of Supreme Court of India. File [Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde on Monday said Indians have “grave apprehensions” about privacy from Facebook and WhatsApp](. “People have grave apprehensions about loss of privacy. You may be a two or three trillion company, but people value their privacy more. It is our duty to protect people’s privacy,” Chief Justice Bobde, heading a three-judge Bench, addressed lawyers appearing for the social media/instant messaging giants. “We are telling you what we heard and read - People think that if A sends a WhatsApp message to B and B to C. The circuit of messages is revealed to Facebook,” the CJI addressed senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arvind Datar, for the companies. Both lawyers vehemently denied this as “misinformation”. Chief Justice Bobde said, “Say that on oath. We are issuing notice. File a response.” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the government, stated, “This is an apprehension of the nation... Privacy is part of our fundamental rights. They [WhatsApp and Facebook] cannot compromise our privacy... They cannot differentiate.” The hearing concerned the new privacy policy introduced by WhatsApp on January 4. The allegation is that it scraps users’ ‘opt-out policy’. The user would have to, according to the policy, compulsorily consent to share their data with Facebook and its group, the petitioners have alleged. The deadline for the roll-out of the policy was February 8 initially, but it was extended to May 15. Sibal denied allegations that WhatsApp was treating Europeans and Indians differently. “Europe has a special law [General Data Protection Regulations], India doesn’t. As soon as India has the special law, we will follow. We will follow the law of Parliament,” he submitted. The new privacy policy was applicable to the rest of the world except Europe. Mr. Datar said the General Data Protection Regulations was followed by probably 20 countries in the world. Allegations of differential treatment being accorded to Indians were unfounded. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, for petitioner Karmanya Singh Sareen and others challenging the new privacy policy, said they were not on the point of whether WhatsApp was encrypting messages or not. “We are on the point of sharing of meta data for profit,” he submitted. “There is a different set of rules for Europeans and different for Indians... Even the government has taken serious note and issued notices to the companies,” he said. He urged the court to step in and ensure that no data is leaked. India opens up its mapping, geospatial data for general use [India has so far been reliant on foreign resources for mapping technologies and services.]India has so far been reliant on foreign resources for mapping technologies and services. [India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) on Monday opened access to its geospatial data and services](, including maps, for all Indian entities by saying, “What is readily available globally does not need to be regulated.” The move is said to release a lot of data that is currently restricted and not available for free. The update represents a major change in the country’s mapping policy, which earlier required individuals and companies to seek approval for use of mapping data under the Geospatial Information Regulation Act, 2016. Geospatial data includes location information about natural or man-made, physical or imaginary features, whether above the ground or below, boundaries, points of interest, natural phenomena, mobility data, weather patterns, and other statistical information. “Liberalisation of the mapping industry and democratisation of existing datasets will spur domestic innovation and enable Indian companies to compete in the global mapping ecosystem by leveraging modern geospatial technologies,” the Ministry said in a release. The announcement comes at a time when advances in mapping technology, including aerial vehicles, mobile mapping systems, LIDAR and RADAR sensors, and satellite-based remote sensing techniques, are giving a lift to innovation in eCommerce, logistics and urban transportation sectors. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India](stood at 1,09,16,696 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,57,139. In Brief: The Supreme Court on Monday gave journalist Siddique Kappan, charged with sedition and in an Uttar Pradesh jail since October, five days to visit his critically ill mother in Kerala. He would be escorted under armed guard of the Uttar Pradesh police. The court barred Kappan from giving interviews, including on social media. He cannot meet any members of the public except his relatives, doctors or others connected to his mother’s health. He would be back in prison by the end of the fifth day. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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