The Evening Wrap: Supreme Court refuses to stay sale of electoral bonds

The Hindu Newsletter - The biggest news stories from today [logo] The Evening Wrap Friday | 26 March, 2021 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Supreme Court refuses to stay sale of electoral bonds ahead of key Assembly polls The Supreme Court on Friday [refused to stay the sale of electoral bonds]( before Assembly elections in crucial States like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. The judgment by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde said the scheme began in 2018 and continued in 2019 and 2020 without any impediments. Chief Justice Bobde, who read out the judgment, said the court found no reason to stall the sale of electoral bonds now. The judgment came on an urgent application moved by the NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, to stay the sale scheduled between April 1 and 10. [ A sample of the electoral bond issued by the SBI. Photo: Special Arrangement ] The NGO, also represented by advocate Neha Rathi, voiced serious apprehensions that sale of electoral bonds before Assembly elections would “further increase illegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies”. Attorney General K.K. Venugopal had said the sale was announced after getting permission from the Election Commission of India (ECI). The ECI registered its support for the electoral bonds scheme during the last hearing in the case earlier this week. “The Election Commission is supporting electoral bonds or we will go back to the pre-existing situation of donations coming in by cash,” senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, for the poll body, said. The poll body’s stand was quite surprising as the NGO had consistently maintained that both the RBI and the ECI had objected to the electoral bond scheme. Data obtained through RTI has shown that illegal sale windows have been opened in the past to benefit certain political parties... There is a serious apprehension that any further sale of electoral bonds before the upcoming State elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam would further increase illegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies,” the NGO had submitted. It said the electoral bonds scheme had “opened doors to unlimited political donations, even from foreign companies and thereby legitimising electoral corruption at a huge scale, while at the same time ensuring complete non-transparency in political funding”. The government had notified the scheme on January 2, 2018, and defended electoral bonds as an antidote to the influence of black money in politics and anonymous cash donations of huge amounts. [underlineimg] Supreme Court rules in favour of Tata Sons, sets aside NCLAT judgment restoring Cyrus Mistry as chairman The Supreme Court on Friday [ruled completely in favour of multi-billion dollar salt-to-software conglomerate, Tata Sons Private Limited](, by setting aside a National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) decision to re-instate minority shareholder Shapoorji Pallonji group’s scion, Cyrus Mistry, as its chairman. A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde rejected arguments that the ouster of Mistry as chairman by the Tata Sons Board was “oppressive”. Chief Justice Bobde, who read out the judgment, said every question of law raised in the dispute falls in favour of the Tatas. The court dismissed the appeals filed by the Shapoorji Pallonji group. The Bench said the question of a “fair compensation” for Shapoorji Pallonji group cannot be adjudicated in the Supreme Court in this case. The apex court, by ruling in favour of the Tatas, seemed to have acknowledged their argument that NCLAT judgment effectively amounted to vesting the control of the company with minority (Shapoorji Pallonji group). “Minority with 18% holding has been effectively given power to rule over all the Tata Companies,” senior advocate Harish Salve for Tata Sons had submitted during the extensive hearings. The NCLAT decision had served a blow to corporate democracy and rights of the board of directors, Tata Sons had argued in its appeal. Tata Sons said the Tribunal crossed its jurisdiction by terming the appointment of current incumbent N. Chandrasekaran as illegal while restoring Mistry as chairman. Mistry’s tenure as chairman and director of Tata Sons had expired in March 2017. The NCLAT decision to restore him to his “original position” for the “rest of his tenure” was contrary to company law, a recipe for disaster and a dangerous precedent in law. Besides, Mistry had never sought his reinstatement. The NCLAT had gone beyond its jurisdiction, the appeal by Tata Sons, filed through Karanjawala &Co, said. A majority of board of directors at Tata Sons had voted for Mistry’s replacement as chairman on October 24, 2016 after losing confidence in him. He was again removed as the director of Tata Sons on February 6, 2017 following the procedure that applied to corporate appointments. [underlineimg] Modi praises 1971 martyrs, meets minority leaders in Dhaka Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday [paid rich tributes to the martyrs of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971]( at Dhaka's National Martyrs Memorial and said the sacrifice of the participants in the historic war will remain a lasting legacy in South Asia. Modi reached the memorial soon after landing at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport where he was received by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her council of ministers. “I pray that the eternal flame at Savar remains a lasting reminder of the noble victory of truth and courage over deceit and oppression,” wrote Prime Minister Modi at the Visitor’s Book at the memorial which is located 35 km away from Dhaka. The Indian leader also planted an ‘Arjun’ sapling at the memorial grounds which contain the unmarked graves of the martyrs. Beginning his interactions, Prime Minister Modi met with the leaders of the ruling alliance in Dhaka and interacted with a delegation of the Muktijoddhas or former guerrillas who fought in the war of 1971. He also met with the leaders of the religious minorities of Bangladesh. Earlier, Modi arrived in Dhaka on a two-day visit to Bangladesh during which he will attend the celebrations of the golden jubilee of the country’s independence, the birth centenary of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and hold talks with his counterpart Sheikh Hasina. [underlineimg] Centre extends validity of driving licenses, vehicle documents till June 30 Considering the “grim” pandemic situation that continues now and the need to prevent the spread of Covid-19 across country, the Road Transport Ministry has again [advised enforcement authorities to treat as valid]( all the vehicle related documents – like fitness, permit, registration and driving license whose validity has expired since February 1, 2020 or would expire by June 30, 2021. “Enforcement authorities are advised to treat such documents valid till June 30, 2021. This will help out citizens in availing transport related services, while maintaining social distancing,” stated a Road Ministry advisory. Earlier, in the backdrop of Covid-19 in 2020, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had issued advisories on March 30, June 9, August 24, and December 27. It was advised that the validity of Fitness, Permit (all types), License, Registration or any other concerned document(s) might be treated to be valid till March 31, 2021. It had issued such advisory as citizens were facing long queues in front of transport offices. Now, the Road Ministry has said that all the above referred documents may be treated to be valid till June 30, 2021. This covers all documents whose validity has expired since February 1, 2020 or would expire by June 30, 2021. It may be the last advisory in this regard, it added. [underlineimg] Partial response to Bharat Bandh; police disrupt farm union’s press conference in Ahmedabad Farmers protesting the three contentious agricultural laws [disrupted road and rail transport, and closed down shops]( in much of Punjab and Haryana in response to the Samyukt Kisan Morcha’s (SKM) call for a Bharat bandh on Friday. Parts of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan also saw shutdowns, while there was a scattered impact in other States. SKM leaders were detained by police in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru, and some local farmer leaders were placed under precautionary house arrest in Uttar Pradesh. In Ahmedabad, police entered a press conference being addressed by the BKU-Tikait group’s general secretary Yudhvir Singh and detained him along with eight other farmer leaders. “This is wrong. This is a dictatorship. It is not a crime to speak to the press. It is a right in a democracy,” he told journalists, even as the police pulled leaders out of their chairs and led them to police vans. [Farmers protest at Bahadurgarh railway station in Haryana by blocking the tracks and sitting on the platform.] In Bengaluru, farmer leaders attempted to hold a mock funeral procession for the three farm laws, but were detained by city police at multiple locations. “In which democracy does the police not allow citizens to hold a peaceful protest? We have even withdrawn the bandh, but not allowing us to hold a demonstration is undemocratic,” rued farmer leader Kodohalli Chandrashekhar, detained at a protest in front of Town Hall. UP Police arrived outside the home of Mukut Singh, state general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, in Etawah around 7 am and placed him under house arrest as a precautionary measure. “The Yogi government is scared of the farmers, so they have banned all protests. But we will keep raising our voices until we are heard,” he said, adding that district-level leaders of the AIKS had also been put under house arrest. [underlineimg] Elections not on a level playing field, says N. Ram Elections are not on a level playing field owing to distortion of democracy by money power, [said The Hindu Publishing Group Director N. Ram](. Speaking at the panel discussion of political party representatives on elections and the launch of a publication on Assembly election 2021 ‘Ippodhu’, Ram said media had the duty of discussing such issues. “A huge proportion of electoral bonds has gone to the BJP,” he said. Pointing to the conduct of the Supreme Court on the question of constitutional validity of electoral bond scheme ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, Ram said the issue has to be discussed. “I am very disappointed. The freedom of speech and expression is restricted. They are misusing the institutions. It is a shameful situation,” said Ram. Quoting from Ambedkar’s speech in the Constituent Assembly, he said the leader had warned against internal threat to democracy by “bhakti or hero worship.” [underlineimg] Ramesh Jarkiholi CD scandal: Woman files complaint through lawyer Hours after releasing a video, the woman in the CD scandal involving BJP MLA and former Minister in the Karnataka government Ramesh Jarkiholi [submitted a complaint through a lawyer]( to the Commissioner of Police, Kamal Pant, seeking action against the leader. Taking cognisance, Pant asked lawyer K.N. Jagadish Kumar to approach Cubbon Park police station to file a complaint. In the complaint, the woman accused Jarkiholi of sexually assaulting, cheating, and threatening her after promising a government job. The woman said that the MLA had assaulted her twice and even forced her to share private pictures and talk to him. She further stated in the complaint that he made the video to defame her, thinking that she may file a complaint. “I am facing threat to my life and my family hence I request you to take necessary action,” she said in her complaint. [underlineimg] Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 1,18,63,815 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 1,62,495. There is [no direct causal relation established between deaths and Covid-19 vaccination, with adverse events]( reported being well within the anticipated numbers, said the expert group investigating the adverse events following immunisation (AEFI). The national committee looking at AEFI examined 412 cases of severe adverse events, including 79 deaths (recorded until March 13) and found “that deaths happened in cases where the person had underlying conditions, including heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes,” N.K. Arora, member, National Task Force on COVID-19 told The Hindu. [underlineimg] Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today's Top Picks [[ A still from ‘Saina’ ] ‘Saina’ movie review: Too cute for a biopic, too easy for a sports film]( [[ A still from ‘Pagglait’: A fantastic cast carries this slice-of-life comedy-drama with élan ] ‘Pagglait’ movie review: An insightful tale of repression and tragedy, taking pride in its simplicity]( [[ Keerthy Suresh and Nithiin in ‘Rang De’ ] ‘Rang De’ movie review: An entertaining romantic comedy drama]( [[ Rana Daggubati in ‘Aranya / Kaadan’ ] ‘Aranya’/‘Kaadan’ movie review: The jungle giants deserved better]( Copyright @ 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](mailto:rm-0bfa4h84bf2f90kauhrxfebysa8hkvj@newsalert.thehindu.com?subject=Unsubscribe&body=You will be unsubscribed from our mailing list.)