The Evening Wrap: U.P. withdraws cases of ‘destruction of property’ during anti-CAA protests

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to refund damages recovered from the persons accused of “destroying public property” during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The assets recovered by the State, according to the government’s own oral assertion in court, are worth “some crores”. The blow came shortly after the State, on the backfoot days after being accused by the apex court of being the “complainant, adjudicator and prosecutor”, informed a Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Surya Kant that it had withdrawn show-cause notices issued by Additional District Magistrates since December 2019 in 274 cases of “alleged destruction of public properties” and subsequent proceedings. Some of these people were well over 90 years of age and included women, students and activists. They were accused of vandalising public property while participating in protests held nationwide against an amendment based on religion in the citizenship law. The Uttar Pradesh Additional Advocate General, senior advocate Garima Prashad, said the cases would now be referred to a claims tribunal set up under the newly enacted Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Act of 2020 for fresh adjudication. “The basis for ordering refund is the withdrawal of show-cause notices... As of now, all the plain consequences of the withdrawal of the notices should follow. You can move under the new Act... We have to follow yardsticks of our own constitutional jurisprudence,” Justice Chandrachud explained the refund order to the U.P. side. “The basis for ordering refund is the withdrawal of show-cause notices... As of now, all the plain consequences of the withdrawal of the notices should follow. You can move under the new Act... We have to follow yardsticks of our own constitutional jurisprudence,” Justice Chandrachud explained the refund order to the U.P. side. 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case | Trial court gives death sentence to 38 convicts A special designated court in Ahmedabad on February 18, 2022, sentenced 38 convicts to death in the Ahmedabad serial blasts case of 2008 in which 56 persons were killed and over 200 others injured. The designated court also awarded life imprisonment until death to 11 others. This is first case in India where as many as 38 persons have been awarded capital punishment by a trial court. The court also awarded compensation of ₹1 lakh each to the kin of those who were killed in the blasts. Special court judge A.R. Patel also awarded a compensation of ₹50,000 for victims with serious injury and ₹25,000 for those with minor injuries. On February 8, the court found 49 accused guilty for their role in the serial blasts in the city while letting 28 others off giving them the benefit of the doubt. The convicts have been sentenced under various Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Arms Act. As per the court ruling, sentences awarded to each of the 49 convicts under each section of the IPC, the UAPA, the Explosive Substances Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act will run concurrently. The accused were convicted under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 121 (a) (conspiracy to wage war or attempt to wage war against the nation) and 124 (a) (sedition), and Section 16(1)(a)(b) of the UAPA which concerns terrorist acts. In July 2008, Ahmedabad was rocked by as many as 22 bomb blasts at various spots, including the State government-run civil hospital, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, on buses, parked bicycles, in cars and other places. In July 2008, Ahmedabad was rocked by as many as 22 bomb blasts at various spots, including the State government-run civil hospital, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, on buses, parked bicycles, in cars and other places. CBI examining ex-NSE MD Chitra Ramkrishna in co-location and algo scam case The CBI is examining former NSE (National Stock Exchange) managing director Chitra Ramkrishna in a case registered in May 2018 for alleged abuse of server architecture of the Exchange to provide access to a private company to the data before any other broker. “Look-out Circulars have also been issued against Ms. Ramkrishna; former group operating officer and advisor to the exchange, Anand Subramanian; and Ravi Narain, who was the managing director and chief executive officer of the NSE from April 1994 to March 2013,” an agency official said. The development came a day after the Income-Tax Department carried out searches on the premises of Ms. Ramkrishna and Mr. Subramanian in Mumbai and Chennai. The CBI case is against stock-broker OPG Securities, its owner Sanjay Gupta and others, including unknown officials of the Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). As alleged, using an algorithmic trading software package named “Chanakya”, the company got market feeds from the NSE server ahead of others. The software was developed by accused Ajay Narottam Shah using the NSE trade data collected by him during 2005-06 in the garb of research work. He subsequently sold it to OPG Securities and some other brokers, according to the First Information Report. The agency had alleged that Mr. Gupta and his brother-in-law, Aman Kakrady, were into illegal trading in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Ghana through OPG Securities. During 2010-12, he got illegal access to the NSE’s server architecture in connivance with the Exchange officials through “co-location” facility. This helped the company to log in first to the Exchange server ahead of other brokers. It was alleged that in 2012, a load balancer — a device that facilitates distribution of network traffic across servers — had been installed by the NSE. While servers of all the other brokers were linked to the Exchange’s primary servers, Mr. Gupta got access to the back-up server with the help of the data-centre employees of the NSE. As the back-up server had “zero load”, the company got expeditious access to the data. Don’t share top-secret information over Internet, I&B Ministry tells its officials The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has prohibited the sharing of top secret or secret documents by its officials over Internet. They have also been told not to use digital assistant devices such as Amazon’s Echo, Apple’s HomePod and Google Home in the office and turn off digital assistants, including Alexa and Siri, in their smartphones or watches. The officials are required to deposit their smart phones outside the meeting room during discussions on classified issues, said the order that has been issued in view of the finding that a large number of government officials use private messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram for communication of classified information. The Ministry said such a practice violated the Departmental Security instructions and the National Information Security Policy Guidelines. Accordingly, the Ministry has directed that top secret and secret documents be shared only in a closed network with the leased line connectivity where the Scientific Analysis Group (SAG) grade encryption mechanism is deployed. The SAG functions under the Defence Research & Development Organisation. The order said that confidential and restricted information could be shared on Internet via networks having a commercial Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit mechanism. The Ministry has recommended the use of government email facility or government instant messaging platforms such as the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing’s Samvad and the National Informatics Centre’s Sandesh for communicating such information. The Ministry cautioned that the classification of top secret or secret information should not be downgraded to “confidential” or “restricted” for the purpose of sharing it over Internet. Russia to stage nuclear drills amid Ukraine conflict Russia announced massive drills of its nuclear forces on Friday amid soaring East-West tensions, as the U.S. issued some of its starkest, most detailed warnings yet about how a Russian invasion of Ukraine might unfold. U.S. President Joe Biden sounded unusually dire a day earlier, as he warned that Washington saw no signs of a promised Russian withdrawal — but instead saw more troops moving toward the border with Ukraine. “Every indication we have is they’re prepared to go into Ukraine, attack Ukraine,” Biden told reporters at the White House. He said the U.S. has “reason to believe” that Russia is “engaged in a false flag operation to have an excuse to go in,” but he did not provide details. Some are concerned the longtime separatist conflict simmering in eastern Ukraine could provide just that cover. The area saw intensifying shelling and apparent cyberattacks over the past two days. With tensions already at their highest level since the Cold War, the Russian military announced that President Vladimir Putin will monitor a sweeping exercise of the country’s nuclear forces on Saturday that will involve multiple practice missile launches — a stark reminder of the country’s nuclear might amid the showdown with the West. Western fears focus on an estimated 150,000 Russian troops — including about 60% of Russia’s overall ground forces — posted around Ukraine’s borders. The Kremlin insists it has no plans to invade, but it has long considered Ukraine part of its sphere of influence and NATO’s eastward expansion an existential threat. Moscow’s key demand in this crisis is that NATO promise never to allow Ukraine to join — a move the Western alliance has roundly rejected. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 4,27,82,705 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 5,10,986. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 18 FEBRUARY 2022 [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]( Anti-CAA protests | U.P. withdraws cases of ‘destruction of property’ The Supreme Court on Friday [ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to refund damages]( recovered from the persons accused of “destroying public property” during protests against the [Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA)](. The assets recovered by the State, according to the government’s own oral assertion in court, are worth “some crores”. [ A hoarding at at Hazratganj intersection in Lucknow shows photographs of those accused of damaging property during the anti-CAA protests. File] The blow came shortly after the State, on the backfoot days after being accused by the apex court of being the “complainant, adjudicator and prosecutor”, informed a Bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Surya Kant that it had withdrawn show-cause notices issued by Additional District Magistrates since December 2019 in 274 cases of “alleged destruction of public properties” and subsequent proceedings. Some of these people were well over 90 years of age and included women, students and activists. They were accused of vandalising public property while participating in protests held nationwide against an amendment based on religion in the citizenship law. The Uttar Pradesh Additional Advocate General, senior advocate Garima Prashad, said the cases would now be referred to a claims tribunal set up under the newly enacted Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Act of 2020 for fresh adjudication. “The basis for ordering refund is the withdrawal of show-cause notices... As of now, all the plain consequences of the withdrawal of the notices should follow. You can move under the new Act... We have to follow yardsticks of our own constitutional jurisprudence,” Justice Chandrachud explained the refund order to the U.P. side. “The basis for ordering refund is the withdrawal of show-cause notices... As of now, all the plain consequences of the withdrawal of the notices should follow. You can move under the new Act... We have to follow yardsticks of our own constitutional jurisprudence,” Justice Chandrachud explained the refund order to the U.P. side. 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case | Trial court gives death sentence to 38 convicts A special designated court in Ahmedabad on February 18, 2022, [sentenced 38 convicts to death]( in the Ahmedabad serial blasts case of 2008 in which 56 persons were killed and over 200 others injured. The designated court also awarded life imprisonment until death to 11 others. This is first case in India where as many as 38 persons have been awarded capital punishment by a trial court. The court also awarded compensation of ₹1 lakh each to the kin of those who were killed in the blasts. Special court judge A.R. Patel also awarded a compensation of ₹50,000 for victims with serious injury and ₹25,000 for those with minor injuries. On February 8, the [court found 49 accused guilty]( for their role in the serial blasts in the city while letting 28 others off giving them the benefit of the doubt. [Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi visits one of the blast sites in Ahmedabad on July 27, 2008. ] The convicts have been sentenced under various Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Arms Act. As per the court ruling, sentences awarded to each of the 49 convicts under each section of the IPC, the UAPA, the Explosive Substances Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act will run concurrently. The accused were convicted under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 121 (a) (conspiracy to wage war or attempt to wage war against the nation) and 124 (a) (sedition), and Section 16(1)(a)(b) of the UAPA which concerns terrorist acts. In July 2008, Ahmedabad was rocked by as many as 22 bomb blasts at various spots, including the State government-run civil hospital, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, on buses, parked bicycles, in cars and other places. In July 2008, Ahmedabad was rocked by as many as 22 bomb blasts at various spots, including the State government-run civil hospital, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, on buses, parked bicycles, in cars and other places. CBI examining ex-NSE MD Chitra Ramkrishna in co-location and algo scam case The [CBI is examining former NSE (National Stock Exchange) managing director Chitra Ramkrishna]( in a case registered in May 2018 for alleged abuse of server architecture of the Exchange to provide access to a private company to the data before any other broker. “Look-out Circulars have also been issued against Ms. Ramkrishna; former group operating officer and advisor to the exchange, Anand Subramanian; and Ravi Narain, who was the managing director and chief executive officer of the NSE from April 1994 to March 2013,” an agency official said. The development came a day after the Income-Tax Department carried out searches on the premises of Ms. Ramkrishna and Mr. Subramanian in Mumbai and Chennai. The CBI case is against stock-broker OPG Securities, its owner Sanjay Gupta and others, including unknown officials of the Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). As alleged, using an algorithmic trading software package named “Chanakya”, the company got market feeds from the NSE server ahead of others. The software was developed by accused Ajay Narottam Shah using the NSE trade data collected by him during 2005-06 in the garb of research work. He subsequently sold it to OPG Securities and some other brokers, according to the First Information Report. The agency had alleged that Mr. Gupta and his brother-in-law, Aman Kakrady, were into illegal trading in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Ghana through OPG Securities. During 2010-12, he got illegal access to the NSE’s server architecture in connivance with the Exchange officials through “co-location” facility. This helped the company to log in first to the Exchange server ahead of other brokers. It was alleged that in 2012, a load balancer — a device that facilitates distribution of network traffic across servers — had been installed by the NSE. While servers of all the other brokers were linked to the Exchange’s primary servers, Mr. Gupta got access to the back-up server with the help of the data-centre employees of the NSE. As the back-up server had “zero load”, the company got expeditious access to the data. Don’t share top-secret information over Internet, I&B Ministry tells its officials The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has [prohibited the sharing of top secret or secret documents by its officials over Internet](. They have also been told not to use digital assistant devices such as Amazon’s Echo, Apple’s HomePod and Google Home in the office and turn off digital assistants, including Alexa and Siri, in their smartphones or watches. The officials are required to deposit their smart phones outside the meeting room during discussions on classified issues, said the order that has been issued in view of the finding that a large number of government officials use private messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram for communication of classified information. The Ministry said such a practice violated the Departmental Security instructions and the National Information Security Policy Guidelines. Accordingly, the Ministry has directed that top secret and secret documents be shared only in a closed network with the leased line connectivity where the Scientific Analysis Group (SAG) grade encryption mechanism is deployed. The SAG functions under the Defence Research & Development Organisation. The order said that confidential and restricted information could be shared on Internet via networks having a commercial Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit mechanism. The Ministry has recommended the use of government email facility or government instant messaging platforms such as the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing’s Samvad and the National Informatics Centre’s Sandesh for communicating such information. The Ministry cautioned that the classification of top secret or secret information should not be downgraded to “confidential” or “restricted” for the purpose of sharing it over Internet. Russia to stage nuclear drills amid Ukraine conflict [Russia announced massive drills of its nuclear forces]( on Friday amid soaring East-West tensions, as the U.S. issued some of its starkest, most detailed warnings yet about how a Russian invasion of Ukraine might unfold. U.S. President Joe Biden sounded unusually dire a day earlier, as he warned that Washington saw no signs of a promised Russian withdrawal — but instead saw more troops moving toward the border with Ukraine. “Every indication we have is they’re prepared to go into Ukraine, attack Ukraine,” Biden told reporters at the White House. He said the U.S. has “reason to believe” that Russia is “engaged in a false flag operation to have an excuse to go in,” but he did not provide details. Some are concerned the longtime separatist conflict simmering in eastern Ukraine could provide just that cover. The area saw intensifying shelling and apparent cyberattacks over the past two days. With tensions already at their highest level since the Cold War, the Russian military announced that President Vladimir Putin will monitor a sweeping exercise of the country’s nuclear forces on Saturday that will involve multiple practice missile launches — a stark reminder of the country’s nuclear might amid the showdown with the West. Western fears focus on an estimated 150,000 Russian troops — including about 60% of Russia’s overall ground forces — posted around Ukraine’s borders. The Kremlin insists it has no plans to invade, but it has long considered Ukraine part of its sphere of influence and NATO’s eastward expansion an existential threat. Moscow’s key demand in this crisis is that NATO promise never to allow Ukraine to join — a move the Western alliance has roundly rejected. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The [number of reported coronavirus cases from India]( stood at 4,27,82,705 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 5,10,986. 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