The Evening Wrap: SC refuses to stay Kerala High Court’s revocation of KUFOS VC’s appointment

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay a Kerala High Court decision to revoke the appointment of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) Vice-Chancellor K. Riji John. A Bench led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud said that Dr. John had already demitted office and could not be reinstated for now. Listing the case after three weeks, the court said it was up to the Chancellor to “make arrangements for an acting Vice-Chancellor”. The Bench said any action taken in the interim would “abide” by the final decision of the apex court in Dr. John’s appeal. “Let us hear the matter first, there will not be any confusion,” CJI Chandrachud tried to quell apprehensions. The State of Kerala, represented by senior advocate K.K. Venugopal and advocate Nishe Rajen Shonker, urged the court to stay the High Court order, saying Dr. John was a highly qualified person and it was humiliating for him to demit office in the middle of a five-year term. Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, for Dr. John, said the agricultural university came under the ambit of the Kerala Fisheries Act, a State legislation, and not the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations. He pointed to Entry 14 of the State List which specifically deals with “agricultural education and research”. He said Entry 66 of the Central List dealing with “co-ordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions” was only general in nature. Fisheries, he said, has been held to be part of agricultural activity and studies by Supreme Court judgments. “Our contention first and foremost is that the Kerala Fisheries Act comes under Entry 14. If so, the UGC Act will have no say in an agricultural university,” Gupta argued. Venugopal, supporting Dr. John, said when there was a specific entry in the State List on “agriculture”, a general entry in the Central List did not apply. “A big mistake has been made saying that we have to apply the UGC Regulations,” he submitted. He said only the qualifications for a candidate as prescribed by the UGC need be adopted by the university. “The entirety of the procedures with regard to appointment of Vice-Chancellor is governed by the Kerala Fisheries Act… To say that the State legislation has no power is wholly erroneous,” Venugopal contended. ASI seeks time to prepare report on how to determine age of structure found inside Gyanvapi mosque The Archaeological Survey Of India (ASI) on November 21, 2022 told the Allahabad High Court that the agency needed three months’ time to prepare a report on what could be done to determine the age of the structure found inside the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. ASI counsel Manoj Kumar told The Hindu that the agency would consult expert bodies to find an exact and best way to determine the age of the structure. “There are modern, scientific ways to determine the same. The court will take a call on our plea in the next hearing — November 30,” Kumar said. While the ASI counsel denied that there was any mention of carbon dating during Monday’s hearing in court, Saurabh Tiwari, lawyer representing Hindu plaintiff Rakhi Singh, claimed that the ASI made oral observations that carbon dating of the ‘Shiv ling’ might damage the structure’. The ASI lawyer particularly said carbon dating of the structure cannot be done as it might damage the same,” added Tiwari. Reacting to Tiwari’s claim, Kumar said it was Singh’s lawyer who told the court that carbon dating would damage the structure. “The court had a view that whether carbon dating can be done on a stone or not. So one cannot do carbon dating of the stone. It is done only on structures that have carbon deposition on them,” said Kumar. Another lawyer present in the court during the hearing confirmed to The Hindu that the ASI’s counsel said carbon dating on the structure would damage it. “When the judge asked how can the ASI say the same without visiting the spot, the ASI’s lawyer sought time to compile a report,” he added. Counsel for Hindu worshippers Lakshmi Devi and others, Vishnu Shankar Jain, said the ASI needed more time to ascertain whether carbon dating could be conducted. “The court expressed the view that no party wants the structure to be damaged,” he added. The matter pertaining to ‘worship rights’ inside the Varanasi-based Gyanvyapi mosque is being heard by a Bench of Justice J.J. Munir, which, in the previous hearing, had asked the ASI to submit its opinion whether investigation of the structure found at the site, ‘subject matter of original suit No.18 of 2022’, if examined through the methods of carbon dating, ground penetrating radar (GPR), excavation and other methods to determine its age, nature and other relevant information, is likely to damage it or a safe evaluation about its age can be done. Government announces new norms to curb fake online reviews of products, services E-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart will have to voluntarily disclose all paid consumer reviews of products and services offered on their platforms, with the government bringing in new norms to curb fake reviews and help buyers make informed decisions. However, the government has barred publication of reviews that “have been purchased and/or written by individuals employed for that purpose by the supplier or third party concerned”. The BIS standards, prepared after extensive stakeholder consultations and to be effective from November 25, will be voluntary but the government will consider making them mandatory in case the menace of fake reviews continue on the online platforms. Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh on Monday said the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has formulated a new standard ‘IS 19000:2022’ for ‘Online Consumer Reviews — Principles and Requirement for their Collection, Moderation and Publication’. The standards will be applicable to any organisation which publishes consumer reviews online, including suppliers of products and services that collect reviews from their own customers, a third party contracted by the supplier or an independent third party. Singh said the BIS will come out with a certification process within the next 15 days to check whether an organisation is complying with these standards. E-commerce players can apply for the certification of this standard with the BSI. “We are probably the first country in the world to formulate standards for online reviews,” Singh said, adding that many other countries are also struggling on how to handle the fake reviews. “We don’t want to bulldoze the industry. We want to take the standard route. We will first see the voluntary compliance and then, if the menace continues to grow, we will, may be, make it mandatory in the future,” he said. While noting that online reviews play a vital role in making purchase decisions on e-commerce platforms, Singh said the three prominent sectors where reviews — be it in text, video or audio form plays an significant role are — tour and travel; restaurants and eateries; and consumer durables. The BIS has defined reviews as solicited and unsolicited. The person responsible for handling the review in any organisation will be called the review administrator. Solicited review refers to consumers’ reviews of products or services as requested by the supplier or review administrator. The Secretary said that reviews should be legitimate, accurate and not misleading. Identity of those who are reviewing should not be disclosed without permission and the organisations should ensure that disclosure of information is transparent. The collection of reviews should be unbiased, he added. “If a review is purchased or you are rewarding the person for writing the review, then that has to be clearly marked that as a purchased review,” Singh said. The BIS has also listed out the steps for verification of a review author. “The verification of the review author is important... there are websites in countries like Turkey, Moldova where there is a business of fake reviews. So these companies pay money and get reviews. If this is happening, that cannot take place,” Singh said. Chief Commissioner of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) Nidhi Khare termed such purchased reviews as “fraud reviews”. According to Singh, there are penal provisions in the Consumer Protection Act for unfair trade practices. Since e-commerce involves a virtual shopping experience without any opportunity to physically view or examine the product, consumers heavily rely on reviews posted on platforms to see the opinion and experiences of users who have already purchased the goods or services. However, fake reviews and star-ratings mislead consumers into buying online products and services. The Secretary said that companies like Zomato, Swiggy, Reliance Retail, Tata Sons, Amazon, Flipkart, Google, Meta, Mesho, Blinkit and Zepto were part of the consultation process and they have assured compliance with these standards. Industry bodies like CII, FICCI, Assocham, Nasscom, ASCI, NRAI and CAIT were also consulted while formulating the standards. No action against ‘real culprits’ of Morbi bridge crash as they are linked to BJP: Rahul Gandhi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said no action has been taken against the “real culprits” behind last month’s collapse of a suspension bridge in Gujarat’s Morbi town, where 135 people were killed, because they share a “good relationship” with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Addressing an election rally in Rajkot, his second in the day, he said while watchmen (posted at the accident site) were arrested and jailed, no action was taken against the real culprits. When journalists asked me what I think about the Morbi tragedy... I said around 150 people died and this is not a political issue and so I would say nothing on this. But the question arises today as to why no action was taken against those who were behind this (tragedy), why no FIR (has been filed against them)?” he asked. “Will nothing happen to them because they share a good relationship with the BJP? They arrested chowkidars (watchmen) and put them behind bars, but no action has been taken against the real culprits,” the Congress MP alleged. Gandhi said he is feeling sad the Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress is not passing through Gujarat, where Assembly polls will be held on December 1 and 5. The Congress MP took a break from the 3,570km cross-country foot-march, which started from Tamil Nadu on September 7 and is currently passing through adjoining Maharashtra, and addressed two election rallies in support of his party candidates in Gujarat. U.P. man held for murdering ex-girlfriend, chopping her body into six parts In an incident similar to the Delhi Shraddha Murder Case, the Uttar Pradesh police have arrested a man for allegedly murdering his former girlfriend, chopping her body into six parts and dumping them. The victim was identified as Aradhana, who hailed from Ishaq Pur village in Azamgarh district. On Sunday, when the police took the accused, Prince Yadav, to the spot where he had allegedly dumped the victim’s head, he fired at the personnel with a pistol. In a retaliatory fire, Yadav was shot in his leg. According to the Azamgarh police, the accused had an affair with the victim. However, she got married to another person earlier this year. The police said that on November 9, Yadav took the victim to a temple with the help of his friend, strangled her to death and chopped her body into six parts and threw them into a well. He disposed the victim’s head in a nearby pond. The police have recovered the head and sent it for forensic examination. The police have also recovered a country-made pistol and a sharp-edged weapon from the accused. In Brief: A strong, shallow earthquake toppled buildings and collapsed walls on Indonesia’s densely populated main island of Java on Monday, killing at least 62 and injuring hundreds as people rushed into the streets, some covered in blood and white debris. Officials were gathering information on the toll of those injured and killed by the quake in the remote area. Emergency workers treated the injured on stretchers and blankets outside hospitals, on terraces and in parking lots in the Cianjur region, about three hours drive from the capital, Java. The injured, including children, were given oxygen masks and IV lines and were being resuscitated. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 21 NOVEMBER 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]( Supreme Court refuses to stay Kerala High Court’s revocation of KUFOS Vice-Chancellor’s appointment The [Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay a Kerala High Court]( decision to revoke the appointment of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) Vice-Chancellor K. Riji John. A Bench led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud said that Dr. John had already demitted office and could not be reinstated for now. Listing the case after three weeks, the court said it was up to the Chancellor to “make arrangements for an acting Vice-Chancellor”. The Bench said any action taken in the interim would “abide” by the final decision of the apex court in Dr. John’s appeal. “Let us hear the matter first, there will not be any confusion,” CJI Chandrachud tried to quell apprehensions. The State of Kerala, represented by senior advocate K.K. Venugopal and advocate Nishe Rajen Shonker, urged the court to stay the High Court order, saying Dr. John was a highly qualified person and it was humiliating for him to demit office in the middle of a five-year term. Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, for Dr. John, said the agricultural university came under the ambit of the Kerala Fisheries Act, a State legislation, and not the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations. He pointed to Entry 14 of the State List which specifically deals with “agricultural education and research”. He said Entry 66 of the Central List dealing with “co-ordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions” was only general in nature. Fisheries, he said, has been held to be part of agricultural activity and studies by Supreme Court judgments. “Our contention first and foremost is that the Kerala Fisheries Act comes under Entry 14. If so, the UGC Act will have no say in an agricultural university,” Gupta argued. Venugopal, supporting Dr. John, said when there was a specific entry in the State List on “agriculture”, a general entry in the Central List did not apply. “A big mistake has been made saying that we have to apply the UGC Regulations,” he submitted. He said only the qualifications for a candidate as prescribed by the UGC need be adopted by the university. “The entirety of the procedures with regard to appointment of Vice-Chancellor is governed by the Kerala Fisheries Act… To say that the State legislation has no power is wholly erroneous,” Venugopal contended. ASI seeks time to prepare report on how to determine age of structure found inside Gyanvapi mosque The [Archaeological Survey Of India (ASI) on November 21, 2022 told the Allahabad High Court]( that the agency needed three months’ time to prepare a report on what could be done to determine the age of the structure found inside the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi. ASI counsel Manoj Kumar told The Hindu that the agency would consult expert bodies to find an exact and best way to determine the age of the structure. “There are modern, scientific ways to determine the same. The court will take a call on our plea in the next hearing — November 30,” Kumar said. While the ASI counsel denied that there was any mention of carbon dating during Monday’s hearing in court, Saurabh Tiwari, lawyer representing Hindu plaintiff Rakhi Singh, claimed that the ASI made oral observations that carbon dating of the ‘Shiv ling’ might damage the structure’. The ASI lawyer particularly said carbon dating of the structure cannot be done as it might damage the same,” added Tiwari. Reacting to Tiwari’s claim, Kumar said it was Singh’s lawyer who told the court that carbon dating would damage the structure. “The court had a view that whether carbon dating can be done on a stone or not. So one cannot do carbon dating of the stone. It is done only on structures that have carbon deposition on them,” said Kumar. Another lawyer present in the court during the hearing confirmed to The Hindu that the ASI’s counsel said carbon dating on the structure would damage it. “When the judge asked how can the ASI say the same without visiting the spot, the ASI’s lawyer sought time to compile a report,” he added. Counsel for Hindu worshippers Lakshmi Devi and others, Vishnu Shankar Jain, said the ASI needed more time to ascertain whether carbon dating could be conducted. “The court expressed the view that no party wants the structure to be damaged,” he added. The matter pertaining to ‘worship rights’ inside the Varanasi-based Gyanvyapi mosque is being heard by a Bench of Justice J.J. Munir, which, in the previous hearing, had asked the ASI to submit its opinion whether investigation of the structure found at the site, ‘subject matter of original suit No.18 of 2022’, if examined through the methods of carbon dating, ground penetrating radar (GPR), excavation and other methods to determine its age, nature and other relevant information, is likely to damage it or a safe evaluation about its age can be done. Government announces new norms to curb fake online reviews of products, services [E-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart will have to voluntarily disclose]( all paid consumer reviews of products and services offered on their platforms, with the government bringing in new norms to curb fake reviews and help buyers make informed decisions. However, the government has barred publication of reviews that “have been purchased and/or written by individuals employed for that purpose by the supplier or third party concerned”. The BIS standards, prepared after extensive stakeholder consultations and to be effective from November 25, will be voluntary but the government will consider making them mandatory in case the menace of fake reviews continue on the online platforms. Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh on Monday said the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has formulated a new standard ‘IS 19000:2022’ for ‘Online Consumer Reviews — Principles and Requirement for their Collection, Moderation and Publication’. The standards will be applicable to any organisation which publishes consumer reviews online, including suppliers of products and services that collect reviews from their own customers, a third party contracted by the supplier or an independent third party. Singh said the BIS will come out with a certification process within the next 15 days to check whether an organisation is complying with these standards. E-commerce players can apply for the certification of this standard with the BSI. “We are probably the first country in the world to formulate standards for online reviews,” Singh said, adding that many other countries are also struggling on how to handle the fake reviews. “We don’t want to bulldoze the industry. We want to take the standard route. We will first see the voluntary compliance and then, if the menace continues to grow, we will, may be, make it mandatory in the future,” he said. While noting that online reviews play a vital role in making purchase decisions on e-commerce platforms, Singh said the three prominent sectors where reviews — be it in text, video or audio form plays an significant role are — tour and travel; restaurants and eateries; and consumer durables. The BIS has defined reviews as solicited and unsolicited. The person responsible for handling the review in any organisation will be called the review administrator. Solicited review refers to consumers’ reviews of products or services as requested by the supplier or review administrator. The Secretary said that reviews should be legitimate, accurate and not misleading. Identity of those who are reviewing should not be disclosed without permission and the organisations should ensure that disclosure of information is transparent. The collection of reviews should be unbiased, he added. “If a review is purchased or you are rewarding the person for writing the review, then that has to be clearly marked that as a purchased review,” Singh said. The BIS has also listed out the steps for verification of a review author. “The verification of the review author is important... there are websites in countries like Turkey, Moldova where there is a business of fake reviews. So these companies pay money and get reviews. If this is happening, that cannot take place,” Singh said. Chief Commissioner of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) Nidhi Khare termed such purchased reviews as “fraud reviews”. According to Singh, there are penal provisions in the Consumer Protection Act for unfair trade practices. Since e-commerce involves a virtual shopping experience without any opportunity to physically view or examine the product, consumers heavily rely on reviews posted on platforms to see the opinion and experiences of users who have already purchased the goods or services. However, fake reviews and star-ratings mislead consumers into buying online products and services. The Secretary said that companies like Zomato, Swiggy, Reliance Retail, Tata Sons, Amazon, Flipkart, Google, Meta, Mesho, Blinkit and Zepto were part of the consultation process and they have assured compliance with these standards. Industry bodies like CII, FICCI, Assocham, Nasscom, ASCI, NRAI and CAIT were also consulted while formulating the standards. No action against ‘real culprits’ of Morbi bridge crash as they are linked to BJP: Rahul Gandhi [Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said no action has been taken against the “real culprits”]( behind last month’s collapse of a suspension bridge in Gujarat’s Morbi town, where 135 people were killed, because they share a “good relationship” with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Addressing an election rally in Rajkot, his second in the day, he said while watchmen (posted at the accident site) were arrested and jailed, no action was taken against the real culprits. When journalists asked me what I think about the Morbi tragedy... I said around 150 people died and this is not a political issue and so I would say nothing on this. But the question arises today as to why no action was taken against those who were behind this (tragedy), why no FIR (has been filed against them)?” he asked. “Will nothing happen to them because they share a good relationship with the BJP? They arrested chowkidars (watchmen) and put them behind bars, but no action has been taken against the real culprits,” the Congress MP alleged. Gandhi said he is feeling sad the Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress is not passing through Gujarat, where Assembly polls will be held on December 1 and 5. The Congress MP took a break from the 3,570km cross-country foot-march, which started from Tamil Nadu on September 7 and is currently passing through adjoining Maharashtra, and addressed two election rallies in support of his party candidates in Gujarat. U.P. man held for murdering ex-girlfriend, chopping her body into six parts [In an incident similar to the Delhi Shraddha Murder Case]( the Uttar Pradesh police have arrested a man for allegedly murdering his former girlfriend, chopping her body into six parts and dumping them. The victim was identified as Aradhana, who hailed from Ishaq Pur village in Azamgarh district. On Sunday, when the police took the accused, Prince Yadav, to the spot where he had allegedly dumped the victim’s head, he fired at the personnel with a pistol. In a retaliatory fire, Yadav was shot in his leg. According to the Azamgarh police, the accused had an affair with the victim. However, she got married to another person earlier this year. The police said that on November 9, Yadav took the victim to a temple with the help of his friend, strangled her to death and chopped her body into six parts and threw them into a well. He disposed the victim’s head in a nearby pond. The police have recovered the head and sent it for forensic examination. The police have also recovered a country-made pistol and a sharp-edged weapon from the accused. In Brief: [A strong, shallow earthquake toppled buildings and collapsed walls on Indonesia’s densely populated main island]( of Java on Monday, killing at least 62 and injuring hundreds as people rushed into the streets, some covered in blood and white debris. Officials were gathering information on the toll of those injured and killed by the quake in the remote area. Emergency workers treated the injured on stretchers and blankets outside hospitals, on terraces and in parking lots in the Cianjur region, about three hours drive from the capital, Java. The injured, including children, were given oxygen masks and IV lines and were being resuscitated. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today’s Top Picks [[Iran football team does not sing national anthem before FIFA World Cup game against England] Iran football team does not sing national anthem before FIFA World Cup game against England]( [[Watch | How the world population grew to 8 billion] Watch | How the world population grew to 8 billion]( [[Will promote skilled immigration, tackle illegal migration, says Rishi Sunak] Will promote skilled immigration, tackle illegal migration, says Rishi Sunak]( [[Should the age criteria for consensual sex be lowered in India? | In Focus podcast] Should the age criteria for consensual sex be lowered in India? | In Focus podcast]( Copyright @ 2022, 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](