The Evening Wrap: SC to set up fresh Bench to hear pleas against polygamy, 'nikah halala'

The Supreme Court on Friday said that it will set up a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear pleas challenging the constitutional validity of polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ practice among Muslims. A Bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice P.S. Narasimha took note of the submissions of lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, who has filed one of the PILs on the issue, that a fresh five-judge bench was needed to be constituted as two judges of the previous Constitution Bench — Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Hemant Gupta — have retired. “There are very important matters which are pending before a five-judge bench. We will constitute one and bear this matter in mind,” the CJI said. The matter was earlier mentioned on November 2, last year also by Upadhyay. On August 30, last year, a five-judge Bench comprising Justices Indira Banerjee, Hemant Gupta, Surya Kant, M.M. Sundresh and Sudhanshu Dhulia had made the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), National Commission for Women (NCW) and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) parties to the PILs and sought their responses. Later, Justice Banerjee and Justice Gupta retired on September 23 and October 16 this year respectively giving rise to the need for re-constitution of the Bench to hear as many as eight petitions against the practices of polygamy and ‘nikah halala’. Upadhyay, in his PIL, has sought a direction to declare polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ unconstitutional and illegal. While polygamy allows a Muslim man to have four wives, ‘nikah halala’ deals with the process in which a Muslim woman, who wants to re-marry her husband after divorce, has to first marry another person and get a divorce from him after the consummation. The apex court had in July 2018 considered the plea and referred the matter to a Constitution Bench already tasked with hearing a batch of similar petitions. Supreme Court refuses to entertain pleas challenging caste census in Bihar; asks petitioners to approach High Court The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain various pleas challenging the State Government’s notification to conduct caste-based census in Bihar. A Bench comprising Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Vikram Nath was not impressed with the submissions made by the counsels on behalf of the petitioners and suspected their motivation to file the petition. At the outset Justice Gavai noted, “So, this is a publicity interest litigation?” The court was concerned that “If this is granted then how will they (the State government) determine how reservation is to be granted?” The petitioners were then asked by the top court to file their petitions in the High Court. Three separate petitions were filed related to similar issues in the Supreme Court. One was filed by Ek Soch Ek Prayas, the second one by a social worker Akhilesh Kumar and the third one by Vishnu Gupta National President of Hindu Sena. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav welcomed the apex court’s decision. “Supreme Court has given a decision in our favour, it is in everyone’s interest. Caste-based census is the work of the Central government, we are doing it in the State. If we will have knowledge about everything, it will be easier for people’s development,” Kumar said. Yadav said, “The petition was only for publicity. SC has said that as long as a survey doesn’t happen, how can it be known who should be given a reservation. It’s a victory for Bihar government. We welcome this order.” The Bihar Cabinet had decided to conduct the survey on June 2, 2022. The first phase of the survey began on January 7, 2023, and would continue till January 21. The second phase is from April. Officials estimate the census would cover over 12 crore and more than 2.5 crore households across the State. The survey is likely to be over by May 21. Indian Olympic Association calls emergency Executive Council meeting to discuss protesting wrestlers’ demands As the wrestlers’ sit-in protest entered the third day, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Friday called an emergency Executive Council meeting to discuss their demands. The meeting will take place at 5.45 p.m. on January 20. The emergency meet was called after the protesting wrestlers wrote a letter to IOA chief P.T. Usha, urging her to form a panel to look into the allegations of sexual harassment by Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. A day after threatening to lodge multiple FIRs against the WFI President, the wrestlers in their letter alleged financial misappropriation (of funds) on the part of the WFI and claimed that the coaches and sports science staff at the National camp were “absolutely incompetent”. Putting forward four demands, the wresters wrote: “We request the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to immediately appoint a committee to enquire into the complaints of sexual harassment.” The wrestlers also reiterated their demand that the WFI be disbanded and its President sacked. “A new committee should be formed to run the affairs of WFI in consultation with the wrestlers,” they wrote in their fourth and last demand. The letter has been signed by five wrestlers — Tokyo Olympics medallists Ravi Dahiya and Bajrang Punia, Rio Games bronze winner Sakshi Malik, and World Championship medallists Vinesh Phogat and Deepak Punia. Further in their letter, the celebrated athletes pleaded, “It has taken a lot of courage for us wrestlers to come together and protest against the WFI President. We fear for our lives. If he is not sacked, then the careers of all the young who joined the dharna will be over.” They ended the letter by writing that “we will not budge until the WFI President is sacked. Beijing Olympics bronze medallist boxer and now a Congress leader Vijender Singh also reached the protest site at Jantar Mantar, showing solidarity with the wrestlers. Vinesh Phogat had on Thursday said that more womaen wrestlers have come forward with their stories of sexual exploitation and they will file multiple FIRs against the WFI President. They met government officials during the day and later had a dinner meeting with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur at his residence after being called for discussion on the raging issue. However, both the meetings remained inconclusive with the wrestlers adamant that WFI be dissolved immediately while the government requested them to end their protest. They are scheduled to meet Thakur on Friday for a second round of discussion. The government has given WFI President 72 hours (till Saturday evening) to respond to the allegations. Meanwhile, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh while speaking to media in U.P. said he won’t resign because his position was not at someone’s mercy. When told that wrestlers have said that if they bring everything in public domain it will cause an earthquake, the WFI President said if he will open his mouth (reveal secrets), it will cause a tsunami. The WFI also announced that the senior open national ranking tournament, scheduled to be held in Gonda (UP) from January 21-23, will be held as planned and requested all wrestlers to come and compete. Air India fined ₹30 lakh, pilot suspended over urination incident The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on January 20 imposed a fine of ₹30 lakh on Air India, in connection with the urination incident. It also imposed a fine of ₹3 lakh on the airline’s director of in-flight services. The DGCA also suspended the pilot-in-command for three months. Air India, reacting to DGCA’s imposition of the fine, said it respectfully acknowledges the gaps in reporting with respect to the incident and that relevant steps are being taken to address the issues. “We acknowledge gaps in our reporting, and we’re taking steps to address them,” the airline said. Air India further said the airline is strengthening crews’ awareness about policies on handling incidents involving unruly passengers. “Air India is committed to stand by the safety and well-being of our passengers,” it added. A senior citizen woman passenger had the most traumatic flight when a heavily inebriated co-traveller, Shankar Mishra, allegedly urinated over her on an Air India flight from New York to Delhi. The incident happened on Air India’s flight 102 from New York to Delhi on November 26 which took off at 12.30 p.m. (Local time). Both the woman and the intoxicated man, were travelling in business class. The airline had allowed him to walk scot-free when the flight landed in Delhi, instead of reporting him to the CISF and the DGCA. Mishra was later arrested in Bengaluru after the Delhi Police formed four teams and deployed them across three cities. Henley Passport Index 2023: India rises two spots in passport strength index This year’s Henley Passport Index, released earlier in the month on January 10, puts India’s passport on the 85th spot, moving it up two places from its position in 2022. Based on data available from the International Air Transport Association, the index ranks passports of countries, “according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.” With access to 193 countries, Japan tops the list as the world’s most powerful passport, while Afghanistan is ranked last in the list, its passport giving access to only 27 countries. While India has moved up from its spot at the 87th place on the list, its access to countries has decreased by one. In 2022 the Indian passport-holders enjoyed visa-free/visa-on-arrival travel to 60 countries, in 2023 this has come down to 59 countries. When the first edition of the Henley Passport Index was published in 2006, India was ranked 71, with visa-free access to only 25 countries. Henley & Partners, who prepare the index, have also assessed the passports based on how much of the global GDP can be accessed by the passport-holder. “By combining Henley Passport Index data and World Bank GDP data, the new research ranks all 199 passports in the world in terms of their Henley Passport Power (HPP) score,” the statement said. Consequently, the strongest passport (Japan) allows visa-free travel to 193 countries (85% of the world), i.e. a gateway to 98% of the global economy. On the other hand, an Afghanistan passport allows the passport-holder to have visa-free access to only 1% of the world’s economy. This ‘global mobility gap’ as the index calls it highlights how countries are “shut out of a shockingly wide breadth of opportunities for economic mobility and growth.” Regarding Indian passport-holders the index said that, “Despite having the world’s fifth-largest economy, its passport holders can access just 59 destinations worldwide and only 6.7% of global GDP, of which the country’s own GDP accounts for around half.” The report also analysed the impact that Russia’s attack on Ukraine has had on travel. Russia’s attack, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”, has already killed thousands, and displaced millions since it began on February 24, 2022. Russia is currently ranked 49th with a score of 118, while Ukraine sits 13 places above, ranking 36th with a score of 144. However, airspace closures and sanctions have interrupted travel for Russian citizens with the marked exceptions of Dubai and Istanbul, Henley’s report said. For Ukraine, the report forecasts a swift climb for the country to the Top 10 as Ukrainians have been granted the right to live and work in the European Union for up to three years under an emergency plan. “Already one of the biggest climbers on the Henley Passport Index, moving up 24 places over the past decade, Ukraine would likely break into the Top Ten most powerful passports in the world if it were to join the EU,” it said. Supreme Court dismisses plea to make chargesheets public The Supreme Court on January 20 dismissed a plea to publish or upload chargesheets filed by the police and investigative agencies in the public domain, saying they are “public documents”. A Bench led by Justice M.R. Shah said a chargesheet is not a public document, and it can’t be made available in the public domain. The top court was hearing advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for independent journalist Saurav Das. “To induce transparency, it is incumbent for the respondents [Union and the States] to make available chargesheets on their websites and enable public access so that the citizenry can stay informed, and the Press can faithfully and accurately report on criminal trials,” the petition had argued. In the July 2022 verdict, the court had held that neither showing the Enforcement Case Investigation Report (ECIR) nor supplying the accused with a copy of the document was a violation of constitutional rights. The court had justified that the ECIR was an “internal, departmental document”. Bhushan had argued that the court itself had, in the Youth Bar Association of India judgment, reported in 2016, had directed the public disclosure of FIRs on police/State websites. “The logic of disclosure applies more strongly to chargesheets, for while FIRs are based on unsubstantiated allegations, chargesheets are filed after due investigation,” he had argued. Both the recording of an FIR and filing of chargesheets were acts of public officials in the discharge of their official duties. The Criminal Procedure Code, Evidence Act, and the Right to Information Act, if read concurrently, would envisage that a chargesheet was a public document, and thus available for public disclosure, Bhushan had submitted. Bank loan fraud case: After Kochhars, Bombay HC grants interim bail to Videocon’s Venugopal Dhoot The Bombay High Court on Friday granted interim bail to Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the ICICI bank fraud case. A division bench of justices Revati Mohite Dere and P.K. Chavan directed Dhoot to be released on a bail bond of ₹1 lakh. His other bail conditions are like the co-accused Chanda and Deepak Kochhar granted bail by High Court on January 9 this year. The bench was hearing Dhoot’s plea seeking immediate release in the case. On January 9, the same bench had directed the release of co-accused ICICI bank’s former chief executive officer and managing director Chanda and her husband Deepak Kochhar from jail. He was arrested on December 26, 2022, and sent to judicial custody after three days with the Kochhars. He has urged the court to quash the First Information Report (FIR) against him as he has been co-operating with the central agency. Dhoot contends, “His arrest is arbitrary, illegal, done without following due procedure of law and in gross violation of section 41 (A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which mandates for a notice to be issued to accused to join the probe and to make an arrest only if absolutely necessary”. However, CBI had argued Dhoot’s replies have been very evasive and therefore he must not be released. The CBI has alleged that ICICI bank under the leadership of Kochhar sanctioned a credit of ₹3,250 crore to companies owned by the Videocon Group which are in direct violation to The Banking Regulation Act, guidelines by the Reserve Bank of India and the credit policies of banks. In Brief: The Supreme Court on January 20 protected the filmmaker Leena Manimekalai from coercive action on the basis of multiple FIRs filed in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh over the poster of her documentary titled ‘Kaali’. The court protected her from any other FIR which may be filed or already filed on the basis of the same poster. The SC also recorded that the poster was not meant to insult religious feelings, but was inclusive in nature. The court observed that FIRs in multiple States would cause prejudice to her, and issued notice to States and other respondents. The top court posted the case to February 20, 2023. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 20 JANUARY 2023 [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 to set up fresh 5-judge Bench to hear pleas challenging polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ among Muslims The Supreme Court on Friday said that it will set up a [five-judge Constitution Bench to hear pleas challenging the constitutional validity of polygamy]( and ‘nikah halala’ practice among Muslims. A Bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice P.S. Narasimha took note of the submissions of lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, who has filed one of the PILs on the issue, that a fresh five-judge bench was needed to be constituted as two judges of the previous Constitution Bench — Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Hemant Gupta — have retired. “There are very important matters which are pending before a five-judge bench. We will constitute one and bear this matter in mind,” the CJI said. The matter was earlier mentioned on November 2, last year also by Upadhyay. On August 30, last year, a five-judge Bench comprising Justices Indira Banerjee, Hemant Gupta, Surya Kant, M.M. Sundresh and Sudhanshu Dhulia had made the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), National Commission for Women (NCW) and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) parties to the PILs and sought their responses. Later, Justice Banerjee and Justice Gupta retired on September 23 and October 16 this year respectively giving rise to the need for re-constitution of the Bench to hear as many as eight petitions against the practices of polygamy and ‘nikah halala’. Upadhyay, in his PIL, has sought a direction to declare polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ unconstitutional and illegal. While polygamy allows a Muslim man to have four wives, ‘nikah halala’ deals with the process in which a Muslim woman, who wants to re-marry her husband after divorce, has to first marry another person and get a divorce from him after the consummation. The apex court had in July 2018 considered the plea and referred the matter to a Constitution Bench already tasked with hearing a batch of similar petitions. Supreme Court refuses to entertain pleas challenging caste census in Bihar; asks petitioners to approach High Court The [Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain various pleas challenging the State Government’s notification to conduct caste-based census in Bihar](. A Bench comprising Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Vikram Nath was not impressed with the submissions made by the counsels on behalf of the petitioners and suspected their motivation to file the petition. At the outset Justice Gavai noted, “So, this is a publicity interest litigation?” The court was concerned that “If this is granted then how will they (the State government) determine how reservation is to be granted?” The petitioners were then asked by the top court to file their petitions in the High Court. Three separate petitions were filed related to similar issues in the Supreme Court. One was filed by Ek Soch Ek Prayas, the second one by a social worker Akhilesh Kumar and the third one by Vishnu Gupta National President of Hindu Sena. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav welcomed the apex court’s decision. “Supreme Court has given a decision in our favour, it is in everyone’s interest. Caste-based census is the work of the Central government, we are doing it in the State. If we will have knowledge about everything, it will be easier for people’s development,” Kumar said. Yadav said, “The petition was only for publicity. SC has said that as long as a survey doesn’t happen, how can it be known who should be given a reservation. It’s a victory for Bihar government. We welcome this order.” The Bihar Cabinet had decided to conduct the survey on June 2, 2022. The first phase of the survey began on January 7, 2023, and would continue till January 21. The second phase is from April. Officials estimate the census would cover over 12 crore and more than 2.5 crore households across the State. The survey is likely to be over by May 21. Indian Olympic Association calls emergency Executive Council meeting to discuss protesting wrestlers’ demands As the wrestlers’ sit-in protest entered the third day, [Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Friday called an emergency Executive Council meeting to discuss their demands](. The meeting will take place at 5.45 p.m. on January 20. The emergency meet was called after the protesting wrestlers wrote a letter to IOA chief P.T. Usha, urging her to form a panel to look into the allegations of sexual harassment by Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. A day after threatening to lodge multiple FIRs against the WFI President, the wrestlers in their letter alleged financial misappropriation (of funds) on the part of the WFI and claimed that the coaches and sports science staff at the National camp were “absolutely incompetent”. Putting forward four demands, the wresters wrote: “We request the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to immediately appoint a committee to enquire into the complaints of sexual harassment.” The wrestlers also reiterated their demand that the WFI be disbanded and its President sacked. “A new committee should be formed to run the affairs of WFI in consultation with the wrestlers,” they wrote in their fourth and last demand. The letter has been signed by five wrestlers — Tokyo Olympics medallists Ravi Dahiya and Bajrang Punia, Rio Games bronze winner Sakshi Malik, and World Championship medallists Vinesh Phogat and Deepak Punia. Further in their letter, the celebrated athletes pleaded, “It has taken a lot of courage for us wrestlers to come together and protest against the WFI President. We fear for our lives. If he is not sacked, then the careers of all the young who joined the dharna will be over.” They ended the letter by writing that “we will not budge until the WFI President is sacked. Beijing Olympics bronze medallist boxer and now a Congress leader Vijender Singh also reached the protest site at Jantar Mantar, showing solidarity with the wrestlers. Vinesh Phogat had on Thursday said that more womaen wrestlers have come forward with their stories of sexual exploitation and they will file multiple FIRs against the WFI President. They met government officials during the day and later had a dinner meeting with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur at his residence after being called for discussion on the raging issue. However, both the meetings remained inconclusive with the wrestlers adamant that WFI be dissolved immediately while the government requested them to end their protest. They are scheduled to meet Thakur on Friday for a second round of discussion. The government has given WFI President 72 hours (till Saturday evening) to respond to the allegations. Meanwhile, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh while speaking to media in U.P. said he won’t resign because his position was not at someone’s mercy. When told that wrestlers have said that if they bring everything in public domain it will cause an earthquake, the WFI President said if he will open his mouth (reveal secrets), it will cause a tsunami. The WFI also announced that the senior open national ranking tournament, scheduled to be held in Gonda (UP) from January 21-23, will be held as planned and requested all wrestlers to come and compete. Air India fined ₹30 lakh, pilot suspended over urination incident The [Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on January 20 imposed a fine of ₹30 lakh on Air India]( in connection with the urination incident. It also imposed a fine of ₹3 lakh on the airline’s director of in-flight services. The DGCA also suspended the pilot-in-command for three months. Air India, reacting to DGCA’s imposition of the fine, said it respectfully acknowledges the gaps in reporting with respect to the incident and that relevant steps are being taken to address the issues. “We acknowledge gaps in our reporting, and we’re taking steps to address them,” the airline said. Air India further said the airline is strengthening crews’ awareness about policies on handling incidents involving unruly passengers. “Air India is committed to stand by the safety and well-being of our passengers,” it added. A senior citizen woman passenger had the most traumatic flight when a heavily inebriated co-traveller, Shankar Mishra, allegedly urinated over her on an Air India flight from New York to Delhi. The incident happened on Air India’s flight 102 from New York to Delhi on November 26 which took off at 12.30 p.m. (Local time). Both the woman and the intoxicated man, were travelling in business class. The airline had allowed him to walk scot-free when the flight landed in Delhi, instead of reporting him to the CISF and the DGCA. Mishra was later arrested in Bengaluru after the Delhi Police formed four teams and deployed them across three cities. Henley Passport Index 2023: India rises two spots in passport strength index This year’s [Henley Passport Index, released earlier in the month on January 10, puts India’s passport on the 85th spot]( moving it up two places from its position in 2022. Based on data available from the International Air Transport Association, the index ranks passports of countries, “according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.” With access to 193 countries, Japan tops the list as the world’s most powerful passport, while Afghanistan is ranked last in the list, its passport giving access to only 27 countries. While India has moved up from its spot at the 87th place on the list, its access to countries has decreased by one. In 2022 the Indian passport-holders enjoyed visa-free/visa-on-arrival travel to 60 countries, in 2023 this has come down to 59 countries. When the first edition of the Henley Passport Index was published in 2006, India was ranked 71, with visa-free access to only 25 countries. Henley & Partners, who prepare the index, have also assessed the passports based on how much of the global GDP can be accessed by the passport-holder. “By combining Henley Passport Index data and World Bank GDP data, the new research ranks all 199 passports in the world in terms of their Henley Passport Power (HPP) score,” the statement said. Consequently, the strongest passport (Japan) allows visa-free travel to 193 countries (85% of the world), i.e. a gateway to 98% of the global economy. On the other hand, an Afghanistan passport allows the passport-holder to have visa-free access to only 1% of the world’s economy. This ‘global mobility gap’ as the index calls it highlights how countries are “shut out of a shockingly wide breadth of opportunities for economic mobility and growth.” Regarding Indian passport-holders the index said that, “Despite having the world’s fifth-largest economy, its passport holders can access just 59 destinations worldwide and only 6.7% of global GDP, of which the country’s own GDP accounts for around half.” The report also analysed the impact that Russia’s attack on Ukraine has had on travel. Russia’s attack, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”, has already killed thousands, and displaced millions since it began on February 24, 2022. Russia is currently ranked 49th with a score of 118, while Ukraine sits 13 places above, ranking 36th with a score of 144. However, airspace closures and sanctions have interrupted travel for Russian citizens with the marked exceptions of Dubai and Istanbul, Henley’s report said. For Ukraine, the report forecasts a swift climb for the country to the Top 10 as Ukrainians have been granted the right to live and work in the European Union for up to three years under an emergency plan. “Already one of the biggest climbers on the Henley Passport Index, moving up 24 places over the past decade, Ukraine would likely break into the Top Ten most powerful passports in the world if it were to join the EU,” it said. Supreme Court dismisses plea to make chargesheets public The [Supreme Court on January 20 dismissed a plea to publish or upload chargesheets filed by the police and investigative agencies in the public domain]( saying they are “public documents”. A Bench led by Justice M.R. Shah said a chargesheet is not a public document, and it can’t be made available in the public domain. The top court was hearing advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for independent journalist Saurav Das. “To induce transparency, it is incumbent for the respondents [Union and the States] to make available chargesheets on their websites and enable public access so that the citizenry can stay informed, and the Press can faithfully and accurately report on criminal trials,” the petition had argued. In the July 2022 verdict, the court had held that neither showing the Enforcement Case Investigation Report (ECIR) nor supplying the accused with a copy of the document was a violation of constitutional rights. The court had justified that the ECIR was an “internal, departmental document”. Bhushan had argued that the court itself had, in the Youth Bar Association of India judgment, reported in 2016, had directed the public disclosure of FIRs on police/State websites. “The logic of disclosure applies more strongly to chargesheets, for while FIRs are based on unsubstantiated allegations, chargesheets are filed after due investigation,” he had argued. Both the recording of an FIR and filing of chargesheets were acts of public officials in the discharge of their official duties. The Criminal Procedure Code, Evidence Act, and the Right to Information Act, if read concurrently, would envisage that a chargesheet was a public document, and thus available for public disclosure, Bhushan had submitted. Bank loan fraud case: After Kochhars, Bombay HC grants interim bail to Videocon’s Venugopal Dhoot The [Bombay High Court on Friday granted interim bail to Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot]( who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the ICICI bank fraud case. A division bench of justices Revati Mohite Dere and P.K. Chavan directed Dhoot to be released on a bail bond of ₹1 lakh. His other bail conditions are like the co-accused Chanda and Deepak Kochhar granted bail by High Court on January 9 this year. The bench was hearing Dhoot’s plea seeking immediate release in the case. On January 9, the same bench had directed the release of co-accused ICICI bank’s former chief executive officer and managing director Chanda and her husband Deepak Kochhar from jail. He was arrested on December 26, 2022, and sent to judicial custody after three days with the Kochhars. He has urged the court to quash the First Information Report (FIR) against him as he has been co-operating with the central agency. Dhoot contends, “His arrest is arbitrary, illegal, done without following due procedure of law and in gross violation of section 41 (A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which mandates for a notice to be issued to accused to join the probe and to make an arrest only if absolutely necessary”. However, CBI had argued Dhoot’s replies have been very evasive and therefore he must not be released. The CBI has alleged that ICICI bank under the leadership of Kochhar sanctioned a credit of ₹3,250 crore to companies owned by the Videocon Group which are in direct violation to The Banking Regulation Act, guidelines by the Reserve Bank of India and the credit policies of banks. In Brief: The [Supreme Court on January 20 protected the filmmaker Leena Manimekalai from coercive action]( on the basis of multiple FIRs filed in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh over the poster of her documentary titled ‘Kaali’. The court protected her from any other FIR which may be filed or already filed on the basis of the same poster. The SC also recorded that the poster was not meant to insult religious feelings, but was inclusive in nature. The court observed that FIRs in multiple States would cause prejudice to her, and issued notice to States and other respondents. The top court posted the case to February 20, 2023. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. First Day First Show Stay up-to-date on all things cinema with the "First Day First Show" cinema & entertainment newsletter. Every week, we bring you movie reviews, news from regional cinema, Bollywood, Hollywood, and beyond, as well as updates from the streaming platforms. Whether you're a cinephile or just looking for your next great binge-watch, we've got you covered. 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