The Evening Wrap: Supreme Court refuses to entertain Manish Sisodia’s plea challenging CBI arrest

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to intervene at this stage in a petition filed by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia challenging his arrest in the Delhi excise policy case. The apex court advised the AAP leader to approach the Delhi High Court. A Bench comprising CJI D.Y. Chandrachud and and Justice P.S. Narasimha said Sisodia has alternative remedies available before the High Court and asked him to pursue them instead of directly invoking the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution. “You are challenging an FIR, challenging remand, seeking bail, all under Article 32. You have remedies before the High Court under Section 482 CrPC”, CJI Chandrachud told Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi at the outset. The apex court also reminded Sisodia’s lawyers that just because something has happened in the national capital does not mean the issue has to be directly brought to the apex court. “Just because an incident happens in Delhi does not mean this case will come to the Supreme Court,” Justice Narasimha said. On Monday, a day after he was arrested, a Delhi court had sent the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister in five-day custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Delhi excise policy case. Meanwhile, Sisodia and Minister Satyendar Jain resigned from the Cabinet on February 28. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has accepted their resignations, officials said. Jain is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in a money laundering case. Sisodia had been in charge of 18 ministries, including education and also the health portfolio of Satyendar Jain, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May last year. Show mature statesmanship, Supreme Court tells Governors, Chief Ministers The Supreme Court on February 28, 2023 urged constitutional functionaries to show “mature statesmanship” and not vie with each other in a “race to the bottom” after a war of words between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Governor Banwarilal Purohit led to an impasse over convening the Budget Session for the State. Though the Governor informed the court at the outset that the Budget Session would be held as scheduled on March 3, a Bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and P.S. Narasimha highlighted how rancour and trading of mutual accusations between Governors and Chief Ministers tend to put constitutional values in jeopardy. “While the court is cognisant of the importance of free speech and expression, it is necessary to emphasise that dialogue between constitutional functionaries has to be conducted with a sense of decorum and mature statesmanship,” the Bench said. The Bench noted that “political differences” between a Governor and a Chief Minister should not degenerate into a slugfest where the State turns out to be the ultimate loser. “Political differences in a democratic polity are acceptable and have to be worked out with a sense of sobriety and maturity without allowing the discourse to degenerate into a race to the bottom,” the court underscored. “It is inconceivable that the Budget Session of a Legislative Assembly would not be convened… Constitutional authorities must be deeply cognisant of public faith in the offices they occupy… They should ensure that the affairs of the nation are conducted with a sense of maturity,” the apex court said. The genesis of the controversy began in the middle of February when Governor Purohit questioned Mr. Mann’s decision to send a batch of school principals to Singapore for training. Mr. Mann took to Twitter and also wrote back to the Governor that he was “answerable only to three crore Punjabis and not any Governor appointed by the Centre”. He had also questioned the “qualifications” of the Governor. The Governor, in return, accused Mr. Mann of “political immaturity” and “extremely derogatory and unconstitutional” conduct. Later, when he was approached by the State Cabinet on February 22 to convene the Budget Session, Mr. Purohit drew attention to Mr. Mann’s earlier behaviour and wrote back that he would consider convening the Assembly only after taking “legal advice”. The Governor’s inaction prompted Mr. Mann to approach the Supreme Court directly. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, for the Punjab government, said the Punjab government would be “left without a penny if the Budget Session is not convened to pass the Appropriation Bill”. SIT formed for probe into death of IIT-Bombay student The Maharashtra government has formed a special investigation team (SIT) headed by a senior police officer to conduct a probe into the alleged suicide of an 18-year-old student of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, a police official said on Tuesday. Darshan Solanki, who hailed from Ahmedabad in Gujarat and was a first-year student of B Tech (Chemical) course at the IIT-Bombay, allegedly died by suicide by jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building located on the campus on February 12. His family had claimed he faced discrimination at the IIT-Bombay for belonging to a Scheduled Caste community and suspected foul play in his death. Gujarat Congress MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani had demanded a probe by the SIT into Solanki’s death, terming the episode as “suspicious”. On February 24, the government had ordered a probe into Solanki’s death, the official said. The SIT, headed by Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Lakhmi Gautam, will revisit the case and record the statements of Solanki’s parents, officials of the institute and students who were witness to the incident, he said. It will also conduct a probe into the allegations made by various student groups that Solanki faced caste discrimination, he said. After Solanki’s death, the Powai police had registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and recorded the statements of multiple people, including IITB students. “Now, the SIT will conduct a probe into the case,” the official added. A Mumbai Police team on February 16 visited Gujarat to record the statements of Solanki’s parents. Gujarat Assembly passes Bill which makes teaching Gujarati language in primary schools mandatory The Gujarat Assembly on February 28 unanimously passed a Bill which makes teaching the Gujarati language compulsory in all primary schools in the State, including those affiliated with CBSE, ICSE and IB boards. If a school is found violating the provisions of the “Gujarat Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Gujarati Language Bill, 2023” for more than a year, the government would “direct the Board or institution” to disaffiliate the school. The Bill, tabled by State Education Minister Kuberbhai Dindor, was passed unanimously by the 182-member House as both the Opposition parties — the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party — supported its provisions. As per the Bill document, the schools which are currently not teaching Gujarati will have to introduce Gujarati as an additional language for classes 1 to 8 in phases from the upcoming academic year 2023-24. “Every school shall follow textbooks prescribed by the Gujarat government for teaching Gujarati as an additional language. The State Government will appoint a deputy director-level officer of the Education Department as the competent authority to implement the provisions of this Bill,” said Dindor. If a school is found violating the provisions for the first time, it will be liable to pay a penalty of ₹50,000, as per the Bill document. The penalty will be ₹1 lakh and ₹2 lakh for subsequent violations. “If a school continues to make contraventions to this act for over one year, the State Government may direct the Board or institution to disaffiliate the school, to which such a school is affiliated,” as per the provisions in the Bill. The penalty will not be imposed without allowing the school concerned to put forward its explanation. Though the Congress supported the Bill, its members slammed the BJP government, alleging it “woke up” only after a PIL was filed in the high court recently for the proper implementation of the State Government’s 2018 notification, asking all primary schools to introduce the Gujarati language as a mandatory subject in primary schools from class 1 to 8. “Before this Bill, the State Government had issued a notification in 2018 for the same purpose. Thus, I urge the State Government to make sure that this Bill does not meet the fate of that notification. We hope that you will implement the act strictly. Moreover, the State Government should think of increasing the amount of penalty,” said Congress MLA Amit Chavda. He also urged the State Government to introduce Gujarati as a compulsory subject at the secondary and higher secondary levels. The Public Interest Litigation was filed last October by an NGO seeking the Gujarat HC’s direction to the State Government ‘‘to ensure the Government Resolution of 2018 is implemented in its true letter and spirit so as to introduce the Gujarati language as one of the mandatory subjects in primary schools from standard 1 to 8’‘. The petitioner had claimed that primary schools, especially those affiliated with CBSE, ICSE, and IB boards, were not offering Gujarati as a subject in the curriculum despite a State policy in place. In Brief: GDP growth slows to 4.4% in third quarter from 6.3% in second India’s GDP growth slowed to 4.4% in the October to December 2022 quarter, from 6.3% in the second quarter, as per the National Statistical Office. The government data also estimated 2022-23 GDP growth at 7% compared to an upwardly revised 9.1% growth in 2021-22. GDP growth was earlier estimated at 8.7% in 2021-22. The Gross Value Added (GVA) in the economy grew 4.6% in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022-23, down from 5.5% in Q2, with manufacturing continuing to shrink for the second quarter, albeit at a slower pace of 1.1% compared to 3.6% in Q2. China announces Foreign Minister’s visit to India for G20 meet China on Tuesday announced the visit of its Foreign Minister Qin Gang to India for this week’s G20 meeting, the first such high-level visit from the country in almost one year. Qin, at the invitation of India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, will attend the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi on March 2, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 28 February 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 refuses to entertain Manish Sisodia’s plea challenging CBI arrest; Sisodia and Jain resign from Cabinet The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to intervene at this stage in a petition filed by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia challenging his arrest in the Delhi excise policy case. The [apex court advised the AAP leader]( to approach the Delhi High Court. A Bench comprising CJI D.Y. Chandrachud and and Justice P.S. Narasimha said Sisodia has alternative remedies available before the High Court and asked him to pursue them instead of directly invoking the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution. “You are challenging an FIR, challenging remand, seeking bail, all under Article 32. You have remedies before the High Court under Section 482 CrPC”, CJI Chandrachud told Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi at the outset. The apex court also reminded Sisodia’s lawyers that just because something has happened in the national capital does not mean the issue has to be directly brought to the apex court. “Just because an incident happens in Delhi does not mean this case will come to the Supreme Court,” Justice Narasimha said. On Monday, a day after he was arrested, a Delhi court had sent the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister in five-day custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Delhi excise policy case. Meanwhile, [Sisodia and Minister Satyendar Jain resigned from the Cabinet]( on February 28. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has accepted their resignations, officials said. Jain is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in a money laundering case. Sisodia had been in charge of 18 ministries, including education and also the health portfolio of Satyendar Jain, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May last year. Show mature statesmanship, Supreme Court tells Governors, Chief Ministers The Supreme Court on February 28, 2023 [urged constitutional functionaries to show “mature statesmanship”]( and not vie with each other in a “race to the bottom” after a war of words between Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Governor Banwarilal Purohit led to an impasse over convening the Budget Session for the State. Though the Governor informed the court at the outset that the Budget Session would be held as scheduled on March 3, a Bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and P.S. Narasimha highlighted how rancour and trading of mutual accusations between Governors and Chief Ministers tend to put constitutional values in jeopardy. “While the court is cognisant of the importance of free speech and expression, it is necessary to emphasise that dialogue between constitutional functionaries has to be conducted with a sense of decorum and mature statesmanship,” the Bench said. The Bench noted that “political differences” between a Governor and a Chief Minister should not degenerate into a slugfest where the State turns out to be the ultimate loser. “Political differences in a democratic polity are acceptable and have to be worked out with a sense of sobriety and maturity without allowing the discourse to degenerate into a race to the bottom,” the court underscored. “It is inconceivable that the Budget Session of a Legislative Assembly would not be convened… Constitutional authorities must be deeply cognisant of public faith in the offices they occupy… They should ensure that the affairs of the nation are conducted with a sense of maturity,” the apex court said. The genesis of the controversy began in the middle of February when Governor Purohit questioned Mr. Mann’s decision to send a batch of school principals to Singapore for training. Mr. Mann took to Twitter and also wrote back to the Governor that he was “answerable only to three crore Punjabis and not any Governor appointed by the Centre”. He had also questioned the “qualifications” of the Governor. The Governor, in return, accused Mr. Mann of “political immaturity” and “extremely derogatory and unconstitutional” conduct. Later, when he was approached by the State Cabinet on February 22 to convene the Budget Session, Mr. Purohit drew attention to Mr. Mann’s earlier behaviour and wrote back that he would consider convening the Assembly only after taking “legal advice”. The Governor’s inaction prompted Mr. Mann to approach the Supreme Court directly. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, for the Punjab government, said the Punjab government would be “left without a penny if the Budget Session is not convened to pass the Appropriation Bill”. SIT formed for probe into death of IIT-Bombay student  The [Maharashtra government has formed a special investigation team (SIT)]( headed by a senior police officer to conduct a probe into the alleged suicide of an 18-year-old student of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, a police official said on Tuesday. Darshan Solanki, who hailed from Ahmedabad in Gujarat and was a first-year student of B Tech (Chemical) course at the IIT-Bombay, allegedly died by suicide by jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building located on the campus on February 12. His family had claimed he faced discrimination at the IIT-Bombay for belonging to a Scheduled Caste community and suspected foul play in his death. Gujarat Congress MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani had demanded a probe by the SIT into Solanki’s death, terming the episode as “suspicious”. On February 24, the government had ordered a probe into Solanki’s death, the official said. The SIT, headed by Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Lakhmi Gautam, will revisit the case and record the statements of Solanki’s parents, officials of the institute and students who were witness to the incident, he said. It will also conduct a probe into the allegations made by various student groups that Solanki faced caste discrimination, he said. After Solanki’s death, the Powai police had registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and recorded the statements of multiple people, including IITB students. “Now, the SIT will conduct a probe into the case,” the official added. A Mumbai Police team on February 16 visited Gujarat to record the statements of Solanki’s parents. Gujarat Assembly passes Bill which makes teaching Gujarati language in primary schools mandatory The Gujarat Assembly on February 28 [unanimously passed a Bill]( which makes teaching the Gujarati language compulsory in all primary schools in the State, including those affiliated with CBSE, ICSE and IB boards. If a school is found violating the provisions of the “Gujarat Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Gujarati Language Bill, 2023” for more than a year, the government would “direct the Board or institution” to disaffiliate the school. The Bill, tabled by State Education Minister Kuberbhai Dindor, was passed unanimously by the 182-member House as both the Opposition parties — the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party — supported its provisions. As per the Bill document, the schools which are currently not teaching Gujarati will have to introduce Gujarati as an additional language for classes 1 to 8 in phases from the upcoming academic year 2023-24. “Every school shall follow textbooks prescribed by the Gujarat government for teaching Gujarati as an additional language. The State Government will appoint a deputy director-level officer of the Education Department as the competent authority to implement the provisions of this Bill,” said Dindor. If a school is found violating the provisions for the first time, it will be liable to pay a penalty of ₹50,000, as per the Bill document. The penalty will be ₹1 lakh and ₹2 lakh for subsequent violations. “If a school continues to make contraventions to this act for over one year, the State Government may direct the Board or institution to disaffiliate the school, to which such a school is affiliated,” as per the provisions in the Bill. The penalty will not be imposed without allowing the school concerned to put forward its explanation. Though the Congress supported the Bill, its members slammed the BJP government, alleging it “woke up” only after a PIL was filed in the high court recently for the proper implementation of the State Government’s 2018 notification, asking all primary schools to introduce the Gujarati language as a mandatory subject in primary schools from class 1 to 8. “Before this Bill, the State Government had issued a notification in 2018 for the same purpose. Thus, I urge the State Government to make sure that this Bill does not meet the fate of that notification. We hope that you will implement the act strictly. Moreover, the State Government should think of increasing the amount of penalty,” said Congress MLA Amit Chavda. He also urged the State Government to introduce Gujarati as a compulsory subject at the secondary and higher secondary levels. The Public Interest Litigation was filed last October by an NGO seeking the Gujarat HC’s direction to the State Government ‘‘to ensure the Government Resolution of 2018 is implemented in its true letter and spirit so as to introduce the Gujarati language as one of the mandatory subjects in primary schools from standard 1 to 8’‘. The petitioner had claimed that primary schools, especially those affiliated with CBSE, ICSE, and IB boards, were not offering Gujarati as a subject in the curriculum despite a State policy in place. In Brief: GDP growth slows to 4.4% in third quarter from 6.3% in second [India’s GDP growth slowed to 4.4%]( in the October to December 2022 quarter, from 6.3% in the second quarter, as per the National Statistical Office. The government data also estimated 2022-23 GDP growth at 7% compared to an upwardly revised 9.1% growth in 2021-22. GDP growth was earlier estimated at 8.7% in 2021-22. The Gross Value Added (GVA) in the economy grew 4.6% in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022-23, down from 5.5% in Q2, with manufacturing continuing to shrink for the second quarter, albeit at a slower pace of 1.1% compared to 3.6% in Q2. China announces Foreign Minister’s visit to India for G20 meet China on Tuesday [announced the visit of its Foreign Minister Qin Gang to India]( for this week’s G20 meeting, the first such high-level visit from the country in almost one year. Qin, at the invitation of India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, will attend the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi on March 2, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said. 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. [Subscribe Now!]( [[Heatwaves likely from March to May: IMD forecast] Heatwaves likely from March to May: IMD forecast]( [[Watch | What are El Niño and La Niña?] Watch | What are El Niño and La Niña?]( [[Revisiting two cases of medico deaths] Revisiting two cases of medico deaths]( [[Meta creates new product group for generative AI] Meta creates new product group for generative AI]( Copyright @ 2023, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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