The Evening Wrap: Sexual harassment allegations against Wrestling Federation chief serious: SC

A previous version of this newsletter was inadvertently sent earlier. The error is regretted The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the sexual harassment allegations raised by seven women wrestlers against Wrestling Federation of India president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh were “serious”. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud decided to examine the petition filed by the grapplers regarding the non-registration of First Information Report (FIR) and listed the case for Friday. The Bench, on a request made by the petitioners, directed their identities be redacted from the court’s records. The court said only petitions and records in which their identities have been redacted would be made available in the public domain. The court issued formal notice and allowed petitioners liberty to serve copies of their petition to counsel for the Delhi government. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the seven women wrestlers, said even police officers who have refused to register FIRs on the basis of sexual harassment complaints made by the petitioners could be prosecuted. One of the petitioners was a minor at the time of the alleged sexual harassment, he said. “FIR is not being registered because the accused is a Member of Parliament of the ruling party,” Sibal submitted. Chief Justice Chandrachud pointed out that the petitioners have a remedy under Section 156 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, under which a Magistrate could order an investigation. “Of course, we have… but look at how the police are not registering an FIR on these allegations… These are allegations of sexual harassment… There are video recordings,” Sibal said, referring to the seriousness of the allegations. Sibal said the complaints of the petitioners have been placed in a sealed cover. “The last complaint is by a minor. The young girl was 16 at the time. The accused is the president of the Wrestling Federation of India… Even the police officers can be prosecuted for not registering an offence of this nature,” he submitted. In its order, the court observed that “there are serious allegations contained in the petition”. The court noted that the petitioners were wrestlers who represented India who have alleged that sexual harassment had been meted out to them. The Bench ordered the complaints attached with the writ petition to be re-sealed. Delhi liquor excise policy case: CBI files supplementary charge-sheet against Manish Sisodia and three others The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a supplementary charge-sheet against former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and three others in connection with the case related to the now-scrapped liquor excise policy. Among those arraigned are businessperson Amandeep Singh Dhall, Chartered Accountant Butchibabu Gorantla, and one Arjun Pandey. The court has fixed May 12 for arguments on the supplementary charge-sheet. On April 16, the CBI had recorded the statement of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the same case. He later alleged that the entire case was fabricated and the agency did not have any proof. “It is a result of dirty politics,” he had said. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Sisodia on March 9, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Earlier, the CBI arrested him on February 26 for the alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the excise policy. Karnataka government decision scrapping 4% quota to Muslims will not be implemented till May 9: Supreme Court The Karnataka Government on April 25 won an adjournment again in the Supreme Court during the hearing of a petition challenging the State’s decision to scrap 4% OBC quota for Muslims and divide it between Vokkaliga and Lingayat castes ahead of the Assembly elections. Appearing before a Bench led by Justice K.M. Joseph, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the State’s assurance in court to make no appointments or admissions under the March 27 government order, which granted the two additional percentage of quota to the two castes, would continue in the meanwhile. The State had similarly sought an adjournment when the case came up for hearing previously on April 18. The court finally adjourned the case to May 9. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, for petitioner Ghulam L. Rasool, objected to the adjournment. “I strongly oppose this. They [State] will again seek adjournment and we will be affected,” Dave protested. In a hearing on April 13, Justice Joseph had prima facie remarked that the State’s decision to scrap the quota for Muslims was based on “absolutely fallacious assumptions”. Justice Joseph had pointed out that Muslims, for a very long period, were treated as a ‘more backward’ community. “They were sandwiched somewhere between the ‘most backward’ and ‘backward’ communities. Suddenly you have taken reservation benefits away from them… I have to speak my mind here, so that you can respond… What strikes me as a student of law is that the order is based on absolutely fallacious assumptions,” Justice Joseph had orally observed. Dave had then argued that the State had removed Muslims from the backward class list and included them under the ‘economically weaker sections’ (EWS) category without any empirical data collected or study done to support the move. The March 27 government order to scrap the Muslim quota in the State was based on an “interim” report from the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission. He had submitted that the inclusion of Muslim community in the EWS list illegally implied that the community was not socially and educationally backward. “After 50 years, they removed the reservation for Muslims overnight and gave it to somebody else. This was done just two days before the State Assembly elections were announced. You want to favour Vokkaligas and Lingayats, do that. But don’t take away reservations given to Muslims... They don’t want to displease others, but we are dispensable,” Dave had submitted. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, also for the petitioner, had said reports dating back from 1995 conclude that Muslims have the highest rate of illiteracy in the State and the community sees the highest dropouts from school. Advocate Ravivarma Kumar, for the petitioner side, had added that other minority communities, including Christians, Buddhists, Jain, etc, continue in the backward classes list. “All except Muslims,” he said. He had said the State had no power to transfer the community from socially and backward class category to the EWS category. U.S. President Joe Biden launches 2024 re-election bid U.S. President Joe Biden on April 25 formally announced that he is running for re-election in 2024, asking voters to give him more time to “finish this job” he began when he was sworn into office and to set aside their concerns about extending the run of America’s oldest President for another four years. Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, is betting his first-term legislative achievements and more than 50 years of experience in Washington will count for more than concerns over his age. He faces a smooth path to winning his party’s nomination, with no serious Democratic rivals. But he’s still set for a hard-fought struggle to retain the presidency in a bitterly divided nation. The announcement, in a three-minute video, comes on the four-year anniversary of when Biden declared for the White House in 2019, promising to heal the “soul of the nation” amid the turbulent presidency of Donald Trump — a goal that has remained elusive. “I said we are in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are,” Biden said. “The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer.” While the prospect of seeking re-election has been a given for most modern Presidents, that’s not always been the case for Biden. A notable swath of Democratic voters have indicated they would prefer he not run, in part because of his age — concerns Biden has called “totally legitimate” but ones he did not address head-on in the launch video. Yet few things have unified Democratic voters like the prospect of Trump returning to power. And Biden’s political standing within his party stabilised after Democrats notched a stronger-than-expected performance in last year’s midterm elections. The President is set to run again on the same themes that buoyed his party last fall, particularly on preserving access to abortion. “Freedom. Personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans. There’s nothing more important. Nothing more sacred,” Biden said in the launch video, depicting Republican extremists as trying to roll back access to abortion, cut Social Security, limit voting rights and ban books they disagree with. “Around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take those bedrock freedoms away.” “This is not a time to be complacent,” Biden added. “That’s why I’m running for re-election.” In Brief: With war on hold, first set of Indians set sail from Sudan The first batch of Indians stranded in violence-hit Sudan left the country onboard India’s naval ship INS Sumedha as part of the evacuation mission ‘Operation Kaveri’. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said 278 people onboard the ship departed Port Sudan for the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. “First batch of stranded Indians leave Sudan under #OperationKaveri. INS Sumedha with 278 people onboard departs Port Sudan for Jeddah,” Bagchi tweeted. Harry Belafonte, who mixed music, acting, and activism, passes away at 96 Harry Belafonte, a singer, songwriter and groundbreaking actor who started his entertainment career belting ‘Day O’ in his 1950s hit song Banana Boat before turning to political activism, has died at the age of 96, the New York Times reported on April 25. As a Black leading man who explored racial themes in 1950s movies, Belafonte would later move on to working with his friend Martin Luther King Jr. during the U.S. civil rights movement in the early 1960s. He became the driving force behind the celebrity-studded, famine-fighting hit song ‘We Are the World’ in the 1980s. Iran charges two actors for not wearing headscarves Iran has charged two prominent actresses for publishing pictures of themselves flouting the country’s dress code for women, just weeks after announcing a crackdown on breaches, local media reported. Police in Tehran have referred the case against Katayoun Riahi and Pantea Bahram to Iran’s judiciary, accusing them of “the crime of removing the hijab in public and posting photos on the internet”, the Tasnim news agency said late on Monday. If prosecuted, the pair could face fines or prison terms. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 25 April 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]( Sexual harassment allegations against Wrestling Federation chief serious: Supreme Court A previous version of this newsletter was inadvertently sent earlier. The error is regretted The [Supreme Court on Tuesday said]( the sexual harassment allegations raised by seven women wrestlers against Wrestling Federation of India president and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh were “serious”. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud decided to examine the petition filed by the grapplers regarding the non-registration of First Information Report (FIR) and listed the case for Friday. The Bench, on a request made by the petitioners, directed their identities be redacted from the court’s records. The court said only petitions and records in which their identities have been redacted would be made available in the public domain. The court issued formal notice and allowed petitioners liberty to serve copies of their petition to counsel for the Delhi government. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the seven women wrestlers, said even police officers who have refused to register FIRs on the basis of sexual harassment complaints made by the petitioners could be prosecuted. One of the petitioners was a minor at the time of the alleged sexual harassment, he said. “FIR is not being registered because the accused is a Member of Parliament of the ruling party,” Sibal submitted. Chief Justice Chandrachud pointed out that the petitioners have a remedy under Section 156 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, under which a Magistrate could order an investigation. “Of course, we have… but look at how the police are not registering an FIR on these allegations… These are allegations of sexual harassment… There are video recordings,” Sibal said, referring to the seriousness of the allegations. Sibal said the complaints of the petitioners have been placed in a sealed cover. “The last complaint is by a minor. The young girl was 16 at the time. The accused is the president of the Wrestling Federation of India… Even the police officers can be prosecuted for not registering an offence of this nature,” he submitted. In its order, the court observed that “there are serious allegations contained in the petition”. The court noted that the petitioners were wrestlers who represented India who have alleged that sexual harassment had been meted out to them. The Bench ordered the complaints attached with the writ petition to be re-sealed. Delhi liquor excise policy case: CBI files supplementary charge-sheet against Manish Sisodia and three others The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has [filed a supplementary charge-sheet against former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia]( and three others in connection with the case related to the now-scrapped liquor excise policy. Among those arraigned are businessperson Amandeep Singh Dhall, Chartered Accountant Butchibabu Gorantla, and one Arjun Pandey. The court has fixed May 12 for arguments on the supplementary charge-sheet. On April 16, the CBI had recorded the statement of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the same case. He later alleged that the entire case was fabricated and the agency did not have any proof. “It is a result of dirty politics,” he had said. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Sisodia on March 9, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Earlier, the CBI arrested him on February 26 for the alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the excise policy. Karnataka government decision scrapping 4% quota to Muslims will not be implemented till May 9: Supreme Court The [Karnataka Government on April 25 won an adjournment]( again in the Supreme Court during the hearing of a petition challenging the State’s decision to scrap 4% OBC quota for Muslims and divide it between Vokkaliga and Lingayat castes ahead of the Assembly elections. Appearing before a Bench led by Justice K.M. Joseph, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the State’s assurance in court to make no appointments or admissions under the March 27 government order, which granted the two additional percentage of quota to the two castes, would continue in the meanwhile. The State had similarly sought an adjournment when the case came up for hearing previously on April 18. The court finally adjourned the case to May 9. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, for petitioner Ghulam L. Rasool, objected to the adjournment. “I strongly oppose this. They [State] will again seek adjournment and we will be affected,” Dave protested. In a hearing on April 13, Justice Joseph had prima facie remarked that the State’s decision to scrap the quota for Muslims was based on “absolutely fallacious assumptions”. Justice Joseph had pointed out that Muslims, for a very long period, were treated as a ‘more backward’ community. “They were sandwiched somewhere between the ‘most backward’ and ‘backward’ communities. Suddenly you have taken reservation benefits away from them… I have to speak my mind here, so that you can respond… What strikes me as a student of law is that the order is based on absolutely fallacious assumptions,” Justice Joseph had orally observed. Dave had then argued that the State had removed Muslims from the backward class list and included them under the ‘economically weaker sections’ (EWS) category without any empirical data collected or study done to support the move. The March 27 government order to scrap the Muslim quota in the State was based on an “interim” report from the Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission. He had submitted that the inclusion of Muslim community in the EWS list illegally implied that the community was not socially and educationally backward. “After 50 years, they removed the reservation for Muslims overnight and gave it to somebody else. This was done just two days before the State Assembly elections were announced. You want to favour Vokkaligas and Lingayats, do that. But don’t take away reservations given to Muslims... They don’t want to displease others, but we are dispensable,” Dave had submitted. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, also for the petitioner, had said reports dating back from 1995 conclude that Muslims have the highest rate of illiteracy in the State and the community sees the highest dropouts from school. Advocate Ravivarma Kumar, for the petitioner side, had added that other minority communities, including Christians, Buddhists, Jain, etc, continue in the backward classes list. “All except Muslims,” he said. He had said the State had no power to transfer the community from socially and backward class category to the EWS category. U.S. President Joe Biden launches 2024 re-election bid U.S. President Joe Biden on April 25 [formally announced that he is running for re-election in 2024]( asking voters to give him more time to “finish this job” he began when he was sworn into office and to set aside their concerns about extending the run of America’s oldest President for another four years. Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, is betting his first-term legislative achievements and more than 50 years of experience in Washington will count for more than concerns over his age. He faces a smooth path to winning his party’s nomination, with no serious Democratic rivals. But he’s still set for a hard-fought struggle to retain the presidency in a bitterly divided nation. The announcement, in a three-minute video, comes on the four-year anniversary of when Biden declared for the White House in 2019, promising to heal the “soul of the nation” amid the turbulent presidency of Donald Trump — a goal that has remained elusive. “I said we are in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are,” Biden said. “The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer.” While the prospect of seeking re-election has been a given for most modern Presidents, that’s not always been the case for Biden. A notable swath of Democratic voters have indicated they would prefer he not run, in part because of his age — concerns Biden has called “totally legitimate” but ones he did not address head-on in the launch video. Yet few things have unified Democratic voters like the prospect of Trump returning to power. And Biden’s political standing within his party stabilised after Democrats notched a stronger-than-expected performance in last year’s midterm elections. The President is set to run again on the same themes that buoyed his party last fall, particularly on preserving access to abortion. “Freedom. Personal freedom is fundamental to who we are as Americans. There’s nothing more important. Nothing more sacred,” Biden said in the launch video, depicting Republican extremists as trying to roll back access to abortion, cut Social Security, limit voting rights and ban books they disagree with. “Around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take those bedrock freedoms away.” “This is not a time to be complacent,” Biden added. “That’s why I’m running for re-election.” In Brief: With war on hold, first set of Indians set sail from Sudan The first batch of Indians stranded in violence-hit Sudan [left the country onboard India’s naval ship INS Sumedha]( as part of the evacuation mission ‘Operation Kaveri’. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said 278 people onboard the ship departed Port Sudan for the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. “First batch of stranded Indians leave Sudan under #OperationKaveri. INS Sumedha with 278 people onboard departs Port Sudan for Jeddah,” Bagchi tweeted. Harry Belafonte, who mixed music, acting, and activism, passes away at 96 Harry Belafonte, a singer, songwriter and groundbreaking actor who started his entertainment career belting ‘Day O’ in his 1950s hit song Banana Boat before turning to political activism, has [died at the age of 96]( the New York Times reported on April 25. As a Black leading man who explored racial themes in 1950s movies, Belafonte would later move on to working with his friend Martin Luther King Jr. during the U.S. civil rights movement in the early 1960s. He became the driving force behind the celebrity-studded, famine-fighting hit song ‘We Are the World’ in the 1980s. Iran charges two actors for not wearing headscarves [Iran has charged two prominent actresses]( for publishing pictures of themselves flouting the country’s dress code for women, just weeks after announcing a crackdown on breaches, local media reported. Police in Tehran have referred the case against Katayoun Riahi and Pantea Bahram to Iran’s judiciary, accusing them of “the crime of removing the hijab in public and posting photos on the internet”, the Tasnim news agency said late on Monday. If prosecuted, the pair could face fines or prison terms. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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