The Evening Wrap: SC declines to hear plea for inauguration of new Parliament by President

The Supreme Court on May 26 refused to entertain a petition challenging the inauguration of the new Parliament building by the Prime Minister, and not the President of India. A Vacation Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and P.S. Narasimha said it was not “inclined” to hear the petition filed by advocate C.R. Jaya Sukin, the petitioner in person. The petition was urgently listed before the Vacation Bench. Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta was appearing for the Union. When Sukin urged the Court to permit him to withdraw the petition, Mehta said the lawyer may then go and file it before another Court and keep the issue alive. Mehta also said the Supreme Court should record a dismissal of the petition in the order to make it conclusive. “So, what is your interest in filing this petition,” Justice Narasimha asked Sukin. “She is my President. I am a citizen,” Sukin responded. The lawyer referred to Article 79 of the Constitution which stated that there “shall be a Parliament for the Union, which will consist of the President and two Houses to be called respectively the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha)”. “What is the connection between Article 79 and the inauguration function,” Justice Maheshwari asked. “The President is the head of the Parliament. The Prime Minister is only the head of the executive government. It is for the President to inaugurate…” Sukin said. The Court, however, said it could not intervene in the issue on the basis of a petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution. Only six religion options in next Census, but new questions on bottled water and migration causes Do you consume “packaged or bottled water”? The Census wants to know. This will be one of the new questions in the next Census, which will also introduce “natural calamities” as an option when asking questions about the factors responsible for migration of an individual or a family, apart from the usual options such as education, marriage, work or business. Despite demands from several communities to be counted as a separate religion, the next Census will only count Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain as distinct religion options. Nature-worshipping Adivasis in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Odisha have been campaigning to include their Sarna faith as a separate religion, while Karnataka’s Lingayats have been making a similar demand. Though respondents can additionally write the name of any other religion in the Census form, no separate code will be provided. Census officials had, in fact, designed detailed codes for religion on the basis of data collected during Census 2011. However, they were dropped and only six religion codes were retained in the final schedule after deliberations at a data users conference. The details are explained in a report titled, “The Treatise on Indian Censuses Since 1981”, which was released by Home Minister Amit Shah at the inauguration of a new Census building in Delhi on May 21. Nine years of Modi government | Congress asks PM nine questions With Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing nine years in office, the Congress on May 26 asked him nine questions on issues such as rising prices, unemployment, and farmers’ income, and demanded an apology for the “betrayal” during his tenure. The party also said the government should mark this day as ‘Maafi Diwas’. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had raised critical issues during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the nine questions are based on that, party general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said. He released a booklet ‘Nau saal, Nau sawaal’ and asked, “Why is it that inflation and unemployment are skyrocketing in India? Why have the rich become richer and the poor poorer? Why is public property being sold to PM Modi’s friends, even as economic disparities are increasing?” He also asked why is it that the agreements made with farmers while repealing the three “black” farm laws have not been honoured and why has the minimum support price not been legally guaranteed. “Why didn’t farmers’ income double over the last nine years,” he asked. Accusing the government of indulging in corruption and cronyism, Ramesh queried why the PM is putting people’s hard-earned savings in LIC and SBI at risk to benefit his “friend” Adani. On the issue of national security, Ramesh said the Congress wants to ask “why is it that even after your clean chit to China in 2020, they continue to occupy Indian territory”. He also asked why deliberately “politics of hatred” for electoral gains was being used and alleged that an atmosphere of fear in society was being fuelled. He alleged that the government had “weakened” the schemes for the welfare of the poor, needy and tribals by cutting their budgets and making restrictive rules. Income Tax department searches premises linked to Tamil Nadu Minister Senthilbalaji Income Tax officials carried out searches at various premises linked to Tamil Nadu Minister for Electricity, Excise and Prohibition V. Senthilbalaji, in Karur and a few other places on May 26. The searches began around 6.30 a.m. The house of V. Ashok, brother of Senthilbalaji, in Ramakrishnapuram, Karur, is among the premises searched by the I-T officials. The searches came days after the AIADMK and the BJP presented separate petitions to Governor R.N. Ravi, alleging large-scale irregularities in the functioning of Tasmac outlets and the private bars attached to them in different places of the State. As information about the searches by I-T officials spread, a large number of DMK cadres and the supporters of Senthilbalaji assembled in front Ashok’s house. Expressing anguish over the I-T Department’s actions, they raised slogans against the Union government. The cadre also gheraoed a woman I-T official. The cadres, who insisted on her showing them her identity card, entered into a heated argument with her. They claimed the official had assaulted a DMK cadre. Angry protesters also pelted stones on a vehicle of the I-T officials, damaging the windscreen and mirrors of the car. On receiving this, information, the police arrived at the spot and brought the situation under control. Supreme Court grants interim bail to former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain on medical grounds in money laundering case The Supreme Court granted medical bail to former Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain while refusing to accept the ED’s explanation that his drastic weight loss in jail is due to his faith in the Jain tradition of fasting. A Vacation Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and P.S. Narasimha allowed Jain to consult a private hospital of his choice. The medical evaluation report from the hospital has to be submitted in court on July 11, the next date of hearing. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for Jain, said his client was suffering from muscular atrophy and has already lost 35 kg. He was in the waiting list at number 415 for a spinal vertebrae surgery. “He is a Jain. He is not taking food in jail. They believe in fasting and the weight comes down,” Additional Solicitor-General S.V. Raju, appearing for the ED, countered. He submitted that the ED wanted Jain to be independently evaluated by a panel of doctors from AIIMS. He said there were doubts about the medical reports emerging from hospitals like LNJP and GB Pant, which are under the control of the Delhi government. However, granting Jain the interim bail on medical grounds, the court said there was no need to have an AIIMs team to evaluate him as of now. The court also directed Jain to not hold any press conference on “any issue” while out in bail. In Brief: Medical entrance exam NEET-UG which was postponed in Manipur in view of the law-and-order situation will now be conducted on any date between June 3 to 5, National Testing Agency announced. CUET-UG will be conducted in the State from June 5 to 8 and the postgraduate entrance test CUET-PG from June 5 to 17, the NTA also said. “The option to change the city for examination is also available to those candidates in Manipur who have not appeared or missed NEET-UG, CUET-UG due to the law-and-order situation, irrespective whether they had downloaded their admit cards or not for these examinations,” Sadhana Parashar, senior director of NTA, said. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 26 May 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 declines to hear plea for inauguration of new Parliament building by President Murmu The [Supreme Court on May 26 refused to entertain a petition challenging the inauguration of the new Parliament building]( by the Prime Minister, and not the President of India. A Vacation Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and P.S. Narasimha said it was not “inclined” to hear the petition filed by advocate C.R. Jaya Sukin, the petitioner in person. The petition was urgently listed before the Vacation Bench. Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta was appearing for the Union. When Sukin urged the Court to permit him to withdraw the petition, Mehta said the lawyer may then go and file it before another Court and keep the issue alive. Mehta also said the Supreme Court should record a dismissal of the petition in the order to make it conclusive. “So, what is your interest in filing this petition,” Justice Narasimha asked Sukin. “She is my President. I am a citizen,” Sukin responded. The lawyer referred to Article 79 of the Constitution which stated that there “shall be a Parliament for the Union, which will consist of the President and two Houses to be called respectively the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha)”. “What is the connection between Article 79 and the inauguration function,” Justice Maheshwari asked. “The President is the head of the Parliament. The Prime Minister is only the head of the executive government. It is for the President to inaugurate…” Sukin said. The Court, however, said it could not intervene in the issue on the basis of a petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution. Only six religion options in next Census, but new questions on bottled water and migration causes [Do you consume “packaged or bottled water”? The Census wants to know.]( This will be one of the new questions in the next Census, which will also introduce “natural calamities” as an option when asking questions about the factors responsible for migration of an individual or a family, apart from the usual options such as education, marriage, work or business. Despite demands from several communities to be counted as a separate religion, the next Census will only count Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain as distinct religion options. Nature-worshipping Adivasis in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Odisha have been campaigning to include their Sarna faith as a separate religion, while Karnataka’s Lingayats have been making a similar demand. Though respondents can additionally write the name of any other religion in the Census form, no separate code will be provided. Census officials had, in fact, designed detailed codes for religion on the basis of data collected during Census 2011. However, they were dropped and only six religion codes were retained in the final schedule after deliberations at a data users conference. The details are explained in a report titled, “The Treatise on Indian Censuses Since 1981”, which was released by Home Minister Amit Shah at the inauguration of a new Census building in Delhi on May 21. Nine years of Modi government | Congress asks PM nine questions [With Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing nine years in office, the Congress on May 26 asked him nine questions]( on issues such as rising prices, unemployment, and farmers’ income, and demanded an apology for the “betrayal” during his tenure. The party also said the government should mark this day as ‘Maafi Diwas’. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had raised critical issues during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and the nine questions are based on that, party general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said. He released a booklet ‘Nau saal, Nau sawaal’ and asked, “Why is it that inflation and unemployment are skyrocketing in India? Why have the rich become richer and the poor poorer? Why is public property being sold to PM Modi’s friends, even as economic disparities are increasing?” He also asked why is it that the agreements made with farmers while repealing the three “black” farm laws have not been honoured and why has the minimum support price not been legally guaranteed. “Why didn’t farmers’ income double over the last nine years,” he asked. Accusing the government of indulging in corruption and cronyism, Ramesh queried why the PM is putting people’s hard-earned savings in LIC and SBI at risk to benefit his “friend” Adani. On the issue of national security, Ramesh said the Congress wants to ask “why is it that even after your clean chit to China in 2020, they continue to occupy Indian territory”. He also asked why deliberately “politics of hatred” for electoral gains was being used and alleged that an atmosphere of fear in society was being fuelled. He alleged that the government had “weakened” the schemes for the welfare of the poor, needy and tribals by cutting their budgets and making restrictive rules. Income Tax department searches premises linked to Tamil Nadu Minister Senthilbalaji [Income Tax officials carried out searches at various premises linked to Tamil Nadu Minister for Electricity, Excise and Prohibition V. Senthilbalaji]( in Karur and a few other places on May 26. The searches began around 6.30 a.m. The house of V. Ashok, brother of Senthilbalaji, in Ramakrishnapuram, Karur, is among the premises searched by the I-T officials. The searches came days after the AIADMK and the BJP presented separate petitions to Governor R.N. Ravi, alleging large-scale irregularities in the functioning of Tasmac outlets and the private bars attached to them in different places of the State. As information about the searches by I-T officials spread, a large number of DMK cadres and the supporters of Senthilbalaji assembled in front Ashok’s house. Expressing anguish over the I-T Department’s actions, they raised slogans against the Union government. The cadre also gheraoed a woman I-T official. The cadres, who insisted on her showing them her identity card, entered into a heated argument with her. They claimed the official had assaulted a DMK cadre. Angry protesters also pelted stones on a vehicle of the I-T officials, damaging the windscreen and mirrors of the car. On receiving this, information, the police arrived at the spot and brought the situation under control. Supreme Court grants interim bail to former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain on medical grounds in money laundering case The [Supreme Court granted medical bail to former Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain]( while refusing to accept the ED’s explanation that his drastic weight loss in jail is due to his faith in the Jain tradition of fasting. A Vacation Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and P.S. Narasimha allowed Jain to consult a private hospital of his choice. The medical evaluation report from the hospital has to be submitted in court on July 11, the next date of hearing. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for Jain, said his client was suffering from muscular atrophy and has already lost 35 kg. He was in the waiting list at number 415 for a spinal vertebrae surgery. “He is a Jain. He is not taking food in jail. They believe in fasting and the weight comes down,” Additional Solicitor-General S.V. Raju, appearing for the ED, countered. He submitted that the ED wanted Jain to be independently evaluated by a panel of doctors from AIIMS. He said there were doubts about the medical reports emerging from hospitals like LNJP and GB Pant, which are under the control of the Delhi government. However, granting Jain the interim bail on medical grounds, the court said there was no need to have an AIIMs team to evaluate him as of now. The court also directed Jain to not hold any press conference on “any issue” while out in bail. In Brief: [Medical entrance exam NEET-UG which was postponed in Manipur in view of the law-and-order situation will now be conducted on any date between June 3 to 5]( National Testing Agency announced. CUET-UG will be conducted in the State from June 5 to 8 and the postgraduate entrance test CUET-PG from June 5 to 17, the NTA also said. “The option to change the city for examination is also available to those candidates in Manipur who have not appeared or missed NEET-UG, CUET-UG due to the law-and-order situation, irrespective whether they had downloaded their admit cards or not for these examinations,” Sadhana Parashar, senior director of NTA, said. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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