The Evening Wrap: Rahul Gandhi moves Supreme Court against conviction in defamation case

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on July 15 approached the Supreme Court against the Gujarat High Court’s refusal to stay his conviction in a criminal defamation case. The petition is likely to be mentioned for early hearing A single Judge Bench of the Gujarat High Court had found no merit in Gandhi’s plea to suspend the conviction for him to appeal. The judgment had reasoned that suspension of conviction was not the rule but only an exception resorted to in rare cases. Gandhi argued that the High Court judgment does not even consider a series of Supreme Court and High Court judgments which hold that a sitting MP’s conviction did indeed fall within the category of rare and exceptional circumstances. They have argued that the ramifications of not suspending the conviction were “enormous”. They had argued that Gandhi’s utterances were mere “political hyperbole or satire”. The Congress leader had, in the Gujarat High Court, presented decisions of multiple High Courts, all of which had held that failure to suspend the conviction of a sitting lawmaker would lead to “irreparable loss”, including the ruin of a political career and an untimely bye-election to burden the public exchequer. The Single Judge had concluded that the ‘Modi’ community or surname was a “well-defined identifiable and suable class”. Gandhi argued that “authentic literature shows that the word ‘Modi’ does not indicate any definite or clearly identifiable or determinate group of persons”. Gandhi’s side contended that the surname ‘Modi’ was used even within the Muslim and Parsi communities besides a number of Hindu castes. They contended that Explanation 2 to Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code provided that criminal defamation extended to a “collection of persons” who were clearly identifiable and definite. Wimbledon women’s final 2023 | Unseeded Vondrousova beats Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 to lift maiden title Czech Marketa Vondrousova stunned Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 6-4 6-4 on July 15 to become the first unseeded player in the professional era to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title. The 24-year-old left-hander, who a year ago needed wrist surgery, proved too steady for the error-strewn Jabeur who ended up as runner-up for the second successive year. Jabeur was bidding to become the first Arab player to win a Grand Slam title and the first African woman to lift one of the four major trophies but she was well below her best. With the Centre Court roof shut because of the threat of rain showers, crowd-favourite Jabeur initially looked comfortable as she won the opening two games of the final. However, world number 42 Vondrousova, playing a canny game full of slow slices and clever angles, settled down and began to draw errors from her opponent. Jabeur responded again to lead 4-2 but then seemed consumed by nerves as mistakes flowed from her racket and she dropped five successive games to lose the opening set. Vondrousova led 1-0 and 40-0 in the second set and appeared to be marching to victory but Jabeur suddenly loosened her shoulders and found her range. It looked as though Jabeur was getting on top as she won three games in a row, but Vondrousova never panicked. Showing great court craft and subtle changes of pace she got back to 3-3 and as Jabeur’s errors returned she broke serve at 4-4 to stand one game away from the title. Reaching 40-0, she squandered her first match point with a double fault but put away a volley to claim the title at the second time of asking, appearing in disbelief. Vondrousova, the first player to reach two Grand Slam finals as a non seed having contested the 2019 French Open decider, became the fourth Czech-born player to win the title in the professional era after Martina Navratilova, Jana Novotna and Petra Kvitova. India, UAE agree on trade settlement in local currencies, linking payment systems Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to further deepen the multifaceted bilateral ties. Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome in Abu Dhabi at the Qasr-Al-Watan — the presidential palace — where he was greeted by the UAE President with a warm embrace. Modi arrived in the capital of the UAE following his successful two-day visit to Paris where he joined French President Emmanuel Macron for the Bastille Day parade as the Guest of Honour. India and the UAE agreed to start trade settlement in their currencies and link the Indian Unified Payments Interface with the Gulf country’s Instant Payment Platform (IPP). The Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank of UAE signed two agreements in Abu Dhabi to establish a framework for cross-border transactions in local currencies and interlinking of payment and messaging systems. In his remarks after meeting the UAE President, Modi said India-UAE trade witnessed a 20% increase since the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement last year. He said the agreement signed for trade settlement in the currencies of the two countries shows the strong economic cooperation and mutual trust between the two nations. Yamuna water level recedes slowly, concerns remain amid rain forecast After wreaking havoc on lives and livelihoods in parts of Delhi close to it, the swollen Yamuna on July 15 morning followed a downward trend but at a slow pace of a few centimetres per hour. However, it is still flowing over two metres above the danger mark of 205.33m. The situation could worsen if weather predictions of more rain in the capital and upper catchment areas come true. According to the Central Water Commission’s flood-monitoring portal, the Yamuna water level declined to 207.62m by 7 a.m. on July 15 from its peak of 208.66m at 8 p.m. on July 13. With the flow rate from the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana’s Yamunanagar decreasing over the past two days, further decline is expected. Prominent roads were closed for traffic movement on the day. Both carriageways of the Outer Ring Road from Majnu Ka Tilla to ISBT Kashmere Gate to IP Depot via Shanti Van and IP flyover still remains closed. The India Meteorological Department, however, anticipated moderate rain in the city over the next two days and “heavy to very heavy” rainfall over Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh during the next five days, raising concern about a rise in the water level in the river. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the water level of the Yamuna in the national capital is receding slowly and the situation will normalise soon if there is no more heavy rainfall. With several parts of the city still inundated, the chief minister also urged people to avoid waterlogged areas. Experts attribute the unprecedented flooding in Delhi to encroachment on floodplains, extreme rainfall occurring within shorter durations, and silt accumulation that raised the riverbed. Ajit Pawar to meet PM Modi on July 18 Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on July 15 said that he has a scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 18 to address the pressing issues faced by farmers in the State. “(NCP leader) Praful Patel and I will be attending the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting,” he said, in Nashik, where he attended the ‘Shasan Aplya Dari’ (Government at your Doorstep) programme. Ajit Pawar, who led a vertical split in the Sharad Pawar-led NCP on July 2 and joined the Eknath Shinde-government along with a group of MLAs, was allotted the crucial Finance and Planning portfolio on July 14. In Brief: Star Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar on July 15 qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics after winning a silver medal in the Asian Athletics Championships with a second career-best effort of 8.37m in Bangkok. The 24-year-old Sreeshankar achieved the Olympic qualification with his final round jump of 8.37m. The Paris Games mark is 8.27m and the qualification period began on July 1. Yu Tang Lin of Chinese Taipei won the gold with a fourth round jump of 8.40m, which is the third best effort in the world this season. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 15 July 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]( Defamation case | Rahul Gandhi moves Supreme Court for suspension of his conviction Congress leader [Rahul Gandhi on July 15 approached the Supreme Court]( against the Gujarat High Court’s refusal to stay his conviction in a criminal defamation case. The petition is likely to be mentioned for early hearing A single Judge Bench of the Gujarat High Court had found no merit in Gandhi’s plea to suspend the conviction for him to appeal. The judgment had reasoned that suspension of conviction was not the rule but only an exception resorted to in rare cases. Gandhi argued that the High Court judgment does not even consider a series of Supreme Court and High Court judgments which hold that a sitting MP’s conviction did indeed fall within the category of rare and exceptional circumstances. They have argued that the ramifications of not suspending the conviction were “enormous”. They had argued that Gandhi’s utterances were mere “political hyperbole or satire”. The Congress leader had, in the Gujarat High Court, presented decisions of multiple High Courts, all of which had held that failure to suspend the conviction of a sitting lawmaker would lead to “irreparable loss”, including the ruin of a political career and an untimely bye-election to burden the public exchequer. The Single Judge had concluded that the ‘Modi’ community or surname was a “well-defined identifiable and suable class”. Gandhi argued that “authentic literature shows that the word ‘Modi’ does not indicate any definite or clearly identifiable or determinate group of persons”. Gandhi’s side contended that the surname ‘Modi’ was used even within the Muslim and Parsi communities besides a number of Hindu castes. They contended that Explanation 2 to Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code provided that criminal defamation extended to a “collection of persons” who were clearly identifiable and definite. Wimbledon women’s final 2023 | Unseeded Vondrousova beats Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 to lift maiden title Czech [Marketa Vondrousova stunned Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 6-4 6-4]( on July 15 to become the first unseeded player in the professional era to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title. The 24-year-old left-hander, who a year ago needed wrist surgery, proved too steady for the error-strewn Jabeur who ended up as runner-up for the second successive year. Jabeur was bidding to become the first Arab player to win a Grand Slam title and the first African woman to lift one of the four major trophies but she was well below her best. With the Centre Court roof shut because of the threat of rain showers, crowd-favourite Jabeur initially looked comfortable as she won the opening two games of the final. However, world number 42 Vondrousova, playing a canny game full of slow slices and clever angles, settled down and began to draw errors from her opponent. Jabeur responded again to lead 4-2 but then seemed consumed by nerves as mistakes flowed from her racket and she dropped five successive games to lose the opening set. Vondrousova led 1-0 and 40-0 in the second set and appeared to be marching to victory but Jabeur suddenly loosened her shoulders and found her range. It looked as though Jabeur was getting on top as she won three games in a row, but Vondrousova never panicked. Showing great court craft and subtle changes of pace she got back to 3-3 and as Jabeur’s errors returned she broke serve at 4-4 to stand one game away from the title. Reaching 40-0, she squandered her first match point with a double fault but put away a volley to claim the title at the second time of asking, appearing in disbelief. Vondrousova, the first player to reach two Grand Slam finals as a non seed having contested the 2019 French Open decider, became the fourth Czech-born player to win the title in the professional era after Martina Navratilova, Jana Novotna and Petra Kvitova. India, UAE agree on trade settlement in local currencies, linking payment systems [Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan]( to further deepen the multifaceted bilateral ties. Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome in Abu Dhabi at the Qasr-Al-Watan — the presidential palace — where he was greeted by the UAE President with a warm embrace. Modi arrived in the capital of the UAE following his successful two-day visit to Paris where he joined French President Emmanuel Macron for the Bastille Day parade as the Guest of Honour. India and the UAE agreed to start trade settlement in their currencies and link the Indian Unified Payments Interface with the Gulf country’s Instant Payment Platform (IPP). The Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank of UAE signed two agreements in Abu Dhabi to establish a framework for cross-border transactions in local currencies and interlinking of payment and messaging systems. In his remarks after meeting the UAE President, Modi said India-UAE trade witnessed a 20% increase since the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement last year. He said the agreement signed for trade settlement in the currencies of the two countries shows the strong economic cooperation and mutual trust between the two nations. Yamuna water level recedes slowly, concerns remain amid rain forecast After wreaking havoc on lives and livelihoods in parts of Delhi close to it, the swollen [Yamuna on July 15 morning followed a downward trend but at a slow pace]( of a few centimetres per hour. However, it is still flowing over two metres above the danger mark of 205.33m. The situation could worsen if weather predictions of more rain in the capital and upper catchment areas come true. According to the Central Water Commission’s flood-monitoring portal, the Yamuna water level declined to 207.62m by 7 a.m. on July 15 from its peak of 208.66m at 8 p.m. on July 13. With the flow rate from the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana’s Yamunanagar decreasing over the past two days, further decline is expected. Prominent roads were closed for traffic movement on the day. Both carriageways of the Outer Ring Road from Majnu Ka Tilla to ISBT Kashmere Gate to IP Depot via Shanti Van and IP flyover still remains closed. The India Meteorological Department, however, anticipated moderate rain in the city over the next two days and “heavy to very heavy” rainfall over Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh during the next five days, raising concern about a rise in the water level in the river. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the water level of the Yamuna in the national capital is receding slowly and the situation will normalise soon if there is no more heavy rainfall. With several parts of the city still inundated, the chief minister also urged people to avoid waterlogged areas. Experts attribute the unprecedented flooding in Delhi to encroachment on floodplains, extreme rainfall occurring within shorter durations, and silt accumulation that raised the riverbed. Ajit Pawar to meet PM Modi on July 18 Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister [Ajit Pawar on July 15 said that he has a scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi]( on July 18 to address the pressing issues faced by farmers in the State. “(NCP leader) Praful Patel and I will be attending the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting,” he said, in Nashik, where he attended the ‘Shasan Aplya Dari’ (Government at your Doorstep) programme. Ajit Pawar, who led a vertical split in the Sharad Pawar-led NCP on July 2 and joined the Eknath Shinde-government along with a group of MLAs, was allotted the crucial Finance and Planning portfolio on July 14. In Brief: [Star Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar on July 15 qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics]( after winning a silver medal in the Asian Athletics Championships with a second career-best effort of 8.37m in Bangkok. The 24-year-old Sreeshankar achieved the Olympic qualification with his final round jump of 8.37m. The Paris Games mark is 8.27m and the qualification period began on July 1. Yu Tang Lin of Chinese Taipei won the gold with a fourth round jump of 8.40m, which is the third best effort in the world this season. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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