The Evening Wrap: Lok Sabha Speaker accepts Opposition's no-confidence motion

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accepted the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against the Narendra Modi government over Manipur violence. He has requested time to discuss the issue and fix the time of debate later. Deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi had moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government on July 26, the party’s leader in the Lower House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told The Hindu on Wednesday. The Congress submitted the no-trust motion notice at 9.20 a.m. at the Lok Sabha table office. Only 13 working days of the monsoon session remain and the Lok Sabha Speaker can take up to 10 days to schedule a no-confidence motion debate as per procedure. Chowdhury said that Gogoi, being a Lok Sabha member from the Northeast, would like to know from the Prime Minister what steps his government had taken to restore peace in Manipur. “Manipur has been suffering and we have tried for so many days to get a statement from the Prime Minister,” Chowdhury said. The Congress had issued a three-line whip, asking all its Lok Sabha members to be present for a parliamentary party meeting it held at 10.30 a.m. Floor leaders of the INDIA bloc’s 26 parties also met at the office of Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge as a no-trust motion needs the support of at least 50 or more members to be adopted in the House. Govt. urges Supreme Court to allow S.K. Mishra to continue as ED Director till Oct. 15; next hearing on July 27 The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on July 27 an urgent application moved by the Centre to allow Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra to continue in office till October 15. A Supreme Court judgment on July 11 had directed him to quit office by July 31. The top court had concluded that Mishra’s continuance at the helm of the ED on his third consecutive extension, till November 2023, was illegal. However, the court, on July 11, had given the government time till July 31 to find a replacement for Mishra. The leeway was given by the court taking into consideration the government’s submission that Mishra’s presence was necessary for the ongoing evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). On Wednesday, appearing before a Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, sought an urgent listing of its application seeking the extension of Mishra’s tenure from July 31 to mid-October, 2023. The 12-page application filed on Wednesday said the “Union of India is compelled to approach the Supreme Court seeking extension of the tenure of Mishra up to October 15, 2023 in view of the ongoing FATF review which is at a critical stage”. It said the submissions on effectiveness of the anti-money laundering regime in India were made on July 21 and an on-site visit by an FATF assessment team was scheduled in November. “At such a critical juncture, it is essential to have an individual who is well-acquainted with the overall status of money laundering investigations and proceedings across the country and also of the intricacies of the procedures, operations and activities of the investigating agency, at the helm of affairs at the ED,” the Centre’s application submitted. It said Mishra’s continuation would be pivotal to ably assist the assessment team with “necessary reports, information, statistics, etc”. “Any transition in leadership at the ED at this stage would significantly impair the ability of the agency to provide necessary assistance to and cooperation with the assessment team and thereby adversely impact India’s national interests,” the Centre urged. The Centre had earlier argued that the ED Director was not a promotional post, so nobody was losing a career opportunity due to the extension of Mishra’s tenure. On Wednesday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the fresh application was meant to “persuade” the court about Mishra’s tenure extension. Mishra is in his fifth year as ED Director. In its July 11 judgment, the top court had however upheld amendments enacted in 2021 to the Central Vigilance Commission Act, the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act and the Fundamental Rules allowing CBI and ED chiefs a maximum three annual extensions besides their two-year fixed tenures. The tweaks in the law came shortly after the Supreme Court, in a September 2021 judgment, directed the government to stop giving extensions to Mishra. The amendments allowed the government to overcome the court’s direction and grant him another two extensions. Justice Gavai, who authored the July 11 verdict, had reasoned that the extensions were not given at the “sweet will” of the government. Instead, the 2021 amendments required High Level Committees to recommend the officers for service extensions. A five-member panel composed of the Central Vigilance Commissioner and Vigilance Commissioners had to recommend if an ED Director was worthy of an extension in service. In case of the CBI Director, a High-Level Committee of the Prime Minister, Opposition Leader and the Chief Justice of India had to recommend. Justice Gavai said the amendments were passed by elected representatives of the people who were “supposed to know and be aware of the needs of the people and what is good and bad for them”. Listen to today’s episode of the In Focus podcast Manipur conflict | What would it take to restore normalcy? There has been extreme civil strife in Manipur for nearly three months. Two major ethnic groups – the Valley-dwelling Meiteis and the hill-dwelling Kukis – seem to have completely lost even the bare minimum of mutual trust essential to co-exist peacefully. The barbaric sexual assault of Kuki-Zomi women on May 4, a viral video of which emerged recently, brought to national consciousness the depth, scale and toxicity of the violence in Manipur. While the state government has failed to ensure basic law and order, the larger question remains: is the problem purely one of law and order any longer? Can peace be restored without addressing the underlying ethnic tensions? Is the internet ban – slightly loosened -- helping or making things worse? What has been the fallout of this ethnic conflict in neighbouring states? SC revives plea of Gyanvapi panel which was disposed of while staying ASI survey on mosque premises The Supreme Court on Wednesday revived a plea by the Gyanvapi panel that it had inadvertently disposed of on July 24 while staying an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey at the mosque to determine if it was built upon a temple. A bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia of the Gyanvapi mosque, that instead of its interim plea seeking halting of the ASI work, the main plea was disposed of by the court on the last date of hearing. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government and the ASI, said that he has no objection to the revival of the special leave petition of the mosque committee. In the main plea, the mosque committee had sought dismissal of the lawsuit of the Hindu party in the Varanasi district court under Order VII Rule 11(c) of the Civil Procedure Code for filing it on a paper that has not been duly “stamped and authorised”. An interim plea in the pending petition was filed by the mosque committee seeking to halt ASI work. While granting the relief on the interim plea in the form of stay of work, the top court had disposed of the main case on July 24. “The appeal against Order 7 Rule 11 has been disposed of though not argued. We have only pressed the ASI survey point and the matter is before the Allahabad HC and it can be argued there that our appeal has been dismissed,” Ahmadi said. Taking note of the submissions, the bench rectified its error and revived the plea. On July 24, the top court halted till 5 pm on July 26 a “detailed scientific survey” by the ASI to determine if the mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi was built upon a temple. Taking up the plea moved by the mosque panel for an urgent hearing, the top court directed the Allahabad High Court to hear the appeal before its “status quo” order expires on Wednesday evening. A Varanasi court had on Friday directed the ASI to conduct the survey, including excavations, wherever necessary, to determine if the mosque was built at a place where a temple existed earlier. Now, the High Court is hearing the plea of the mosque panel on the issue. Take no action on notice to mosques for encroachment: Delhi HC to Railways The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Railways not to take any action pursuant to its notices pasted on two mosques on Tilak Marg and Babar Road for removal of “unauthorised” structures and “encroachment” from its land. Justice Prateek Jalan granted time to the central government counsel, on his request, to take instructions on the petition by the Delhi Waqf Board which claimed that the notices were “generic” and the two mosques — Masjid Takia Babbar Shah near Railway Bridge on Tilak Marg and Masjid Bachchu Shah on Babar Marg, which is also known as Bengali Market Mosque, – are not unauthorised and the land does not belong to the Railways. The court observed that the notices were not signed, did not mention the authority under which they were issued, and could be pasted on any structure. “What kind of a notice is this? Some generic thing… is it being posted everywhere? The way it reads, it can be posted on any (building). It does not refer to any building, no date, no nothing,” the court remarked. “It appears that the notice is a generic notice purportedly issued by the Railway Administration, Northern Railways, Delhi which calls upon the public to voluntarily remove temples/mosques/mazars from railway land within 15 days failing which they would be removed by the railway administration.” “The said notices are unsigned, undated and do not bear out the authority under which they are issued. For the moment, no action will be taken pursuant to these notices,” ordered the court. The central government lawyer said he would take “clear instructions” on the issue, and added, the two mosques form part of the 123 delisted properties that have been taken over by the Centre from the petitioner. The court granted time to the Centre’s counsel to take instructions on whether the notices were issued by the railways in their current form. Advocate Wajeeh Shafiq, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that on July 19 and 20, notices were found pasted on the mosques which have been in existence for decades and upon inquiry it was found they had been issued from the office of the Divisional Railway Manager. The notices do not bear any file number, date, signature, name or post of the person issuing it, he said. Apprehending action by the Railways, Shafiq urged the court to “bind the hands” of the authorities in the meantime. The petition said the Bengali Market Mosque was approximately 250 years and the Tilak Marg Mosque 400 years old, and the notices affixed to their walls were liable to be quashed. “Both the mosques have been in existence for centuries and there are two duly registered agreements of 1945 between the Governor General in Council through its agent, Chief Commissioner of Delhi and the Sunni Majlis Auqaf in respect of both the mosques transferring management of those mosques to the Sunni Majlis Auqaf [petitioner’s predecessor] without any limitation as to tenure. The said document shows that the Mosques were in existence and were operational in 1945 also,” the petition said. It said that the Railways in their notices asked the mosques to be removed from the land within 15 days. “Thus, the very existence of the aforesaid waqf property is in jeopardy because of the unwarranted, arbitrary and unreasonable impugned action of the respondents,” it said. The petition further said that the two mosques cater to a large number of worshippers who offer their prayers five times every day and that they also accommodate bigger congregations on Fridays and Eid. “Neither the land underneath the mosques under reference belongs to the respondents nor the Mosques under reference are unauthorised,” it asserted. The petitioner also said that in 2023 alone, at least seven waqf properties have been demolished overnight in a “brazen display of highhandedness” and in the present case, the apprehension is that the “design is to demolish the mosques/waqf properties somehow.” The matter would be heard next on August 3. In Brief: Bill to generate digital birth certificates tabled in Lok Sabha Minister of State for Home Nityanad Rai tabled the The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023 in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Bill makes birth certificates an all encompassing document. It will be the only document that will be used to prove date of birth for the purposes of admission to an educational institution, driving licence, voter list, registration of a marriage, government jobs, passport, Aadhaar number, registration of property and any other purpose determined by the Central Government. A copy of the bill accessed by The Hindu said that States will issue birth certificates only through the Centre’s portal. The database will be used to update the National Population Register, electoral rolls, Aadhaar number, and ration card, among others. Pakistan Supreme Court rejects Imran Khan’s plea to stay criminal proceedings against him in Toshakhana case In a jolt to Imran Khan, Pakistan’s Supreme Court on July 26 rejected the ousted Prime Minister’s plea to stay the criminal proceedings against him in the Toshakhana corruption case. During the day’s hearing, Justice Yahya Afridi of the two-member bench remarked that the apex court will not interfere in the trial court’s matters in the Toshakhana corruption case. However, it urged the Islamabad High Court to decide three of Khan’s pending petitions challenging the court’s decision to return the matter to the trial court after his lawyer Khawaja Haris informed the bench that there are multiple petitions — related to the jurisdiction of the trial court and transfer of the Toshakhana case — pending in the high court. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 26 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]( Lok Sabha Speaker accepts the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition against the Modi government [Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla accepted the no-confidence motion moved by the Opposition]( against the Narendra Modi government over Manipur violence. He has requested time to discuss the issue and fix the time of debate later. Deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi had moved a no-confidence motion against the Modi government on July 26, the party’s leader in the Lower House Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told The Hindu on Wednesday. The Congress submitted the no-trust motion notice at 9.20 a.m. at the Lok Sabha table office. Only 13 working days of the monsoon session remain and the Lok Sabha Speaker can take up to 10 days to schedule a no-confidence motion debate as per procedure. Chowdhury said that Gogoi, being a Lok Sabha member from the Northeast, would like to know from the Prime Minister what steps his government had taken to restore peace in Manipur. “Manipur has been suffering and we have tried for so many days to get a statement from the Prime Minister,” Chowdhury said. The Congress had issued a three-line whip, asking all its Lok Sabha members to be present for a parliamentary party meeting it held at 10.30 a.m. Floor leaders of the INDIA bloc’s 26 parties also met at the office of Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge as a no-trust motion needs the support of at least 50 or more members to be adopted in the House. Govt. urges Supreme Court to allow S.K. Mishra to continue as ED Director till Oct. 15; next hearing on July 27 [The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on July 27 an urgent application moved by the Centre to allow Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra to continue in office till October 15.]( A Supreme Court judgment on July 11 had directed him to quit office by July 31. The top court had concluded that Mishra’s continuance at the helm of the ED on his third consecutive extension, till November 2023, was illegal. However, the court, on July 11, had given the government time till July 31 to find a replacement for Mishra. The leeway was given by the court taking into consideration the government’s submission that Mishra’s presence was necessary for the ongoing evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). On Wednesday, appearing before a Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, sought an urgent listing of its application seeking the extension of Mishra’s tenure from July 31 to mid-October, 2023. The 12-page application filed on Wednesday said the “Union of India is compelled to approach the Supreme Court seeking extension of the tenure of Mishra up to October 15, 2023 in view of the ongoing FATF review which is at a critical stage”. It said the submissions on effectiveness of the anti-money laundering regime in India were made on July 21 and an on-site visit by an FATF assessment team was scheduled in November. “At such a critical juncture, it is essential to have an individual who is well-acquainted with the overall status of money laundering investigations and proceedings across the country and also of the intricacies of the procedures, operations and activities of the investigating agency, at the helm of affairs at the ED,” the Centre’s application submitted. It said Mishra’s continuation would be pivotal to ably assist the assessment team with “necessary reports, information, statistics, etc”. “Any transition in leadership at the ED at this stage would significantly impair the ability of the agency to provide necessary assistance to and cooperation with the assessment team and thereby adversely impact India’s national interests,” the Centre urged. The Centre had earlier argued that the ED Director was not a promotional post, so nobody was losing a career opportunity due to the extension of Mishra’s tenure. On Wednesday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the fresh application was meant to “persuade” the court about Mishra’s tenure extension. Mishra is in his fifth year as ED Director. In its July 11 judgment, the top court had however upheld amendments enacted in 2021 to the Central Vigilance Commission Act, the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act and the Fundamental Rules allowing CBI and ED chiefs a maximum three annual extensions besides their two-year fixed tenures. The tweaks in the law came shortly after the Supreme Court, in a September 2021 judgment, directed the government to stop giving extensions to Mishra. The amendments allowed the government to overcome the court’s direction and grant him another two extensions. Justice Gavai, who authored the July 11 verdict, had reasoned that the extensions were not given at the “sweet will” of the government. Instead, the 2021 amendments required High Level Committees to recommend the officers for service extensions. A five-member panel composed of the Central Vigilance Commissioner and Vigilance Commissioners had to recommend if an ED Director was worthy of an extension in service. In case of the CBI Director, a High-Level Committee of the Prime Minister, Opposition Leader and the Chief Justice of India had to recommend. Justice Gavai said the amendments were passed by elected representatives of the people who were “supposed to know and be aware of the needs of the people and what is good and bad for them”. Listen to today’s episode of the In Focus podcast Manipur conflict | What would it take to restore normalcy? There has been [extreme civil strife in Manipur]( for nearly three months. Two major ethnic groups – the Valley-dwelling Meiteis and the hill-dwelling Kukis – seem to have completely lost even the bare minimum of mutual trust essential to co-exist peacefully. The barbaric sexual assault of Kuki-Zomi women on May 4, a viral video of which emerged recently, brought to national consciousness the depth, scale and toxicity of the violence in Manipur. While the state government has failed to ensure basic law and order, the larger question remains: is the problem purely one of law and order any longer? Can peace be restored without addressing the underlying ethnic tensions? Is the internet ban – slightly loosened -- helping or making things worse? What has been the fallout of this ethnic conflict in neighbouring states? SC revives plea of Gyanvapi panel which was disposed of while staying ASI survey on mosque premises The [Supreme Court on Wednesday revived a plea by the Gyanvapi panel]( that it had inadvertently disposed of on July 24 while staying an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) survey at the mosque to determine if it was built upon a temple. A bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia of the Gyanvapi mosque, that instead of its interim plea seeking halting of the ASI work, the main plea was disposed of by the court on the last date of hearing. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government and the ASI, said that he has no objection to the revival of the special leave petition of the mosque committee. In the main plea, the mosque committee had sought dismissal of the lawsuit of the Hindu party in the Varanasi district court under Order VII Rule 11(c) of the Civil Procedure Code for filing it on a paper that has not been duly “stamped and authorised”. An interim plea in the pending petition was filed by the mosque committee seeking to halt ASI work. While granting the relief on the interim plea in the form of stay of work, the top court had disposed of the main case on July 24. “The appeal against Order 7 Rule 11 has been disposed of though not argued. We have only pressed the ASI survey point and the matter is before the Allahabad HC and it can be argued there that our appeal has been dismissed,” Ahmadi said. Taking note of the submissions, the bench rectified its error and revived the plea. On July 24, the top court halted till 5 pm on July 26 a “detailed scientific survey” by the ASI to determine if the mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi was built upon a temple. Taking up the plea moved by the mosque panel for an urgent hearing, the top court directed the Allahabad High Court to hear the appeal before its “status quo” order expires on Wednesday evening. A Varanasi court had on Friday directed the ASI to conduct the survey, including excavations, wherever necessary, to determine if the mosque was built at a place where a temple existed earlier. Now, the High Court is hearing the plea of the mosque panel on the issue. Take no action on notice to mosques for encroachment: Delhi HC to Railways [The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Railways not to take any action pursuant to its notices pasted on two mosques on Tilak Marg and Babar Road for removal of “unauthorised” structures and “encroachment” from its land.]( Justice Prateek Jalan granted time to the central government counsel, on his request, to take instructions on the petition by the Delhi Waqf Board which claimed that the notices were “generic” and the two mosques — Masjid Takia Babbar Shah near Railway Bridge on Tilak Marg and Masjid Bachchu Shah on Babar Marg, which is also known as Bengali Market Mosque, – are not unauthorised and the land does not belong to the Railways. The court observed that the notices were not signed, did not mention the authority under which they were issued, and could be pasted on any structure. “What kind of a notice is this? Some generic thing… is it being posted everywhere? The way it reads, it can be posted on any (building). It does not refer to any building, no date, no nothing,” the court remarked. “It appears that the notice is a generic notice purportedly issued by the Railway Administration, Northern Railways, Delhi which calls upon the public to voluntarily remove temples/mosques/mazars from railway land within 15 days failing which they would be removed by the railway administration.” “The said notices are unsigned, undated and do not bear out the authority under which they are issued. For the moment, no action will be taken pursuant to these notices,” ordered the court. The central government lawyer said he would take “clear instructions” on the issue, and added, the two mosques form part of the 123 delisted properties that have been taken over by the Centre from the petitioner. The court granted time to the Centre’s counsel to take instructions on whether the notices were issued by the railways in their current form. Advocate Wajeeh Shafiq, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that on July 19 and 20, notices were found pasted on the mosques which have been in existence for decades and upon inquiry it was found they had been issued from the office of the Divisional Railway Manager. The notices do not bear any file number, date, signature, name or post of the person issuing it, he said. Apprehending action by the Railways, Shafiq urged the court to “bind the hands” of the authorities in the meantime. The petition said the Bengali Market Mosque was approximately 250 years and the Tilak Marg Mosque 400 years old, and the notices affixed to their walls were liable to be quashed. “Both the mosques have been in existence for centuries and there are two duly registered agreements of 1945 between the Governor General in Council through its agent, Chief Commissioner of Delhi and the Sunni Majlis Auqaf in respect of both the mosques transferring management of those mosques to the Sunni Majlis Auqaf [petitioner’s predecessor] without any limitation as to tenure. The said document shows that the Mosques were in existence and were operational in 1945 also,” the petition said. It said that the Railways in their notices asked the mosques to be removed from the land within 15 days. “Thus, the very existence of the aforesaid waqf property is in jeopardy because of the unwarranted, arbitrary and unreasonable impugned action of the respondents,” it said. The petition further said that the two mosques cater to a large number of worshippers who offer their prayers five times every day and that they also accommodate bigger congregations on Fridays and Eid. “Neither the land underneath the mosques under reference belongs to the respondents nor the Mosques under reference are unauthorised,” it asserted. The petitioner also said that in 2023 alone, at least seven waqf properties have been demolished overnight in a “brazen display of highhandedness” and in the present case, the apprehension is that the “design is to demolish the mosques/waqf properties somehow.” The matter would be heard next on August 3. In Brief: Bill to generate digital birth certificates tabled in Lok Sabha Minister of State for Home Nityanad Rai tabled the The [Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023]( in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Bill makes birth certificates an all encompassing document. It will be the only document that will be used to prove date of birth for the purposes of admission to an educational institution, driving licence, voter list, registration of a marriage, government jobs, passport, Aadhaar number, registration of property and any other purpose determined by the Central Government. A copy of the bill accessed by The Hindu said that States will issue birth certificates only through the Centre’s portal. The database will be used to update the National Population Register, electoral rolls, Aadhaar number, and ration card, among others. Pakistan Supreme Court rejects Imran Khan’s plea to stay criminal proceedings against him in Toshakhana case In a jolt to Imran Khan, [Pakistan’s Supreme Court on July 26 rejected the ousted Prime Minister’s plea to stay the criminal proceedings against him]( in the Toshakhana corruption case. During the day’s hearing, Justice Yahya Afridi of the two-member bench remarked that the apex court will not interfere in the trial court’s matters in the Toshakhana corruption case. However, it urged the Islamabad High Court to decide three of Khan’s pending petitions challenging the court’s decision to return the matter to the trial court after his lawyer Khawaja Haris informed the bench that there are multiple petitions — related to the jurisdiction of the trial court and transfer of the Toshakhana case — pending in the high court. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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