The Evening Wrap: Apple warns Opposition MPs about ‘state-sponsored’ attacks on their iPhones

At least seven Opposition Members of Parliament said on October 31, 2023, that they received a warning from Apple that “state-sponsored attackers may be targeting” their iPhones. Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Trinamool Congress’ Mahua Moitra, Congress’ Pawan Khera and Shashi Tharoor, CPI(M) Sitaram Yechury, AAP’s Raghav Chadha and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi are among those who shared the alert sent by Apple on X (formerly Twitter). Moitra alleged Akhilesh Yadav has also received such warning, but the Samajwadi Party chief has not yet confirmed the same. The novelist and newspaper editor Sriram Karri also said he received a similar email on his iPhone being targeted by state-sponsored attackers. Samir Saran, president of the thinktank Observer Research Foundation also shared the alert received by him. “ALE ERT: State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone,” the message received by MPs from “threat-notifications@apple.com” said. “Apple believes you are being targeted by state- sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID. These attackers are likely targeting you individually because of who you are or what you do. If your device is compromised by a state-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your sensitive data, communications, or even the camera and microphone. While it’s possible this is a false alarm, please take this warning seriously,” the message read. In a clarification regarding these alerts, the company said: “Apple does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker.” “State-sponsored attackers are very well-funded and sophisticated, and their attacks evolve over time. Detecting such attacks relies on threat intelligence signals that are often imperfect and incomplete. It’s possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms, or that some attacks are not detected. We are unable to provide information about what causes us to issue threat notifications, as that may help state-sponsored attackers adapt their behavior to evade detection in the future,” it said in a statement, adding that Apple has sent Threat Notifications to individuals whose accounts are in nearly 150 countries. An Apple spokesperson told The Hindu that they were not specifically saying the Indian government was responsible, though they did not rule this out, saying that they weren’t attributing these alerts “to any specific state-sponsored attacker.” It is yet unclear if Apple executives in India were aware that these alerts were going out in advance. Apple did not respond to queries on whether the Indian government asked them about these alerts, or if they would provide more information on how they detected these hacking attempts if asked. Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters in Bhopal that the government has launched an investigation into the alerts. Vaishnaw downplayed the alerts by citing Apple’s claim that these alerts have been sent to people in 150 countries. However, the company said that this claim is not limited to this last week, and is for the entire period since Apple first started issuing these alerts. “I would like to clearly say that the Government is very concerned on this issue, and that we will get to the bottom of this,” Vaishnaw said. “This country has compulsive critics who wake up everyday to criticise the Government on any given issue. These people cannot stand seeing this country’s progress.” The MPs have been vocal in their criticism against the Union government. Moitra has questioned the alleged nexus of Modi government with businessman Gautam Adani. “Received text & email from Apple warning me Govt trying to hack into my phone & email. @HMOIndia - get a life. Adani & PMO bullies - your fear makes me pity you. @priyankac19 - you, I, & 3 other INDIAns have got it so far,” Moitra alleged, sharing the screenshot of the message. “Dear Modi Sarkar, why are you doing this?” posted Khera. “Wonder who? Shame on you. Cc: @HMOIndia for your kind attention,” Chaturvedi said sharing the screenshot. Shashi Tharoor wrote: “Received from an Apple ID, threat-notifications@apple.com, which I have verified. Authenticity confirmed. Glad to keep underemployed officials busy at the expenses of taxpayers like me! Nothing more important to do?” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of alleged attempt at hacking of phones of Opposition leaders and linked it with their fight against the Adani group and alleged “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s soul lies with [Gautam] Adani”. “Earlier, I used to think that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was most powerful, followed by Adani and Amit Shah. But now, it is Adani, followed by Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah,” he said. “We are not going to be scared and will keep raising our voice,” Gandhi asserted. “If you want my phone, take it,” he said, adding: “The moment we touch Adani, CBI, ED, snooping starts.” The Congress leader said, “We are not going to be scared and will keep raising our voice”. “If you want my phone, take it,” Gandhi added. IMD predicts warmer November amid intensifying El Nino conditions Above-normal minimum temperatures are expected in most parts of India in November, barring some areas in the northwest and west-central regions, amid strengthening El Nino conditions, the IMD said on Tuesday. At a press conference in New Delhi, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said rainfall over the country as a whole in November is most likely to be normal – 77-123% of the long-period average. Above-normal rainfall is likely over some areas of the southernmost parts of peninsular India, most parts of northwest India, and many parts of east-central, east and northeast India, he said. EI Nino conditions are prevailing over the Equatorial Pacific Ocean and positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions are prevailing over the Indian Ocean. The latest global forecasts indicate that the El Nino conditions are likely to continue during the season and positive IOD conditions are likely to weaken during the coming months, the IMD said. Mohapatra, however, said models suggest that El Nino conditions are unlikely to continue into the next monsoon season. El Nino conditions – the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean near South America – are associated with weaker monsoon winds and drier conditions in India. Supreme Court begins hearing challenge to electoral bonds A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud on Tuesday started hearing a slew of petitions challenging the electoral bonds scheme, including those filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The scheme, which was notified on January 2, 2018, introduced money instruments through which companies and individuals in India can donate to political parties anonymously. The pleas contend that this opens the “floodgates” to unlimited political donations and anonymous funding of political parties by Indian and foreign companies, thereby legitimising electoral corruption on a huge scale. On Tuesday, advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing on behalf of ADR submitted that there is substantial evidence to believe that money is being given through electoral bonds as kickbacks in lieu of favourable government policies. He pointed out that whether at the Centre or in states, it is the ruling parties that receive the maximum share of the funds. Bhushan highlighted that this “disturbs and destroys democracy” in the country as it does not allow a level playing field for political parties. Earlier, the petitioners apprised the court that they would focus primarily on two issues concerning the scheme – the legalisation of anonymous donations to political parties and the violation of citizens’ right to information about the funding of political parties. The top court has said that it would not wade into the legal question concerning the passage of the scheme as a ‘Money Bill’ since the issue is already pending adjudication before a seven-judge Constitution Bench. Governor Ravi acting as ‘political rival’, says Tamil Nadu’s writ petition in Supreme Court The Tamil Nadu government has moved a writ petition in the Supreme Court against Governor R.N. Ravi for creating a “constitutional deadlock” by inexplicably delaying or even failing to consider and assent to crucial Bills passed by the Legislature and stymieing day-to-day governance in a way which is threatening to bring administration in the State to a grinding halt. The State said the Governor had positioned himself as a political rival to the legitimately elected government. His inactions had caused an impasse between the constitutional head of the State and the elected government of the State. The Governor was toying with the citizen’s mandate, the petition said. “The Governor by not signing remission orders, day-to-day files, appointment orders, approving recruitment orders, granting approval to prosecute Ministers, MLAs involved in corruption including transfer of investigation to CBI by Supreme Court and Bills passed by Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is bringing the entire administration to a grinding halt and creating adversarial attitude by not cooperating with the State administration,” the State government said in its petition, represented by senior advocate P. Wilson and advocate Sabarish Subramanian. The State urged the Supreme Court to declare the “inaction, omission, delay and failure to comply with the constitutional mandate by the Governor of Tamil Nadu” as illegal and arbitrary. The “unreasonable malafide exercise of power” by the Governor to not consider Bills passed and forwarded to him by the State Legislature for his assent was unconstitutional. “Assent of the Governor/President does not involve any element of discretion of the individuals occupying the posts but the ‘assent’ should only be based on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers,” the State said. The State sought the Supreme Court to fix a deadline or an “outer time limit” for Ravi to consider the Bills and government orders pending with his office. Further, the State noted that the Governor had failed to accord sanction for prosecution and investigation into cases of corruption involving moral turpitude of public servants and issues pertaining to the premature release of prisoners. Various applications for appointment of the Chairman and members of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) are still pending with the Governor,” the State pointed out one instance of rift. The TNPSC is functioning with merely four members and without a Chairman. One of the members is holding the additional charge of Chairman. According to the petition, frequent reminders were sent to the Principal Secretary to the Governor along with a copy of TNPSC Regulations, 1954 on August 17 for carrying out these appointments, but the Governor returned the file on September 27 with a note raising some queries that were “against established practices for selection of constitutional posts”. Despite further efforts by the State to justify the appointment proposal, the Governor returned the files “wrongfully without proper reasoning” on October 27. The State accused the Governor of “politically motivated conduct” for denying sanction to probe authorities in corruption cases against public servants despite finding prima facie evidence against them. “This includes the CBI inquiry that the Supreme Court approved and that the Madras High Court ordered,” the petition said. It said a delegation of elected representatives led by the State Law Minister had to meet the President to hand over a letter of the Chief Minister seeking her intervention to direct the Governor to conduct himself in accordance with the Constitution. Supreme Court slams lawyers for filing plea to declare Articles 20 and 22 ‘ultra vires’, seeks explanation Saying that they showed complete lack of knowledge of the law, the Supreme Court on Tuesday strongly reprimanded three lawyers for drafting and filing a petition seeking to declare Articles 20 and 22 as ‘ultra vires’, or beyond the powers, of Part III of the Constitution. While Article 20 deals with protection in respect of conviction for offences, Article 22 pertains to protection against arrest and detention in certain cases. Both are in Part III of the Constitution that deals with fundamental rights. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the purpose of having an Advocate on Record (AoR) in the top court is that there is a preliminary screening of the petitions. An AoR designation, it said, should not just be a signing authority for petitions. “Somebody just gets up, you collect your fee and file a petition. This is not acceptable. Your bar licenses should be revoked. How can such a plea be filed under Article 32 of the Constitution? Who is the Advocate on Record and drafting counsel, how did they sign off on this?” the bench, also comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and P.K. Mishra, asked. “There has to be some responsibility. And you (arguing) counsel, how did you agree? What is your standing in the bar? This is too serious. It has shocked our conscience that such a petition has been filed,” it added. The top court directed the three lawyers to file an affidavit explaining the circumstances under which they filed such a petition before the court. The bench said AoR should not become a signing authority only. “Merely because the litigant is coming with something does not mean such a petition should be filed before the highest court,” it said, adding that it was troubled by the fact that AoR has filed such a petition. According to the rules framed by the Supreme Court under Article 145 of the Constitution, only advocates designated as advocate-on-record can plead for a party in the apex court. The plea, filed by a Tamil Nadu resident, said, “Declare Article 20 and 22 of the Constitution of India, 1950, as ultra vires Part III of the Constitution of India, 1950, as violative of Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 of the Constitution”. There are apprehensions that Kejriwal will be arrested by ED on November 2: Atishi The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has claimed that there were apprehensions that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will arrest Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on November 2 after questioning him in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. The ruling party in Delhi also alleged that the BJP was trying to finish it off by putting its top leaders behind bars. Kejriwal has been issued the summons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and according to sources, the ED will record his statement once he deposes at the probe agency’s Delhi office at 11 a.m. on November 2. This is the first time that Kejriwal has been summoned by the ED. He was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case in April. Addressing a press conference on October 31, Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi claimed the BJP was using these tactics to target the AAP as it knows that it cannot defeat Kejriwal in elections. “There are reports that Kejriwal will be arrested on November 2. If he is arrested, it won’t be because of corruption [charges] but because he has spoken against the BJP,” she said. “The AAP defeated the BJP in Delhi Assembly polls twice and also in MCD polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scared of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal. The BJP knows they cannot defeat the AAP in elections.” Referring to the arrest of the AAP’s top leadership, including Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Satyendar Jain, Atishi claimed it only means that the BJP wants to finish off the AAP. Jain has been granted bail in a money laundering case. “After Kejriwal is arrested, the BJP will target other leaders of the INDIA alliance and its chief ministers using the CBI and ED. Next they will target Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren since they have been unable to defeat him. Then they will target Tejashwi Yadav since they have not been able to break the alliance in Bihar. Then Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin will be targeted,” she claimed. Atishi reiterated that AAP leaders are not scared of going to jail and will keep fighting to save the Constitution till their last breath. AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj echoed Atishi’s views and asserted that the party has only grown stronger in the face of opposition. “The BJP is trying to put Arvind Kejriwal and other top leaders of the AAP behind bars. Whenever attempts have been made to suppress and finish off the Aam Aadmi Party, it has only emerged stronger,” he said. In Brief: The former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister walked out of Rajahmundry Central Prison on interim bail after serving 52 days of judicial custody in the alleged ₹371 crore AP Skill Development Corporation project scam. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 31 October 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]( Apple warns Opposition MPs about ‘state-sponsored’ attacks on their iPhones; IT Minister responds At least seven Opposition Members of Parliament said on October 31, 2023, that they received [a warning from Apple]( that “state-sponsored attackers may be targeting” their iPhones. Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Trinamool Congress’ Mahua Moitra, Congress’ Pawan Khera and Shashi Tharoor, CPI(M) Sitaram Yechury, AAP’s Raghav Chadha and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi are among those who shared the alert sent by Apple on X (formerly Twitter). Moitra alleged Akhilesh Yadav has also received such warning, but the Samajwadi Party chief has not yet confirmed the same. The novelist and newspaper editor Sriram Karri also said he received a similar email on his iPhone being targeted by state-sponsored attackers. Samir Saran, president of the thinktank Observer Research Foundation also shared the alert received by him. “ALE ERT: State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iPhone,” the message received by MPs from “threat-notifications@apple.com” said. “Apple believes you are being targeted by state- sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID. These attackers are likely targeting you individually because of who you are or what you do. If your device is compromised by a state-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your sensitive data, communications, or even the camera and microphone. While it’s possible this is a false alarm, please take this warning seriously,” the message read. In a clarification regarding these alerts, the company said: “Apple does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker.” “State-sponsored attackers are very well-funded and sophisticated, and their attacks evolve over time. Detecting such attacks relies on threat intelligence signals that are often imperfect and incomplete. It’s possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms, or that some attacks are not detected. We are unable to provide information about what causes us to issue threat notifications, as that may help state-sponsored attackers adapt their behavior to evade detection in the future,” it said in a statement, adding that Apple has sent Threat Notifications to individuals whose accounts are in nearly 150 countries. An Apple spokesperson told The Hindu that they were not specifically saying the Indian government was responsible, though they did not rule this out, saying that they weren’t attributing these alerts “to any specific state-sponsored attacker.” It is yet unclear if Apple executives in India were aware that these alerts were going out in advance. Apple did not respond to queries on whether the Indian government asked them about these alerts, or if they would provide more information on how they detected these hacking attempts if asked. Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters in Bhopal that the [government has launched an investigation]( into the alerts. Vaishnaw downplayed the alerts by citing Apple’s claim that these alerts have been sent to people in 150 countries. However, the company said that this claim is not limited to this last week, and is for the entire period since Apple first started issuing these alerts. “I would like to clearly say that the Government is very concerned on this issue, and that we will get to the bottom of this,” Vaishnaw said. “This country has compulsive critics who wake up everyday to criticise the Government on any given issue. These people cannot stand seeing this country’s progress.” The MPs have been vocal in their criticism against the Union government. Moitra has questioned the alleged nexus of Modi government with businessman Gautam Adani. “Received text & email from Apple warning me Govt trying to hack into my phone & email. @HMOIndia - get a life. Adani & PMO bullies - your fear makes me pity you. @priyankac19 - you, I , & 3 other INDIAns have got it so far,” Moitra alleged, sharing the screenshot of the message. “Dear Modi Sarkar, why are you doing this?” posted Khera. “Wonder who? Shame on you. Cc: @HMOIndia for your kind attention,” Chaturvedi said sharing the screenshot. Shashi Tharoor wrote: “Received from an Apple ID, threat-notifications@apple.com, which I have verified. Authenticity confirmed. Glad to keep underemployed officials busy at the expenses of taxpayers like me! Nothing more important to do?” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of alleged attempt at hacking of phones of Opposition leaders and linked it with their fight against the Adani group and alleged “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s soul lies with [Gautam] Adani”. “Earlier, I used to think that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was most powerful, followed by Adani and Amit Shah. But now, it is Adani, followed by Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah,” he said. “We are not going to be scared and will keep raising our voice,” Gandhi asserted. “If you want my phone, take it,” he said, adding: “The moment we touch Adani, CBI, ED, snooping starts.” The Congress leader said, “We are not going to be scared and will keep raising our voice”. “If you want my phone, take it,” Gandhi added. IMD predicts warmer November amid intensifying El Nino conditions [Above-normal minimum temperatures are expected in most parts of India in November]( barring some areas in the northwest and west-central regions, amid strengthening El Nino conditions, the IMD said on Tuesday. At a press conference in New Delhi, India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said rainfall over the country as a whole in November is most likely to be normal – 77-123% of the long-period average. Above-normal rainfall is likely over some areas of the southernmost parts of peninsular India, most parts of northwest India, and many parts of east-central, east and northeast India, he said. EI Nino conditions are prevailing over the Equatorial Pacific Ocean and positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) conditions are prevailing over the Indian Ocean. The latest global forecasts indicate that the El Nino conditions are likely to continue during the season and positive IOD conditions are likely to weaken during the coming months, the IMD said. Mohapatra, however, said models suggest that El Nino conditions are unlikely to continue into the next monsoon season. El Nino conditions – the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean near South America – are associated with weaker monsoon winds and drier conditions in India. Supreme Court begins hearing challenge to electoral bonds  A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud on Tuesday [started hearing a slew of petitions challenging the electoral bonds scheme]( including those filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The scheme, which was notified on January 2, 2018, introduced money instruments through which companies and individuals in India can donate to political parties anonymously. The pleas contend that this opens the “floodgates” to unlimited political donations and anonymous funding of political parties by Indian and foreign companies, thereby legitimising electoral corruption on a huge scale. On Tuesday, advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing on behalf of ADR submitted that there is substantial evidence to believe that money is being given through electoral bonds as kickbacks in lieu of favourable government policies. He pointed out that whether at the Centre or in states, it is the ruling parties that receive the maximum share of the funds. Bhushan highlighted that this “disturbs and destroys democracy” in the country as it does not allow a level playing field for political parties. Earlier, the petitioners apprised the court that they would focus primarily on two issues concerning the scheme – the legalisation of anonymous donations to political parties and the violation of citizens’ right to information about the funding of political parties. The top court has said that it would not wade into the legal question concerning the passage of the scheme as a ‘Money Bill’ since the issue is already pending adjudication before a seven-judge Constitution Bench. Governor Ravi acting as ‘political rival’, says Tamil Nadu’s writ petition in Supreme Court The Tamil Nadu government has [moved a writ petition in the Supreme Court against Governor R.N. Ravi]( for creating a “constitutional deadlock” by inexplicably delaying or even failing to consider and assent to crucial Bills passed by the Legislature and stymieing day-to-day governance in a way which is threatening to bring administration in the State to a grinding halt. The State said the Governor had positioned himself as a political rival to the legitimately elected government. His inactions had caused an impasse between the constitutional head of the State and the elected government of the State. The Governor was toying with the citizen’s mandate, the petition said. “The Governor by not signing remission orders, day-to-day files, appointment orders, approving recruitment orders, granting approval to prosecute Ministers, MLAs involved in corruption including transfer of investigation to CBI by Supreme Court and Bills passed by Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is bringing the entire administration to a grinding halt and creating adversarial attitude by not cooperating with the State administration,” the State government said in its petition, represented by senior advocate P. Wilson and advocate Sabarish Subramanian. The State urged the Supreme Court to declare the “inaction, omission, delay and failure to comply with the constitutional mandate by the Governor of Tamil Nadu” as illegal and arbitrary. The “unreasonable malafide exercise of power” by the Governor to not consider Bills passed and forwarded to him by the State Legislature for his assent was unconstitutional. “Assent of the Governor/President does not involve any element of discretion of the individuals occupying the posts but the ‘assent’ should only be based on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers,” the State said. The State sought the Supreme Court to fix a deadline or an “outer time limit” for Ravi to consider the Bills and government orders pending with his office. Further, the State noted that the Governor had failed to accord sanction for prosecution and investigation into cases of corruption involving moral turpitude of public servants and issues pertaining to the premature release of prisoners. Various applications for appointment of the Chairman and members of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) are still pending with the Governor,” the State pointed out one instance of rift. The TNPSC is functioning with merely four members and without a Chairman. One of the members is holding the additional charge of Chairman. According to the petition, frequent reminders were sent to the Principal Secretary to the Governor along with a copy of TNPSC Regulations, 1954 on August 17 for carrying out these appointments, but the Governor returned the file on September 27 with a note raising some queries that were “against established practices for selection of constitutional posts”. Despite further efforts by the State to justify the appointment proposal, the Governor returned the files “wrongfully without proper reasoning” on October 27. The State accused the Governor of “politically motivated conduct” for denying sanction to probe authorities in corruption cases against public servants despite finding prima facie evidence against them. “This includes the CBI inquiry that the Supreme Court approved and that the Madras High Court ordered,” the petition said. It said a delegation of elected representatives led by the State Law Minister had to meet the President to hand over a letter of the Chief Minister seeking her intervention to direct the Governor to conduct himself in accordance with the Constitution. Supreme Court slams lawyers for filing plea to declare Articles 20 and 22 ‘ultra vires’, seeks explanation Saying that they showed complete lack of knowledge of the law, the Supreme Court on Tuesday [strongly reprimanded three lawyers]( for drafting and filing a petition seeking to declare Articles 20 and 22 as ‘ultra vires’, or beyond the powers, of Part III of the Constitution. While Article 20 deals with protection in respect of conviction for offences, Article 22 pertains to protection against arrest and detention in certain cases. Both are in Part III of the Constitution that deals with fundamental rights. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the purpose of having an Advocate on Record (AoR) in the top court is that there is a preliminary screening of the petitions. An AoR designation, it said, should not just be a signing authority for petitions. “Somebody just gets up, you collect your fee and file a petition. This is not acceptable. Your bar licenses should be revoked. How can such a plea be filed under Article 32 of the Constitution? Who is the Advocate on Record and drafting counsel, how did they sign off on this?” the bench, also comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and P.K. Mishra, asked. “There has to be some responsibility. And you (arguing) counsel, how did you agree? What is your standing in the bar? This is too serious. It has shocked our conscience that such a petition has been filed,” it added. The top court directed the three lawyers to file an affidavit explaining the circumstances under which they filed such a petition before the court. The bench said AoR should not become a signing authority only. “Merely because the litigant is coming with something does not mean such a petition should be filed before the highest court,” it said, adding that it was troubled by the fact that AoR has filed such a petition. According to the rules framed by the Supreme Court under Article 145 of the Constitution, only advocates designated as advocate-on-record can plead for a party in the apex court. The plea, filed by a Tamil Nadu resident, said, “Declare Article 20 and 22 of the Constitution of India, 1950, as ultra vires Part III of the Constitution of India, 1950, as violative of Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 of the Constitution”. There are apprehensions that Kejriwal will be arrested by ED on November 2: Atishi The [Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has claimed]( that there were apprehensions that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will arrest Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on November 2 after questioning him in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. The ruling party in Delhi also alleged that the BJP was trying to finish it off by putting its top leaders behind bars. Kejriwal has been issued the summons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and according to sources, the ED will record his statement once he deposes at the probe agency’s Delhi office at 11 a.m. on November 2. This is the first time that Kejriwal has been summoned by the ED. He was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case in April. Addressing a press conference on October 31, Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi claimed the BJP was using these tactics to target the AAP as it knows that it cannot defeat Kejriwal in elections. “There are reports that Kejriwal will be arrested on November 2. If he is arrested, it won’t be because of corruption [charges] but because he has spoken against the BJP,” she said. “The AAP defeated the BJP in Delhi Assembly polls twice and also in MCD polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scared of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal. The BJP knows they cannot defeat the AAP in elections.” Referring to the arrest of the AAP’s top leadership, including Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Satyendar Jain, Atishi claimed it only means that the BJP wants to finish off the AAP. Jain has been granted bail in a money laundering case. “After Kejriwal is arrested, the BJP will target other leaders of the INDIA alliance and its chief ministers using the CBI and ED. Next they will target Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren since they have been unable to defeat him. Then they will target Tejashwi Yadav since they have not been able to break the alliance in Bihar. Then Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin will be targeted,” she claimed. Atishi reiterated that AAP leaders are not scared of going to jail and will keep fighting to save the Constitution till their last breath. AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj echoed Atishi’s views and asserted that the party has only grown stronger in the face of opposition. “The BJP is trying to put Arvind Kejriwal and other top leaders of the AAP behind bars. Whenever attempts have been made to suppress and finish off the Aam Aadmi Party, it has only emerged stronger,” he said. In Brief: The former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister [walked out of Rajahmundry Central Prison]( on interim bail after serving 52 days of judicial custody in the alleged ₹371 crore AP Skill Development Corporation project scam. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [Sign up for free]( Today’s Top Picks [[PAK vs BAN | Pakistan thrashes Bangladesh to keep semifinal hopes alive] PAK vs BAN | Pakistan thrashes Bangladesh to keep semifinal hopes alive]( [[Manipur police officer killed in fresh violence, CM vows action] Manipur police officer killed in fresh violence, CM vows action]( [[IAF phases out Mig-21 fighter squadron based at Uttarlai in Rajasthan] IAF phases out Mig-21 fighter squadron based at Uttarlai in Rajasthan]( [[Former British PM Boris Johnson’s response to COVID was ‘mad and dangerous’, says top official] Former British PM Boris Johnson’s response to COVID was ‘mad and dangerous’, says top official]( Copyright @ 2023, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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