The Evening Wrap: SC stays Allahabad HC order for survey of Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stopped the execution of an Allahabad High Court decision to appoint a commission to inspect the premises of the Shahi Idgah mosque at Mathura, which the Hindus claim to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna. A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said the High Court order was passed on an “omnibus, vague” application for inspection of the mosque premises. “You have to be very clear, very specific why you need the appointment of a commission under Order 26 Rule 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC)… Your prayer was vague… You cannot make an omnibus application for a Commission,” Justice Khanna addressed senior advocate Shyam Divan, who represented the Hindu plaintiffs. The court ordered against the setting up of the Commission. “The Commission will not be executed,” Justice Khanna, dictated the order of the Bench. However, the Supreme Court did not interfere with the pending proceedings under Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC on the maintenance of the suit filed by the Hindu plaintiffs for a declaration that a temple once stood at the place of the mosque and the consecration of the premises as Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi. The top court was hearing an appeal filed by the mosque committee against the High Court order in December last year for appointment of the Commission. Advocate Tasneem Ahmadi, for the mosque management, argued that the High Court ought not to have given an interim relief by appointing the Commission when the very maintenance of the suit was still undecided and pending. Ahmadi referred to the Supreme Court’s observation in its judgment in the case, Asma Lateef versus Shabbir Ahmad, that “where interim relief is claimed in a suit before a civil court and the party to be affected by grant of such relief, or any other party to the suit, raises a point of maintainability thereof or that it is barred by law and also contends on that basis that interim relief should not to be granted, grant of relief in whatever form, if at all, ought to be preceded by formation and recording of at least a prima facie satisfaction that the suit is maintainable or that it is not barred by law.” Justice Khanna acknowledged that “some legal issues, including the question in light of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Asma Lateef case, arise for consideration”. The court listed the case for further hearing on January 23. A.P. Skill Development case | Supreme Court upholds registration of IPC offences against Naidu, split on need for prior sanction for corruption charges The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the registration of offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and remand order issued against former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the skill development ‘scam’ case. However, a Bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi differed in their opinions on whether prior sanction from the competent authority, under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, was necessary before registering corruption charges against Naidu in the case. Justice Bose, the lead judge on the Bench, held that prior sanction under Section 17A was mandatory before proceeding against Naidu. He said the State could still apply for it from the Governor. The associate judge on the Bench, Justice Trivedi, however, said such prior approval was not required in the case. Justice Trivedi said Section 17A did not apply retrospectively. The FIR against Naidu was registered prior to the amendment in the Act, inserting Section 17A, in July 2018. The case was referred to the Chief Justice of India for listing it before an appropriate Bench of three judges, which would examine whether prior sanction had been necessary before initiating proceedings against Naidu under the anti-corruption law. The case was reserved for judgment in October last year. Naidu is already out on regular bail. He had argued through his counsel, senior advocate Harish Salve, that corruption charges against him would fail for lack of sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The State, represented by senior advocate Ranjit Kumar and advocate Mahfooz A. Nazki, had countered that the case against Naidu was a “clear-cut” one of embezzlement and not remotely related to his duties of public office. The State had argued that Naidu could not avail the protection of Section 17A. Salve had contended that Section 17A was a protection tailored for public servants against regime revenge. He had submitted that no sanction was received under Section 17A before suddenly initiating prosecution against Naidu by registering a first information report, 21 months ago. The Andhra Pradesh High Court had declined to quash the criminal cases filed against Naidu and had also refused to set aside the Anti-Corruption Bureau court’s order to remand him. The High Court, in its September 22 order of last year, said the probe agency had initiated criminal action against Naidu after conducting extensive examination of witnesses and collection of documentary evidence following the registration of the crime in 2021. The investigation was at its final stage, the court had said. One more cheetah dies at Kuno National Park Shaurya, a cheetah that was translocated from Namibia, died at the Kuno National Park, authorities confirmed on January 16. Shaurya is the seventh one to die among the 20 Namibian cheetahs since a coalition of cheetahs was first released into the park in September 2022. Today, on 16th January, 2024 around 3:17 PM, Namibian Cheetah Shaurya passed away. Around 11 AM in the morning, incoordination and staggering gait was observed by the tracking team following which the animal was tranquilised and weakness was found. Following this, the animal was revived but complications arose post revival and the animal failed to respond to CPR. Cause of death can be ascertained after Post Mortem,” APCCF & Director Lion Project said in a press release. Kuno National Park which is located in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district is home to several cheetahs translocated from Namibia and South Africa. With six adult cheetahs dying within the first year of their relocation to India, wildlife experts associated with Project Cheetah were considering options of importing the next batch of big cats from countries other than South Africa and Namibia. A final decision is awaited. Scindia announces more steps to deal with fog-related disruptions Amid fog-related flight disruptions, the Civil Aviation Ministry has asked Delhi, Mumbai and four other metro airports to report incidents three times a day and these airports as well as airlines will also set up ‘war rooms’ to address passenger issues. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on January 16 said it will also be ensured that there is sufficient CISF manpower availability round-the-clock at the airports. In the last few days, there were incidents of a passenger assaulting an IndiGo pilot at the Delhi airport and passengers of an IndiGo flight sitting on the tarmac of the Mumbai airport amid long flight delays due to fog. Against this backdrop, aviation regulator DGCA on Monday issued a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) after Scindia said all stakeholders are working round-the-clock to minimise fog-related disruptions. In a post on X on Tuesday, Scindia said the Ministry has sought “incidence reporting thrice daily for all the six metro airports.” Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata are the metro airports. ‘War rooms’ will be set up by airports and airline operators at the six metro airports to address any issues with regard to passenger inconvenience with immediacy. Also, sufficient CISF manpower availability will be ensured round-the-clock, Scindia said. With respect to the Delhi airport, the Minister said runway RWY 29L has been made CAT III operational on Tuesday. The operationalisation of RWY 10/28 as CAT III at the airport will be done after re-carpeting work. Currently, three out of the four runways at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital are operational. IGIA, the country’s largest airport, has four runways — RW 09/27, RW 11R/29L, RW 10/28 and RW 11L/29R. Out of them, three runways, including CAT III-compliant RW 11L/29R, are operational. Scindia also said the implementation of DGCA directives and SOPs will be monitored and reported regularly. Donald Trump notches a commanding win in the Iowa caucuses as Haley and DeSantis fight for second place Former President Donald Trump scored a decisive win in the Iowa caucuses on Monday, January 15, 2024 with his rivals languishing far behind, a victory that sent a resounding message that the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination is his to lose. The results represent the first milestone in what will be a months-long effort by Trump to secure the GOP nomination a third consecutive time. Iowa has been an uneven predictor of who will ultimately lead Republicans into the general election. George W. Bush’s 2000 victory was the last time a Republican candidate won in Iowa and went on to become the party’s standard-bearer. But Trump was already looking ahead to a potential general election matchup against President Joe Biden as he addressed hundreds of cheering supporters at a caucus site at the HorizonEvents Center in Clive, Iowa. “He is totally destroying our country,” Trump said of Biden. “We were a great nation three years ago and today people are laughing at us.” Biden’s team, meanwhile, announced that he and the Democratic National Committee raised more than $97 million in the last quarter of 2023 and finished the year with $117 million in the bank, an effort to demonstrate how Biden is preparing for a possible rematch while Trump is still competing in the primary. In brief Rituals in the run-up to the January 22 Ram Mandir consecration ceremony started at the temple complex in Ayodhya on January 16, its chief priest said. These will continue till January 21. On January 22, the minimum essential rituals needed for the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ (consecration) of the idol of Ram Lalla will be conducted, temple trust general secretary Champat Rai had told reporters on Monday. “The ‘anushthan’ has started and will continue till January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony. Eleven priests are performing the rituals invoking all the ‘devis and devtas’ (goddesses and gods),” Ram temple chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das said. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 16 January 2024 [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 stays Allahabad HC order for survey of Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura The Supreme Court on Tuesday [stopped the execution of an Allahabad High Court decision]( to appoint a commission to inspect the premises of the Shahi Idgah mosque at Mathura, which the Hindus claim to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna. A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said the High Court order was passed on an “omnibus, vague” application for inspection of the mosque premises. “You have to be very clear, very specific why you need the appointment of a commission under Order 26 Rule 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC)… Your prayer was vague… You cannot make an omnibus application for a Commission,” Justice Khanna addressed senior advocate Shyam Divan, who represented the Hindu plaintiffs. The court ordered against the setting up of the Commission. “The Commission will not be executed,” Justice Khanna, dictated the order of the Bench. However, the Supreme Court did not interfere with the pending proceedings under Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC on the maintenance of the suit filed by the Hindu plaintiffs for a declaration that a temple once stood at the place of the mosque and the consecration of the premises as Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi. The top court was hearing an appeal filed by the mosque committee against the High Court order in December last year for appointment of the Commission. Advocate Tasneem Ahmadi, for the mosque management, argued that the High Court ought not to have given an interim relief by appointing the Commission when the very maintenance of the suit was still undecided and pending. Ahmadi referred to the Supreme Court’s observation in its judgment in the case, Asma Lateef versus Shabbir Ahmad, that “where interim relief is claimed in a suit before a civil court and the party to be affected by grant of such relief, or any other party to the suit, raises a point of maintainability thereof or that it is barred by law and also contends on that basis that interim relief should not to be granted, grant of relief in whatever form, if at all, ought to be preceded by formation and recording of at least a prima facie satisfaction that the suit is maintainable or that it is not barred by law.” Justice Khanna acknowledged that “some legal issues, including the question in light of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Asma Lateef case, arise for consideration”. The court listed the case for further hearing on January 23. A.P. Skill Development case | Supreme Court upholds registration of IPC offences against Naidu, split on need for prior sanction for corruption charges  The Supreme Court on Tuesday [upheld the registration of offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and remand order issued against former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu]( in the skill development ‘scam’ case. However, a Bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi differed in their opinions on whether prior sanction from the competent authority, under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, was necessary before registering corruption charges against Naidu in the case. Justice Bose, the lead judge on the Bench, held that prior sanction under Section 17A was mandatory before proceeding against Naidu. He said the State could still apply for it from the Governor. The associate judge on the Bench, Justice Trivedi, however, said such prior approval was not required in the case. Justice Trivedi said Section 17A did not apply retrospectively. The FIR against Naidu was registered prior to the amendment in the Act, inserting Section 17A, in July 2018. The case was referred to the Chief Justice of India for listing it before an appropriate Bench of three judges, which would examine whether prior sanction had been necessary before initiating proceedings against Naidu under the anti-corruption law. The case was reserved for judgment in October last year. Naidu is already out on regular bail. He had argued through his counsel, senior advocate Harish Salve, that corruption charges against him would fail for lack of sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The State, represented by senior advocate Ranjit Kumar and advocate Mahfooz A. Nazki, had countered that the case against Naidu was a “clear-cut” one of embezzlement and not remotely related to his duties of public office. The State had argued that Naidu could not avail the protection of Section 17A. Salve had contended that Section 17A was a protection tailored for public servants against regime revenge. He had submitted that no sanction was received under Section 17A before suddenly initiating prosecution against Naidu by registering a first information report, 21 months ago. The Andhra Pradesh High Court had declined to quash the criminal cases filed against Naidu and had also refused to set aside the Anti-Corruption Bureau court’s order to remand him. The High Court, in its September 22 order of last year, said the probe agency had initiated criminal action against Naidu after conducting extensive examination of witnesses and collection of documentary evidence following the registration of the crime in 2021. The investigation was at its final stage, the court had said. One more cheetah dies at Kuno National Park Shaurya, a cheetah that was translocated from Namibia, [died at the Kuno National Park]( authorities confirmed on January 16. Shaurya is the seventh one to die among the 20 Namibian cheetahs since a coalition of cheetahs was first released into the park in September 2022. Today, on 16th January, 2024 around 3:17 PM, Namibian Cheetah Shaurya passed away. Around 11 AM in the morning, incoordination and staggering gait was observed by the tracking team following which the animal was tranquilised and weakness was found. Following this, the animal was revived but complications arose post revival and the animal failed to respond to CPR. Cause of death can be ascertained after Post Mortem,” APCCF & Director Lion Project said in a press release. Kuno National Park which is located in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district is home to several cheetahs translocated from Namibia and South Africa. With six adult cheetahs dying within the first year of their relocation to India, wildlife experts associated with Project Cheetah were considering options of importing the next batch of big cats from countries other than South Africa and Namibia. A final decision is awaited. Scindia announces more steps to deal with fog-related disruptions Amid fog-related flight disruptions, the [Civil Aviation Ministry has asked Delhi, Mumbai and four other metro airports]( to report incidents three times a day and these airports as well as airlines will also set up ‘war rooms’ to address passenger issues. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on January 16 said it will also be ensured that there is sufficient CISF manpower availability round-the-clock at the airports. In the last few days, there were incidents of a passenger assaulting an IndiGo pilot at the Delhi airport and passengers of an IndiGo flight sitting on the tarmac of the Mumbai airport amid long flight delays due to fog. Against this backdrop, aviation regulator DGCA on Monday issued a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) after Scindia said all stakeholders are working round-the-clock to minimise fog-related disruptions. In a post on X on Tuesday, Scindia said the Ministry has sought “incidence reporting thrice daily for all the six metro airports.” Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata are the metro airports. ‘War rooms’ will be set up by airports and airline operators at the six metro airports to address any issues with regard to passenger inconvenience with immediacy. Also, sufficient CISF manpower availability will be ensured round-the-clock, Scindia said. With respect to the Delhi airport, the Minister said runway RWY 29L has been made CAT III operational on Tuesday. The operationalisation of RWY 10/28 as CAT III at the airport will be done after re-carpeting work. Currently, three out of the four runways at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital are operational. IGIA, the country’s largest airport, has four runways — RW 09/27, RW 11R/29L, RW 10/28 and RW 11L/29R. Out of them, three runways, including CAT III-compliant RW 11L/29R, are operational. Scindia also said the implementation of DGCA directives and SOPs will be monitored and reported regularly. Donald Trump notches a commanding win in the Iowa caucuses as Haley and DeSantis fight for second place Former President Donald Trump [scored a decisive win in the Iowa caucuses]( on Monday, January 15, 2024 with his rivals languishing far behind, a victory that sent a resounding message that the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination is his to lose. The results represent the first milestone in what will be a months-long effort by Trump to secure the GOP nomination a third consecutive time. Iowa has been an uneven predictor of who will ultimately lead Republicans into the general election. George W. Bush’s 2000 victory was the last time a Republican candidate won in Iowa and went on to become the party’s standard-bearer. But Trump was already looking ahead to a potential general election matchup against President Joe Biden as he addressed hundreds of cheering supporters at a caucus site at the HorizonEvents Center in Clive, Iowa. “He is totally destroying our country,” Trump said of Biden. “We were a great nation three years ago and today people are laughing at us.” Biden’s team, meanwhile, announced that he and the Democratic National Committee raised more than $97 million in the last quarter of 2023 and finished the year with $117 million in the bank, an effort to demonstrate how Biden is preparing for a possible rematch while Trump is still competing in the primary. In brief Rituals in the run-up to the January 22 Ram Mandir consecration ceremony [started at the temple complex in Ayodhya]( on January 16, its chief priest said. These will continue till January 21. On January 22, the minimum essential rituals needed for the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ (consecration) of the idol of Ram Lalla will be conducted, temple trust general secretary Champat Rai had told reporters on Monday. “The ‘anushthan’ has started and will continue till January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony. Eleven priests are performing the rituals invoking all the ‘devis and devtas’ (goddesses and gods),” Ram temple chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das said. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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