Money trail in Kerala gold smuggling case brings CM’s office under scanner

Money trail in Kerala gold smuggling case brings CM’s office under scanner

Pradeep.Thakur@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:03.11.2020 

The money trail in the Kerala-UAE gold smuggling case has brought Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office in focus with Enforcement Directorate tracking alleged payoffs of ₹4 crore in the CM’s Life Mission project— a housing scheme for the flood displaced and landless citizens— to his former principal secretary M Sivasankar and associates.

Sivasankar has been arrested and is presently in ED custody. He is being questioned on the alleged bribes received in the project and contract awarded to Kochi-based Unitac builders, according to sources. The anti-money laundering agency is tracking the IAS officer to a ₹60 lakh recovery from SBI’s Thiruvananthapuram branch.

The huge cash is alleged to be part of payoffs deposited in the bank account jointly operated by gold scam main accused Swapna Suresh and Sivasankar’s chartered accountant Venugopal. The questioning of other accused have revealed that Sivasankar had escorted Swapna Suresh to his CA Venugopal’s residence and office twice and operations to launder the “proceeds of crime” are being scrutinised.

“On the day Unitac Builders got a contract for a housing project under the Life Mission, messages were exchanged between Sivasankar and Swapna Suresh over WhatsApp,” sources said. The ED has collected the evidence as part of its probe against the gold smuggling accused and the alleged involvement of the CM’s office in the bribery case.

The probe has now been widened to other flagship schemes of the Kerala government where Sivasankar’s involvement has been found putting the Left Democratic Front government in a spot as the opposition parties in the state have alleged corruption in Life Mission and other key projects.

The agency is also probing involvement of UAE’s Red Crescent in the funding of the project. The probe has also revealed that the CM’s ex-principal secretary had been in touch with three of the four accused in the UAE gold smuggling case.

On July 5, the Customs had seized 30 kg gold from a UAE diplomatic baggage worth ₹15 crore smuggled by misdeclaring the consignment. under investigation.

Pinarayi Vijayan’s office in focus with Enforcement Directorate tracking alleged payoffs of ₹4 crore in the CM’s Life Mission project to his former principal secretary M Sivasankar and associates

Impermissible for judges to pass ‘filmi’ orders: AG tells SC

Impermissible for judges to pass ‘filmi’ orders: AG tells SC

‘Gender Sensitisation Of Judicial Officers Urgently Needed’

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

03.11.2020 

New Delhi: Attorney general K K Venugopal on Monday told the Supreme Court that a Madhya Pradesh high court judge’s decision to grant bail to a person accused of outraging the modesty of a woman on the condition that he gets a rakhi tied by her was nothing but a script straight out of a Bollywood film which had no sanctity in criminal law jurisprudence.

“The judge seems to have gotten carried away by the script of a film. Judges, while dealing with crimes against women, need to restrict themselves to the confines of criminal laws and not resort to dramatic orders. Gender sensitisation of judges in the high courts and trial courts are the need of the day. State judicial academies can be asked to regularly hold lectures on this issue to sensitise them. They must know what is permissible and what is not,” Venugopal said.

The AG was responding to a PIL filed by social activists led by advocate Aparna Bhat, who questioned the condition of bail imposed by the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh HC. Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Sanjay Parikh told a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna that such comments from constitutional courts tended to trivialise crimes against women.

The petition said, “Observations impugned herein are antithetical to the law and principles that govern India and may encourage other HCs as well as trial courts that fall within the jurisdiction of the MP HC to pass such regressive orders. The bail condition in question amounts to further victimisation of the survivor in her own house. In the context of Raksha Bandhan being a festival of guardianship between brothers and sisters, the said bail condition amounts to gross trivialisation of the trauma suffered by the complainant in the present case.”

The Justice Khanwilkarled bench asked the AG to submit a comprehensive note detailing suggestions for gender sensitisation of HC and trial court judges. It asked the petitioners and intervenors to also submit compact notes on this issue. The bench listed the matter for further hearing on November 297 and said, “Proper orders will be passed.”

Full report on www.toi.in

Times View

Every modern and progressive state has certain key markers. Gender sensitivity is one of them. Lack of understanding on the subject could lead to gender-biased decision-making. It is indeed true that there is a pressing need to sensitise the lower reaches of the judiciary to these issues. The recognition of this reality is welcome.

NO SANCTITY: Attorney general K K Venugopal

HC refuses to close deputy speaker’s ₹1cr defamation suit

HC refuses to close deputy speaker’s ₹1cr defamation suit

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.11.2020 

The Madras high court has refused to reject a civil suit moved by Tamil Nadu assembly deputy speaker Pollachi V Jayaraman against DMK chief M K Stalin’s son-inlaw V Sabareesan, Kalaignar TV and Nakkheeran, seeking ₹1 crore in damages for linking his name with the Pollachi sexual assault case.

Dismissing applications to reject the plaint as being devoid of merits, Justice P T Asha directed those accused to file their written statements to the suit.

Though the suit was filed against DMK chief M K Stalin and Junior Vikatan as well, only Sabareesan, Kalaignar TV and Nakkheeran moved the application to reject the plaint.

Jayaraman wanted the court to direct Stalin and others to pay him ₹1 crore jointly for having damaged his reputation. He accused Stalin of having made public speeches linking him with the crime, which were telecast on Kalaignar TV. He further added that the two Tamil magazines published false and defamatory news reports intended to tarnish his reputation.

The deputy speaker also sought a permanent injunction restraining Stalin and others from making or publishing false and defamatory statements against him in any manner.

Pointing out news reports published in the magazines, Jayaraman submitted that the reports made false claims of his son being involved in the Pollachi sexual assault case and that he attempted to bail him out from the case.

Adding that he had been holding the post of deputy speaker of the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly since May 16, 2016, Jayaraman said he had come up in life by stint of hard work and was held in high esteem by friends, family, well-wishers and among right thinking sections of society.

TN assembly deputy speaker Pollachi V Jayaraman sought ₹1cr in damages from Stalin, his son-in-law Sabareesan and three news houses for linking him with the Pollachi sexual assault case

Chennai-born Keralite is NZ’s 1st desi minister

Chennai-born Keralite is NZ’s 1st desi minister

03.11.2020 

Priyanca Radhakrishnan, a first-generation immigrant, became New Zealand’s first-ever Indian-origin minister on Monday after PM Jacinda Ardern inducted five new ministers into her executive, two weeks after a landslide victory in the general election.

“Today has been an incredibly special day. I’m feeling a lot of things including an overwhelming sense of privilege to become part of our government,” the 41-year-old Labour Party member said. The new minister for diversity, inclusion and ethnic communities was born in Chennai but her family is from Paravur in Kerala, reports Binu Karunakaran. She went to school in Singapore before moving to New Zealand to further her education. Her Left-leaning greatgrandfather C R Krishna Pillai, a doctor, had played a major role in shaping the literary and cultural sensibilities of the state.

Radhakrishnan with PM Arden

NZ PIO min’s great-granddad was a Left leader in Kerala

Priyanca Radhakrishnan was brought up in Singapore, where her father Raman Radhakrishnan worked as an engineer before returning to India to set up his own engineering company and settle in Chennai. “I come from a politically active family; a family that is dedicated to doing their part to make the world a better place. My great-grandfather, Dr C R Krishna Pillai, was involved in Left-wing politics in India and was instrumental in the formation of Kerala,” she had written in 2014.

Radhakrishnan has spent her work life advocating on behalf of people whose voices are often unheard – women survivors of domestic violence and migrant workers who have been exploited. First elected to New Zealand’s parliament as a Labour Party representative in 2017, the new minister has also been given charge of the ministry for the community and voluntary sector, and been made associate minister for social development and employment.

She had travelled to Kerala twice last year following the death of her mother Usha. G K Nair, a grand uncle of Radhakrishnan who resides near Kalady, said she owes her political genes to her maternal great-grandfather, who had once contested an election against former Union finance minister T T Krishnamachari.

(Inputs from agencies)

Now, book Covid test while booking an IndiGo ticket

Now, book Covid test while booking an IndiGo ticket

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:03.11.2020

IndiGo has tied up with a healthcare firm that will enable passengers to book a Covid test, for a fee, while booking flight tickets. This service will be for both international and domestic passengers and be available in other countries, including UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

“…IndiGo has partnered with Stemz Healthcare to enable Covid-19 RT-PCR test at affordable rates for passengers travelling on domestic and international flights. To book a test, customers can take appointment online on IndiGo website through a co-branded URL page based on their travel date. Customers can opt for a home visit or choose a lab visit with over 200+ collection centres in India. The service is also available in other countries, including UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,” the airline said in a statement.

IndiGo chief strategy and revenue officer Sanjay Kumar said: “As per travel guidelines, several states and countries require a Covid-19 RT-PCR test to be undertaken within a stipulated time frame before a customer boards a flight. We are pleased to introduce the option to book a test along with the flight, enabling an easy access to get the tests done before travelling.”

Odisha guv, wife test Covid +ve

Bhubaneswar: Odisha governor Ganeshi Lal, his wife Sushila Devi and four other family members tested positive for Covid-19 here on Monday.

The governor tweeted about his Covid test result and advised those who had come in contact with him to get themselves tested. Government sources said Lal and his family members had been admitted to SUM Covid Hospital here. Lal, who is 78, underwent the test following mild fever. His condition is stable. Others in the family are asymptomatic. TNN

K’taka HC: Can’t try kin named casually in marital disputes

K’taka HC: Can’t try kin named casually in marital disputes

Vasantha.Kumar@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:03.11.2020

In cases of matrimonial dispute, family members named without allegation of active involvement cannot be proceeded against on casual reference, the Karnataka high court has said, quashing proceedings against the mother-in-law, sister-inlaw and brother-in-law of a woman who had lodged a dowry harassment complaint. Proceedings against the husband will continue, it said.

The court noted that there was a tendency to involve all family members of a household in matrimonial disputes. Mere casual reference of names of the family members in a matrimonial dispute, without allegation of active involvement in the matter, would not justify taking cognisance against them, the court said in a judgment delivered last week.

The complainant, who married on on April 13, 2008, alleged that her in-laws were constantly instigating her husband to demand more dowry from her. She alleged that her husband had “extracted” more than 450gm of gold from her, which was in the custody of her sister-inlaw. On December 15, 2013, she said, when she and her parents demanded return of the ornaments, her husband along with the petitioners abused them in filthy language.

The complainant’s mother-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law approached the court, challenging the proceedings initiated against them before a JMFC court at Udupi under section 498A and other IPC sections as well as Dowry Prohibition Act. The petitioners said there was no specific allegation against them and there was a delay in lodging the complaint as well.

Court notice on plea against NEET aspirants removing thaali

Court notice on plea against NEET aspirants removing thaali

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.11.2020

The Madras high court has ordered notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET, on a public interest writ petition to restrain it from demanding women candidates to remove jewellery including thaali and metti (toe ring).

Admitting the plea on Monday, a division bench of Justice M MSundresh and Justice D Krishnakumar directed the NTA to file its response in four weeks.

According to petitioner, advocate S Aravind Raj, who was represented by senior advocate A Thiyagarajan, such a demand was unconstitutional and arbitrary. The rules stipulated by NTA for students writing NEET are very vague, leaving students, particularly in Tamil Nadu, in great agony in the name of frisking to prevent malpractice, he said.

“Just before the stressful examination even calm and composed students are pushed to a very uncomfortable and disturbed state of mind,” the petitioner said. Married women were forced to remove thaali, metti, studs, nose stud that are sacramental ornaments for Hindu women, he said, adding that the rules are liable to be declared as unconstitutional, unreasonable and violative of the fundamental rights.