Uttar Pradesh / Uttarakhand

The CBI has filed a charge sheet on 18 December 2020 in the gang rape and murder case of a Dalit girl in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, India.

The CBI officials have also imposed sections of gangrape and murder on the four accused, Sandeep, Lavkush, Ravi and Ramu, for the crime committed with a 19-year-old Dalit girl.

According to the news agency PTI, the counsel for the accused told that the local court of Hathras has taken cognizance of the case.

The CBI was investigating the case under the supervision of the Allahabad High Court and CBI officials probed the role of accused Sandeep, Lavkush, Ravi and Ramu in the entire case.

The four accused are currently in judicial custody. CBI officials said the four were also subjected to separate tests at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Apart from this, the CBI investigation team also talked to the doctors of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College. This is the same hospital where the deceased was treated.

The Hathras gang rape case came up for discussion not only because of the barbarity of the criminals, but also in the Uttar Pradesh police, without the permission of the family of the deceased and there was a dispute over the funeral of the girl in his absence.

In addition to the Uttar Pradesh police, the Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh was also severely criticized in this case.

Later, the Uttar Pradesh government had told the court that the girl was cremated in a hurry due to fear of deteriorating the situation of justice in the area.

The 19-year-old girl belonged to a Dalit family while the four accused belong to the upper caste.

In this whole case, the confusion of caste-system prevailing in Uttar Pradesh was also revealed when Mahapanchayat was called in some villages in favor of the accused.

Not only this, questions were also raised about the girl being gang raped. In addition, the Uttar Pradesh government had for some time banned the media's entry into the victim's village.

In this case, the Uttar Pradesh government had talked about getting narco test of the family of the victim, which was also disputed because the narco test is usually from the accused party.

A Special Investigation Committee (SIT) was finally formed after allegations of lewd attitude on the Uttar Pradesh government and administration. However, the investigation was later handed over to the CBI.

In an important decision, the Allahabad High Court in an order dated 11 November 2020 stated that the right to live with the person of their choice, whatever their religion, is a natural element of the right to life and personal liberty.

It has been 15 days since the order, but its copy has been available this week, after which it is being discussed a lot. The bench of Justice Pankaj Naqvi and Justice Vivek Agrawal of Allahabad High Court has given this important decision.

On the orders given in Priyanshi alias Samreen and others, vs. Government of Uttar Pradesh and others, and Noor Jahan Begum alias Anjali Mishra and others vs. Government of Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad High Court stated in its remarks, "Any of these Even the order has not seen the right of two mature people to choose their own freedom. "

The court ordered, "We do not consider the decisions given in the cases of Noor Jahan and Priyanshi to be good law".

Let us see what important things the Allahabad High Court has done in its decision…

- The court said in its order, "We do not see Priyanka Kharwar and Salamat as Hindus and Muslims. Instead we see them as two adult people who are living together peacefully and happily by their will and choice. ''
- "The right to live with the person of their choice, whatever their religion, is rooted in the right to life and personal liberty. Interference in personal relations will be a serious violation of the freedom of two people to make choices."
- The court has said, "The decision of an adult person to live with a person of his choice is tied to the right of a person and when this right is violated, then it is a fundamental right of the person to live life and the fundamental right to personal liberty." Violates because it contains Article 21 principles of the Constitution of freedom of election, choice of partner and living with dignity. ''
- The court in its judgment referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Shafeen Jahan vs. Ashokan KM. The Allahabad High Court said that the Supreme Court has consistently respected the freedom of an adult person.
- Allahabad High Court also referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Shakti Vahini v. Government of India. Apart from this, the court also cited the decision in Nand Kumar v. Government of Kerala and said that it is clear in these decisions that the adult person has the freedom to make his choice.
- The court also referred to the Supreme Court's decision in KS Puttaswamy vs Government of India regarding the right to privacy and said that the right to choose a partner has nothing to do with caste, creed or religion and this article-21 The integral part lies in living life and personal freedom.
- Commenting on the decisions in Nur Jahan and other similar cases, the court said that ignoring the will of an adult person would not only be contrary to the freedom of elections, but it would also threaten the principle of unity in diversity.
- On the decisions in the Priyanshi and Nur Jahan cases, the court said that in any of these decisions, two mature people have to choose their partner or whom they want to live with. The issue of freedom to choose it and the issue related to freedom has not been taken into consideration. The court further said that the decisions in Noor Jahan and Priyanshi cases are not good in terms of law.
- The bench of Justice Pankaj Naqvi and Justice Vivek Agrawal of Allahabad High Court remarked in this same order, "We are unable to understand that if the law allows two gay people to live together peacefully, neither can any person Neither any family or even the state has the right to object to two adult people living together at their will. ''

Allahabad High Court's decision and background

Advocate Arvind Kumar Tripathi in Allahabad High Court says, "The FIR dismissed in the recent judgment of the Allahabad High Court is based on whether two adults can live together under Article-21?"

Tripathi says that "As far as marriage is concerned, marriage has nothing to do with religion." It is related to desire. And desire is related to article-21 Liberty. In this case, there is more clarity in this decision compared to earlier decisions.

Supreme Court Advocate Shashwat Anand says that the Allahabad High Court has a very good judgment and it has made the basis of freedom of privacy and freedom of will.

The background of the case is that a petition was filed in the Allahabad High Court on behalf of Salamat Ansari and three others. Salamat Ansari and his wife Priyanka Kharwar alias Aaliya along with two others had sought the dismissal of the FIR lodged against them in the High Court.

In this case Priyanka had converted to Alia and converted and married Salamat Ansari. In protest, Priyanka's father had filed an FIR. Sections 7 and 8 of the Poxo Act were also imposed in this FIR, including 363, 366, 352. Salamat, his brother and his mother were accused in this.

The court observed the birth date of Priyanka aka Alia and it was found that she is an adult. Anand says that in such a situation all the acts of Poxo were dismissed. At the same time, the court admitted that the forced sections have been imposed to trap them.

It was argued in the High Court on behalf of Salamat Ansari that Salamat Ansari and Priyanka Kharwar aka Alia are adults and are eligible to marry. This side said that after Priyanka left her Hindu identity and converted to Islam, both of them married Muslim customs on 19.8.2019.

Both people have been living together as husband and wife for the past one year. They both said that Priyanka's father had lodged this FIR to end her marriage with the wrong intention and since both of them have not committed any crime, this FIR should be dismissed.

The other side said that conversion to marriage was prohibited and there was no legal recognition of such marriage. In such a situation, the court should not give any relief to these people.

Anand says that the government had demanded not to give relief to Salamat based on the last two decisions. Anand says, "The court said that when these two adult people have decided to live together, then we should respect article-21." With this, the court dismissed this FIR.

Nur Jahan and Priyanshi cases

In the case of Priyanshi in September 2020, the single bench referred to the case of Nur Jahan Begum alias Anjali Mishra and others v. State of Uttar Pradesh in 2014, stating that mere conversion to marriage was unacceptable.

In the Nur Jahan Begum case, the Allahabad High Court dismissed the petitions filed for the need of protection as a married couple. In this case too, the girl left Hinduism and converted to Islam and then married.

Four other similar cases also came before the court.

In these cases women were unable to prove their alleged conversion because they failed to prove their understanding of Islam. In such a situation, the court ordered that these alleged marriages are illegal because it was done after a conversion that cannot be justified according to the law.

Anand says, "But, the Allahabad High Court has said in its judgment that once it was proved that both the people getting married are adults, the court should not have gone to their denomination."

In its recent decision, Allahabad High Court has referred to similar decisions in its previous cases.

Yogi government's ordinance to stop forced conversion

However, in spite of the Allahabad High Court order, the Yogi Adityanath government of Uttar Pradesh has approved the 'Uttar Pradesh Law Against Religion Transformation Prohibition Ordinance, 2020' on 24 November 2020.

According to this law, 'forced conversion' will be punishable in Uttar Pradesh. It can be imprisoned from one year to 10 years and a fine ranging from 15 thousand to 50 thousand rupees.

According to this ordinance of the Yogi government, if 'illegal conversion' happens to a minor or women belonging to a scheduled caste or tribe, then there will be a fine of three to 10 years and a fine of Rs 25,000.

Advocate in the Allahabad High Court, Vinod Mishra, says, "The government has tried to curb forced conversions or other illegal activities through this law. The government wants to curb the alleged 'love jihad'".

Will a confrontation arise?

Can a conflict situation arise in the coming days between the Uttar Pradesh government's law to stop 'illegal conversion' and the Allahabad High Court's decision?

Advocate Arvind Kumar Tripathi in the High Court on this issue says, "It would not be right to say that because the ordinance passed by the government which has not yet become the subject of judicial review. It did not say until the case is filed on it." It is possible that these two decisions may hit each other or not. "

Tripathi says, "The interesting thing is that the alleged love jihad created by the Uttar Pradesh government has introduced this ordinance will not survive the judicial review. But, when it is challenged, the situation will be clear."

Advocate Shashwat Anand in the Supreme Court says that the law brought by the Yogi government is actually on forced conversion and it would not be right to call it the law of 'Love Jihad'.

He says, "The ordinance of the Uttar Pradesh government is linked to forced conversions. Now, if this law is misused, this decision of the Allahabad High Court will work as a wall."

He says that in such cases one side will say that it is forcible conversion while the other party will say it by consent. In such a situation, the Yogi will act as a decision of the High Court on the wrong use of the law of the government.

In the coming time, it will be clear that how will the Allahabad High Court's decision affect the ordinance brought by the Yogi government?

Disclaimer: ''The current law of India does not define the word 'love jihad'. No case of 'Love Jihad' has been reported by any central agency.''

There is a special reference to such disclaimers at the beginning of the report. Many political leaders are using the term, but the above sentence is part of the reply to a starred question in the Lok Sabha on 4 February 2020 from the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kishan Reddy.

The Yogi Adityanath government of Uttar Pradesh has approved an ordinance against inter-religious marriage. Four other state governments of the Bharatiya Janata Party have spoken of bringing similar ordinances.

There is a strong debate on this issue in India.

The international media has also placed on its pages the opposition to the ordinance of this alleged forced inter-religious marriage (which the BJP calls Love Jihad).

The Strat Times newspaper in Singapore has underlined in one of its reports that the five states that talk of bringing "love jihad" are those where the BJP has governments. According to the newspaper, the ordinance brought in Uttar Pradesh and the proposal on it in other four states will give rise to the issue of "Love Jihad".

The newspaper has given a lot of space to the statements of Yogi Adityanath in his report. An ordinance on this has been approved in Uttar Pradesh on 24 November 2020.

The newspaper prominently featured a statement dated 31 October 2020 of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. The newspaper wrote, "Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu priest who is the Chief Minister of India's largest populous state Uttar Pradesh, says in an election meeting on 31 October 2020 that the government should take a decision to stop 'Love Jihad'". Has been We give warning to those who hide their identity and insult our sisters. If you do not hawk, your funeral will be done soon. ''

A US media outlet named 'US News' wrote in its report on the latest ordinance from the Lucknow Dateline, "The Indian state blamed forced conversions for marriage".

Citing critics, the report reads, "Critics say that the unlawful proselytizing ordinance approved by the Yogi's cabinet is aimed at separating India's 17 crore Muslims from the mainstream."

The newspaper has also included a statement by Trinamool Congress MP Nusrat Jahan in this report in which he has said that there is no such thing as "Love Jihad" and this is only a political ploy of BJP.

Al-Jazeera has given it a place on its website and many newspapers of western countries have also published this news.

Most media outlets are also sharing issues related to this in India. Al-Jazeera cited an incident in October 2020 in which the Tanishq jewelry store had to remove an advertisement showing a Hindu daughter-in-law with her Muslim husband.

The firstpost website reported on the growing intolerance in India by linking the controversy over a kiss scene inside a temple with the ordinance of "Love Jihad" in Mira Nair's film A Suitable Boy, which was shown on Netflix.

In this kissing scene, a Muslim youth is seen kissing his Hindu girlfriend inside a temple against which some Hindu organizations have filed a police complaint. An FIR has been registered against some Netflix officials in Madhya Pradesh.

what is love jihad?

Hindu right-wing organizations call 'Love Jihad' a love marriage in which a Muslim man marries a Hindu woman and forces her to convert to Islam. If the opposite is true, if a Muslim woman marries a Hindu man, then some Hindu institutions are silent on this, some organizations strongly support such marriages.

The Indian government and private social institutions do not have figures for these marriages, but according to one estimate, such marriages are less than three percent.

In several reports of government agencies, the allegations of 'jihad' in marriage between a Hindu woman and a Muslim man have been found to be wrong, but in spite of this the five state governments of BJP are resorting to the law to stop it.

Where and when was the word first used? It is difficult to say, but around 2009, Karnataka and Kerala find an example of the use of the term, where some Hindu and Christian institutions refer to the conspiracy by Muslim men to cheat and marry Hindu or Christian women to convert to Islam. has been done.

In India, inter-religious marriages are held under the Special Marriage Act, which requires the court to register a marriage and before that the court issues a month's notice so that anyone can object to this marriage and tell the court.

For years before the term "love jihad" was practiced, right-wing Hindu institutions had been protesting such marriages in courts in which couples were given dhamikas, but this was not done so publicly.

Hindu-Muslim marriages began to be openly opposed to the campaign against "Love Jihad", especially in Uttar Pradesh, which human rights institutions and the media have described as an attack on the fundamental rights of a citizen.

The Allahabad High Court in India has said that the citizens of the country have the constitutional right to choose a partner of their choice irrespective of caste, religion or creed.

According to the English Daily News Paper Hindustan Times, the court also said that the last two decisions objecting to conversion to get married were not good according to the law.

The two-judge bench of Justice Pankaj Naqvi and Vivek Agrawal of Allahabad High Court said this while hearing the plea of ​​Salamat Ansari and his wife Priyanka Kharwar alias Alia, who are from Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh.

Priyanka had converted her religion and her father complained to the police about this. Both the spouses took refuge in the court to quash the police action.

The Hindustan Times writes that the decision was given by the court on 11 November 2020 but it has been made public on 23 November 2020.

According to Hindustan Times, now that the Uttar Pradesh government was working on a plan to make a law related to conversion for marriage, this decision of the High Court may cause problems for it.

According to the news agency ANI, the Uttar Pradesh government has announced the implementation of the lockdown from 10 pm on July 10 to 5 am on July 13.

According to the order issued by the Chief Secretary of the state government, this step has been taken due to prevention of Covid-19 infection.

During this period all types of urban, rural haats, markets, Galla, mandi and business establishments will remain closed.

There will be no movement of roadways buses inside Uttar Pradesh, although railway service will continue as before.

There have been 1248 cases of corona infection in the last 24 hours in Uttar Pradesh. According to the state health department, 10,373 patients are currently undergoing treatment while 21,127 have been cured.

So far, 862 people have died in Uttar Pradesh from Corona.

Now lockdown will be applicable in Madhya Pradesh every Sunday
The government of Madhya Pradesh has now decided to lockdown the state every Sunday. This decision has been taken due to the rapidly growing infection in the region.

At the same time, the government has issued advisory to the collectors of all the districts along with Bhopal so that they can seal the boundaries if necessary.

On Wednesday, 409 new cases have come in the state. 1106 infected patients have been found in the state in the last three days. In Indore, the number of corona infected people has crossed 5000.

At the same time, 44 new patients have been found in Bhopal. This is the first time in a week that the number of infected has gone below 50.

LIVE: AICC Press Briefing By Rajeev Shukla via video conferencing on Uttar Pradesh Teacher Recruitment Scam and Lockdown in India

Addressing the country at 8 pm on 24 March, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 'total lockdown' across the country from midnight to the next 21 days but on Wednesday in India's largest populated state Uttar Pradesh The chaos seen in the evening has endangered the purpose of the lockdown.

However, the competition to buy the goods which was seen after the announcement of PM, the same scene again showed in the evening of April 8 in Uttar Pradesh. There were reports from the afternoon that the corona affected districts of Uttar Pradesh would be sealed.

In almost every district of Uttar Pradesh, there was a rush of people to buy ration, vegetables, milk and medicines since midday, because there were reports on social media and some news channels that the state government is going to completely seal many districts. .

What is the meaning of sealing and what will be those districts, but there was a lack of clear information till noon when people started getting nervous.

In fact, the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday decided to completely seal 104 hot spots i.e. the most sensitive areas in the 15 districts most affected by the corona infection. But from the way of announcing the decision, for the first few hours people remained confused about what would happen to their area.

This information was given by Lucknow Additional Chief Secretary Avnish Awasthi at 4:15 pm. He was also present with the Director General of Police Hitesh Awasthi and Principal Secretary (Health) Amit Mohan Prasad.

But even before this press conference, some news media quoted Chief Secretary of State RK Tiwari as saying that 15 districts would be completely sealed. Soon after this news, there was chaos in many places including Noida, Ghaziabad and Lucknow.

People started gathering outside the ration shops from 3 o'clock in the afternoon. In some places the police had to use force. Chief Secretary RK Tiwari gave a few bytes to some TV channels and said, "Lockdown is applicable all over the country and in Uttar Pradesh but there are 15 districts where the load is very high, so whatever affected areas are here, those Instructions have been given to seal all the places.

The Chief Secretary did not use the word hot spot, but it was clear from his talk that he is talking about completely sealing or locking down a particular area of ​​fifteen districts, but this news would be broadcast on TV channels for a long time. Fifteen districts will be completely sealed.

The Chief Secretary had made it clear that the government would ensure the supply of essential commodities at these places. In fact, all the latest information related to the corona infection or the government's decisions are given through a press briefing at 4 pm, which is given by Additional Chief Secretary Avnish Awasthi.

On Wednesday, when the statement of the Chief Secretary created confusion and chaos, the reporters sought to know from Additional Chief Secretary Avnish Awasthi. He clearly stated that only the hot spots of 15 districts i.e. specially marked areas will be sealed.

Avnish Awasthi also discussed these apprehensions and rumors in the press conference but by then there was chaos. It is being told that behind this there is definitely a lack of communication or lack of coordination between the officials sitting at the higher level in the government.

Questions are also arising that when the press briefing was to take place at four o'clock in the evening, why did the Chief Secretary need to come to the media? The question also arises that before the Uttar Pradesh government's announcement of the new type of 'Hotspot Ceiling' and its 'breaking news' in some media, the government did not think what the consequences would be?

Fierce protests started in Aligarh and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh against the Citizenship Amendment Act have started showing effect in other cities of the state as well. Monday evening in Mau district where local citizens staged violent demonstrations. At the same time, a situation of confrontation arose between the supporters and opponents of the citizenship law in Varanasi. Demonstrations are still taking place in many cities.

In Mau on Monday, a large number of protesters took to the street protest after noon, while in the evening some people in the crowd vandalized and set fire to about a dozen vehicles. Apart from this, the mob also tried to set fire to South Tola police station. As soon as the incident was known, the top officials of the district reached there and tried to control the crowd. The administration also warned people not to leave unnecessary homes.

Mau District Magistrate Gyan Prakash Tripathi said, "Some of the youths in Mirza Hadipura had planned to give a memorandum against the police action in Jamia Milia Islamia. On seeing the crowd, the crowd started growing. Police tried to remove the crowd But no one was leading the protesters, so there was trouble. Suddenly the crowd threw stones around South Tola police station and Started arson. The miscreants will be arrested after watching the video footage.''

Gyan Prakash Tripathi says that Section 144 has been imposed in the entire city. He said, "It was announced to intimidate the protesters that curfew will be imposed if you do not calm down. Curfew has not been imposed yet. People were also asked not to leave the houses unless it is necessary."

However, according to locals, the police and administration continued to announce late in the city that curfew has been imposed in the entire city and necessary action will be taken against whoever comes out. On Monday, police also released tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. A heavy police force has been deployed throughout the city.

All the students of Mau district study at Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University in Delhi. Police action against the students in both places had caused anger among the youth and locals for many days and people were preparing to gather for the demonstration.

Arshad Jamal, former chairman of the Mau municipality, blames some anti-social elements for the violent protests, "The fight which was supposed to be fought peacefully has blunted the movement. We have been doing this work under the banner of political parties. On December 19, the march and dharna of Left parties and Samajwadi Party are already scheduled, which has also been reported to the district administration.

Internet services are currently closed in Mau district. The district administration says that some local leaders of the city tried to instigate people in the matter on social media, due to which the protest has turned violent. According to the DM, this is the reason why internet services have been disrupted for some time and those who have put 'ghee in the fire' are being identified.

At the same time, there were demonstrations against the Citizenship Amendment Act at BHU and Allahabad University on Monday and today, demonstrations have been announced in both places. The Allahabad University Administration has announced a two-day holiday in view of demonstrations at the university and affiliated colleges.

Students also took out a torch procession against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Singh Gate at BHU on Monday evening. At one place, students who were opposing the law and supporting students also came face to face but no unpleasant situation could arise.

The state government has issued a high alert in western UP amid protests taking place in all the districts of Uttar Pradesh. Internet services have been disrupted in Aligarh, Meerut, Saharanpur, Kasganj districts and police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in these districts in view of the tension.

About two dozen people have been arrested in Aligarh on Sunday. Some markets were also closed on Monday to pressure their release. It is being told that many students are also missing, although the university administration has not confirmed this.

Following the demonstration at Nadwa College in Lucknow on Monday, the college has been closed till January 5. Students living in the college have been sent to their homes. At the same time, the examinations were going on in AMU from 28 November, which was to be done by 21 December.

But the AMU campus has been closed after the violence and hostels have been evacuated. As of January 5, AMU has been closed and examinations postponed. According to the AMU administration, examinations at AMU's Kishanganj, Murshidabad and Mallapuram centers have also been postponed.

India's first private train 'Tejas' has started running on the tracks. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath flagged off this train in Lucknow. This train will run between Lucknow and Delhi.

On this occasion, Yogi Adityanath said, "This is the first corporate train in the country. I congratulate the first passengers to travel in it, and hope that a similar initiative will be taken to connect other cities."

Passengers traveling by private train 'Tejas Express' will be compensated in return if the train does not deliver on time.

According to this rule, if the train is late for more than an hour, then the passenger will be given a compensation of Rs 100 and if the train is late for more than two hours, then the passenger will be given a compensation of Rs 250. Not only this, the passengers of the train will also be given insurance of Rs 25 lakh.

LIVE: Congress President Rahul Gandhi addresses public meeting in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh