The Calcutta High Court has directed the West Bengal government to deploy adequate police forces in areas hit by violence during Ram Navami. 

The Supreme Court will hear on Wednesday a petition jointly filed by 14 political parties, including the Congress, alleging misuse of the CBI and ED. The parties’ have sought that the two agencies follow guidelines for arrest and bail proceedings. 

Former US President Donald Trump will appear in New York’s Manhattan court in the case of paying a porn star from election expenses. The court will hear the charges. Trump could face imprisonment of up to 4 years, if convicted.

The legality of the UP Government organizing religious events at the government level on Navratri and Ramnavami and giving one lakh rupees to each district for this has been challenged by filing a Public Interest Litigation in the Allahabad High Court.

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed by Azamgarh’s social worker Rajeev Yadav.

Describing the government’s notification of 10 March 2023 as a violation of secular principles, the Petitioner seeks quashing of the notification and action against the principal secretary who issued it.

The Petitioner’s Counsel mentioned this PIL for hearing in the court of Acting Chief Justice Pritikar Diwakar on Friday but the court will hear the petition on March 28.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking setting up of a Judicial Enquiry Commission under the Chairmanship of Former Chief Justice of India to enquire into the Religious clashes and subsequent Bull Dozer Justice that took place in Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat on the Occasion of Ramanavami and Ramzan.

The petition was listed before the bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai.”You want a judicial enquiry by a former Chief Justice of India? Is anyone free? You find out and tell us”, enquired Justice Rao. 

“What sort of relief you are asking? Don’t ask for relief which the Court cannot grant”. Added Justice Rao

The petition had been filed in view of the recent incident that took place in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri on April 16, 2022, then during a Hanuman Jayanti Procession in Delhi’s Jahangir Puri Area stones were pelted on each other which resulted in a communal clash between the religious groups.

This situation had further escalated from stone pelting to sporadic arson and vandalism between the two communities.

The petition refers to four incidents of Communal Violence, starting with Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone where on March 18, 2022 community clash took place during the Ram Navami processions which saw rioting with more than 50 houses and properties being burnt and gutted. In response to such conflict and tension, the Madhya Pradesh government used the bull dozers to demolish and vandalise 16 houses ad 29 shops of the alleged stone pelters.
The Second incident that the petition refers to is from Karauli, Rajasthan, when on April 2, 2022 a stone pelting incident had arisen between the right wing organisations – Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bajrang Dal and a Muslim group during a bike rally on Nav Samvatsar (Hindu New Year).

According to the petition the situation became worse when he incident of stone pelting reached out to the situation of arson and vandalism resulted in more than 30 shops being burnt and around 35 people sustained injuries in the violence, leading to curfew and internet shut down in the area. 

The next incident that has been brought to the court’s attention by the petition is of “bull dozer justice” from Khambhat in Gujrat. On April 10, 2002 riot and community clash had taken place on the occasion of  Ram Navami.

In view of the above the state government has ordered the demolition of the encroachments which were belonging to the accused at the site of the riot at Shakarpur in Khambhat.

The fourth incident is the Communal clashes that took place in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri. The petition has stated that the administration demolished the shops belonging to the accused of such violence and riot and has averred that the state has failed in its duty of regulation and investigation of offences and consequential prosecution.

“Such action of the government is an absolute example of deterrent theory of punishment. The executive being one of the organs of a democracy has the duty of regulation and investigation of offences and consequential prosecution of the accused and not to impose sanction on someone who has not been tried as per the relevant law of the land. Such actions are absolutely discriminatory and does not fit into the notion of democracy and rule of law.

The violation of such individuals are violated under right to life and equality under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution.” Reads the petition.

On Monday, a PIL was filed in Supreme Court , seeking probe in the recent communal riots that shook Delhi’s Jahangirpuri and in seven other States during Ram Navami. The PIL says that the probe should be done by the National Investigation Agency (NIA)

Lawyer Vineet Jindal, filed the petition requesting the Court to issue directions for a probe by NIA , for finding the any link between violence and “anti-national and international organisations”.

The incident of violence in Jahangirpuri happened on Hanuman Jayanti (April 16) however same type of violence had shown its colors during recent Ram Navami procession in several States.

“The acts of violence attacking the devotees during procession by firing and stone pelting and vandalising vehicles creating communal tension is a threat to the sovereignty of the country and instigate the Hindu community to retaliate as religion forms the essence of the values of the community,” the plea said.

The petitioner thinks that the series of events indicate the involvement of terror funding, possibly by organisations like ISIS, to target Hindus.

He further says that these attempts were with an intention of destabilizing the social calm of the Nation. He believes that an NIA probe is imperative.

The petitioner also claims of filing a complaint with the investigation body on the violence during Ram Navami.

After the  Madhya Pradesh authorities started to use bulldozers for razing  the houses of accused in Ram Navami Riots, the Islamic clerics body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind has filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court seeking for a direction to the State authorities to not resort to “precipitative actions” against accused without following due process of law.

The petition looks forward to a declaration that the residential or commercial properties of an accused should not be demolished as a “punitive measure” reason that under criminal law no such rule exists. The petition filed was under Article 32 of the Constitution  also mentions  that State Ministers and police authorities should not make public statement of someone being a criminal , when the charges were not confirmed by court.

The petition states that the CM and Home minister along with many other legislators have made statements advocating such acts which has threatened  the minority groups with destruction of their homes and commercial properties in case of riots. “.

The petition has been filed in the backdrop of the widely publicised bulldozing of houses of people who were allegedly involved in the stone pelting episode that took place during the Ram Navami processions. States of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have witnessed the sameactions.

The point of debate is that such measures “undermine the criminal justice system of our country, including the important role of the courts”.

The legal process as per the system involves the pre-trial and trial stage, which now has been hindered by these acts of the state, therefore, immediate action is needed to prevent such incidents from repeating. The court is requested to stop the situation from escalating any further while ensuring that such nasty steps are not taken.

It has been highlighted that if the properties are razed and people are illegally tarnished then the system looks flawed. It mentions that punishment should not be inflicted without giving fair chance to the other person.

 The way , things are been handled is violating the persons right to fair trial,thus acting against the legal maxim – ‘audi alteram partem’ – which forms an integral part of our legal system.

When we fasten guilt on someone without investigation, we promote the feeling of hatred as the alleged person does not get audience to be heard.

The petition also seeks training programme for officials so that they know how to handle such cases and riots cases sensibly and sensitively.