The Evening Wrap: Supreme Court panel may look into Pegasus snooping allegations

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on Thursday indicated the Supreme Court's intention to form a committee to examine allegations that the government used Israeli-based Pegasus software to spy on citizens. The revelation came when the Chief Justice informed senior advocate C.U. Singh, who represented one of the petitioners in the Pegasus case, that the court wanted to pass orders in the case this week but could not because some of the members it had shortlisted for the committee were unavailable due to personal reasons. Chief Justice Ramana said the court would now pass orders in the Pegasus case sometime next week. "We wanted to pass the order this week, but some of the members we thought of in the committee said they would be not be able to for personal reasons... We will pass the order next week sometime," Chief Justice Ramana addressed Singh. The CJI asked Singh to inform the other lawyers in the case. While reserving the case for interim order on September 13, the court had mentioned it would be pronounced in the next two or three days. The court had decided to go ahead with an interim order after the government expressed reservations about filing a "detailed" affidavit responding to the allegations. The Centre had said it would be public and compromise national security. The petitioners had asked for an affidavit from the Cabinet Secretary or for the court to form a committee led by a sitting judge to probe the snooping controversy. A Bench of Chief Justice Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli made it clear on September 13 that there would be no more "beating around the bush" in the issue. The CJI had said the court had given the government a fair opportunity to file a detailed affidavit in order to get a clear idea of its stand in the Pegasus case. "We thought the government would file a counter-affidavit… now we will pass our interim orders," Chief Justice Ramana had remarked. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for senior journalists N. Ram and Sashi Kumar, had found the government's refusal to file a detailed affidavit "unbelievable". Large grazing area lost to growing Chinese presence in eastern Ladakh Villagers have lost access to a vast grazing area near Gogra in eastern Ladakh owing to growing Chinese presence in the area, Konchok Stanzin, a councillor from Chushul has claimed. Gogra is one of the several friction points in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in a stand-off since April-May 2020. The troops have disengaged from the north and south banks of the Pangong Tso and Gogra sector, creating "no zones" in areas along the undemarcated Line of Actual Control (LAC) that was regularly patrolled by Indian troops pre-April 2020. Stanzin told The Hindu that the Army has stopped the villagers' access to the Kiu La pass that was till a few years ago frequented by the villagers of Lukung, Phobrang and Yourgo for cattle-grazing. "A group of villagers marched to the Kiu La pass a few days ago but they were denied access by the Army. There used to be a bunker on the upper reaches, but it is no longer there. We fear that the Chinese are nibbling away at our territory. This was never a disputed area," Stanzin said. He added that the area does not have a phone or Internet connectivity and the villagers had decided to go there on their own initiative. Since April 2020, Chinese troops have blocked Indian troops from reaching at least 10 patrolling points (PPs) in eastern Ladakh — running from Depsang plains in the north to the Pangong Tso lake in the south. In all, there are more than 65 PPs from the base of the Karakoram to Chumar. Stanzin said that China has constructed permanent structures and roads close to the LAC while the Indian side could only boast of a few roads. "There is no mobile connectivity in border areas and despite repeated pleas, the administration has not acted. It is frustrating. They fix the phone lines for a few hours whenever a VIP arrives here. It's back to square one once they leave," he said. On April 2, the Ministry of Defence in a communication to Stanzin said, "Due to the present operational situation in Ladakh, grazers have been asked to restrict their cattle movements". Kin of those who died by suicide within 30 days of COVID-19 diagnosis can get financial help, MHA tells SC The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that the families of those who died by suicide within 30 days of a COVID-19 positive diagnosis would be eligible for financial help under the Disaster Management Act. The statement came in the backdrop of the guidelines issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), which recommended ₹50,000 each as ex gratia assistance to the families of people who died of the virus. The NDMA has proposed that the States should provide the money from their State Disaster Response Fund. In the previous hearing of the case on September 13, a Bench of Justices M.R. Shah and A.S. Bopanna urged the government to consider ex gratia payment to the families of people who committed suicide, unable to bear the shock of a COVID-19 positive diagnosis. On Thursday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Ministry, stressed that these families were also "entitled to avail financial help as granted under the SDRF" in accordance with the NDMA guidelines of September 11. That is, they too would be eligible for the ₹50,000 ex gratia payment. If the person committed suicide within 30 days of a positive test, it should be deemed that the person took his own life because of COVID-19, he submitted. During the hearing, the court suggested that the committees proposed to be formed at the district level under the NDMA guidelines to deal with grievances regarding certification of death should be able to directly access hospital medical records to check claims of COVID-19 deaths. This would help resolve cases in which families claim ex gratia assistance but do not have medical records of COVID-19 treatment to show. The court would pass formal orders on the NDMA guidelines on October 4. Two locals killed in firing during an eviction drive in Assam's Darrang district Two persons were killed and at least ten others, most of them policemen, were seriously injured on Thursday in firing by the force on protestors demanding rehabilitation of 800 families evicted by the Darrang district administration in Assam and the clash that followed between the two sides, police said. The evicted families had launched a protest at Sipajhar demanding that the eviction be stopped and that they be provided with a comprehensive rehabilitation package. Trouble broke out when a mob of protestors, who were armed with sharp weapons, started pelting stones and attacking policemen and general people present at the spot, Darrang Superintendent of Police Sushanta Biswa Sarma said. The police opened fire in self-defence, killing two persons, both civilians. This led to the two sides coming to blows in which at least ten others were injured, he said. Most of the injured were policemen and the condition of an assistant sub inspector Moniruddin was stated to be critical by doctors treating him. He has been shifted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital, he said. The dead have been identified as Saddam Hussain and Sheikh Forid, Sarma said. The situation was later brought under control and the mob dispersed. The eviction is on in Dholpur I and Dholpur III villages despite the tension in the area after the clash with the police. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in Guwahati that there will be no stop to the ongoing eviction drive. "The police has been entrusted with the responsibility of clearing the land of illegal encroachers and they will continue till the job is done." The eviction will stop when it turns dark and resume again on Friday, he added. The Darrang district administration has cleared 602.04 hectares and evicted 800 families since Monday and demolished four "illegally" constructed religious structures at Sipajhar, officials said. The chief minister had visited the area on June 7 and inspected the riverine areas allegedly encroached by "illegal settlers" near Dholpur Shiva Temple and had directed the district administration to clear the area for a community farming. Tension continues in Chhattisgarh Congress As uncertainty over change of guard in Chhattisgarh continues, supporters of Health Minister T.S. Singh Deo complained of intimidation by police following an FIR against Congress secretary Pankaj Singh for allegedly manhandling a paramedic at the Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences. Deo, who has staked claim for the Chief Minister's post as part of a 2018 arrangement of rotational tenure that he claims was agreed upon between him and Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, has been in Delhi since Monday. He has said it is a personal visit. So far, he has not met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi or any other functionary at the party headquarters, to avoid speculation of renewed efforts by him to lobby for the post. He is leaving for Raipur on Friday. Gandhi is expected to visit the State next week. He is coming on an invitation from Baghel. The tension between the two sides in the State has refused to subside. Deo's supporters held a demonstration outside the Kotwali police station in Bilaspur on Wednesday to protest against the FIR. Singh himself has described it as an act of revenge. He claimed that he was only intervening because the hospital staff refused to conduct an MRI on a poor patient. The FIR was also filed days after the incident, the supporters claimed. The Bilaspur police booked Singh based on a CCTV footage retrieved from the hospital. Bilaspur MLA Shailesh Pandey said the action was unfortunate and it had been taken only because Singh was a supporter of Deo. "This FIR is just the tip of the iceberg, the police have been told to dig up dirt on everyone who is supporting Deo. Discreet investigations are also on against Deo himself," a Congress leader close to Deo said. Man stabs college student to death near Chennai's Tambaram railway station A 20-year-old college student was murdered in broad daylight by a man near Tambaram railway station in Chennai on September 23. The youth, who knew the victim for a few years, also attempted to kill himself but was stopped by the public. He was later handed over to the police. A senior officer of the Chennai Police said Shwetha, a diploma student at Madras Christian College in Tambaram, was on her way home when the accused Ramachandran, working in a private company in Maraimalai Nagar, wanted to speak to her near the railway quarters located on the east side of the railway station. Though Shweta, a resident of Chromepet, knew him for a few years, she had ended the relationship. They had a verbal spat during which Ramachandran took a small knife kept hidden in his bag and stabbed her. On hearing her cries, nearby residents rushed to her rescue. In the meantime, the 25-year-old accused also attempted to kill himself, but was stopped by the public. Even before the people could take the victim to a nearby hospital she died, the police officer said. Tambaram Police rushed to the crime scene, and arrested the accused Ramachandran, who is from Nagapattinam. The victim's body has been sent to Chromepet Government Hospital for post mortem. Senior police officials inspected the crime scene, and are investigating. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,35,91,981 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,46,360. In Brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Washington on Wednesday on an official visit to the U.S. during which he will hold the first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris, attend the maiden in-person Quad summit and address the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.

The Evening Wrap 23 SEPTEMBER 2021

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Pegasus case | Supreme Court panel may look into allegations Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on Thursday indicated the Supreme Court's intention to form a committee to examine allegations that the government used Israeli-based Pegasus software to spy on citizens. The revelation came when the Chief Justice informed senior advocate C.U. Singh, who represented one of the petitioners in the Pegasus case, that the court wanted to pass orders in the case this week but could not because some of the members it had shortlisted for the committee were unavailable due to personal reasons. Chief Justice Ramana said the court would now pass orders in the Pegasus case sometime next week. "We wanted to pass the order this week, but some of the members we thought of in the committee said they would be not be able to for personal reasons... We will pass the order next week sometime," Chief Justice Ramana addressed Singh. The CJI asked Singh to inform the other lawyers in the case. While reserving the case for interim order on September 13, the court had mentioned it would be pronounced in the next two or three days. The court had decided to go ahead with an interim order after the government expressed reservations about filing a "detailed" affidavit responding to the allegations. The Centre had said it would be public and compromise national security. The petitioners had asked for an affidavit from the Cabinet Secretary or for the court to form a committee led by a sitting judge to probe the snooping controversy. A Bench of Chief Justice Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli made it clear on September 13 that there would be no more "beating around the bush" in the issue. The CJI had said the court had given the government a fair opportunity to file a detailed affidavit in order to get a clear idea of its stand in the Pegasus case. "We thought the government would file a counter-affidavit… now we will pass our interim orders," Chief Justice Ramana had remarked. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for senior journalists N. Ram and Sashi Kumar, had found the government's refusal to file a detailed affidavit "unbelievable". Large grazing area lost to growing Chinese presence in eastern Ladakh  Villagers have lost access to a vast grazing area near Gogra in eastern Ladakh owing to growing Chinese presence in the area, Konchok Stanzin, a councillor from Chushul has claimed. Gogra is one of the several friction points in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in a stand-off since April-May 2020. The troops have disengaged from the north and south banks of the Pangong Tso and Gogra sector, creating "no zones" in areas along the undemarcated Line of Actual Control (LAC) that was regularly patrolled by Indian troops pre-April 2020. Stanzin told The Hindu that the Army has stopped the villagers' access to the Kiu La pass that was till a few years ago frequented by the villagers of Lukung, Phobrang and Yourgo for cattle-grazing. "A group of villagers marched to the Kiu La pass a few days ago but they were denied access by the Army. There used to be a bunker on the upper reaches, but it is no longer there. We fear that the Chinese are nibbling away at our territory. This was never a disputed area," Stanzin said. He added that the area does not have a phone or Internet connectivity and the villagers had decided to go there on their own initiative. Since April 2020, Chinese troops have blocked Indian troops from reaching at least 10 patrolling points (PPs) in eastern Ladakh — running from Depsang plains in the north to the Pangong Tso lake in the south. In all, there are more than 65 PPs from the base of the Karakoram to Chumar. Stanzin said that China has constructed permanent structures and roads close to the LAC while the Indian side could only boast of a few roads. "There is no mobile connectivity in border areas and despite repeated pleas, the administration has not acted. It is frustrating. They fix the phone lines for a few hours whenever a VIP arrives here. It's back to square one once they leave," he said. On April 2, the Ministry of Defence in a communication to Stanzin said, "Due to the present operational situation in Ladakh, grazers have been asked to restrict their cattle movements". Kin of those who died by suicide within 30 days of COVID-19 diagnosis can get financial help, MHA tells SC  The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that the families of those who died by suicide within 30 days of a COVID-19 positive diagnosis would be eligible for financial help under the Disaster Management Act. The statement came in the backdrop of the guidelines issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), which recommended ₹50,000 each as ex gratia assistance to the families of people who died of the virus. The NDMA has proposed that the States should provide the money from their State Disaster Response Fund.   In the previous hearing of the case on September 13, a Bench of Justices M.R. Shah and A.S. Bopanna urged the government to consider ex gratia payment to the families of people who committed suicide, unable to bear the shock of a COVID-19 positive diagnosis. On Thursday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Ministry, stressed that these families were also "entitled to avail financial help as granted under the SDRF" in accordance with the NDMA guidelines of September 11. That is, they too would be eligible for the ₹50,000 ex gratia payment. If the person committed suicide within 30 days of a positive test, it should be deemed that the person took his own life because of COVID-19, he submitted. During the hearing, the court suggested that the committees proposed to be formed at the district level under the NDMA guidelines to deal with grievances regarding certification of death should be able to directly access hospital medical records to check claims of COVID-19 deaths. This would help resolve cases in which families claim ex gratia assistance but do not have medical records of COVID-19 treatment to show. The court would pass formal orders on the NDMA guidelines on October 4. Two locals killed in firing during an eviction drive in Assam's Darrang district  Two persons were killed and at least ten others, most of them policemen, were seriously injured on Thursday in firing by the force on protestors demanding rehabilitation of 800 families evicted by the Darrang district administration in Assam and the clash that followed between the two sides, police said. The evicted families had launched a protest at Sipajhar demanding that the eviction be stopped and that they be provided with a comprehensive rehabilitation package. Trouble broke out when a mob of protestors, who were armed with sharp weapons, started pelting stones and attacking policemen and general people present at the spot, Darrang Superintendent of Police Sushanta Biswa Sarma said. The police opened fire in self-defence, killing two persons, both civilians. This led to the two sides coming to blows in which at least ten others were injured, he said. Most of the injured were policemen and the condition of an assistant sub inspector Moniruddin was stated to be critical by doctors treating him. He has been shifted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital, he said. The dead have been identified as Saddam Hussain and Sheikh Forid, Sarma said. The situation was later brought under control and the mob dispersed. The eviction is on in Dholpur I and Dholpur III villages despite the tension in the area after the clash with the police. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in Guwahati that there will be no stop to the ongoing eviction drive. "The police has been entrusted with the responsibility of clearing the land of illegal encroachers and they will continue till the job is done." The eviction will stop when it turns dark and resume again on Friday, he added. The Darrang district administration has cleared 602.04 hectares and evicted 800 families since Monday and demolished four "illegally" constructed religious structures at Sipajhar, officials said. The chief minister had visited the area on June 7 and inspected the riverine areas allegedly encroached by "illegal settlers" near Dholpur Shiva Temple and had directed the district administration to clear the area for a community farming. Tension continues in Chhattisgarh Congress  As uncertainty over change of guard in Chhattisgarh continues, supporters of Health Minister T.S. Singh Deo complained of intimidation by police following an FIR against Congress secretary Pankaj Singh for allegedly manhandling a paramedic at the Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences. Deo, who has staked claim for the Chief Minister's post as part of a 2018 arrangement of rotational tenure that he claims was agreed upon between him and Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, has been in Delhi since Monday. He has said it is a personal visit. So far, he has not met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi or any other functionary at the party headquarters, to avoid speculation of renewed efforts by him to lobby for the post. He is leaving for Raipur on Friday. Gandhi is expected to visit the State next week. He is coming on an invitation from Baghel. The tension between the two sides in the State has refused to subside. Deo's supporters held a demonstration outside the Kotwali police station in Bilaspur on Wednesday to protest against the FIR. Singh himself has described it as an act of revenge. He claimed that he was only intervening because the hospital staff refused to conduct an MRI on a poor patient. The FIR was also filed days after the incident, the supporters claimed. The Bilaspur police booked Singh based on a CCTV footage retrieved from the hospital. Bilaspur MLA Shailesh Pandey said the action was unfortunate and it had been taken only because Singh was a supporter of Deo. "This FIR is just the tip of the iceberg, the police have been told to dig up dirt on everyone who is supporting Deo. Discreet investigations are also on against Deo himself," a Congress leader close to Deo said. Man stabs college student to death near Chennai's Tambaram railway station  A 20-year-old college student was murdered in broad daylight by a man near Tambaram railway station in Chennai on September 23. The youth, who knew the victim for a few years, also attempted to kill himself but was stopped by the public. He was later handed over to the police. A senior officer of the Chennai Police said Shwetha, a diploma student at Madras Christian College in Tambaram, was on her way home when the accused Ramachandran, working in a private company in Maraimalai Nagar, wanted to speak to her near the railway quarters located on the east side of the railway station.   Though Shweta, a resident of Chromepet, knew him for a few years, she had ended the relationship. They had a verbal spat during which Ramachandran took a small knife kept hidden in his bag and stabbed her. On hearing her cries, nearby residents rushed to her rescue. In the meantime, the 25-year-old accused also attempted to kill himself, but was stopped by the public. Even before the people could take the victim to a nearby hospital she died, the police officer said. Tambaram Police rushed to the crime scene, and arrested the accused Ramachandran, who is from Nagapattinam. The victim's body has been sent to Chromepet Government Hospital for post mortem. Senior police officials inspected the crime scene, and are investigating. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments  The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,35,91,981 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,46,360.   In Brief  Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Washington on Wednesday on an official visit to the U.S. during which he will hold the first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris, attend the maiden in-person Quad summit and address the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.

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