Thousands call for release of Irom Sharmila

NEW DELHI: Over 16,000 people have supported an Amnesty International India campaign seeking the immediate and unconditional release of human rights activist and Prisoner of Conscience Irom Chanu Sharmila.

"The governments of Manipur and Delhi should heed the thousands of voices urging them to drop all charges against Sharmila and release her immediately," said G Ananthapadmanabhan, chief executive of Amnesty International India adding, "Sharmila is a Prisoner of Conscience, detained solely for the peaceful expression of her beliefs, and her time in custody is a continuing reminder ofIndia'sintolerance to dissent."

Sharmila has been on a prolonged hunger strike for the last 13 years, demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. She was arrested by the Manipur police shortly after she began her hunger strike on November 2, 2000, and charged with attempting to commit suicide - a criminal offence under Indian law. In March 2013, a Delhi court also charged Sharmila with attempting to commit suicide in October 2006, when she staged a protest in Delhi for two days.

Sharmila is being detained in the security ward of a hospital in Imphal, the capital of Manipur, where she is force-fed a diet of liquids through her nose. Visitors, including her family and friends have to go through a lengthy process of obtaining permission from the Manipur government. On October 30, 2013, India's National Human Rights Commission directed the Government of Manipur to immediately remove the restrictions on access to Sharmila , calling them a "breach of India's obligations under international human rights standards and principles, and a grave violation of human rights.""

The Commission acknowledged that Sharmila was being detained solely for the peaceful expression of her beliefs, and said that the Manipur government was "trying to break her spirit through this enforced isolation, for which there is no judicial mandate."" "Thousands of people have acknowledged that Sharmila's hunger strike is not an attempt to commit suicide but a protest against human rights violations,"said Ananthapadmanabhan adding that authorities must not use charges of attempted suicide to deflect attention from the important issues that Sharmila is raising at a huge personal cost.

In February 2012, the Supreme Court of India observed in its ruling in the Ram Lila Maidan Incident case that a hunger strike is "a form of protest which has been accepted, both historically and legally in our constitutional jurisprudence."
The British Medical Association, in a briefing to the World Medical Association, has clarified that, "[a] hunger strike is not equivalent to suicide. Individuals who embark on hunger strikes aim to achieve goals important to them but generally hope and intend to survive." This position is embodied by the World Medical Association in its Malta Declaration on Hunger Strikers.

Speaking to Amnesty International India inSeptember 2013, Sharmila, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence, said: "My struggle is my message. I love my life very much and want to have the freedom to meet people and struggle for issues close to my heart."

Amnesty International India's public campaign seeking Sharmila's release was launched on November 2, 2013, and has been supported by groups and individual supporters across the world.

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BJP’s thanksgiving rally by month-end

NEW DELHI: Despite finishing as the single largest party, BJP has so far been missing the spotlight with AAP taking away all the attention. Eyeing the possibility of another election, BJP has now decided to change the perception and plans to hold a thanksgiving rally at Ramlila Ground by December-end.

"We are the single largest party with maximum vote percentage. People of Delhi have shown trust in us and hence we must thank them," said Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel. He said BJP cadres would tell people how Aam Aadmi Party's non-serious approach is forcing another election upon Delhiites and how BJP has been fighting against Congress misrule for the last 15 years. Goel said his party will focus on youth and women and try to reach out to them.

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Thousandscall for release of Irom Sharmila

NEW DELHI: Over 16,000 people have supported an Amnesty International India campaign seeking the immediate and unconditional release of human rights activist and Prisoner of Conscience Irom Chanu Sharmila.

"The governments of Manipur and Delhi should heed the thousands of voices urging them to drop all charges against Sharmila and release her immediately," said G Ananthapadmanabhan, chief executive of Amnesty International India adding, "Sharmila is a Prisoner of Conscience, detained solely for the peaceful expression of her beliefs, and her time in custody is a continuing reminder ofIndia'sintolerance to dissent."

Sharmila has been on a prolonged hunger strike for the last 13 years, demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. She was arrested by the Manipur police shortly after she began her hunger strike on November 2, 2000, and charged with attempting to commit suicide - a criminal offence under Indian law. In March 2013, a Delhi court also charged Sharmila with attempting to commit suicide in October 2006, when she staged a protest in Delhi for two days.

Sharmila is being detained in the security ward of a hospital in Imphal, the capital of Manipur, where she is force-fed a diet of liquids through her nose. Visitors, including her family and friends have to go through a lengthy process of obtaining permission from the Manipur government. On October 30, 2013, India's National Human Rights Commission directed the Government of Manipur to immediately remove the restrictions on access to Sharmila , calling them a "breach of India's obligations under international human rights standards and principles, and a grave violation of human rights.""

The Commission acknowledged that Sharmila was being detained solely for the peaceful expression of her beliefs, and said that the Manipur government was "trying to break her spirit through this enforced isolation, for which there is no judicial mandate."" "Thousands of people have acknowledged that Sharmila's hunger strike is not an attempt to commit suicide but a protest against human rights violations,"said Ananthapadmanabhan adding that authorities must not use charges of attempted suicide to deflect attention from the important issues that Sharmila is raising at a huge personal cost.

In February 2012, the Supreme Court of India observed in its ruling in the Ram Lila Maidan Incident case that a hunger strike is "a form of protest which has been accepted, both historically and legally in our constitutional jurisprudence."
The British Medical Association, in a briefing to the World Medical Association, has clarified that, "[a] hunger strike is not equivalent to suicide. Individuals who embark on hunger strikes aim to achieve goals important to them but generally hope and intend to survive." This position is embodied by the World Medical Association in its Malta Declaration on Hunger Strikers.

Speaking to Amnesty International India inSeptember 2013, Sharmila, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence, said: "My struggle is my message. I love my life very much and want to have the freedom to meet people and struggle for issues close to my heart."

Amnesty International India's public campaign seeking Sharmila's release was launched on November 2, 2013, and has been supported by groups and individual supporters across the world.

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Flight operations again hit due to fog in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Dense fog once again hit the operations at the IGI airport on Wednesday, delaying the schedule of over 40 domestic and international flights and causing inconvenience to fliers.

The runway visibility was good at night and operations were smooth but it started to deteriorate after 6:30am and take-offs were suspended as runway visibility dropped to less than 125 metres, the required minimum for the low visibility take off (LVTO), an airport official said.

Planes arriving at Delhi airport were able to land using the CAT-III B instrument landing system (ILS), but it was also stopped as the visibility at the one end of the runway went below 50 metres at around 7.30am, the official said.

Since the take-offs were suspended since 6.30am, flights scheduled to depart after that have been put on hold due to which schedule of around 40 domestic and international flights has been delayed.

Also, around eight flights were cancelled or not operating out of Delhi to some destinations either due to operational reasons or poor weather conditions at the destinations, airport sources said.

The Delhi airport is equipped with CAT-III B ILS on two runways, which helps a CAT-III B compliant plane to land when the runway visibility is up to 50 metres.

Airport officials said, there might be a few diversions of flights today.

Flight operations have been disrupted for past two days due to dense fog.

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DDA official jailed for 4 years for taking Rs 8,000 bribe

NEW DELHI: In a warning to corrupt civil servants, a Delhi court has awarded four years imprisonment to a civic body official, convicted for taking bribe of Rs 8,000 for allowing unauthorized construction here, saying the "main object of sentence is deterrence".

Special CBI Judge Sanjeev Jain ordered custody of Shashi Bhanu, who was working as Junior Engineer with Delhi Development Authority (DDA), after holding him guilty under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

"Sentence to a convict (Bhanu) should be proportionate and appropriate in response to the nature, gravity of offence and other circumstances....

"In the cases of corruption, the main object of sentence is deterrence and prevention of such crimes by way of deterrence. Reformation theory of punishment has comparatively lesser applicability in such cases," the court said, adding that Bhanu be "sent to jail to undergo the sentence".

The judge also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on Bhanu.

The court, however, acquitted accused R K Sharma, who was also working with DDA, as the allegations against him were not proved and there was "lack of sufficient, reliable and convincing evidence".

According to CBI, one K V I Krishnan had filed a complaint in January 2008, alleging that Bhanu and Sharma had demanded bribe of Rs 8000 from him for not issuing the demolition notice and also to settle the matter of unauthorised construction of his flat here.

CBI had said that Krishnan was allotted a DDA flat in 1995 under expandable housing scheme and no separate sanction was required for construction of extra floors.

However, both the accused had demanded money for allowing the complainant to continue with the construction of his house and threatened him that if he did not pay the bribe, then they would get demolition orders, it said.

They had denied the allegations during the trial and claimed that they had been falsely implicated. PPS SC

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Delhi: Fog cripples air and rail traffic

NEW DELHI: Delhi and other parts of northwest India witnessed the first dense fog of the season, more than a week before it was expected, that threw air and rail traffic out of gear. At Delhi's IGI airport, over 150 flights were delayed while five were cancelled and nine had to be diverted. The change of weather came about quite suddenly and the Met department was able to issue a warning to airlines only on Sunday night. Consequently, many were unprepared to operate in low visibility conditions.

The weatherman predicted that with no indication of winds picking up on Tuesday, the fog cover was likely to intensify in Delhi. There are also chances of light rainfall over the northwestern plains on December 24 and 25.

Train operations were also affected and 14 major trains were reported running late by up to eight hours. Major trains, including Sealdah Rajdhani, Sampoorna Kranti Express, Brahmaputra Mail, Magadh Express, AP Express, Karnataka Express and eight other trains were running behind schedule after encountering thick fog in the city. Some were so delayed that Railways had to reschedule 16 trains.

On Monday, Delhi's IGI Airport witnessed its first dense fog of the season, leading to a delay of 1-4 hours in around 150 flights, cancellation of five and diversion of another nine. Since the weather warning was issued on Sunday night, some airlines managed to station category-III compliant aircraft and crew - those capable of operating in a low visibility of 50 to 175 m - in Delhi in time for Monday operations but there were many airlines which could not operate through a large part of the day.

"Operations were closed at the airport between 7.40 am and 9 am, during which almost zero visibility led to suspension of all departures and arrivals. This is the peak departure time for domestic flights. The main runway 28/10 was in use for most of the low visibility period while the new runway 29/11 was usable for only an hour or so till 10.30 am. Since only one runway was available for operations, the flight handling capacity of the airport had come down automatically. Also, because several flights were not CAT-III compliant and could operate only when the visibility cleared after 10am, only 27 flights operated during CAT-III conditions and there was a huge backlog to clear which resulted in further delays," said an airport official.

Air traffic control has asked all airlines to ensure that CAT-III compliant aircraft and trained crew and pilots were stationed in Delhi.

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Dense fog delays flights, trains in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Dense fog on Tuesday enveloped the national capital and the NCR region, delaying flights and trains.

"Trains arrival and departures were delayed as visibility was poor...," A S Negi, a Northern Railway spokesperson told IANS.

Many trains have been rescheduled and the passengers have been informed via SMS.

"Passengers can contact (Delhi telephone number) 23747110, the new helpline number started by the Northern Railway," he said.

Kapil Sabarwal, spokesperson of Indira Gandhi International Airport, said: "Many international and domestic flight landings were delayed Tuesday morning because of the dense fog that created a major visibility problem."

The met office has forecast fog for the entire week.

The minimum temperature on Monday was recorded one notch above the season's average at nine degrees Celsius, an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Though entire Delhi was wrapped up on Tuesday in dense fog that is expected to last a few hours, the met office said that the day will become clear later.

The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 24 degrees Celsius, while the maximum humidity at 8.30am was 100 percent.

Monday's maximum temperature was 24 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was nine degrees celsius.

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‘Govt has ignored HC diktat to form witness protection policy’

NEW DELHI: Even after the directions issued by Delhi high court in the Jessica Lall murder case to formulate a witness protection policy, the government has not taken any concrete step in this regard till date, a trial court has said.

"A slew of directions were issued by Delhi high court for the government but still no concrete step appears to have been taken by the government. I feel that, till any concrete witness protection policy is put in place by the government, the unfortunate girls recovered from brothels or any other place where they are forced into flesh trade, shall be kept in Nari Niketan or at any other suitable place under proper protection and far from the approach of their tormentors, till their deposition is recorded in the court," additional sessions judge Virender Bhat said.

The court made these observations while holding a man guilty of raping a girl, who was brought here along with two others on the pretext of job but forced into flesh trade. The court also held his woman aide guilty of abetting the offence. The court was hearing the rape case said out of the three, two girls turned hostile, leading to acquittal of two other accused, including a woman, in the case.

"I further consider that the duty of the state does not end after recovery of unfortunate girls from brothels or places like those. These poor and traumatized girls need support of the state for their rehabilitation. Government has failed on this count also as no such relief or rehabilitation programme has been formulated by it... I hope and expect that after going through this judgment, the government would take necessary steps to frame an elaborate compensation and rehabilitation programme for the unfortunate girls recovered from the sex trade," Bhat said.

It asked the government to take necessary steps to frame compensation and rehabilitation programme for victims rescued from the flesh trade. The court held Balram and Monika guilty of the charges of rape and abetment of the offence, respectively. It directed chief secretary of the Delhi government to pay a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh to the victim "who has shown exemplary courage in conveying her plight".

The court acquitted Monika's husband Kishan of the charge of raping the other two girls. Another accused, Pooja, was also acquitted under the provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.

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Fog cripples air and rail traffic

NEW DELHI: Delhi and other parts of northwest India witnessed the first dense fog of the season, more than a week before it was expected, that threw air and rail traffic out of gear. At Delhi's IGI airport, over 150 flights were delayed while five were cancelled and nine had to be diverted. The change of weather came about quite suddenly and the Met department was able to issue a warning to airlines only on Sunday night. Consequently, many were unprepared to operate in low visibility conditions.

The weatherman predicted that with no indication of winds picking up on Tuesday, the fog cover was likely to intensify in Delhi. There are also chances of light rainfall over the northwestern plains on December 24 and 25.

Train operations were also affected and 14 major trains were reported running late by up to eight hours. Major trains, including Sealdah Rajdhani, Sampoorna Kranti Express, Brahmaputra Mail, Magadh Express, AP Express, Karnataka Express and eight other trains were running behind schedule after encountering thick fog in the city. Some were so delayed that Railways had to reschedule 16 trains.

On Monday, Delhi's IGI Airport witnessed its first dense fog of the season, leading to a delay of 1-4 hours in around 150 flights, cancellation of five and diversion of another nine. Since the weather warning was issued on Sunday night, some airlines managed to station category-III compliant aircraft and crew - those capable of operating in a low visibility of 50 to 175 m - in Delhi in time for Monday operations but there were many airlines which could not operate through a large part of the day.

"Operations were closed at the airport between 7.40 am and 9 am, during which almost zero visibility led to suspension of all departures and arrivals. This is the peak departure time for domestic flights. The main runway 28/10 was in use for most of the low visibility period while the new runway 29/11 was usable for only an hour or so till 10.30 am. Since only one runway was available for operations, the flight handling capacity of the airport had come down automatically. Also, because several flights were not CAT-III compliant and could operate only when the visibility cleared after 10am, only 27 flights operated during CAT-III conditions and there was a huge backlog to clear which resulted in further delays," said an airport official.

Air traffic control has asked all airlines to ensure that CAT-III compliant aircraft and trained crew and pilots were stationed in Delhi.

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Maid murder: court dismisses BSP MP's plea to attend Parliament

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday dismissed the plea of BSP MP Dhananjay Singh, arrested along with his wife Jagriti Singh in connection with murder of their maid, seeking permission to attend the ongoing winter session of Parliament from judicial custody.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Dharmesh Sharma dismissed the plea of Dhananjay, now in judicial custody, saying his similar application had already been rejected by another court on December 10 and his petition was "misuse and abuse of the process of law."

"Without much ado, the contention which has been raised in the present application have already been considered by Daya Prakash, ASJ-II....and the same was rejected vide detailed order dated December 10, 2013.

"The present application is misuse and abuse of the process of law as it seeks to review the earlier order which cannot be done as per law," the court said.

Dhananjay, a BSP MP from Jaunpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh, is now in judicial custody in connection with the case.

He had moved the court seeking interim bail to allow him to attend parliament's winter session contending that Lok Sabha would "consider and transact" many important bills, including Lokpal Bill, Women Reservation Bill, Communal Violence Bill, Telangana Bill, and Judicial Appointment Bill.

His counsel argued Dhananjay has the constitutional obligation and duty to attend Parliament and if permission is not granted, privilege conferred on the MP in Article 105 of the Constitution of India would be defeated.

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