Rupee falls 6 paise to close at an all-time low of 83.40 against US dollar
Mumbai, Nov 24: The rupee declined 6 paise to close at its all-time low of 83.40 against the US dollar on Friday, tracking higher demand for the greenback from importers and a weak tone among Asian peers.
Forex traders said a muted trend in domestic equities also weighed on the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.33 against the US dollar and moved in the range of 83.33-83.40 during the session.
It finally settled at its lifetime low of 83.40 against the dollar, registering a fall of 6 paise from its previous close.
On Thursday, the rupee settled at 83.34 against the American currency.
"The Indian Rupee ended weaker to record closing low on Friday, weighed down by weakness in its Asian peers and dollar demand from foreign banks...For the week, the local unit depreciated by 0.10 per cent on the back of bids from foreign banks and importers' dollar demand.
"Meanwhile, most Asian peers were weaker this Friday, while a recovery of the US Treasury Yields also weighed on sentiments," Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities, said.
The rupee depreciated on Friday on demand for dollars from importers and weak tone in Asian currencies. However, a softness in the US Dollar and a decline in crude oil prices cushioned the downside, Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.18 per cent lower at 103.73.
"In the overseas markets, the US Dollar Index was trading marginally weaker against the basket of currencies in thin Black Friday trading on bets rates have peaked.
"The Yen was flat even after Japan's core consumer price growth picked up, reinforcing views that the BoJ (Bank of Japan) may soon roll back monetary stimulus," Iyer said.
The Sterling was trading stronger against the greenback on Friday afternoon in Asian trading.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.28 per cent to USD 81.65 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 47.77 points, or 0.07 per cent, to settle at 65,970.04 points. The Nifty advanced 7.30 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 19,794.70 points.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the capital market on Friday as they purchased shares worth Rs 2,625.21 crore, according to exchange data.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a slight negative bias due to weak global markets and expectations of a recovery in the US Dollar index. However, IPO-driven Dollar inflows and a weak tone in crude oil prices may support the local currency.
"Traders may take cues from PMI data out of the US today evening. USD/INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 83.10 to 83.70," Choudhary said.
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'Even Ajmal Kasab was given a fair trial': SC remarks in Yasin Malik case
New Delhi, Nov 21: Even Ajmal Kasab was given a fair trial in our country, the Supreme Court on Thursday remarked and indicated it may set up a courtroom inside Tihar Jail for the trial of J&K separatist leader Yasin Malik in a kidnapping case.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih was hearing a CBI plea against the September 20, 2022 order of a Jammu trial court that directed Malik, serving life term in Tihar jail, to be produced before it physically to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses in the kidnapping case of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of politician Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
The bench, however, remarked, "How will cross-examination be done online? There is hardly any connectivity in Jammu... In our country, a fair trial was given even to Ajmal Kasab and legal assistance was given to him in the high court."
Kasab, the lone Pakistani gunman caught alive after the Mumbai terror attack, was hanged till death at the Yerawada Central Prison .
The bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI, to take instructions on the total number of witnesses in the case.
Mehta pointed out security concerns and said Malik couldn't be taken to Jammu for the trial.
The law officer accused Malik of "playing tricks" for having asked to appear personally and not engaging a lawyer. Mehta said Malik was not an ordinary criminal and showed a purported photograph of Malik sharing the dais with terrorist Hafiz Saeed.
The top court said it could order trial to take place inside the jail premises and ask the judge to come to the national capital for the proceedings.
The bench, however, noted all the accused persons in the matter had to be heard before it passes an order.
Mehta said Malik appearing in the Supreme Court physically raised security concerns previously.
The bench said Malik could be allowed to appear virtually in the apex court proceedings and posted the matter on November 28.
The CBI in the meantime was directed to amend its petition and implead all accused persons as respondents.
In 2023, Mehta wrote to then Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla flagging a "serious security lapse" after Malik was brought to the Supreme Court to appear in a case.
Malik, serving life sentence in a terror-funding case, was brought to the high-security apex court premises in a prison van escorted by armed security personnel without the court's permission.
Expressing surprise at his presence, Mehta informed the apex court there was a procedure for high-risk convicts to be allowed into the courtroom to argue their case personally.
The CBI said Malik, the top leader of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was a threat to national security and cannot be allowed to be taken outside the Tihar jail premises.
The apex court on April 24, 2023, issued notices on the CBI's appeal following which the incarcerated JKLF chief wrote a letter to the registrar of the Supreme Court on May 26, 2023 seeking permission to appear in person to plead his case.
An assistant registrar took up his request on July 18, 2023 and said the apex court would pass necessary orders -- a decision the Tihar Jail authorities reportedly misconstrued to allow Malik to appear and argue his case.
Mehta referred to the CBI's contention in its appeal against the trial court order to bring Malik to Jammu for the in-person examination of the witnesses in the kidnapping case, and said under Section 268 of the CrPC a state government may direct certain people to not be shifted from the confines of a prison.
On September 20, 2022, a special TADA court in Jammu directed Malik to be physically produced before it on the next hearing for him to cross-examine prosecution witnesses in the kidnapping case.
The CBI challenged the trial court order before the Supreme Court as appeals in TADA cases are only heard by the top court.
Rubaiya was abducted near Lal Ded Hospital in Srinagar on December 8, 1989 and freed five days later after the then BJP-backed V P Singh government at the Centre released five terrorists in exchange.
Mufti, who now lives in Tamil Nadu, is a prosecution witness of the CBI, which took over the case in early 1990s.
Malik is lodged in Tihar jail after he was sentenced by a special NIA court in May, 2023 in a terror-funding case.
