New Delhi: India and the UAE have agreed to allow their airlines to carry eligible passengers on both legs of their charter flights between the two countries to be operated from July 12 to July 26, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Thursday.

Currently, an Indian carrier operating a repatriation flight from the United Arab Emirates is not allowed to carry any passenger from here to the Gulf country. Similarly, a UAE carrier cannot carry passengers on the first leg of the charter flight -- from the UAE to India.

Many Indian nationals who have valid residence permits of the UAE and are currently in India have been complaining on social media for the last few weeks about the lack of flights between the two countries. India suspended all scheduled international passenger flights on March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Air India Express CEO K Shyam Sundar said on Twitter: "Happy to announce Air India Express has opened its flights between 12th and 26th July from India to UAE for sale to Indians with UAE Resident Permits."

Sundar's tweet came after the Civil Aviation Ministry announced on the microblogging site, "As part of the close strategic partnership between the governments of India and the UAE, and with a view to assisting UAE resident nationals who are at present in India to return to the UAE, the civil aviation authorities of both countries have agreed to operationalise the following arrangement from 12 July 2020."

Charter flights operated by UAE carriers will now be permitted to bring Indian citizens from the UAE to India and carry 'ICA-approved UAE residents' on their return leg, the ministry said.

ICA stands for the UAE's Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship. A passenger having a valid residency permit of the UAE needs to take ICA approval before taking any flight to enter that country.

The Civil Aviation Ministry said, "Indian carriers operating repatriation flights to bring Indian citizens from UAE to India will be allowed to carry the ICA-approved UAE residents (returning to UAE from India) on the outward journey from India to UAE."

On India to UAE journey, all these flights will carry only those passengers who are destined for the Gulf country, the Civil Aviation Ministry noted. This arrangement will be initially in place for a period of 15 days -- from July 12 to July 26 -- and will be reviewed after that, it added.

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New Delhi: In response to a plea filed by Mohammed Zubair regarding an allegedly offensive tweet in 2020, the Delhi Police informed the Delhi High Court that no case has been registered against the individual who referred to Zubair as a "jihadi."

The tweet in question was posted by Jagdish Singh, who accused Zubair of cyber sexual harassment of his granddaughter. However, the police found no incriminating evidence against Singh, stating that his comment, "Once a jihadi is always jihadi," did not cause fear or alarm to the public.

Zubair's plea stems from a tweet he made, questioning a user's appropriateness in using derogatory language online while displaying a profile picture with his granddaughter. Zubair's tweet, which blurred the minor's face, prompted an FIR against him under various acts including the POCSO Act and the Information Technology Act.

The status report has been filed in Zubair's plea against the FIR under POCSO Act — he has already been given a clean chit in the case.

“Thus, the captioned tweet by the complainant Mr. Jagdish Singh and his examination in this regard has revealed that the captioned tweet on 18.04.2020 does not cause fear or alarm to the public or any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against any state or against public tranquility,” the Delhi Police has said.


The status report added: “That in view of above, no case has been registered in relation to the captioned tweet against the complainant i.e. Mr. Jagdish Singh.”

The Delhi Police filed the response after it was pulled up by the court last year over no action taken against the man.

The case pertains to a tweet posted by Zubair, sharing the profile picture of a user and asking if it was appropriate for him to use derogatory language in replies while using a profile picture with his granddaughter in it. Zubair in his tweet had blurred the face of the minor girl. U

"Hello XXX. Does your cute grand daughter know about your part time job of abusing people on social media? I suggest you to change your profile pic," Zubair had said in the tweet.

In the FIR lodged in Delhi, offences under the POCSO Act, Section 509B of IPC, Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act were invoked against Zubair.

However, the Delhi Police found no criminality in Zubair's tweet and granted him interim protection from arrest in September 2020. The court directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Cell to provide a status report on the investigation, while also instructing Twitter India to expedite the request filed by the Cyber Cell.