Gujarat : Farmer attempts suicide at CM Rupani's programme
Ahmedabad, Nov 11: A farmer Sunday attempted suicide by consuming pesticide at a public gathering of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Pransli village of Gir Somnath district police said.
Mashribhai Dodiya was upset with local authorities for failing to remove an encroachment on a panchayat land at the entrance of his farm in Dolasa village in Kodinar taluka of the district, Gir Somnath Superintendent of Police Rahul Tripathi said.
"Someone has illegally captured a panchayat plot outside the agricultural land belonging to the farmer, making it hard for him to enter his own land. Orders had already been issued by the collector to remove the encroachment but local authorities have not acted upon it," the SP added.
Dodiya consumed pesticide as soon as CM Rupani started addressing the public at the village where he earlier inaugurated a new marketing yard, Tripathi said.
"The victim was held by the police deployed at the venue and rushed to a government hospital in Veraval. Doctors have said his condition is stable," he said.
Dodiya told reporters that the encroachment of the panchayat land, which he claimed was the handiwork of the land mafia, had made it difficult for him to enter his own farm.
"Some land mafia closed the road leading to my farm by encroaching upon a land. I had approached the chief minister, who had ordered that the encroachment be removed, but nothing has happened so far," Dodiya said.
"I have made repeated appeals to the village Panchayat officials and the taluka development officer (TDO) but in vain. Fed up of running around, I decided to end my life," he told reporters at the hospital.
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Delhi HC Judge Justice Sharma to pass order on recusal plea by Kejriwal at 4.30 pm
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi High Court Judge Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on Monday said that she would pronounce her verdict at 4.30 pm on pleas by Arvind Kejriwal and others seeking her recusal in the liquor policy case, as she took on record additional pleadings by the AAP chief on his plea.
Justice Sharma said although the pronouncement was scheduled for 2:30 pm, she was "going out of her way" in accepting Kejriwal's rejoinder as a written submission in the matter.
The former chief minister virtually appeared before the judge through video conferencing and urged her to take on record his rejoinder to the written submissions filed by the CBI.
Even as Kejriwal asserted that the registry's refusal to take his rejoinder on record was "miscarriage of justice", Justice Sharma remarked that since he was not being represented by a lawyer, the court went "out of its way" for him when it permitted him to file his additional affidavit last week even after the order on the recusal issue was reserved.
The judge said that as per the registry's rule, a party in-person must take permission from the court to file anything and since the present case was not "extraordinary", the same practice was being followed.
She added that in law, there is no concept of filing a "rejoinder" to the opposite party's written submissions, and she would permit Kejriwal to tender his pleadings as written submissions instead, so that he does not feel that he was not heard.
"You say you have respect for me. I have respect for every litigant. The rule of court will not be changed for anyone so I will treat it as written submissions. I am taking it on record. I am giving the indulgence to Mr Kejriwal," the court stated.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta appeared for the CBI and opposed Kejriwal's request to file rejoinder. Mehta said nowhere in the country were pleadings taken on record after order was reserved a court.
He also said there is no concept of filing rejoinder to a written submission, and the court should do what it would do for any ordinary litigant.
Kejriwal had raised several objections against the judge hearing the CBI's plea against his discharge in the liquor policy case, including that she had earlier denied him relief on his petition challenging his arrest and refused to grant relief on the bail pleas of other accused, including Manish Sisodia and K Kavitha.
He also claimed that Justice Sharma had made "strong and conclusive" findings.
The former Delhi chief minister further alleged a "direct conflict of interest", claiming that the judge's children are empanelled central government lawyers who receive work through the solicitor general, who is appearing in the matter for the CBI.
Besides Kejriwal, the applications for recusal of the judge were also filed by AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak.
Other respondents, including Vijay Nair and Arun Ramchandra Pillai, have also sought her recusal.
Solicitor General urged Justice Sharma to initiate contempt action against Kejriwal and others for seeking her recusal.
Terming concerns by Kejriwal and others as "apprehensions of an immature mind," Mehta told the court it was a matter of "institutional respect" and Justice Sharma should not succumb to pressure as her recusal on "unfounded allegations" would set a bad precedent.
On February 27, the trial court discharged Kejriwal, Sisodia and others in the Delhi liquor policy case, saying that the CBI's case was wholly unable to survive judicial scrutiny and stood discredited in its entirety.
