HC asks police to respond to plea seeking FIR against Rahul for disclosing rape victim's identity
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted time to police to file their response to a plea seeking registration of FIR against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly revealing the identity of Dalit girl, who was raped and murdered in 2021, by posting a photo of he with her parents on social media platform X.
The counsel for petitioner Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar, argued that Gandhi had committed a serious offence but the Delhi Police was yet to register an FIR.
The counsel for the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said there are no exceptions to the law protecting the identity of minor victims of sexual offences and the "police must register an FIR and take consequential action".
Observing that it would proceed further after police files their response, a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan asked the Delhi Police to file a status report in 10 days.
"Counsel for respondent no 3 seeks and is permitted to file status report in 10 days," the bench, also comprising Justice Mini Pushkarna, said, and listed the matter for hearing on December 21.
Advocate Tarannum Cheema, appearing for Gandhi, said no formal notice has been issued to be Congress leader yet on the PIL.
The lawyer for X said that Gandhi's account was temporarily suspended following the post in question, and subsequently, the post was also taken down by it.
The petitioner's counsel, however, alleged that the social media platform was trying to protect Gandhi and the post was made unavailable only in India, and thus, the offence was still continuing.
In 2021, social activist Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar had moved the high court seeking registration of an FIR against Gandhi for allegedly revealing the identity of the minor Dalit girl, rape and murdered that year, by publishing a photograph with her parents on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The nine-year-old Dalit girl had died under suspicious circumstances on August 1, 2021, with her parents alleging that she was raped, murdered and cremated by a crematorium's priest in southwest Delhi's Old Nangal village.
In an affidavit filed in response to the petition, the NCPCR has said Gandhi's conduct was in the violation of provisions of Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, which makes it explicitly clear that any information including family details should not be published in any form which could lead to the identification of any minor victim.
The child rights' body also informed that "in view of the serious offence committed" by the Congress politician, it had forwarded the complaint to the Delhi Police and X for removal of the post in question and taking necessary action against his account.
Considering that the tweet was withheld in India and has not been "removed" completely, X's inaction was contributing towards disclosure of the identity of the victim in violation of Indian laws, it added.
On October 5, 2021, a bench headed by then Chief Justice DN Patel had issued notice to X, then Twitter, on the petition which alleged that Gandhi was "attempting to take political mileage out of the unfortunate incident".
The court had then refused to issue notice to other respondents, i.e. Gandhi, the Delhi Police and NCPCR on the public interest litigation (PIL) at that stage.
The plea has also sought initiation of appropriate legal action against Gandhi by NCPCR.
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Air India resorts to cost-cutting ways amid 'tough times'; layoffs not anticipated
New Delhi/Mumbai (PTI): Hit hard by Pakistan airspace closure and Iran war, Air India has resorted to cost-cutting measures, including holding back annual increments for staff and asking them to cut discretionary spending as well as non-critical expenditures, warning of "tough times".
On Friday, Air India Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) Campbell Wilson told the staff it is going to be a "very, very difficult year" if things don't improve on the Middle East front.
A day after the loss-making airline's board discussed various cost-saving steps, Wilson, along with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Sharma and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP, addressed the employees during a townhall on Friday where the emphasis on the need to keep a close watch on costs.
With higher jet fuel prices due to the West Asia conflict and airspace curbs, the loss-making airline's expenses have spiralled in recent times and against this backdrop, Sharma also told staffers that FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Calling for a relentless focus on costs in these tough times, Wilson urged employees to suspend discretionary spending, renegotiate rates where feasible, and defer non-critical expenditures.
"There must be a laser-sharp focus on eliminating wastage and leakages," he said.
Stressing the need to tighten the belt for a while, Wilson sounded optimistic that travel demand would rebound and the industry would continue on its upward path.
CHRO Ravindra Kumar told staff that the airline will proceed with variable pay for the last financial year and continue with planned promotions while noting that annual increments will be deferred by at least one quarter.
"We don't anticipate layoffs," he said.
At the airline's board meeting on Thursday, various cost-saving steps, including likely furloughs, were discussed. The Tata Group-owned airline has around 24,000 employees.
Generally, furlough refers to sending staff on unpaid leaves by companies during a tough financial situation.
During the townhall, CFO Sanjay Sharma said while strong revenue growth and fleet expansion drove financial momentum through FY25, FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Air India has seen around 40 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) in revenue between 2022 and 2025, he added.
The airline was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022.
The Air India CEO mentioned the external challenges being facing the aviation industry as a whole, including the continued closure of Pakistan airspace that is expected to persist for the foreseeable future and geopolitical conflicts leading to disruptions and airspace closures across West Asia.
Wilson, who is set to step down later this year, also flagged a sharp depreciation of the rupee and a 2.5-3 times increase in jet fuel prices, and added that these factors have adversely affected travel sentiment and consumer confidence, as per the sources.
If the Strait of Hormuz opens, oil prices fall and consumer as well as business confidence come back, there is a decent chance of a solid recovery, Wilson said, adding that unless those circumstances happen, it was going to be "a very, very difficult year".
"I feel somewhat responsible that we ended up with probably the biggest surprise of the year in the external environment which was a full-scale war in our neighbouring region in the Gulf. That has had a huge impact on airspace," he said.
For Air India, Wilson said the situation is compounded by the fact that the airline cannot fly over the neighbouring country and has to take a much longer routing for any west-bound destination.
"Every airline is reporting that they are under some sort of financial pressure as a result of higher fuel prices and economic uncertainty. So, it is unfortunately not a great environment to be running an airline," the Air India CEO said.
The Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- is projected to have incurred more than Rs 22,000 crore loss in the financial year ended March 2026.
At the townhall, Wilson also highlighted various initiatives, including completion of the retrofit of its legacy narrow-body aircraft and rapid network optimisation to redeploy capacity more efficiently.
