J-K governor appoints Kathua gang rape accused’s advocate as state law officer
New Delhi, July 18: The appointment of Aseem Sawhney, the lawyer for one of the accused in the Kathua gang rape and murder case, as an additional advocate general for the Jammu and Kashmir High Court by the state governor has come as a surprise to many.
Aseem’s father A.K. Sawhney — also a lawyer — has been representing the accused in the Pathankot district and sessions court, which is conducting the trial in the case on the orders of the Supreme Court.
Sometime back, Sawhney had purportedly made a startling claim that Pakistan-backed terrorists were trying to use Rasana — the place near Kathua where the eight-year-old victim was kept in confinement and repeatedly raped — as a base for launching attacks on Army establishments. He had also alleged that he was being threatened for representing the accused.
According to the order issued by the J&K law department Tuesday, Aseem Sawhney has been appointed to represent the government in the J&K High Court’s Jammu bench. He is one of the 16 lawyers appointed as law officers.
Sawhney’s Twitter bio identifies him as “a lawyer, journalist and honorary chief editorial consultant of Journeyline daily newspaper published from Jammu J&K”.
The Kathua case
The gang rape-cum-murder of the eight-year-old girl in January this year had led to massive outrage across the country. It also led to straining of ties between the then coalition partners in the J&K government — Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP and the BJP.
Investigation by ThePrint had brought to the fore the horrific manner in which the girl was raped.
The presence of two BJP ministers and some BJP MLAs at a protest meeting organised to rally support for the accused, where the ministers and MLAs also criticised their own government, had turned into a flashpoint between the allies, with the BJP finally pulling out of the government with the PDP last month.
Courtesy: theprint.in
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
