Kapil Sibal informs SC about rape threats to female lawyers representing West Bengal in RG Kar case
New Delhi: Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that female lawyers from his chambers were receiving rape and physical harm threats for representing the State of West Bengal in the case concerning the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
Sibal expressed concerns before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, stating that women in his chambers were being threatened with acid attacks and rape, and that posts were circulating about him laughing during the proceedings.
"There are threats to women in my chamber, and then there are posts about me laughing. People are saying acid will be thrown at them, and they will be raped," Sibal said.
The Court reassured him, with CJI Chandrachud stating, "If there are any such threats to any man or woman, we will step in."
Sibal also raised concerns about the impact of live-streaming the hearings on the lawyers’ reputations, stating that the 50-year reputation he had built was being destroyed overnight due to misinterpretations of court remarks. He requested the Court to halt the live-streaming, but the CJI declined, maintaining that it was in the public interest.
The case relates to the rape and murder of a 31-year-old resident doctor, whose body was found on August 9 in a seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College. An autopsy confirmed that the doctor had been raped and murdered. The incident sparked protests across the country, with doctors demanding stronger laws and increased protection for medical professionals.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently handling the probe, following an order from the Calcutta High Court. The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter, issuing several directives, including the establishment of a National Task Force to address issues related to the safety of medical professionals and gender-based violence. The Court also ordered the State of West Bengal to file a status report on the acts of vandalism that took place at the hospital following the incident and directed that Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) security be deployed at the hospital.
The CBI is expected to submit a status report on the investigation soon.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
