Kerala HC orders police not to take coercive steps against Rajeev Chandrasekhar till Dec 14
Kochi, Nov 29: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the police not to take any coercive steps against Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar till December 14 in the two criminal cases in which he is accused of making statements promoting enmity between different groups.
The cases were lodged against him over his controversial social media posts following the blasts at a convention centre in Kochi during a prayer meeting of Christian religious group Jehovah's Witnesses.
Justice C S Dias admitted Chandrasekhar's pleas for quashing the FIRs against him and issued notice to the state seeking its stand in both matters.
The court also issued notice to Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Digital Media Convenor P Sarin, on whose complaint one of the FIRs was lodged, and sought his stand on the matter.
Right after news broke out about the blasts, Chandrasekhar had posted on Facebook, "The price of appeasement politics of Cong and CPM will always be borne by innocents of all communities That is what history has taught us. Brazen appeasement politics shameless even by Cong / CPM / UPA/ INDI alliance standards to invite Terrorist Hamas to spread hate & call for Jihad' in Kerala."
His post further said, "This is the height of irresponsible madness politics. Enough! You can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbors. You know, eventually those snakes are going to turn on whoever has them in the backyard' Hilary Rodham Clinton."
Soon after the blasts, a man claiming to be an estranged member of the Jehovah's Witnesses himself claimed responsibility for the blasts. In the investigation that followed, no terrorist group was found to have any links with the blast.
Cases under IPC sections 153 and 153A and section 120 (o) of the Kerala Police Act were lodged against the central minister.
IPC 153 and 153A refer to wantonly provoking with intent to cause riot and promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth and residence.
Section 120 (o) of the KP Act refers to causing nuisance and violation of public order.
The high court listed the two cases for further hearing on December 14 and directed the police not to take any coercive measures against Chandrasekhar till then.
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Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
