"Pressure Cooker Will Burst If...": Supreme Court On Activists' Arrests
NEW DELHI, August 29: While granting reprieve to five activists who were arrested yesterday under an anti-terror law on charges of Maoist activities, the Supreme Court today said: "Dissent is the safety valve of democracy".
The court said poet and Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao and activists Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Fereira, Gautam Navlakha and Vernon Gonsalves, will be under house arrest till the next hearing on September 6.
"Dissent is the safety valve of democracy. If you don't allow the safety valve pressure cooker will burst," said the five-judge bench led by the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.
The court asked the Maharashtra government to file a response to the petition challenging the arrests. The activists will kept under house arrest till September 6, said a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.
The Pune police claims that the activists were linked to a bigger conspiracy and planning to recruit members from 35 colleges and launch attacks.
The activists have been charged under the controversial Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which authorizes raids and arrest without warrant if a person is suspected to "support terrorist acts or unlawful activities".
The police say the arrest of the activists follow the arrest of five other activists earlier this year in June, when the police retrieved a huge amount of data.
Those arrested earlier were charged with the January 1 clashes that broke out at Bhima-Koregaon near Pune, between Dalits and upper caste Marathas at an annual event.
Police say that the fresh round of arrests were of individuals also behind the caste clashes, but - in a seeming contradiction - also said they are yet to determine "how the accused succeeded in inciting the violence".
Courtesy: www.ndtv.com
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India-bound LPG tanker clears Hormuz
New Delhi (PTI): A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for India has sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and is now headed towards the country, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier MT Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 tonnes of LPG and staffed by 20 crew, including 18 Indians, cleared the key shipping chokepoint on May 2 and is expected to reach Visakhapatnam on May 13, it said.
The cargo -- enough to meet half a days requirement of the country -- will partly tide over supply constraints being faced since the start of the West Asia conflict more than two months back.
Ship-tracking data showed its position in Oman Gulf on Sunday evening.
The very large gas carrier has previously made runs between the Persian Gulf and Indian ports, has been chartered by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked tanker to cross the war zone since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing transits through Hormuz back down to almost zero.
There are as many as 14 Indian flagged or India-owned vessels still stranded on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement said no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure crew welfare and uninterrupted operations.
The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) control room has handled 8,373 calls and more than 17,965 emails since activation, including 38 calls and 127 emails in the last 24 hours.
India has also facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,953 seafarers so far, including 31 in the past day from across the Gulf region.
Port operations across the country remain normal with no congestion reported, the statement added.
