Supreme Court orders probe into social boycott of dalits in Hisar village
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ordered an independent investigation into allegations of social boycott of Dalits by a dominant community in a village in Hisar district, Haryana. The probe will be conducted by two former Directors General of Police (DGPs) from Uttar Pradesh, Vikram Chand Goyal and Kamlendra Prasad. This decision comes in response to claims of social discrimination reported in 2017.
A bench led by Justice MM Sundresh and including Justice Aravind Kumar directed the former DGPs to submit a status report within three months. The report is expected to detail the current situation in the village and recommend any necessary actions to address the allegations of social boycott. The bench clarified that there is no bar on the ongoing trial proceeding alongside this independent probe.
The court was informed that no incidents had occurred recently and that normalcy had returned to the village. An earlier chargesheet, filed on August 20, 2017, after a group of Dalit boys were allegedly assaulted over the use of a hand pump, named only one accused, with six others receiving a clean chit from the Haryana Police.
Further allegations highlighted that police did not collect Scheduled Caste certificates from the 28 victims of social boycott, nor did they include crucial video evidence of a public call for the boycott in their submission to the court. The court has asked the investigators to review these details as part of their report.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
