Supreme Court reserves order on SIT probe into activists' arrest
New Delhi, Sep 20 : The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a plea seeking court-monitored SIT probe into the charge that the five right activists have links with Maoist and were allegedly involved in a conspiracy to kill sovereign leaders.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud reserved the order with senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi taking the court through the sequence of events demonstrating that entire case is cooked up.
Picking holes in the Maharashtra police investigation leading to the arrest of five activists -- Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bhardwaj and Gautam Navlakha -- Singhvi told the bench that when there is a real doubt about the credibility and sanctity of the probe, it should be entrusted to a Special Investigating Team.
Singhvi pointed out that there was no separate FIR on the alleged Maoist plot to kill high dignitaries like the Prime Minister or Rajiv Gandhi assassination-type plot. He said that the aim of the entire exercise was to "create a climate of real threat".
Appearing for the complainant, senior counsel Harish Salve said that the court has to decide where free speech ends and unlawful activities begin. "If unlawful activities are involved, the investigation must continue."
Dwelling on the dangers of seeking court-monitored SIT probe every time, Salve said "if they did not trust the CBI, NIA, who will they call? the FBI".
"There is a danger of embarking on the path of SIT probe. People are framed day in and day out. Four tiers of courts are there," Salve said pointing that all important cases end up in the top court.
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Organisation urges Centre to set up National Widows' Rights Commission
Mumbai (PTI): A Maharashtra-based voluntary organisation has appealed to the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development to establish an independent National Widows' Rights Commission to address "systemic and lifelong injustices".
Mahatma Phule Samaj Seva Mandal (MPSSM) said widowed women in India face social ostracisation, denial of property and inheritance rights, economic insecurity, psychological trauma, and heightened sexual vulnerability.
These issues are not adequately addressed by existing institutional mechanisms, it said.
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In its representation to the ministry, the organisation stated that despite Constitutional guarantees of equality and dignity under Articles 14, 15 and 21, there is no exclusive statutory body that focuses specifically on the unique and long-term vulnerabilities of widows.
The proposal notes that while women's commissions function at the national and state levels, their broad mandate limits focused attention on widows' issues, leading to gaps in grievance redressal, monitoring and accountability.
Calling widowed women a "structurally vulnerable group" comparable to other constitutionally recognised categories, MPSSM has proposed the creation of National and State Widows' Rights Commissions with the power to inquire into complaints, summon reports from police and administrative authorities, and make time-bound recommendations, including registration of FIRs and legal action where required.
It demanded that the commission be empowered to suggest rehabilitation measures, financial assistance schemes and amendments to existing laws, and submit annual reports to Parliament or state legislatures.
MPSSM president Pramod Zinjade said the establishment of a dedicated Widows' Rights Commission was a "constitutional necessity and moral obligation" to restore dignity, security and human rights of widowed women and to eliminate regressive social practices.
Zinjade said he has also written to the United Nations seeking the establishment of an International Widows' Rights Commission (IWRC).
He has been leading a campaign in rural Maharashtra to eradicate evil customs related to widows. Several villages have passed unanimous resolutions banning such customs.
