Former Congress Mayor Sampath Raj, accused in Bengaluru violence, granted bail
Bengaluru, Feb 12: Former Congress Mayor R Sampath Raj, who was in judicial custody for nearly three months in connection with the East Bengaluru violence on August 12 that left four people dead, was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on Friday.
The single judge bench of Justice John Michael Cunha granted bail to Sampath Raj.
The Congress corporator from Devara Jeevanahalli municipal ward was arrested in Bengaluru on November 17 2020.
Around 3,000 to 4,000 people went on a rampage on August 11 last year, setting ablaze the houses of Pulakeshinagar Congress MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy and his sister over an alleged inflammatory social media post by his nephew.
The mob also torched Devara Jeevanahalli and Kadugondanahalli police stations over suspicion that the nephew was present there.
Three people were killed in police firing while another person died due to abdominal injuries suffered in the violence.
In the charge sheet, Sampath Raj was charged with hatching a conspiracy for the violence to finish off the MLA politically in connivance with another Congress corporator and some others.
The Corporator and his aide were also arrested.
Police had accused Sampath Raj of remaining in touch with the masterminds throughout the widespread arson and violence.
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SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
