Ghaziabad police not keen on investigating Twitter India MD's role in viral video: Karnataka HC
Bengaluru, Jul 6: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday said the Ghaziabad police was not keen on investigating the case involving Twitter India MD Manish Maheshwari's role in a controversial viral video posted by an individual on its platform, claiming that an elderly man's beard was cut as he was forced to chant 'Jai Sri Ram' and 'Vande Mataram'.
Hearing the matter, the single bench of Justice G Narendar remarked: "It is a matter of investigation, that is why I am asking why you have not investigated.
The whole problem is you don't want to investigate."
Grilling the respondent, the Ghaziabad police, the court asked, "You are not answering my question at all-- On what basis are you saying Twitter India is responsible?"
Noting that Twitter India and Twitter Inc were two independent bodies, the court also wondered whether Twitter India is even an intermediary.
"The complainant is very clear that they are two independent bodies. So, where is the investigation?" the court asked the respondent.
Asking the Ghaziabad police not to mix up Twitter India and Twitter Inc as they are independent bodies, the court sought to know whether the police had even visited the Registrar of Companies (ROC).
"Whether they are required to confirm their compliance with the rules? Where is that material? Unless they are the intermediary... there is no conclusive evidence by you that they are even the intermediary," the court observed.
The bench told the respondent that they could have got information within a day about the activities of the firm from the ROC to verify the content and veracity of the statement by Maheshwari that Twitter India is a separate entity.
"It is not that he (Maheshwari) is defiant. He is very specific, categorical.
He says I have no control over the uploading of the video. At least before this court, he has placed the material," the court observed.
Appearing on behalf of Maheshwari, advocate C V Nagesh insisted that Twitter is not even an intermediary as the charges are against Twitter India and not Twitter Inc (USA).
The court then asked the respondent, Where are you heading? (Where are you taking the case?)"
"It is nothing but intimidating tactics, that's all... to achieve some other goal, which otherwise they cannot do it," Nagesh alleged.
The matter has been posted for Wednesday.
The case is related to the notice issued by the Ghaziabad police under Section 41-A of the CrPC on June 21, asking Maheshwari to report at the Loni Border police station at 10.30 am on June 24.
Maheshwari then moved the Karnataka High Court as he lives in Bengaluru.
On June 24, the High Court had restrained the Ghaziabad police from initiating any coercive action against him.
Justice Narendar also maintained that if the police wanted to examine him, they could do so through virtual mode.
The Ghaziabad Police on June 15 booked Twitter Inc, Twitter Communications India, news website The Wire, journalists Mohammed Zubair and Rana Ayyub, besides Congress leaders Salman Nizami, Maskoor Usmani, Shama Mohamed and writer Saba Naqvi.
They were booked over the circulation of a video in which the elderly man, Abdul Shamad Saifi, claims he was allegedly thrashed by some young men, who also asked him to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' on June 5.
According to police, the video was shared to cause communal unrest.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
