Prevent misuse of system: Ex-SC judge Santosh Hegde on hanging of convicts
Bengaluru: Retired Supreme Court judge N Santosh Hegde expressed concern that it took a "long-time" to give effect to the apex court's final judgement in the Nirbhaya case and called for steps to curb the misuse of the system.
It was overdue, said the former Solicitor General of India on the hanging of four men in Tihar jail early Friday for gang-rape and murder of a young Delhi woman, who came to be known as Nirbhaya.
"... the time taken to ultimately give effect to the final judgement of the Supreme Court gives rise to some sort of a thinking in the mind of the people: is justice really functioning?" Hegde told PTI here.
"Because ultimately when the highest court gives a verdict and constitution of law provides one review -- may be a mercy petition before the President, you (the convicts) make a joke out of that. There were multiple petitions", he noted.
Hegde said there should be some system to prevent "such misuse", adding he does not buy the argument that everybody has a right to challenge it as long as it's permissible in law.
On whether he favoured time-bound trial for heinous crimes, Hegde said every trial should be time-bound.
"Unfortunately, the system gives room for large delays; I think all concerned should sit and apply their mind to avoid this large delays and on how fast we can dispose of litigations.
"People take advantage of this, because of large delays lot of speculative litigation comes into the system which will spoil people's confidence in the system", he said.
The former Karnataka Lokayukta said he did not think that the ultimate hanging of Nirbhaya's accused has sent any message in regard to speedy delivery of justice.
"At the most what we can say is justice will ultimately prevail but it took a long time", he said.
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President Donald Trump to feature on limited edition US passports
Washington (PTI): The State Department is all set to unveil a limited-edition US passport with pictures of President Donald Trump and the Founding Fathers to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence in July.
The special passports will be available only to those who show up in person at the Washington Passport Agency and not anywhere else across the country.
The Department of State shared images of the limited edition passports on its social media accounts.
One page of the passport carries Trump's image surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and the American flag along with the president's signature in gold.
Another page features the famous painting of the founding fathers at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The passports, which are set to be released this summer, are part of the Trump administration’s broader "America250" celebration, which also includes a Grand Prix race on the National Mall in August and a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn in June.
"As the United States celebrates America's 250th anniversary in July, @StateDept is preparing to release a limited number of specially designed US Passports to commemorate this historic occasion,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a post on X.
A State Department official told Fox News Digital that the new designs will be available for "any American citizen" who applies for a passport when the rollout happens and will continue for as long as there is availability.
“These passports will feature customised artwork and enhanced imagery while maintaining the same security features that make the US Passport the most secure documents in the world,” Pigott said in a statement.
In October, the Department of Treasury proposed minting a one dollar coin featuring Trump’s image on it, to mark the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
According to draft images confirmed as real by US Treasurer Brandon Beach, one side of the coin would feature Trump’s profile, along with the words “LIBERTY,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “1776-2026.”
The other side of the coin would feature Trump standing with a clenched right fist in front of an American flag and the words “FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT” — a reference to his chant after the 2024 assassination attempt at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
